- Kotaku East
The Official Hello Kitty Mobile Phone
This fall, a new Hello Kitty shaped mobile phone will go on sale. Where? Japan, where else. Priced at 12,000 yen (US$100), the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled phone comes with a rather small 1.54 inch screen. However, when you close the flip phone shut, it looks like a small Hello Kitty figure. This might be…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 29, 2016 - Kotaku East
Japan Is Getting Sake-Flavored Kit Kats
This has to be the most unusual Kit Kat flavor yet. According to NariNari, the country is getting sake Kit Kats starting February 1. There is sake powder between the chocolate and the wafers, giving the Kit Kats a delicate sake flavor. NariNari explains that the taste sensation will mix the sweetness of chocolate with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 29, 2016 - Uncategorized
That Final Fantasy and Louis Vuitton Collaboration? It Exists in the Real World, Too.
First, there was a CG trailer with the Final Fantasy XIII character. Then, there was an interview. And now, Louis Vuitton shops are plastered with Lightning. There’s one word for this and that word is “surreal.” In Japan, commenters on the popular bulletin board 2ch have been uploading photos of Louis Vuitton shops and real-world…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 29, 2016 - Kotaku East
Chaos;Child is a Murder Mystery with Delusions and Superpowers
If I were to sum up in two sentences my experience with delusion-filled murder mystery visual novel Chaos;Child, it’d be these: 1) If I’d known how incredibly long Chaos;Child was, I’d never have played it and 2) I’m so happy that I played Chaos;Child Chaos;Child is one of the games in the Science Adventure Series…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 29, 2016 - Culture
The Art Of Life Is Strange
Life is Strange is, in its own way, one of the prettiest video games of the past few years. It shouldn’t surprise any of you, then, that the art behind the game is also very easy on the eye. Edouard Caplain works at developers DONTNOD, and the first images below are some of the stuff…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2016 -
UncategorizedTwo Final Fantasy Legends Now Working On A Mobile Strategy Game
Yoshitaka Amano is famous for his Final Fantasy art. Nobuo Uematsu is famous for his Final Fantasy music. The two are back working together on a new game, only instead of it being a JRPG, it’s an “an esports-driven mobile title”. The game’s called Super Senso, and it basically looks like Advance Wars with polygons.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2016 -
CultureSorry About Your Vanishing Boat, GTA Dude
Today on Highlight Reel we have vanishing boats, tomb heaven, hostage rescue strategies, musical tributes, and much more! Watch the video above or on our Youtube page, then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Halo 5 –…
By Chris Person Published January 28, 2016 -
UncategorizedFive Years Ago, Jonathan Blow Knew Just What The Witness Would Be
The Witness was in development for a long time. You might think that part of the reason things took so long was that some of the game’s core design ideas mutated along the way. But a video I shot in 2010 shows that Jonathan Blow’s focus was firmly locked into place even then. The video…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
New Barbie Makes Video Games For A Living
Earlier today Mattel debuted a bunch of new Barbie dolls for the coming year. Among them: Game Developer Barbie, with her cool glasses and nifty headphones andergonomically sound standing desk Game Developer Barbie is coming out this summer and joins a few other new lines, a couple of which seem geared toward modernizing and freshening…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 28, 2016 - CultureCosplay
Heroes of the Storm Cosplay May Smash A Flail In Your Face
This is Glamazonian Rage, with one badass take on Diablo’s badass Johanna. For anyone wondering about the colour scheme, this is Johanna’s Heroes of the Storm look (note she even got the side-shave!). Photos by Photosnxs
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2016 - Esports
Pro Counter-Strike Gets A Terrible TV Time Slot
Turner Broadcasting may be giving esports some of their biggest televised exposure yet, but it seems the media juggernaut still doesn’t think competitive gaming is ready for prime time. Turner’s upcoming ELEAGUE Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament, with a $1.2 million prize pool, will be running games four nights each week starting on May 24th. Only…
By Rob Zacny Published January 28, 2016 - Culture
Steam Could Learn A Thing Or Two From GOG’s New Early Access Program
DRM-free gaming service GOG is introducing its own take on Early Access. Thanks to things like strict curation, a version rollback feature, and generous refunds, I’m super into it. I hope Valve is taking notes. The three pillars of GOG’s Early Access program (functionally but not-so-creatively titled “Games In Development”) sound like a brilliant way…
By Nathan Grayson Published January 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Peter Molyneux’s Twitter Apparently Hacked, Posts Fake Retirement Message
Earlier today, it looked like British game developer Peter Molyneux, famous for his work on games like Fable and Populous, had announced on Twitter his retirement from video games. Those first two tweets were sad reading. That last one though…looks a little weird. Especially since, as recently as 2014, Molyneux told us “I’m not retiring—I’m…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
Leave The Division’s Poor Dog Alone
If you’re playing The Division’s beta this weekend, you may come across this dog. The dog can die, if you happen to shoot it. So…maybe don’t? Unless you want to see a sad dog death, I guess! Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo (and Eurogamer) have verified that, indeed, the dog is mortal and can be slain by…
By Patricia Hernandez Published January 28, 2016 - Culture
Team Fortress 2‘s long-awaited competitive mode is officially a thing. Valve’s created a Steam group for competitive matchmaking’s beta, and you can join for a chance to be part of it. Prepare for bitter, drama-packed rivalries! And probably also more hats.
By Nathan Grayson Published January 28, 2016 - Uncategorized
New Vita Update Is Causing All Sorts Of Problems
A newly released Vita update is preventing some users from accessing the PlayStation Store on Sony’s spunky little handheld. It’s also draining some people’s batteries. Good times all around. Vita users first started reporting problems with update 3.57 earlier this week on forums like Reddit and NeoGAF, and I confirmed them for myself last night:…
By Jason Schreier Published January 28, 2016 -
UncategorizedThe Surprising Story Behind Mario Maker‘s ‘Emergency Maintenance’
When Nintendo turned off the Super Mario Maker servers this week, it didn’t explain why. Would you have guessed that LinkedIn was involved? The company merely cited “emergency maintenance” related to a glitch in the creation tool…and didn’t elaborate. But based on my reporting, a major exploit was discovered that would have quickly wrecked the…
By Patrick Klepek Published January 28, 2016 - CultureSplitscreen
Podcast: Big Predictions For 2016
Will Nintendo’s NX be out this year? Is The Division going to be an adequate Destiny replacement? Will Oculus Rift lead to class action lawsuits? It’s prediction time on this week’s episode of Kotaku Splitscreen, in which Kirk and I put on our soothsayer hats and each lay out 12 wild guesses about what will…
By Jason Schreier Published January 28, 2016