Yakuza Producer Finally Apologizes For Mocking Puzzle Game Esports Pros

In July, Yakuza executive director and producer Toshihiro Nagoshi used slang to disparage puzzle game pro players during a livestream. Sega soon apologized, and now, nearly a month later, so has Nagoshi. As previously reported, Nagoshi had said that Puyo Puyo esports players seemed like they eat beef bowls with cheese. The term chiizu gyuudon…

Track: Moon | Artist: The Lemon Twigs | Album: Songs For the General Public

Street Fighter V Tournament Organizers Apologize For Playing Fart Noises During Match

The folks behind r/StreetFighter’s online tournament series pride themselves on providing streams that go beyond rote recitations of sponsors and matchup knowledge. But this laissez-faire approach to commentary recently bit them in the ass when they decided to pepper their broadcast with farts rather than insightful conversation. During last night’s tournament, the winners final came…

GDQ’s Sonic 3 & Knuckles Speedrun Taught Me Something I Didn’t Expect

I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games. Those first four chapters—Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles—are the font of my earliest and fondest video game memories. They’re the bedrock of my video games persona, the kernel of dust at the center…

Of Course Pupperazzi Is My Favorite Game From the Wholesome Snack Indie Showcase

Kitfox Games knows what I like. It’s the developer of the forthcoming Boyfriend Dungeon—a dungeon crawler that also lets you smooch anthropomorphized versions of your weapons—and publishers of the new Pupperazzi Highlighted in today’s Wholesome Snack Indie Showcase, Pupperazzi is a very simple game with a premise that is exactly what you’d expect from that…

Skullgirls Development Will Continue Without Embattled Lead Designer

The last few days have seen several notable employees resign from Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games, many of whom cited poor behavior on the part of project lead Mike “Mike Z” Zaimont as catalyst for the mass departure. But according to new information, those same workers will be able to continue developing Skullgirls content independently.…

Fighting Game Pro’s Opening Pitch Could Have Been Worse

The Brothers, a major league Taiwanese baseball team based in Taichung, invited a gamer to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at their August 23 game against the Lions. But this wasn’t just any gamer; this was GamerBee. Bruce “GamerBee” Hsiang’s pitch was part of a cross-promotional event between the Brothers baseball team and King…

Help, This A Cappella Cover Of The Fall Guys Theme Is Stuck In My Head

Even if you (somehow) haven’t played Fall Guys, you’ve probably heard the theme song—through streams, through viral social media clips, through the walls as your neighbors or roommates crank the volume to listen to this wholesome battle royale in all its zany glory. The theme, by Jukio Kallio and Daniel Hagström, is the type of…

Microsoft’s Custom Wonder Woman 1984 Xboxen Are So Fancy

In celebration of the spirit of cross-promotional marketing with Wonder Woman 1984, Microsoft has cobbled together a trio of custom Xbox One X consoles decked out in gold, fur, and the odd Lasso of Truth. We’re going to start with the golden one, AKA the Wonder Woman Golden Armor Xbox One X Console. (I really…

Sinking City Developer Says Game Was Pulled From Stores Because Publisher Stopped Paying Royalties

Search for The Sinking City on Steam, the Epic Games Store, Xbox One, or PlayStation 4 and you won’t find it. The Lovecraftian detective game released last year has been missing for a couple months now. Today, Ukrainian developer Frogwares finally revealed why: for the last year it’s been in a legal dispute with the…

How’s It Going? Pills Edition

Daily medication is an excellent way to keep track of what day it is. Welcome back to our daily open thread. It’s funny. Before I had my aortic dissection back in 2018, I prided myself on never taking medication. Aside from the odd migraine pill, chalky bits of chemical goodness never passed my lips. Now…

The Last Borderlands 3 DLC Goes Inside Krieg’s Psyche

Today, Gearbox announced the fourth and final planned campaign expansion for Borderlands 3. It’s called Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck, and it goes inside the psyche of a Psycho. It comes out on September 10. Psychos, of course, are a common enemy type in the Borderlands series. Borderlands 2 gave players a chance to…

Stadia’s Exclusive Battle Royale Bomberman Launches September 1

Launching on September 1 exclusively for Google’s streaming Stadia platform, Super Bomberman R Online is all the fun times of Super Bomberman R plus a special online battle royal mode where 64 players battle it out across multiple stages simultaneously. Oh hey, and Louies are back. It’s Super Bomberman R with a little extra Bomberman…

Todd McFarlane’s Batman Action Figure Has Swords And Spikes

What does Spawn creator Todd McFarlane do when given the chance to design his own DC Multiverse Batman action figure? He puts spikes on it, gives him a pair of swords, some knives, and gives the cape a little extra flair. McFarlane’s Batman is very McFarlane. Todd McFarlane is no stranger to Batman, having drawn…

Tekken’s Pretty Outdated, But Its Music Still Owns

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. If you were Namco in 1994, designing your Virtua Fighter killer, what would it sound like? In Namco’s case, it sounded like Tekken …Which is to say bright, high-energy techno with a fair share of…

Snuggle Up With A Chopped Off Pikachu Tail Pillow

If you are in the market for a hug pillow and like Pokémon, here’s one that looks like a giant, chopped off Pikachu tail. Priced at 8,658 yen ($81.31), the hug pillow measures 110 cm (43.3 inches) and sure looks comfy. While this was previously released in 2018, the tail will be re-issued this December.

Japanese Vending Machines Are Selling Bugs You Can Eat

Japan is famous for vending machines. While most sell soft drinks and coffee, there are some unusual ones selling batteries, umbrellas, and bottles of sake. Add insects to that list. In Japanese, the word 昆虫食 (konchuushoku) means “insect eating”. During the past few years, it seems, there has been an increasing number of vending machines…