- Kotaku East
Bitcoin Mining Is Getting Out of Control
Bitcoins are digital currency that can be mined by computers solving mathematical puzzles. Over the years, they’ve shot up in value. They might make you rich! Maybe not! It’s a Bitcoin rush, and the mining operations are getting large, complex, and bonkers As website Hong Wrong points out, the puzzles are getting increasingly difficult. And…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2013 -
UncategorizedIt Takes Over Two Hours To Blow Up Minecraft’s Indestructible Blocks
Indeed. To destroy a whole room full of invincible Bedrock/Adminium blocks in Minecraft, all you need is a massive fireball and about two hours, thirty minutes, and fifty-nine seconds of calculations. And patience, obviously. In Minecraft, all blocks have a blast resistance value associated with them; Wood, for example, has a blast resistance value of…
By András Neltz Published November 26, 2013 -
Kotaku EastPocketStation on the Vita is Nostalgic, But Nothing More
Back in 1999, Sony released the PocketStation in Japan. Like the Dreamcast’s VMU, the PocketStation allows you play various minigames from compatible PS1 titles on its small black and white screen. And now that it’s available for the Vita, I decided to see what America missed out on. In reality, PocketStation for PlayStation Vita isn’t…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 26, 2013 - Kotaku East
There Are Three Words for This Ridiculous Final Fantasy Costume
One of them is bad. But that’s okay, I guess? Behold some of the latest Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII downloadable content. Today, Square Enix launched the first round of DLC for the game. The outfits, which come with weapons, are The Divine World’s Saint Clothing Style, The Final Liberation Clothing Style, and, wait for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2013 - Kotaku East
Japanese Cats that Look Like Yakuza Are Frighteningly Cute
Some cats are cute. Some are ugly, but still cute. These cats look like Japanese gangsters. They are scary in the most adorable way possible. If you’ve ever seen any Japanese yakuza movies or have played any of Sega’s Yakuza games, then you probably know what the gangsters of the Japanese popular imagination look like.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2013 - Kotaku East
Studio Ghibli’s Newest is a Beautiful, Heart-Wrenching Film
It was only four months ago that The Wind Rises, Studio Ghibli’s previous film, hit theaters across Japan. But Hayao Miyazaki is not the only director over at the studio to have a movie out this year. Isao Takahata (of Grave of the Fireflies fame) released his own film, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, this…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published November 26, 2013 -
Kotaku EastKorean Gaming Pros Appeared on SNL in Counter-Strike Parody
This past weekend SNL Korea parodied Counter-Strike and featured appearances from top StarCraft players. Gaming giants Hong Jin-Ho (aka “YellOw”) and Lim Yohwan (aka “BoxeR”) made special guest appearances on SNL Korea Tipster Landon points out that there’s a reason why Hong and Lim are appearing together in this faux Counter-Strike set against the Imjin…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 26, 2013 -
UncategorizedThere Are No Women In This Game, Because They Are All Dead
Lisa The Painful RPG takes place in a world where there are no women. Only men. Given the extreme subject matter its creator, Austin Jorgensen, could have gone the “funny” route or the “bleak as hell” route. He’s gone the latter. Described as a “game about survival, sacrifice, and perverts”, it’s set in a world…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 26, 2013 - Uncategorized
What Do You Do After Helping Create Portal? Write A Book.
Realm Lovejoy used to work as an artist at Valve, where she helped define the look of everything from Portal to Left 4 Dead to DOTA 2. We’ve even featured her work previouslyhere on Kotaku. But we’re not here to talk about her art today. Nope, because between leaving Valve and taking up a job…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 26, 2013 - Culture
Space Turtles Don’t Snap, They Shoot
Konstantin Maystrenko is a games artist who currently works at Gameloft Montreal. He’d previously been at strategy developers Nival You can see more of his work at his personal site and CGHub page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 26, 2013 - Uncategorized
Killer Robot Trips On Stick, Falls Over
And to think, we were starting to get worriedabout Atlas. The humanoid robot, which in some situations has looked terrifying, in others looks…less so. In this test, designed to see if Atlas can overcome a few sticks lying on the ground, Atlas proves that it can not overcome a few lying on the ground. Sleep…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 26, 2013 - Uncategorized
The Sad Truth Behind Classic Video Games
Peel back the story and art and most games are incredibly simple. A test of reflexes, some rudimentary mechanics. We live most of our lives oblivous to this man behind the curtain, but sometimes it pays to peel it back and remember that Sonic really is little but holding right except sometimes. While some of…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 25, 2013 -
UncategorizedThe Internet’s Best Video Game Cartoons, The 2013 Edition
The annual Saxxy awards aren’t just an excuse for Valve to show off the company’s Source Filmmaker suite; it’s a chance for us all to enjoy some of the best damn cartoons on the internet, whether you like video games or not. The 2013 Saxxys are split into four categories: short, action, comedy and drama.…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 25, 2013 - Uncategorized
Sony Resetting Some PSN Passwords Following “Irregular Activity”
Earlier this week, Sony Europe resetsome user’s PSN passwords as a “precautionary” measure. Today, Sony America is doing the same thing. A noticeon the official PlayStation forums says that some users “may need to reset” their passwords after Sony detected “irregular activity” on their network. A Sony rep says: Note that if you have access…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 25, 2013 -
UncategorizedAll The Assassin’s Creed Naval Battles You Can Take Coming December 5
Ahoy, Android and iOS mateys! No, I can’t do that. That’s stupid. I’ll just — look, Assassin’s Creed Pirates is coming to iOS and Android on December 5. It has all the boats. Look at the goddamned boats. My brother was the biggest Assassin’s Creed fan I knew, until Assassin’s Creed III made him do…
By Mike Fahey Published November 25, 2013 -
UncategorizedWatch This King Wage War On The Sun
You can’t win against the sun. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try. In Oru Burus, a little clockwork king tries to fight the sun. The gorgeously animated short is like a charming mix of Media Molecule and Puppeteer. For more info on the animators, go here. While you’re here, here are some cute gifs:…
By Chris Person Published November 25, 2013 -
UncategorizedAn Indie RPG That Does Not Look Like Most Indie RPGs
Behold, the recently-released Paper Sorcerer, a Kickstarted indie RPG with a look all its own. The game comes to us from Ultra Runaway Games, who last year exceeded their $5,000 Kickstarter ask for the game by quite a bit. Always nice to see a Kickstarter game finished and playable. You can see more of Paper…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 25, 2013 - Uncategorized
Did Your Xbox One Disc Drive Break? You Get A Free Game
Good news for anyone with a broken Xbox One: Microsoft is offering free games to anyone affected by the infamous disc drive issue that caused brand new games to make a terrible grinding noise upon insertion. One affected user told me about the deal on Twitter today, and Polygon got an e-mail confirming news of…
By Jason Schreier Published November 25, 2013 - Uncategorized
The Video Game “Lean” Continues Its Console Invasion
Say you’re coming up on a corner in a hallway. There might be some guys on the other side who. I don’t know want to shoot you. What do you do? Put your entire body around the corner really quick just to see what’s over there? Of course you don’t. You peek your head around…
By Kirk Hamilton Published November 25, 2013