Pokémon Designer Killed In Freak Accident

Veteran Pokémon artist and designer Eric Medalle died Sunday in Seattle when a massive tree collapsed onto his car. He was 42. As reported by KING 5 News in Seattle, Medalle had been driving with one of his two daughters near a park called Lost Lake Trail. A significant windstorm knocked over several trees in…

Here’s Oculus Rift’s Full Launch Lineup

Oculus Rift comes out March 28, and with it comes a slate of VR-friendly games both new and old including Elite Dangerous, Adrift, and Lucky’s Tale Via Oculus, here’s the full list of titles, which the company says will range in price from $5 to $60. And a sizzle reel: Exciting times for VR fans.…

Ron Paul Cops Rainbow Six Image For Anti-FBI Article

See the scary-looking image on top of the new article published on the website of libertarian politician Ron Paul? It’s not a real picture, nor is it based on a real picture: He got it from a Ubisoft game. The article, “America’s Gestapo: The FBI’s Reign of Terror,” was posted on Paul’s website and Facebook…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Pokken In The UFC

Apparently I wanted to see Pokken Tournament and UFC 2 mashed together so badly that I couldn’t stop with just one image. Perhaps you nice people can help. Update 3/16: We’re halfway there, and the entries so far have been exquisite. You’ve got three more days, make them count! Two fighting games arrive this week,…

Hitman NPC Walks It Off Like A Champ

These are no ordinary guards Agent 47 has to face in Hitman As Terry Pratchett once wrote: “Give a man a fire and he’s warm for a day, but set fire to him and he’s warm for the rest of his life.” The NPC then accepts his fate after a few seconds of burning. Seems…

Terra and co. entering the coal mining town of Narshe for the first time. Orioto’s fan-art captures the moment from Final Fantasy VI’s intro perfectly and brings back some good memories. Dayshot is an image-based feature showcasing some of the prettiest, funniest game-related screenshots and art we can find. Send us suggestions if you’ve got…

Splatoon Gets Inevitable Real-World Water Gun

You had an inkling this was going to happen, didn’t you? Famitsu reports that an official Splatoon Splattershot water gun is going on sale for 2,700 yen (US$24). It will be available this summer via HMV, starting July 18. Top image: HMV To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him…

Forget Apple Watch, You Want Bento Watch

A watch filled with little food is way more impressive than a watch that lets you check Facebook. Too bad the Bento Watch isn’t for sale! To show off its agriculture skills, Kyoto-based Takii Seeds created this clip (read: publicity stunt), roping in a master watch craftsman to design the timepiece, a plastic surgeon to…

Ten of the Best One-Night Games

Whether it’s an RPG that tells a story over dozens of hours, or a strategy game that takes months to master, games are often a considerable time investment. For many people this is central to gaming’s appeal: nowhere else in art can you find such complete worlds to lose yourself in or such stern challenges…

Reminder: Pokémon Is Incredibly Popular in Japan 

Don’t ever forget this. In Japan, people really, really like Pokémon. So today, when the newest Pokémon Center opened in Kyoto, there were massive lines to get into the store. Yesterday, when I visited the shop to check out its limited goods, I kind of thought, hey, people will come tomorrow. Did they ever. As…

Chrono Trigger’s Excellent Battle System Returns

Recently, Square-Enix released its new RPG I Am Setsuna in Japan. Its most interesting feature? The return of Chrono Trigger’s excellent battle system—only with a few nifty upgrades. The active-time battle system has long been a staple of Square RPGs—Chrono Trigger and I Am Setsuna included. The system works like this: The characters have individual…

Resident Evil Is Getting a Musical

Like singing? Dancing? Resident Evil? The survival horror series is getting an official stage version this fall in Japan. The musical, which is currently titled Musical Resident Evil (heh), will star Reon Yuzuki, who has made a career of playing male characters while at the all-female Takarazuka Revue. Previously, Takarazuka Revue has done wonderful stage…

Obsidian Announces Brand New RPG Tyranny

Tonight at GDC, independent developer Obsidian announced Tyranny, a brand new isometric role-playing game coming later this year for PC, Mac, and Linux. It’ll be published by Paradox, who also helped get Pillars of Eternity out the door. Details are scarce, but Obsidian says the game is set in a world where there was a…

It’s A School Day

Krenz Cushart is an artist from Taiwan. You can see more work at his ArtStation page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of…

Guy Trying To Hit Level 100 In World Of Warcraft…Using Dance Mats

Rudeism is a New Zealander on a mission: he wants to get from level 1-100 in World of Warcraft. Sounds pretty doable! Only, instead of using a mouse and keyboard, he’s using two dance mats. It looks…arduous, though it’s probably also a good way to keep fit. And go insane. Because using dance mats is…

The New Master Of Orion Developers Are Caught Between A Space Rock And A Hard Place

At PAX Australia last year, NGD Studios executive producer Randy King told me that Wargaming acquired the Master of Orion (MoO) IP because the company’s billionaire CEO, Victor Kislyi, wanted his kids to be able to enjoy the game the way he had. But the fans that grew up with the iconic franchise aren’t kids.…

Let’s See How Long It Takes Senran Kagura To Make You Uncomfortable

The latest game in Marvelous’ unapologetically pervy ninja brawling series hit PS4 and Vita yesterday. As someone completely unfazed by fanservice-y Japanese games I have to wonder, at what point does Senran Kagura: Estival Versus make you uncomfortable? Before we get started, know that we’re going to be getting into NSFW territory here relatively quickly.…