A Hot JRPG Sets the 3DS on Fire In This Week’s Nintendo Download

Fire Emblem: Awakening seems like one of those games that’s been on the horizon and out of reach forever. But it’s finally out for the 3DS next week, promising a funny take on fantasy & strategy tropes. Aside from that bit of portable JRPG goodness, this week’s downloadable offerings include fluid physics puzzler Puddle, RPG/platformer…

Suggestion: Play Leap Day Today When You Should Be Working or Studying

Right now, instead of reading this, you could be playing Leap Day. If you have the Unity plug-in in your browser and your teacher/professor/boss isn’t looking, go do it. Or at least load this up (and then scroll to the amazingness lurking in the upper right of your screen. What you’ll see there is a…

The Most Obvious Thing Anyone Can Say About EA Needs To Be Said Anyway.

“[EA]’s ‘Fewer, Bigger, Better’ strategy for its key packaged goods releases will not work if the games are, in fact, not ‘Better.'” -Analyst Michael Pachter lamenting the oddly low quality and poor sales of Medal of Honor: Warfighter and praising the delay of Fuse. (“Packaged goods” are games sold in stores, not the ever-growing number…

This Week’s Windows Phone Charts: Begone, Where’s My Water?

Last week Disney’s duo of dirt-digging water puzzle games, Where’s My Water? and Where’s My Perry? stormed the Windows Phone charts, taking the two top spots and displacing Rovio’s ever-present Angry Birds. This week? They’ve been disappeared. Not disappeared so much as shunted so far down the charts they’re no longer a threat. Where’s My…

The Full Metal Gear Rising Will Probably Feel Quite Different From The Demos

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance will be hitting stores in less than 3 weeks and anticipations are high. In this week’s Weekly Famitsu, Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba and director Kenji Saitou, along with Konami’s Kojima Production producer Yuuji Korekado and scenario writer Etsu Tamari sat down to talk about their upcoming Metal Gear. Metal Gear…

Here’s a new trailer for BioShock Infinite. The game’s release is 54 days away.

Thank China for Mona Lisa’s New Hair Style

The Mona Lisa might be a masterpiece, but that hairdo is so dated! That’s perhaps why a Chinese net user decided to give Lisa del Giocondo the hair style of a Chinese college student. Online in China, commenters were impressed with the new ‘do. “Woah, she’s so beautiful!” wrote one commenter, while in neighboring Japan,…

Five More Japanese Games Are Coming To America, Thanks To Xseed

In a monster press release this morning, publisher Xseed Games announced that it’s bringing five new Japanese games to the U.S. this year: Killer Is Dead (pictured above), Rune Factory 4, Valhalla Knights 3, Ys Celceta, and Ys I & II Chronicles (for Steam). That’s one multi-platform game, one 3DS game, two Vita games, and…

Why Monster Hunter Is So Popular In Japan (And Struggles Everywhere Else)

The Monster Hunter series wasn’t always the “monster” (heh heh) hit it is currently. Originally released for the PS2, the first game, Monster Hunter, and its sequel, Monster Hunter G, sold less than a million copies each. It wasn’t until the game went hand-held to the PSP with Monster Hunter Portable (Monster Hunter Freedom in…

Creepy Woody Trolling the World’s Coolest Figures and Toys

Creepy Woody is one pervy figure. But he’s not just a giant horn dog. He’s also trolling rad toys, like the Metal Gear Rex. What a jerk! Website TheOneCam is a collection of amazing figure photos and amazing Woody photos. Previously, Kotaku featured some of the site’s more pervy Woody pics. Above, here’s a look…

Nintendo’s President Expresses His Commitment To Bringing A Profit

Nintendo’s current president and regular spokesperson for Nintendo’s online press conference, “Nintendo Direct,” Satoru Iwata spoke today at an analyst presentation meeting on Nintendo’s plans for the upcoming business year. During the presentation, Iwata spoke of his “commitment” to a business profit goal of ¥100 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) by the end of the next…

Sorry, You Can’t Worship Hello Kitty Anymore

Hello Kitty is more than a cartoon cat. She’s a cultural institution. No wonder, then, that the character was recently enshrined in a Shinto shrine, which is located in Kofu, Japan. Bad news, however, if you were planning on making alms in front of the enshrined Kitty-chan. The iconic cat has since been removed, only…

Skeleton Totoro Is Not Cuddly Cute. At All.

Oh Totoro, how I just want to pounce on your big, furry belly! The titular character from My Neighbor Totoro is one of anime’s most adorable creations. But take away the fur and the fat, and you get something quite unsettling. Via Albotas, this is the work of artist J★RYU. Check out more of his…

A League of Legendary Cosplayers

League of Legends is huge. Gamers love it! And when gamers love something, they love dressing up as it. Here is a look at some, but not all, of the best League of Legends cosplay the internet has to offer. These outfits and photos are wonderful—nice work all around! Have a look at the above…

The First Nintendo Console That You Can Drive (On A Table)

The Famicom was once a magnificent beast, but its time in the sun has long gone. Unless you’re a collector, you probably don’t have much need for one. These guys didn’t. So they turned it into an RC car, which is driven by the console’s control pad. ファミコンラジコン疾走 [友樹 小堀]

I Took A Month Off Work And I Didn’t Play Any Video Games

Plenty of my friends have had babies, so I knew what to expect. The woman goes into labour. There is the physical pain. You rub the back and say ‘there there’. You watch the little lump of flesh flop out like a wriggling trout. You shed the tears, you kiss the baby on the forehead.…

Concept Art For A Game That Has Never, And Will Never, Come Out

OK, you’re going to have to bear with me on this one. This art is for a project called Solace. The work of Judson “Tettix” Cowan, it’s an album, and for each song Cowan has drawn a piece of “concept art”, or a “screenshot”, imagining the game that would be based on the music, if…

This Game Was Made The Old-Fashioned Way. By Hand.

This is Lumino City. It’s the sequel to a 2012 game, Lume. It’s “hand made” in the sense that rather than being built from digital 3D assets, it was mostly filmed on a set, that was made in the real world. Even the effects are done, for the most part, for real; the windmill spinning…

Don’t Tell Ubisoft Their Games Suck

Not unless you want them to actually fire back. This refreshingly honest exchange—which was still on the site at time of writing—took place overnight on Ubisoft’s Australian Facebook page. Call it unprofessional if you want, but hey, it’s nice to see someone slinging remote digital mud get a little back from a publisher for once.…

After Years Of Playing A Game, These Guys Turned Their Exploits Into A Giant Story

Dwarf Fortress is, even with mods helping it out, one of the ugliest video games on the planet. It’s also one of the most rewarding for those who crack its tough exterior, leading to the kind of heroic exploits and emergent gameplay most titles can only dream about. One tale in particular, though, stands out.…