Rent Go-Karts in Tokyo’s Geekiest Neighborhood

Ah yes, Akihabara. When you think of Tokyo’s “Electric Town”, you probably think of retro game shops, arcades, and a sea of anime, manga, and collectible figurines. Add go-karts to that list. Dubbed “Akiba Cart”, this service allows you to rent go-karts and drive them in the nerd paradise that is Tokyo’s Akihabara. Each kart…

The newest trailer for Vanillaware’s side scroller Dragon’s Crown shelves the questionably-designed Sorceress, showcasing the ridiculously muscular Dwarf instead—although, he looks more like a viking on steroids than a dwarf. Dragon’s Crown is coming to PS3/Vita on July 25.

Steins;Gate Might Be the Best Anime I Have Ever Seen

This coming weekend, Japan will see the release of the new Steins;Gate movie, Steins;Gate: The Burden of Déjà Vu So in preparation for this film—and because of the numerous recommendations I received when reviewing the pseudo-sequel Robotics;Notes—I sat down and watched the visual novel-based 2011 anime this last week. And not only was it one…

Among the Sleep, as you might recall, is a horror game where you play as a toddler. Developer Krillbite Studio has launched a Kickstarter which, if successful, will ensure a Q4 2013 release for the game. Something to consider if you feel your life lacks fear and dread.

This Is One Monster Phallus

Surely, the people who designed this Monster Hunter USB fan must know. They must! Look at it. This official Monster Hunter product goes on sale this June in Japan, is priced at around US$40, and resembles a cock. A cock that lights up and spins. モンスターハンター ハンターUSB卓上ファン [Hobby Search] Kotaku East is your slice of…

The Jak & Daxter Trilogy Is Getting a HD Vita Release This June

Sony has announced that last year’s Jak and Daxter Collection for the PS3, a compilation featuring HD remakes of the three PS2 Jak and Daxter games, is getting a Vita release Like its predecessor, this release will feature the worlds of the original games faithfully recreated in high definition, along with plenty of trophies to…

Fantasy Life Mixes Animal Crossing with Final Fantasy

JRPGs are often a dime a dozen in Japan but late last December, Level 5 released Fantasy Life for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan (which experienced shortages in its first week on sale). And what is it about Fantasy Life that sets it apart from the crowd? It’s that the game mixes the adventure of…

Eurogamer Poland reports that Polish retailer Ultima has put up a listing for TES V Skyrim: Legendary Edition, a compilation for PC/PS3/Xbox 360 said to include the main game and all three DLCs. A June 7 release date is also listed. We’re contacting Bethesda for comments, and will update this post should they respond.

The North American version of Ragnarok Online 2, the sequel to Gravity’s massively popular 2003 MMORPG, is now in open beta. Registration happens here and the client can be found here. Above is the official trailer from a month back.

What “Nerd Fashion” Will Make You Look Unpopular in Japan

Earlier this week, Yahoo Japan (via Otaku.com) posted a poll that revealed how Japanese females thought they could pick out unpopular guys. The take away? Apparently, if you are wearing pretty much anything, you’re so not cool. Over three hundred females participated in the poll, which was on fashion that screams lame-o. Fifty-five percent admitted…

Razer Accidentally Offers 90% Discount Coupon, Will Honor Most Purchases

Earlier this week, a coupon “generated by a third party to test our shopping cart” was made available on peripheral company Razer’s UK store. That coupon offered 90% off products at the store. As you can guess, people swooped on it. Because the coupon was – according to Razer USA boss Min-Liang Tan – “NOT…

After two years, Canadian PSN users affected by the Grand PSN Outage of 2011 can now receive compensation, provided they file a claim (and the case gets the Ontario court’s final approval). Depending on account status, this compensation ranges from discounts to Station Cash and free games. [Thanks, tipster StrayCat.]

People in China Are Being Buried…to “Gangnam Style”

“Gangnam Style” seems so 2012. It is! But what does that matter when you’re dead and want to oppan funeral style? The song continues to get airplay in China, among the living and the dead, it seems. First noted by a Weibo user (via ShanghaiIst), “Gangnam Style” is being used as dirges at funerals in…

You Don’t Need Combat to Have a Good RPG

When it comes to gaming, RPGs represent the pinnacle of storytelling with games like Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Mass Effect, Skyrim, and Earthbound. While many games from many different genres do indeed have compelling stories, storytelling, more than any other facet, is what RPGs are known for. But despite this, RPGs always seem to…

When English Textbooks Are Trolls

English is a hard language, especially for some Japanese people. The grammar is different. The pronunciation is different. And sometimes, the textbooks are strange. Please be aware that I’m not talking about so-called “Engrish”. Often, that’s the result of syntax errors (i.e. using Japanese sentence structure or literal translations in English). Making fun of that…

The Girl Scouts Might Be Getting A Gaming Badge As Well

Only a month after the Boy Scouts brought in a badge for “Games Design”, the Girl Scouts are offering one for “Games Development”. The difference is more than semantics; the guys only have to design a game.The girls, well, they’ll have to use software and actually make one. The badge is currently only available for…

A new version of Modern Combat has been released. It’s a mod that turns WW2 Company of Heroes into 2013 Company of Heroes. It’s really, really good. Get it here

Building You A Retro Adventure, One Level (And Awesome Song) At A Time

This is Rogue Legacy, a game which looks tough as nails, but seems to have a heart of gold. Billed not as rogue-like (which are normally brutal) but as a rogue-lite (there’s still permadeath, but “with each passing your lineage grows and becomes stronger”), it looks great. And sounds great too, courtesy of a soundtrack…

A New Trailer For The Best Star Wars Movie George Lucas Never Made

Star Wars Uncut, the fan-made project that saw scenes from Episode IV recreated however the hell people wanted to then smooshed into a complete film, is back with a sequel. Empire Strikes Back Uncut isn’t done yet, but the trailer above shows good progress is being made. Very good progress. Empire Strikes Back Uncut [Site,…

This League of Legends Artist’s Work Is A…Riot (I’m So Sorry)

Katie De Sousa is a concept artist who currently works at League of Legends developers Riot Games. She’s been there since 2012, and has been responsible for many of the awesome splash images you see for the game’s heroes. She also worked on the very pretty indie game Paper Moon You can see more of…