-
CultureBandai Namco Speaks Out Against Anti-Asian Racism In America
In an official statement released on Twitter this morning, Bandai Namco took a public stance against the spike of anti-Asian racism in the United States in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. “As a company based in Japan, the recent rise in anti-Asian hate has truly hit home for our employees,” the tweet reads. It…
By Ian Walker Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureRiot Games Says It Finds No Evidence Of Wrongdoing By CEO Accused Of Sexual Harassment
A three-person special committee tasked with reviewing a third-party investigation into allegations of sexual harassment by Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent announced to the company’s staff today that it found “no evidence” of misconduct and recommended no action be taken against the executive, the Washington Post reports. The news comes the same day that Riot…
By Ethan Gach Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsFortnite’s Awful Banana Man Is Finally Dead
Early (and I mean early) this morning, Epic Games unveiled the next season of its mega-popular battle royale shooter Fortnite. As is often the case, there’s a bunch of cool, new stuff for players to mess around with in-game, but in my mind the biggest development is the death of Fornite mascot Peely, the terrible…
By Ian Walker Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI’m Having Some Trouble With Outriders’ Crossplay
Last month, a demo for Outriders dropped on most every platform but the Switch. Then, yesterday, Microsoft announced that this latest buzzy looter-shooter would join the Xbox Game Pass library on launch day, April 1. Presumably, whatever overlap exists between the 18 million people who subscribe to Game Pass and the however-many-millions-or-not-millions of people who…
By Ari Notis Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureJade Raymond Forms New Studio, Working On Unannounced Game For PlayStation
Former Assassin’s Creed producer and EA manager Jade Raymond announced the formation of a new Montreal-based independent studio called Haven today. Its first project will be a brand new IP being developed for PlayStation, she wrote in a post over on the company’s blog. “And so today I’m announcing Haven, an independent studio where many…
By Ethan Gach Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureHere’s Everything Coming To And Leaving Game Pass Soon
In case you got the wrong impression, Xbox Game Pass isn’t just a vehicle to play games that start with a Bethesda loading screen. Here’s everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in the next few weeks: March 16 Undertale (Cloud, Console, PC) March 18 Empire of Sin (Cloud, Console, PC) Nier: Automata (PC) Star Wars:…
By Ari Notis Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureStadia Exclusive Super Bomberman R Online Is Coming To PC And Consoles So People Can Play It
Launched exclusively on Stadia on September 1, Super Bomberman R Online is all the explosive cartoon fun of Super Bomberman R plus a 64-player online battle royale mode that plays out across multiple game boards. Today Konami announced the game is coming soon to consoles and PC with crossplay, so those poor Stadia players can…
By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsDark Alliance Is A Spiritual Successor To Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance In Name Only
I went into my recent Dark Alliance demo with development studio Tuque Games expecting to briefly relive the grim, bloody hack and slash glory of the original Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance games. The new game, while pitched as a spiritual successor, feels very different, however. Not bad, just different Dark Alliance, priced at $40 and…
By Ethan Gach Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureAnimal Crossing‘s Next Free Update Is A Boon For Designers
Animal Crossing: New Horizons will celebrate its one-year anniversary with cake delivered to all players in its March 18 update, but the real present is 50 new slots for the normal and pro designer, and the ability to customize fans, umbrellas, flags, and photo stands. We’re heading back into the spring, where all of this…
By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2021 -
Culture2K Signs Tiger Woods, Buys The Studio Behind PGA Tour 2K21
From 1998 through 2013 golf superstar Tiger Woods was the face of EA’s PGA Tour series of video games. Now Woods is back in the video game business, only this time he’s signed an exclusive long-term contract with 2K as the face, executive director, and consultant on the PGA Tour 2K series. Along with the…
By Mike Fahey Published March 16, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanFormer Pop Idol Arrested In Japan Over Fraud Allegations
Former pop star Juna Yamada has been arrested for allegedly swindling money from a man she met through a dating site. Previously, the 22-year-old Yamada was a member of idol group SKE48, which she left in January 2019. According to CBC TV, Yamada told the man that she knew how to make money through investing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2021 -
Kotaku EastThis Pikachu Caterpillar Plushie Looks Freaky
The listing for this AliExpress product says “Pikachued”, and that’s exactly how I feel after looking at it. Japanese site Hachima Kikou doesn’t think this is official merch (it certainly doesn’t appear like one!), but for what it apparently lacks in licensing, it makes up for in OMG and WTF. The plushie is a caterpillar-type…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2021 -
AnimeAnimator And Character Designer Minako Shiba Dies
Today, both P.A. Works and Studio Pierrot announced on Twitter that Minako Shiba has died. Shiba got her start in the early 1990s, working on shows like Metal Fighter Miku. Initially, she had hoped to work in the games industry, but ended up in anime. She did key art and well as worked as the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureTrack: It’s Better People | Artist: Oasis | Album: Roll With It (single)
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2021 -
CultureFortnite‘s Season 6 Is Wilderness Themed
Fortnite’s Season 6 is here, following a solo event rather than a multiplayer one. Called “Primal,” it features a forest area, weapons crafting, and wildlife. While most Fortnite seasons start with multiplayer events, Season 6’s event was a solo one, playable the first time players boot up the game. Without spoiling too much for those…
By Riley MacLeod Published March 16, 2021 -
CulturePlayStation Communities, A Service I Didn’t Even Know Existed, Is Going Away
This week marks the first and last time I have ever heard of PlayStation Communities, a service that apparently let users hang out in custom forums/group chats on the PS4 and talk about specific stuff. When passing the news around here, only a couple of colleagues had even been aware of its existence, let alone…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsSo Help Me, I Like The Fortnite Joy-Cons
Let’s get this out of the way: I don’t like Fortnite. But I am seriously considering these new Fortnite Joy-Cons, because good Lord, those colours are wonderful. Thats a lovely, rich shade of blue there on the left, but on the right, have mercy. Not even that stupid banana face can ruin it. Yellow—and I…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsRatchet & Clank Weapons, Ranked
This weekend, I played through the “re-imagined” 2016 Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4 (free via PlayStation Plus this month). And I started feeling that familiar itch, the itch to compile an underexplained list. As such, here’s how I rank the weapons in its arsenal based on various criteria: Omniwrench Pixelizer Buzz Blades Warmonger Pyrocitor…
By Ian Walker Published March 15, 2021 -
CultureFan Fixes GTA Online Load Times, Rockstar Makes It Official
Earlier this month, GTA Online player t0st found a way to cut down the game’s load times by 70%. It must have been a clean, effective fix, because Rockstar themselves have taken a look, agreed with it, and will soon make it part of an official update. As PC Gamer report, Rockstar investigated t0st’s work,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2021 -
CultureFortnite Team Banned From Major Tournament After Player Tells Epic Exec To Kill Himself
I don’t know much about Fortnite, but I’m going to guess harassing an Epic executive probably isn’t a winning strategy. A Fortnite competitor named Wrigley tested this controversial technique on Saturday night, tagging Epic chief creative officer Donald Mustard in a tweet that read “literally fucking k!ll your$elf” for some undisclosed reason. Several letters were…
By Ian Walker Published March 15, 2021