These Diablo 2 Plushies Are a Rare Real-World Drop

While most Diablo 3 players are scrambling for legendary loot on nightmare mode, others are creating their own real-life loot. Enter Arixystix Creations, who posted some images of these custom Diablo 2 plushies just before the holidays. Not that it matters, since they’re not available for sale. Don’t worry, though—she’s got plenty of other adorable…

Dark Souls II Runs On A Brand New Engine

Details of the surprise Dark Souls II announcement have so far been scarce. We know that it’s going to be released on the current generation of consoles, and that its dark, epic fantasy tone will match that of previous Souls games. I’ve been salivating for more, and thankfully further details surfaced in a new interview…

This Week in the Business: Every Publisher is Guilty of Making a Glorified Add-On Pack

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “You want to avoid the appearance of a glorified add-on pack and every publisher is guilty of that at one time or another.”—Ubisoft marketing exec Tony Key talking about the pitfalls of having annualized a major franchise like Assassin’s Creed and…

Just Think of What We Would Have Missed Out On if the World Had Ended Yesterday

Waking up this morning is going to be extra awkward for some people. It seems the apocalypse is late; that, or it’s just not showing up. It was supposed to arrive yesterday, you see, and more than a few people were eagerly anticipating it, for whatever reason. So when they stretch, yawn and open their…

Xbox Achievements Come to iOS with Wordament

You don’t need a Windows Phone to get mobile gaming achievements anymore, as Microsoft releases Wordament, a free competitive multiplayer word find tournament with 50 achievement points built right in. It’s one small step for Wordament, the competitive word game that’s been keeping Windows Phone gamers hunting and pecking since April of this year, and…

Good Morning, Kotaku! I’ll Be Your Editor This Weekend.

Good morning, Kotaku! Owen isn’t here right now. He can’t come to the phone, and I’m certainly not taking a message for him. The best I can do is offer you two days of Kotaku my way. My name is Mike Rougeau. I’ve dreamt of covering the games industry my entire life, and now I’m…

The Moneysaver: ‘Twas the Weekend Before Christmas … [UPDATE]

Whether you’re shopping for someone else or for yourself, this is the final blowout weekend before … all the after-Christmas sales to clear stock and snarf up the money grandma gave you. There’s still a ton of action from the major names in games retailing, much of it in the form of digital downloads. Our…

The 3DS Remake Of Dragon Quest VII Looks Pretty Solid So Far

While at Jump Festa 2013 this weekend, I had the chance to check out the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII. This is a remake of the seventh Dragon Quest game—which was originally released for the PlayStation back in 2000—seems to fit the console’s format very naturally. The graphical upgrade is very pretty and allows…

The New Dynasty Warriors… It’s Fun For Guys And Girls Alike

Jump Festa is a yearly event hosted by Shueisha, the publishers of the Jump line of comics, where Jump-related paraphernalia and games are put on display as well as stage events and announcements. It’s also a good event for companies that have Jump-related things out to display some of their own non-Jump-related things. Tecmo Koei,…

The Figures and Other Loot of Jump Festa 2013 (Giant Luffy Balloon Not Included)

Jump Festa, Shonen Jump’s own convention, is a mix of manga, anime, video games, and card games. There are various events, art galleries, game booths, card tournaments, Jump-themed food stalls, and endless amounts of stage shows. But no matter where you look, there is one thing that permeates the entire show floor: an unending sea…

The Best Of Kotaku, This Week

Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week’s best content. Up above is a cute and, oddly, heartwarming Mario gif. It’s the adorable handiwork of Paperbeatsscissors, where you can find more cute and oddly heartwarming Mario gifs. Moving on to our Best Of content this week, we kick things…

One Piece Pirate Warriors 2 Looks To Be More Upgrade Than Sequel (Not That That’s A Bad Thing)

I guess you could say that I’m a fan of One Piece. I don’t follow the magazine on a week to week basis in Shonen Jump, but I’ve read all of the manga books. I haven’t seen much of the anime, but I’ve watched a good deal of the movies, including the latest one. I…

Tales of Hearts R is Shaping Up To Be The Definitive Version of the Game

After the success of Tales of Innocence R in Japan, Bandai-Namco is moving another of last generation’s portable titles over to the PlayStation Vita—this time in the form of Tales of Hearts R. Today at Jump Festa 2013, Kotaku East was able to spend some time with the first playable demo of this Tales series…

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX Looks Great and Plays Just Like the Originals (For Better or Worse)

Announced back during this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX is a PS3 HD remaster of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and its sequel Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories—as well as a collection of CG cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Today at Jump Festa 2013 in Japan, Kotaku East was able to…

Bungie’s Destiny Hasn’t Been Officially Announced, But People Are Still Making Awesome Trailers

Sure, Bungie’s next big game after Halo might have had its coming out party spoiled just a little, but the fact remains this game has yet to be officially announced, and despite a good start, we know very little about it. That hasn’t stopped Ilya Boykov from putting together this beautiful trailer using leaked concept…

Here’s The *Official* First Trailer For Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

aka Final Fantasy XIII-3 You might have seen this a couple of days ago, if you were lucky enough to see the leaked footage before Square Enix pulled it down, but if you weren’t, here it is! Enjoy.

WWE, whose contract with bankrupt THQ is worth $45 million, released a statement that doesn’t state much of anything.

You have one final minute left to live before the Mayan Apocalypse in this Twine game. What will you do with it?

If You Like TV, Read This Book

It’s remarkable, the variety of great TV shows we’ve gotten to watch over the last ten years. From The Wire to Friday Night Lights to Deadwood to The Sopranos, I’ve found that I’ve grown far more invested and interested in television stories than I am in movies. It’s not much of a stretch to say…

What People Said About the Terrible Game the NRA Made Six Years Ago

Welcome back to “Backhanded Box Quotes,” a collection of measured, thoughtful criticism from the user reviews of Metacritic and elsewhere on the Internet. Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association’s No. 1 mouthpiece, emerged from Oz’s curtain this morning to condemn the worst video games of American culture. Funny, the NRA made one itself: NRA Gun…