One of Japan’s Oldest (and Most Hardcore) Gamers Passed Away

On January 11, famed actress Keiko Awaji passed away in a Tokyo hospital from esophageal cancer, reports Nikkan Sports. She was 80 years old. And she loved JRPGs. Awaji has acted in over 160 feature films, including Akira Kurosawa’s 1949 classic Stray Dog. Later in life, she became well-known online as a hardcore gamer—so much…

Oh God, They Are Making Another Tekken Movie [Update]

You remember the last one, don’t you? A movie so bad that the games’ lead developer actually apologized. If you haven’t wiped that from your brain, there’s apparently another live-action Tekken happening. According to Cinema Today, actor Kane Kosugi (Godzilla: Final Wars, DOA: Dead or Alive) announced that he’s starring in an upcoming Tekken film…

Track: Unsilent Death | Album: Unsilent Death | Artist: Nails Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to—and gaming to—at the moment.

Gatorade had a mobile game last yearin which water was portrayed as “the enemy that hinders performance”. Sigh.

The Difference Between Anime Fans And Everyone Else

If you respond to this as a furiously upset anime fan (who cannot take a joke), note that you are the unwritten sequel to this comic. If you’re laughing, Caldwell Tanner is the man to thank Critically JaPanned [loldwell, via neatorama]

Xbox Twitter Account Hacked By…Syrians

The Syrian Electronic Army, ostensibly a political activist group, must have had some downtime over the weekend, because instead of going after political opponents of the Syrian leadership they went and hacked one of Xbox’s Twitter accounts. The company’s Xbox Support account – which sounds like a roughplace to work– was taken over for around…

Fans Are Making The Ultimate Tony Hawk Game

A small group of fans (thanks morten, %gone, quazz, chc, krad, demo and frost!) have taken Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 and modded the pants off it, adding a bunch of levels and getting the whole thing running in 1080p. They’ve also improved online play, added new skater customisation options and even included settings that’ll change…

Dad Has No Idea What He’s Doing in Grand Theft Auto

Video games provide a fertile field for generational gap humor. One young man just took his father for a spin with Grand Theft Auto V (and some wine), secretly recording the observations. He seems to grasp the central theme. “Take that copper! It’s society’s fault!” It helps that father and son are British, as nonplussed…

‘Nickname Jerseys’ Do Some Strange Things to NBA Live

Want to see something weird? Boot up NBA Live and make sure to install the latest roster update. Now select either the Miami Heat or Brooklyn Nets. Go out to the court, and LeBron James’ player indicator now says “King James.” This is part of the kit-bashed way NBA Live, to its credit, added the…

Awesome Games Done Quick wrapped up its weeklong speedrun extravaganza yesterday, and it succeeded in raising $1 million—$1,008,320.99 exactly—for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. All of the runs are listed, with links to video, in this thread, or check out Punch-Out!! while blindfolded, and a world record in Goldeneye.

Thor and Loki’s Stop-Motion LEGO Rumble Gets Much More than an A+

This brotherly throwdown is the work of Jordan Tseng, 17, who writes in the video’s YouTube introduction, “I’m going to have the University entrance examination [in] 2 weeks.” Yeah. Just go ahead and pass him already. That’s assuming Tseng, of Taiwan, is going to study film and/or animation, of course, because this very well done…

The Week in Games: With Liberation for All

We’re still in hibernation for major new releases, so our recap will again be more forward looking than focused on the present. Assassin’s Creed Liberation gets a console release this week. More to come later. Jan. 14 Assassin’s Creed Liberation HD (PSN) Broken Age Act One (PC, Ouya, for Kickstarter backers) The Banner Saga (PC)…

It’s Hard to Make a Game When Nintendo Doesn’t Use Xbox Live, Says Dev

An unidentified developer of a third-party game that launched with the Wii U—and man, that shouldn’t be too hard to narrow down—has written for Eurogamer a thorough post-mortem of his studio’s experience developing for the console. It touches familiar themes of the console’s struggles, but in a more detailed, firsthand way. The money quote, though,…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Mario Horse

Whether sad or merely embarrassed, this still is a horse dressed in a ridiculous Super Mario costume and it still could use some cheering up. I have the perfect idea: a Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. Come on, it’s a horse cosplaying Nintendo’s mascot. Leaving aside the inevitable Luigi swaps, there are dozens of other possibilities for…

A-Rod May Not Be in MLB’s Next Video Game, but Virtual PEDs Will

Alex Rodriguez was suspended yesterday for the entire 2014 Major League Baseball season. I’ve emailed the makers of MLB the Show to ask what this means as far as the roster of the next game, which releases in March. One thing that probably won’t change, however, is The Show‘s own form of performance enhancing drugs.…