Podcast: Nintendo Is Bumming Us Out

Even for longtime Nintendo fans, it’s hard not to feel burned by the Wii U, a console that never quite lived up to its potential. Sucks for people who bought one just for Zelda! Originally posted 4/28/16 Today on our podcast, Kotaku Splitscreen, Kirk and I talk about this week’s disappointing Nintendo news, and how…

Please Stop Doing This, Massively Multiplayer RPGs

You know what I love about massively multiplayer online role-playing games? Losing myself in the fiction of a fantasy world. You know what completely ruins that feeling? The MMORPG equivalent of licensed Happy Meal toys. I’ve been playing MMORPG games for about 18 years. I’ve always found them to be a pleasant alternative to whatever…

Sunday Comics: Nice

Welcome to Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published April 28. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published April 25. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

Here’s the New Godzilla’s Prototype Model 

This July, Toho Studios is releasing a brand new Godzilla film in Japan. We’ve see the teasers (here and here), but now, let’s get a close-up look at the production maquette. According to Famitsu and Kaiju-Japan, the first maquette was on display at the recent Nico Nico Chokaigi event in Chiba, outside Tokyo. Artist Takayuki…

This Could Be the Last Pokémon Jet 

Since 1998, a small handful of Pocket Monster themed airplanes have flown in the ANA fleet. The current iteration, the only remaining Pokémon plane, recently took its final flight. Sankei News and Pokémon Memo report that the Boeing 777-300 Pokémon Jet, the last of its kind, made its closing trip on April 14 as part…

Spider-Man as a Samurai

This works way better than I thought it would. Via Japaaan, Bandai is releasing a samurai version of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Previously, Bandai did the same for Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and a Sandtrooper. Very cool how Spider-Man’s web motif is incorporated into the samurai armor. The samurai Spidey will be out this August…

Pikachus with Lasers Shooting from Their Eyes

This isn’t only cool and hypnotic, it’s also terrifying Spotted at a club in Taiwan, here we have an inventive use of Pikachu costumes: LASER BEAM EYES. After bopping their heads up and down, this happened. No doubt destroying everything in sight. Here’s the full clip from Twitter user Kazutaka. Damn. Just. Damn. Kotaku East…

Dusk. Tokyo, Japan. By Drew Atkins. 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!

Early Footage From Assassin’s Creed Creator’s 1666: Amsterdam

In 2010 Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Désiletsleft Ubisoftto form his own studio within THQ to work on a game called 1666: Amsterdam. Here’s our first look at how that game was shaping up before being sold back to Ubisoft and left in limbo for three years. According to the description of the YouTube video below…

Massive Update Fixes A Lot Of Quantum Break‘s PC Problems

When Quantum Break launched earlier this month the PC version had plenty of problems, including poor performance, forced upscaling and the lack of a button to exit the game. Today’s 27GB update goes some way towards making the port not as horrible. First off, that’s a very large update. I’ve seen folks on various forums…

Just Announce Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare Already, Activision

Followingyesterday’s spaceship tease, the Nuketown map in Call of Duty: Black Ops III now includes a couple of new decorations, one of which plays this video of a future man pointedly not simply announcing Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. How much longer can Activision draw this out?

The Ratchet & Clank Movie Is A 90 Minute Cutscene Looking For A Game

What works as a series of video game cutscenes doesn’t necessarily work as a feature film. The Ratchet & Clank movie is living proof. “The movie is going to be amazing,” I thought to myself as I played through theexcellent film-based Ratchet & Clank game earlier this month. Snippets from the movie sprinkled between the…

The Splatoon Amiibo We’ve Been Waiting For

Unlocking new in-game challenges is nice and all, but where are the Amiibo that unlock new musical numbers? They’re Callie and Marie, Splatoon’s Squid Sisters, and they’ll be hitting stores on July 8. They’re in-game TV personalities. They’re virtual idols. They’redelicious-looking food. The Squid Sisters are the best thing to come out of Splatoon besides…

This Week In The Business: Lowered NX-pectations

QUOTE | “The challenge is that the roadmap for a successful Nintendo console is unclear.”—EEDAR analyst Patrick Walker, suggesting that Mario, Zelda and the like won’t be enough of a unique selling point to move the NX on their own Elsewhere in the business of gaming this week… STAT | 800,000 – The number of…

Valve Steps Up Counter-Strike‘s Anti-Cheat Measures

Counter-Strike is one of the biggest competitive shooters on Earth, so of course, would-be cheaters flock to it like thieves to an Uncharted 4 delivery truck Counter-Strike has recently begun dabbling in phone-based account authentication. First and foremost, there’s been word of a beta for “Prime,” a feature that matches players who’ve linked their accounts…

It’s Cool When A Multiplayer Game Breaks A Language Barrier 

One of the great things about multiplayer games is how effectively you can communicate with people, even when you don’t speak each other’s language. You can race over sand dunes together in Journey. You can clear bounties in Destiny. Or take the moment the clip above. In that short video, you’ve got me, an American,…

Better Hope Batman Doesn’t Find Out Who Your Dad Is, Kid

It’s going to be interesting to see what transpires when Batman finds out the identity of this particular teen vigilante. This unauthorized Robin will be lucky if getting fired is the only thing that happens to him. Ever since it launched last summer, DC Comics’ We Are Robin series has been concerned with picking up…

How A Mario Maker Rivalry Got Me Punched In The Balls

I’ve been fending off the diabolical Mario Maker creations by Giant Bomb editor Dan Ryckert for months now. Our rivalry has always taken place over the Internet, however. At PAX East, it was a face-to-face showdown. Mario Maker has captivated my attention longer than any other game, fueled by imaginative levels crafted by its players.…

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Map Teases Infinite Warfare

It’s almost May, which means it’s time for your annual dose of leaks and teases leading up to the yearly Call of Duty reveal. As of today, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3‘s Nuketown map has a teaser for this year’s game, which isn’t announced yet but will be called Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It’s the end of the week. And the end of the month! That’s a lot of endings, which hopefully paves the way for an equal number of beginnings. Time to begin… some games! (Damn, that was a tortured lede.) I’m on the cusp of an extended vacation, during which time I’m sure I will miss…