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Kotaku EastJapanHow Japanese Arcades Are Trying To Protect Against The Novel Coronavirus
Japanese arcades are places where people gather. But in the age of covid-19, that’s difficult, especially with machines so close together and players touching the same buttons and joysticks. The novel coronavirus has hurt business for arcades. Mikado, above, had to launch a crowdfunding effort to help make up for lost income. As noted on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2020 -
CultureUntitled Goose Game’s Boxed Version Is Just Lovely
Untitled Goose Game is coming back to the Switch and PS4 later this year in a boxed version called the Lovely Edition Available from iam8bit, it not only includes a very nice box and cartridge/disc, but a hand-drawn town map, a “24-page retail catalogue featuring useful items and objects that a goose might enjoy collecting,”…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 20, 2020 -
ReviewsBoard GamesAssault On Hoth: The Empire Strikes Back: The Kotaku Review
Let’s go back in time. Not to 1980, when Empire Strikes Back came out, that’s too far. We’re going to 1988, when West End Games, a company famous at the time for its RPGs and hardcore wargames, released a two-player board game called Assault on Hoth, which I have just played in 2020 and will…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsNBA Players Are Living The 2K Life
One of the weirdest (and worst!) things about the NBA 2K series is how the whole experience is built around the idea of a “neighbourhood” of stores, most of them heavily branded in-game advertisements. It’s not how the real world looks or works! But then, the NBA in 2020 isn’t living in the real world.…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureTwitchU.S. Navy Follows Army In Banning Twitch Viewers Asking About War Crimes [UPDATE]
The U.S. Army and Navy might have different express purposes and a football rivalry, but they’re united in their shared passion for avoiding talk of war crimes. Soon after the Army took flak for banning viewers who asked about war crimes from its Twitch channel, the Navy is employing a similar tactic. Like the Army,…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 20, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsRogue Company Is Fine, Just Fine, Nothing More, It’s Fine
Rogue Company is totally, utterly fine. There’s nothing remarkable about it and yet nothing inherently bad with it, either. However, is that enough in 2020, when we have so many amazing online shooters to play on nearly every platform? I’m not sure it is. Developed by Hi-Rez Studios, Rogue Company is a third-person team-based tactical…
By Zack Zwiezen Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureNHL 21 Isn’t Getting A PS5 Or Xbox Series X Version
EA’s latest hockey game, NHL 21, won’t be out until October this year, and it’s not going to have a special version for the PS5 or Xbox Series X consoles, the publisher announced in an update its website today. “For NHL 21, we made the decision to focus on adding innovation and new features rather…
By Ethan Gach Published July 20, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesThe Best Side-Quests In Ghost Of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima is an open-world game, which means you spend a lot of your time tackling side-quests. Having completed all 92 quests in the game, here are the ones you don’t want to miss. Quests in Ghost of Tsushima are gussied up in unconventional nomenclature that can be tough to parse at first. Here’s…
By Ari Notis Published July 20, 2020 -
OpinionAsk KotakuWhat Are Your Top 3 Platformers Of All Time?
Welcome to Ask Kotaku, the new weekly feature in which Kotaku’s rank and file weigh in on the burning questions of our time. Each query is a crucible on which nerds and giants clash, monumental contests of wit, that…well, OK. This is just another excuse to talk vidya games. You down? This week on Ask…
By Alexandra Hall Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureTwitchRapper Logic Signs Exclusive Deal With Twitch
A few days ago, popular musician Logic, real name Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, retired, saying that it’s time for him to focus on being “a great father.” He must be taking inspiration from people like Ben “DrLupo” Lupo, the daddest man on Twitch, because his post-retirement fatherhood plans now include an exclusive deal with…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureNintendo Hid Today’s Best-Looking Switch Game In The Japanese Direct
The best-looking game in today’s Nintendo Direct Mini might have been the action-platformer-farming (!) game Sakuna: Of Rice And Ruin, but you wouldn’t have seen it if you were watching the North American version of the Direct. It wasn’t in there. In Japan, though, it kicked off the presentation. It’s unclear why that is, because…
By Zack Zwiezen Published July 20, 2020 -
Tips & GuidesPaper Mario: The Origami King Is Better When You Turn Off Motion Controls
You won’t find many customization options in Paper Mario: The Origami King’s menu. But there is one thing you can and absolutely should change: Turn off the motion controls. For the most part, motion controls in The Origami King are relegated to a move called 1,000-Fold Arms. It’s the most dexterous of Mario’s magical abilities;…
By Ari Notis Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureThe Full Bugsnax Song Is Out And It Slaps
2020 has been a year filled with pain, suffering, bad news, murder hornets, disease, and overall bad vibes. Luckily we got a small break in the form of Bugsnax and specifically its wonderful, catchy theme song. And now, I’m happy to report the full song is available. You can listen to it now. You should.…
By Zack Zwiezen Published July 20, 2020 - Uncategorized
The A.V. Club Hit it and quit it: 11 bands that split just as they were becoming successful | Gizmodo This Digital Art Gallery Used to Be a Nazi Submarine Base | Deadspin 2020 AL Central Preview | Lifehacker Yes, You Should Quit Using Google Chrome | Jalopnik Slideshow Slog 2: Oops, All Audis!
By G/O Media Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureEverything Announced During Today’s Nintendo Direct Mini
Today, Nintendo hosted an 8-minute Direct focused on third-party games. That means we didn’t get a look at Metroid Prime 4, the Breath of the Wild sequel, new Smash Fighters Pass characters, Pokémon’s Crown Tundra DLC, or any of the reportedly 9,000 Mario remasters in the works. Still, it was a Nintendo Direct! In 2020!…
By Ari Notis Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureShin Megami Tensei V Is Coming To Switch In 2021
It’s been a long time since we got a look at Shin Megami Tensei V, but in today’s Nintendo Mini Direct series publisher Atlus confirmed the game is still on its way and due out sometime in 2021. Originally announced back in 2017 with a trailer, we haven’t heard much about Shin Megami Tensei V…
By Ethan Gach Published July 20, 2020 -
CultureHow’s It Going?: Reading Edition
Here we are at Monday again, alas. Welcome back to our daily open thread. Pretty much all I did this weekend was read and bake a cake, which was really nice. I finished two books: The Only Good Indians and Fleishman Is In Trouble. They’re both not my usual thing: the first is a horror…
By Riley MacLeod Published July 20, 2020
