Japan Is Getting Yet Another Cool Starbucks

Does Japan have a monopoly on cool Starbucks? It can seem that way. Later this year, the country is getting yet another neat-looking one. But first, let’s review! Fukuoka already has this cool one. A very nice Starbucks in Hirosaki. And check out this Starbucks in Hiroshima.  And in Kamakura. A Starbucks in a historic…

Ishigaki Lighthouse. Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan. By Dan Ring. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Nintendo Shut Down The Miiverse Tonight As Fans Said Final Goodbyes

Launching in late 2012, Nintendo’s Miiverse allowed Wii U and later 3DS owners to hang out and share stuff like hand-drawn pictures and screenshots. The service closed down at 1am today, and users have said their goodbyes in the most Miiverse ways imaginable: with stick figures, tears and hairy dicks. Instead of just flipping the…

A Real Mario Kart Shell To Smash Real Cars

The King of Random made this remote-controlled red shell for a YouTube video, and I am now wondering why this isn’t something I can put in a gift guide somewhere. Here’s the original video by devinsupertramp, in case you haven’t seen it: And here’s the vid showing how the red shell was made:

The Video Game Voice-Actor’s Strike Is Over

A dispute between the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and some of the world’s biggest video game publishers is officially over, just over a year after it began. The union first went on strike on October 20, 2016, with its members refusing to work with 11 major companies including Electronic…

The Art Behind Overwatch’s Latest Hero Reveal

Hong Kim-Seang, aka Nesskain Hks, is a comic artist based in France who provided the art forOverwatch’s Moira reveal trailer You can see more of Hong’s art—including some incredible Overwatch work for other projects—at his ArtStation page. To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine…

WoW‘s Next Expansion Has Raids That Play Like A Classic Warcraft RTS

The years have not been kind to fans of Warcraft’s real-time strategy roots. Before each BlizzCon, a dwindling contingent of hopeful fans prays for Warcraft IV to no avail. But WoW’s next expansion Battle for Azeroth might contain the next best thing. Among a number of other new features, Battle for Azeroth will introduce 20-person…

Streamers Aren’t Sure What To Make Of The Classic Activision Games In Call Of Duty: WWII

There’s a place in Call of Duty: WWII’s social space where you can play old Activision games from the 80s. It’s a cool easter egg and something that we’ve seen in past Call of Duty games, but some modern Youtube gamers couldn’t decide what to do with them. The R&R station in WWII’s Headquarters is…

World Of Warcraft LEGO Castle Used Over 55,000 Pieces

Here’s World of Warcraft’s Theramore, built in LEGO by Mark Erickson As The Brothers Brick report, it’s an immense structure, with around 55,600 pieces used to stick it atop 80 x 80 inches worth of mats. And as you can see below, he’s done a real good job getting it to scale with the actual…

Slayaway Camp‘s Cute Pixels Hide Brutal Horror

I’ve slaughtered countless camp counselors in Friday the 13th. I ate truly disgusting stew in Resident Evil 7. But the most brutal game I’ve played so far this year is Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut, an isometric puzzle game released for PC and mobile in 2016 and recently released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Players…

Jeff Kaplan’s Favorite Overwatch Ships

It’s said that a new Overwatch fan fiction springs into existence once every 26 seconds. Most of them, unsurprisingly, are about ships like Pharah-Mercy (good) and Genji-Mercy (a travesty). Naturally, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan has opinions about it. During an interview at BlizzCon, I asked Kaplan about his favorite Overwatch ships. Thankfully, he fell on…

Overwatch Team Fires Manager After Woman Says He Sexually Assaulted Her (Update)

A woman said earlier this week that Max Bateman, former manager of the San Francisco Shock of the forthcoming Overwatch League, sexually assaulted her in September after a drink he gave her made her feel dizzy and confused, and later had her “in and out of consciousness.” Fourteen hours after the woman posted about what…

The Biggest Transformers Battle In Titans Return Next Week

The partnership between Hasbro and Machinima that gave us last year’s Transformers: Combiner Wars series bears new fruit next week, when Titans Returns brings some of the largest disguised robots in the toy box out to play. Debuting on November 14 in the U.S on Verizon’s go90 network (and Tumblr nearly everywhere else), Titans Return…

Wolfenstein Knows How To Throw A Party

I wish more video games would let their hair down like Wolfenstein: The New Colossus does. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Like the first Wolfenstein reboot, New Colossus’ greatest strength isn’t its gunplay but its characters, who we grow to know and love over the course of the game. They make jokes, they act like assholes, they…

After World Of Warcraft Classic‘s Announcement, The People Behind Legacy Servers Cried From Joy

When Vaelanor heard the announcement of World of Warcraft Classic last Friday, he says he broke into tears. The veteran Warcraft player, whose real name we omitted because he helps run an unofficial legacy server, said he was so moved by news of an official vanilla version of Blizzard’s long-running multiplayer game, he couldn’t help…

Why Competitive Games Patch So Much

The Dueling Fates update hit Dota 2 last week after a long waiting period, bringing two new heroes, several new items, map changes, and new abilities and talents; in a week’s time, it’s already been updated, from 7.07 to 7.07b. Patches are nothing new in today’s landscape, but Dota 2 patches are particularly unique. While…

Destiny 2 Players: Maybe Don’t Pledge Dead Orbit Today

If you play Destiny 2, you have a choice in this week’s Faction Rally. You can pledge New Monarchy or Future War Cult. Or, if you really, really want to, you can pledge Dead Orbit. This week is Destiny 2‘s second Faction Rally, and the first one since the game came out on PC. That…

What Is The Plural Of Xbox One X? [Update]

Look, I’m not suggesting that many people are going to buy more than one Xbox One X console. But if you did… how would you say that? The question of how to pluralize “Xbox One X” came up today in Kotaku’s work Slack. I asked Microsoft PR for their official stance, though I haven’t yet…

Bury Me, My Love Tells A Moving Story With Text Messages

I don’t usually fall for interactive fiction or smartphone games, but Bury Me, My Love hooked me. This mobile game charts the journey of a young woman named Nour as she tries to escape the civil war in Syria by fleeing to Europe, told through text messages. Developed by French studio The Pixel Hunt, Bury…

Korean Esports Association Staffers Arrested In Embezzlement Investigation

Three employees of the Korean Esports Association (KeSPA), including a former assistant to chief executive Jun Byung-hun, have been arrested on suspicion of bribe-taking and money-laundering, according to Seoul-Yonhap News. KeSPA, an organization formed by the South Korean government in 2000, oversees the country’s esports industry, which includes some of the world’s best pro gaming…