- Culture
The Deadly Japanese Food That Kills At New Year’s
During the New Year holidays, Japanese people traditionally eat mochi, which is typically translated as “rice cakes” and is incredibly dangerous for older folks. In the West, people might know mochi ice cream, which uses thin pieces of mochi, but in Japan during the New Year’s holidays, people might put bigger (and stickier) pieces of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 4, 2019 -
UncategorizedA Live-Action One Piece Movie Might Look Like This
This isn’t a trailer for a One Piece movie trailer, but if a made-in-Japan version ever gets greenlit, it could like this. Earlier week, Oricon posted this Indeed job recruit spot with actor Takumi Saitoh as Luffy, model Rika Izumi as Nami, comedian Daigo Yamamoto as Usopp, actor Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Zoro and actor Yosuke…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 4, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Snail Mail
Younha is back! Snail Mail is only a single, but her fans—myself included—will take whatever we can get. Within her fandom, Younha is (in)famous for spreading out her music to near comedic levels. Among her full album releases, her most recent album came out in 2017, following her Supersonic album, which released in… 2012. Five…
By Seung Park Published January 4, 2019 -
CultureThe Eternal Castle [Remastered] is a new game based on an old game lost to time. As a kid, one of its creators fell in love with a label-less game he found in his dad’s office, but then it broke. Eternal Castle is an homage to “what could be remembered” about that game, as well…
By Nathan Grayson Published January 3, 2019 - Esports
Overwatch Pro Quits After Harassment Over Whether She Was Really Playing [UPDATE]
Update – 10:30 PM, 1/04/19: Since the publication of this story, new signs have emerged that Ellie may not have been who people thought she was. Earlier today, Aspen, an Overwatch streamer for esports organization Cloud 9, claimed that top-500 player Punisher—her friend—was Ellie after all. “Ellie is not Ellie,” she said during a stream.…
By Nathan Grayson Published January 3, 2019 - Uncategorized
Bethesda and Behaviour Interactive announced today they reached an agreement in the case over whether the latter ripped off Fallout Shelter in the creation of the Westworld mobile game Bethesda had filed a lawsuit in June 2018 claiming parts of the code for its game had been copied. That litigation is now over.
By Ethan Gach Published January 3, 2019 - Uncategorized
Arcade Culture Takes Center Stage In Netflix’s Newest Anime Offering
Over the holidays, Netflix added animated series Hi Score Girl to their streaming lineup. The anime, based on the manga of the same name by Rensuke Oshikiri, is set in Japan during the arcade boom of the 1990s. Hi Score Girl is a slice-of-life comedy focused on the budding love triangle between three childhood friends,…
By Ian Walker Published January 3, 2019 - ReviewsYear in Review
The 102 Games I Played Last Year And The Ones I Recommend
For 13 years, I’ve been listing the games I’ve played each year. This used to be a means for me to log how many games I finished each year. These days, I use it as a way to tally the number of games I played in the past year, recommend some favorites and see how…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 3, 2019 -
UncategorizedPlayer Discovers That The Legend Of Zelda Has A ‘Minus World’ Too
There’s an infamous, hidden level in the original Super Mario Bros. called World -1 that is glitched and impossible to complete. Dubbed Minus World, it was never meant to be played, instead serving as a hidden depository for data in the game that exists outside of the main path. Super Mario Bros. isn’t the only…
By Ethan Gach Published January 3, 2019 - Uncategorized
The Capital Wasteland Project, a mod remaking Fallout 3 inside Fallout 4, has been un-canceled. The project’s lead developer had previously given up on it after Bethesda told him he couldn’t re-use audio from the third game. The team has now decided to re-record all of the dialogue themselves.
By Ethan Gach Published January 3, 2019 - CultureSplitscreen
Why I Now Have To Play All Of Bloodborne To Completion
Starting this weekend, I will be picking up the PlayStation 4 game Bloodborne and starting a new playthrough. For the next few months, I will be finishing it. I don’t really want to, but I must. For Kotaku Splitscreen It’s not that I don’t like Bloodborne. I played through the first few bosses when it…
By Jason Schreier Published January 3, 2019 -
UncategorizedRainbow Six Siege Exploit Sends Rival Players Into Polygon Hell
Usually when people think of cheating in a shooter they imagine someone using an aimbot to magically hit opponents from through walls. Recently, Rainbow Six Siege players stumbled across a much more bizarre form of exploit, one that basically sends their characters on a virtual acid trip. Basically, Rainbow Six Siege players are making it…
By Ethan Gach Published January 3, 2019 - Uncategorized
A Bunch Of Former Top Hearthstone Designers Are Making A Marvel Game
Former Hearthstone director Ben Brode and a group of his colleagues left Blizzard last year, and although they yet haven’t announced what they’re making next, today they dropped some big news: It’s a Marvel game. Second Dinner, a new indie studio founded by Brode, former Hearthstone executive producer Hamilton Chu, and several other ex-Blizzard employees,…
By Jason Schreier Published January 3, 2019 - Culture
The Fighting Game Capcom Tried To Get Pulled From Arcades
Capcom once filed suit in an attempt to get Fighter’s History pulled from arcades. And today, you can play it on Switch! So, clearly, the lawsuit didn’t work out. The explosion of the fighting game genre after the release of Street Fighter II in 1991 raised some legal questions. The avalanche of one-on-one martial arts…
By Chris Kohler Published January 3, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryThe Sims Is Teaching Me To Appreciate Architecture
When I was in the suburbs with my family over the holiday, I saw my old hometown with new eyes. It has some fantastic architecture—lots of old Colonials and some fancy Victorians. Part of my change of heart has to do with getting older and no longer being resentful of growing up in a small…
By Gita Jackson Published January 3, 2019 -
UncategorizedJapan Hasn’t Given Up On The Mini-Disc Just Yet
The Mini-Disc never caught on in the U.S. But during the 1990s, the format did in its native Japan, where MD isn’t yet dead. Launching in 1991, MD was the coolest format. It was like a compact disc, but smaller (hence, Mini-Disc). Unlike CDs, it didn’t skip. You could also chuck Mini-Discs in your bag…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 3, 2019