Culture

Japanese Football Team Has A Thomas The Tank Engine Shirt

Japanese football side Kawasaki Frontale have released images of their new training kit for the upcoming season, and it has a British theme. In case the plaid didn’t spell that out clearly enough, a sleeve badge reveals the whole thing is actually a homage to Thomas The Tank Engine The idea behind the team’s training…

Track: Aries | Artist: The Gorillaz ft. Peter Hook & Georgia | Album: Almanac

‘Shop Contest: Vault Boy From Smash

Vault Boy is being added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Well, not actually as a full-on new character, but as something called a “Mii Fighter.” I don’t understand what that means, but hey Vault Boy seems like a fun ‘Shop Contest! Your challenge this week: Add Vault Boy from Smash into other games. I’ve taken…

Fans Are Digitizing And Translating A Persona Trading Card Game From The Late ’90s

Dedicated fans are digitizing an entire Persona card game that was released back in the late ‘90s in Japan and was never released in the West. They’ve already scanned over a thousand cards and all the rule books. As spotted by VG 24/7, weaK_willO over on the ResetEra forums posted that they had bought up…

How’s It Going?: Pool Edition

Hello, hello, hello! I’m so happy to have you here today for another open thread. Come on in! I’m extremely lucky to have access to a pool during the summer. My girlfriend’s parents, who live only a couple blocks away, have a nice, big pool and it just opened. Because her and I both work…

Sunday Comics: Is This True?

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published June 25. Read more of Corpse Run Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published June 22. Read more of Awkward Zombie Clueless Hero by…

‘Shop Contest: Summer 2020, Winners!

Summer is finally here. Turn on those fans, jump into a river, or go buy some ice cream. In honor of the hottest time of the year, I asked you folks to show how video game characters are enjoying the summertime. Our winning image this week comes from Badonkagronk who shows how handy it is…

I Saw A Spider In My Bedroom

This week on Snapshots: Some more (non-spoiler) Last of Us 2 photos, one of the coolest Spider-Man pics I’ve seen, some lovely plants, a creepy tree, a nice sit on a bench and a flamethrower. A moment after reading the comments on a YouTube video. Kotaku Snapshots is a weekly look at some of the…

Mixer’s Sudden Shutdown Has Streamers Scrambling To Reboot Their Careers On Twitch

Earlier this week, Microsoft abruptly announced that its game-centric livestreaming platform, Mixer, is not long for this world. After paying top dollar to scoop up household names like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek last year, Mixer will be no more as of next month. Suddenly, streamers who’ve staked their careers on the ocean-blue…

Shiftry Is Over A Thousand Years Old And Can Read Your Mind

Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Shiftry! Shiftry Details Type: Grass/Dark Average Height: 4′ 03″ Average Weight: 131.4 lbs First Added In Generation III Shiftry…

Shakedown: Hawaii Is Being Released On The Wii And Wii U This Summer

The original Nintendo Wii was launched all the way back in 2006. And now, 14 years later, indie developer Vblank Entertainment is releasing Shakedown: Hawaii on the old console and also bringing the game to the WiiU too. The Wii port of Shakedown: Hawaii is being released only in Europe while the Wii U port…

How’s It Going?: LEGO Edition

Welcome back to another Kotaku open thread. Come yell about stuff or (preferably) come calmly chat about how things are going. Recently, my GF and I have been packing up in preparation for our move next month. And while I was working she began the process of taking apart and boxing up all my Star…

How We All Feel Six Months Into 2020

This week we meet a cool old guy, listen to a bunch of “Hurt” covers, check out a creepy Jar-Jar Binks toy, see more Keanu in Cyberpunk and watch a pretty pancake die. Great Kotaku Content From The Past Week Dude has a super old prototype Karakoke machine that still works and meanwhile, my PS4…

Finding Self-Love Through Queer Romance and Video Games

That night was my turn to host. We hiked all over, taking in the island’s natural beauty and snacking on peaches. We visited Lucky’s house, chatting with my doggy neighbor and rolling around in his log bed. We even managed to get into a K.K. Slider show, for which I’d bought us matching Able Sisters-brand…

Twitch Bans Dr Disrespect

Today, out of the blue, Twitch suspended massively popular streamer Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm, a ban that multiple sources tell Kotaku is permanent. Initially, people suspected that he’d tripped a wire in Twitch’s increasingly aggressive DMCA detection system, but that does not appear to be the case. Industry insider and journalist Rod “Slasher” Breslau said…

The Man Who Invented Karaoke Is 95 And His Machine Still Works

Karaoke is one of Japan’s most ubiquitous worldwide exports. But who invented the first machine that let you sing along to backing tracks of popular hits? As author Matt Alt writes in his new book Pure Invention, karaoke was independently invented at least five different times in Japan. A musician-businessman named Daisuke Inoue has often…

I Turned My Steam Profile Into A GeoCities Disaster

A new Steam rewards program that just launched lets players obtain Steam profile items and backgrounds using points earned by purchasing games. Some of these can turn your profile into an ugly mess. I decided to see just how ugly. As Jurassic Park’s Ian Malcolm might say, I was so preoccupied with whether or not…

Twitch Finally Starts Banning Streamers Accused Of Sexual Abuse

Over the weekend, over 50 people, mostly women, in and around the world of Twitch came forward to accuse streamers and other industry figures, mostly men, of sexual abuse. As the week has progressed, that number has swelled to nearly 100. After the initial wave of accusations, Twitch promised to investigate and potentially take action.…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for probably getting to the work I didn’t get to during the week, goddammit. But some of that work is video games, so that’s something. This week’s Cyberpunk 2077 previews got me itching to play some cyberpunk games while I wait. I never actually completed my no kill/no detection run of Deus…

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Will Have A Free-To-Play Version

Today in a new trailer Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Lite, which will be free-to-play for the first three dungeons. Lite version will play just like the paid one except players will be locked out of the game’s remaining 10 dungeons unless they purchase the whole thing. Square Enix is calling…