- Kotaku East
Nintendo Really Likes Metacritic
This is actually rather sad. At an investor’s meeting today, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata talked a lot about how great Nintendo’s Metacritic scores are—even going as far as to brag that Nintendo’s current releases have higher Metacritic numbers than Sony’s or Microsoft’s. Um, congrats? Keep in mind that Iwata is talking to boring investor types.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 17, 2015 - Kotaku East
The Legend of Legacy Doesn’t Live Up to Its Pedigree
The Legend of Legacy has a pedigree other JRPGs can only wish for with its development team consisting of former Square Enix and Level-5 employees. But given that it comes from a team who had a hand in some of the most popular classic JRPGs of the 90s and beyond, this game is more than…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 17, 2015 - Kotaku East
Amiibos Will Unlock NES and Super NES Games
Now, you buy Amiibos. You collect them. You scan them in. But Nintendo says Amiibos can—and will be—so much more. In the future, Nintendo says, they’ll unlock NES and Super NES games. Well, parts of them. In a recent investors meeting, Nintendo exec Satoru Iwata outlined the company’s Amiibos plans. “We are also planning a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 17, 2015 -
Kotaku EastThe New Danganronpa Smartphone Game is Basically Billiards
I don’t know what I was expecting for a smartphone game based on a series of murder mystery/death game visual novels, but it wasn’t billiards. Danganronpa: Unlimited Battle is like any number of other smartphone spin-off games. It has no plot and instead focuses on a collection mechanic. What’s not so normal about it is…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 17, 2015 - Kotaku East
Japan Has a Technical School for Pro-Gaming
Dream of being a pro-gamer? Live in Japan? Good news! There’s now a school for you. Vocational institution Tokyo School of Anime is rolling out its first e-Sport curriculum, which is also the first of its kind in Japan. Until now the school has concentrated on those hoping to enter the anime industry and voice…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 17, 2015 - Kotaku East
The Up All Night Stream Plays Tales of Zestiria [Finished]
With nearly 400,000 copies sold since its launch late last month, there is no question that Tales of Zestiria is a hit in Japan right now. So join me and let’s see what all the fuss is about. Update: Welp, the stream is done for the night. You can watch all three plus hours of…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 17, 2015 - Kotaku East
Hayao Miyazaki Calls Charlie Hebdo Cartoons a “Mistake”
Last month, the Paris offices of satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo were attacked, leaving twelve dead. Recently, however, famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki said he believes the French paper’s Muhammad cartoons were a “mistake.” In a TBS radio interview, Miyazaki discussed the shooting, which took the lives of several of France’s most famous satirical cartoonists. Miyazaki…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 17, 2015 - Uncategorized
These Are The Most Popular Amiibo
Nintendo just announced what the best-selling Amiibo are across the world. If you’re wondering why the one you’ve been looking for is toughto get your hands on, this might explain why. There were two charts released: one for the best-selling Amiibo, and one for the Amiibos that have sold the most of their production run.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2015 - CultureCosplay
Princess Mononoke Cosplay Blows The Head Off The God Of Cosplay
Well, not literally. I mean, these are just cosplayers. Hangin’ out, takin’ photos. They’re not really up to extreme acts of deicide. But if they wanted to pick thar up, maybe they could, because they’re so good at the whole cosplay thing that I’m sure they could do anything they put their minds to. What…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2015 - CultureCosplay
Cosplay Journalism
Oh dear.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2015 - Uncategorized
The Iconic Final Fantasy Art Of Tetsuya Nomura
From Final Fantasy VII through to XIII (and Kingdom Hearts in between), one man has stood as a beacon of everything people love — and loathe — about Square Enix. And that man is Tetsuya Nomura. Joining Square over twenty years ago as an artist, Nomura had his first big break designing many of the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 16, 2015 -
CultureBesiege Dog Forgot How To Dog
First Grand Theft Auto V‘s dog forgot how to dog, and now this Besiege dog is having serious trouble being a dog too. When will this horrific time of national crisis end? Steam user Katsutomo breathed hinge-and-suspension-based life into this clearly, um, confused creature, and the results are damn entertaining. (Protip: watch the video with…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 16, 2015 - Culture
Steam Chat’s Torrent Blocking Is Entirely Arbitrary
This is curious. Recently Steam users (myself included, after a few tests) discovered that certain torrent links no longer work in Steam chat. Some have even reported messages disappearing altogether. Here’s the thing, though: it only applies to some popular torrent sites, but not others like The Pirate Bay. Steam, as frequent users are likely…
By Nathan Grayson Published February 16, 2015 -
UncategorizedThe Xbox One’s Upload Studio video editor just got a whole lot beefier. Videos can now be created with up to 15 segments with a maximum run-time of 30 minutes, and users now have access to transitions, title cards, green screen effects and other tools that separate a video hobbyist from a YouTube professional.
By Mike Fahey Published February 16, 2015 -
UncategorizedThe Toy Story Truck That Is In Every Damn Pixar Movie
If you’re a Pixar fan, you’ve probably heard about the Pizza Planet truck easter egg, which famously appears in many of the films they make. Here is every single instance that the truck has appeared in a Pixar movie, chronicled in four minutes. As you might know, Pizza Planet is a famous location inside of…
By Patricia Hernandez Published February 16, 2015 - Uncategorized
Super Smash Bros. Is Unbalanced, And That’s A Good Thing
Controversies over Smash Bros. characters like Diddy Kong and Little Mac illustrate a larger concern that people have with Nintendo’s famous fighting game: is it properly balanced? One of the most compelling arguments I’ve read says no. But then it asks a compelling follow-up: So what? Forrest Smith, a software engineer at Uber Entertainment and…
By Yannick LeJacq Published February 16, 2015 -
UncategorizedThe Most Bad-Ass Door in GTA V
The vast majority of operable doors in Los Santos open with just a nudge. Some of them need some coaxing, with keys, bullets, cards or what-have-you. But there’s one barrier in GTA V that ain’t having any of that. Men call it… “thug door.” The ThugLife YouTube channel delivers a short clip of a player…
By Evan Narcisse Published February 16, 2015 - Uncategorized
Twitch Plays Pokémon Faces Its Toughest Challenge Yet
A year later, the hilarious social experiment that is Twitch PlaysPokémon is still alive. After playing through pretty much every game in the series, Twitch Plays Pokémon is tackling the game that started it all once more—but with a twist. Right now, thousands of people are playing the same game of Pokémon Red. The game,…
By Patricia Hernandez Published February 16, 2015 -
UncategorizedThe Ultimate Up! Cosplayer Gets A Doghouse To Match
Steve Minty is such a huge fan of Disney’s Up! that he adopted a dog, named her Doug and fashioned an MP3-powered voice box so the pair could cosplay together. If these two don’t deserve a custom Up! dog house, I don’t know who does. This spectacular dog house is the latest creation from the…
By Mike Fahey Published February 16, 2015 -
UncategorizedWorth Reading: Rethinking Frame Rates, Shady Steam Codes, And More
It’s a special Monday edition of Worth Reading, thanks to yours truly running out of time on Friday afternoon. But let’s kick this week off right by inviting debate on some of the most contentious topic around: frame rates and the price of a video game. However… These are paragraphs I might otherwise dedicate to…
By Patrick Klepek Published February 16, 2015