This Gory BioShock Infinite Trailer Shows Off Booker’s Big Guns

Irrational Games, the folks behind BioShock, have just released this spectacular combat trailer for the series’ newest installment, BioShock Infinite. Many of the weapons protagonist Booker DeWitt will get to use are put on full display. Look at that imagery. That statue. Those huge guns. Man, I think I’m in love with that minigun. Along…

Korea’s Best Cosplayers Take on StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Cosplay collective Spiral Cats brought their talents to the recent StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm launch in South Korea. Back when Blizzard’s Diablo III launched in South Korea, Spiral Cats was also on hand at the event, showing off its latest cosplay creations. “I believe that we can project our love for the character…

Square Enix experimented with Final Fantasy Type-0 running on an HDTV. No plans for a release, though! [NovaCrystallis]

Japanese Gamers’ Favorite Games of 2012 Might Surprise You

Japanese people have different tastes from their Western counterparts (Heck, many of Kotaku East‘s Culture Smash columns focus specifically on this sociological difference), and Japanese gamers are no exception. Every week, Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu collects user impressions of newly released video games. Users rate games from 1 to 10 and comment on what…

Rumor: A New Video Shows SimCity’s Debug Mode, Which Allegedly Has Almost Unlimited Offline Play

Well, that didn’t take long. A video recently uploaded by Redditor AzzerUK shows what appears to be SimCity’s unlocked debug mode. Here’s AzzerUK (emphasis mine): So with a little bit of package editing within SimCity, and a little playing about in the code, it’s possible to enable debug mode. I linked the activation to the…

Your Guide to Japanese Capsule Hotels

Maybe you are going to Japan. Maybe you’re not, but one day, you hope to. There is an array of options—from fancy hotels and traditional inns to more budget-priced lodging. Or, perhaps, you just missed the last train. You could always stay at a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels debuted in 1979 in Osaka with the…

Japanese Developers Weigh in on the PS4

Last week, Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu asked their readers what they thought about the PS4. In this week’s issue, the question was lobbed in the direction of many of Japan’s biggest game makers, to get the developer point of view on Sony’s as-of-yet faceless console. Take a look at what some of them had…

Kid Racks Up US$2,500 Debt While Playing an Online Game

A mother got shafted with a whopper credit card bill after her son racked up charges playing an online game, Asahi News reported earlier today. The teen pestered his mom to let him play an online game (Asahi doesn’t specify which). The junior high student and his mom made an agreement that he’d only play…

So, Mega Man Online Has Been Cancelled

Last fall, Kotaku reported that Rockman Online (aka Mega Man Online) seemed like it was dead. Today, we learned that the PC game has, indeed, been canned. The game’s official blog hadn’t been updated since March 2012, leaving many to wonder about the game’s status. Then, last September, the game’s lead artist, Kang Dong Hwa,…

Like music? Live in Tokyo? Unity is teaming up with Hifana for an event next Monday.

This BlazBlue Cosplay Will Knock Your Teeth Out

BlazBlue is a great fighting game. It’s not only fun to play, but it’s also filled with cool characters. Know what that means? Yep! It means there’s an active BlazBlue fandom, which manifests itself in cool cosplay. Let’s have a look at some—certainly, not all—of the best BlazBlue cosplay the internet has to offer. If…

Now You Can Own An Incredibly Expensive Neo Geo Made Of Exotic Wood

Are you serious about the Neo Geo? Like, really serious? Then you should check out Analogue Interactive, a company that makes console-sized Neo Geo MVS arcade systems that will run on your home entertainment center. And if you’re really serious, check out their just-launched “Black Label” line, which incorporate exotic wood from all over the…

Leigh Alexander writes about the games we play to feel in control while our messy, ugly lives buzz in the background.

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter has hit its $2 million goal in less than 12 hours. Jason will be so thrilled

This Real-Life GoldenEye Reenactment Is Slappers-Only

Maybe it’s Skyfall, maybe something else, but it seems there’s some Bond in the air these days. A couple weeks ago we had this cool real-life version of GoldenEye, and today, The Warp Zone gives us another, albeit a significantly more tongue-in-cheek one. In particular, this one features some game-appropriate, yet humorous hand-to-hand combat. I…

An Adorable Little Kid Walks Us Through A Minecraft Art Project

Remember Abe? Last time, he showed us how to make Cut The Rope cupcakes. This time, his project is less delicious but no less adorable: he walks us through how to make a Minecraft keychain. I for one am impressed not just with his obvious love and dedication to games, but how creative this little…

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 Sure Is A Game About Being A Sniper

Games can be about a lot of different things. They can be about war or romance, politics or zombies, or everyday life. Heck, they can be about all of those things at once. Sniper Ghost Warrior 2, as you might have guessed from the title, is a game about being a sniper. The game came…

The Number One First-Person Shooter on Facebook Takes on Tablets

With more than 10 million monthly players between Facebook and the Mac app store, Cmune’s UberStrike is one of the most popular first-person shooters you may have never heard of. Today’s free-to-play move to iPad and Tegra 3 tablets should make it a little harder to ignore. It’ll be interesting to see how more discerning…

Midweek Moneysaver: Thriftiness Next to Godliness

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. Console Games GameStop • Yesterday’s release God of War: Ascension (PS3) is $54.99, free shipping (everywhere else is list) Microsoft • March 19 release Gears of…

Raise a Glass of Pabst Blue Ribbon to the Savior of the Twinkie

The rain has subsided, the clouds slowly dissipate and the forecast for this summer is golden-yellow sponge cake with creme filling, as private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co confirm a $410 million winning bid for the Hostess brand. After failing to pull clear of bankruptcy in November of last year following…