This Week In The Business: Sony Says Indies Are So 2014

QUOTE | “It was just good to talk about in 2013/2014. It is less relevant now. We have VR to talk about now, for example.” – Sony’s global head of sales and marketing Jim Ryan explains why the company’s E3 press conference lacked the indie presence the company had previously made a selling point of…

Historic Japanese Starbucks Doesn’t Even Look Like A Starbucks

One of the best-preserved streets in Kyoto is Ninen-zaka. A Starbucks just opened in the area, but you could walk by and not even know it. It looks like the only way you’d know it was a Starbucks is by the noren, or the curtain hanging out front, with the chain’s logo. Opening on June…

The Largest Hello Kitty Goods Collection In The World

This is Masao Gunji. For the past 35 years, he has been collecting Hello Kitty stuff. He has amused the largest collection of its kind. Recently, Gunji was on Japanese television talking about his collection, saying that if he goes to the same shop, he ends up buying Hello Kitty that’s still on the shelf.…

Pikachu Marriage Forms Help You Choose Your Spouse 

Japanese wedding magazine Zexy is including a Pikachu-themed marriage form for people to fill out. They can then take it to City Hall and get hitched. As Anime News Network (via AnimeAnime) points out, this isn’t the first of its kind: Japan has already seen Sailor Moon, One Piece, and Detective Conan. Kotaku East is…

Mod Turns Stellaris Into Star Trek

If you thought Paradox’s grand strategy game Stellaris sounded very Star Trekky with its big alien alliances and deep space exploration, you are not alone. Star Trek: Infinities is an ambitious mod project that is overhauling the base game’s factions and ships with those from Star Trek. It’s a good fit! I guess Mass Effect…

Robberies, Injuries, And Lapses: This Year’s E3 Had Some Alarming Security Incidents

Attendees walking in with badges obscured. Security declining to approach an injured show-goer. Robberies, one allegedly carried out by security guards. No metal detectors, no bag checks. E3 2017, by many accounts, had significant issues with crowd control and security. This year’s E3 Expo was the first in the gaming trade show’s 22-year history to…

Skull & Bones’ Pirate Art Is Excellent

Ubisoft’s Skull & Boneslooked good at E3, but boy, this concept art for the game is looking real good. These pieces are all by Kobe Sek, a Ubisoft artist whose pirate work (on Black Flag) we’ve featured previously on the site You can see more of Kobe’s work at his ArtStation page To see the…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

The weekend is for Luke Plunkett reminding you that you can finish the story in The Witcher 3 but still have more Witcher to play, so you should just do that already. So I’m going to finish the story in Blood and Wine, which I’ve been putting off because I don’t want to run out…

Pokémon Go Players Are Fighting Gym Raids Against Magikarp, Of All Monsters

Our beautiful, splashy fish son can now occasionally be found as a boss fight in Pokémon Go. Earlier this week, Pokémon Go’s gyms were redone and revamped. One of the new additions are “raids,” which are timed events where powerful monsters take over a gym. Raids come in five different tiers of difficulty, and the…

How To Take Down Susano, FFXIV Stormblood’s First Primal

Primal battles in Final Fantasy XIV are massive spectacles that pit a group of players against powerful creatures that usually show up in the series as summons. Stormblood’s first primal, Susano, gets more massive than most, but a well-coordinated group can take him down pretty easy. Susano is a take on Susanoo, the Shinto god…

Cat Cosplay

Solid Overwatch cat cosplay here byEvaSilverFire’s lil friend.

A Twin Stick Game With No Bullets

Evader is a twin stick arcade game full of bursty voxel explosions and a trippy techno beat. There aren’t any bullets to fire—instead, players blow up baddies with two dots connected by a laser beam. It’s challenging and a lot of fun, which makes it a perfect Indie Pick. Arcade games are meant to be…

Pokémon Go’s New Gyms Are Off To A Rocky Start [UPDATE: Coin Problem Fixed]

Pokémon Go’s big gym overhaul hasn’t been live for very long, but many players already dislike some of the new mechanics. PokeCoins, as many of you know, are the currency of Pokémon Go—you can use coins to purchase shop items, such as incubators (150 coins) and lures (100 coins.) Previously, players could install monsters at gyms,…

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered Goes Standalone For $40

Last year, Activision included a remastered version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare with every high-end copy of Infinite Warfare. But lots of people wanted to buy Modern Warfare separately, and now that’s finally an option—for forty bucks. On Tuesday, June 27, Modern Warfare Remastered will be available both physically and digitally for PS4, with “other…

Mobile Masters Invitational Features Phone Games And Questionable Posture

This is one case where being on your phone mid-match might not get you in trouble with the refs. Amazon is hosting the Mobile Masters Invitational in Newark, and through today and tomorrow, teams will compete in several different competitive mobile games. Competitors use mobile devices, either phones or tablets, rather than controller or mouse-and-keyboard…

Overwatch‘s Confusing Reporting System Is Making Trolling Worse

When a player reports an abusive teammate in Overwatch, the most common response is rarely fear, regret, or even an apology. It’s “go ahead!” Overwatch’s reporting system is opaque, like any game’s, but word on the street is that it’s toothless. As someone who spends roughly 10 hours a week playing Overwatch, I’ve seen toxicity…

This terrific Alice cosplay is by Rayi. Photo by So Say We All

Seahawks Linebacker Cassius Marsh Competes In Magic Tournament, Gets Wrecked

Cassius Marsh is known for tackling ball carriers as an NFL linebacker, but the Seattle Seahawk had an unlucky go last weekend playing another game he loves, Magic: the Gathering Marsh was invited as a special guest to last weekend’s Grand Prix Las Vegas, a five-day Magic fest featuring Magic artists, vendors, cosplay, and three competitive…

Hardcore Destiny Players Will Get Emblems In Destiny 2

We’re just two-and-a-half months away from Destiny 2, a video game that I cannot wait to play obsessively and complain about even more obsessively. But what will I get to bring over from the first game? Emblems, as it turns out. Among other surprises. Destiny fans have been bracing for the loss of their weapons…