Had Enough Cowbell? But Wait, There’s Cowbell Hero

Who’s ready for a game based on a five-year-old joke about a Saturday Night Live skit from twelve years ago? Thanks to the magic of the iPhone and iPad, Cowbell Hero becomes a real thing next month. I would be incredibly disappointed with Digital Hero Games (via PocketGamer) for making Cowbell Hero if they hadn’t…

All The Wii U Specs You Could Dream Of, Except The Ones You Really Want To Know

Way back when the Wii U first came out, lo in the day of the 18th of November in the year 2012, Nintendo’s console included the most curious thing: a virtual instruction manual that included within it an option called “product specifications.” By pressing the Wii U controller’s home button and then clicking on “manual”,…

Because There Isn’t Enough GTA V In This World Yet

Alright, fine. So we got a new trailer not even two weeks ago. And then that trailer was recreated in GTA IV, but that doesn’t count! Basically I won’t be satisfied until Rockstar releases the next GTA title, so creations like this one by Patrick Brown hold me over until then. Grand Theft Auto V…

This Week’s Facebook Winners and Losers: The Great FarmVille 2 Exodus

Smell that? That’s the fragrant odor of rotting vegtetation, courtesy of the nearly five million players that didn’t bother tending their virtual crops in FarmVille 2 last week. While some 50 million folks did log in last week to click on crops like there was no tomorrow, 4.6 million is a substantial chunk of players…

This German Screenshot Reportedly Says When Halo 4’s Map Packs Are Dropping

Lots of players—including Kotaku’s own Tina Amini—think that Halo 4 needs more maps. 343 Industries has said that additional multiplayer environments are coming but hasn’t clued anyone in as to the exact arrival times. But the screenshot above from a German Xbox 360 dashboard appears to reveal dates for the next three sets of maps…

The Sights, Lights (and Imagined Smells) of the World’s Biggest LAN Party

Over last week and the weekend, over 10,000 PC gamers from Europe and across the world gathered in Sweden for Dreamhack Winter, the world’s biggest LAN party As you can probably understand, the place was packed, as the thousands of attendees gamed, ate, partied and sometimes even slept their way through the four-day event. Since…

Celebrate Cyber Monday with These 200 Deals on Video Games

As we all know, one of the oldest traditions in America, going back to the time of the Pilgrims, is Cyber Monday. It takes the madness of taking a day off of work to buy crap on Black Friday, strips out the 3 a.m. line-ups, the tramplings, the beatings, and replaces it with buying stuff…

Getting Up Close and Personal with Square Enix’s New Engine Blew My Mind

This last Friday and Saturday in Tokyo, Square Enix held their 2012 Open Conference. While there was some talk about the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV, the majority of the two-day event focused on Agni’s Philosophy: Final Fantasy. Agni’s Philosophy is the real-time tech demo of Square’s new Luminous Engine that was first presented at…

Parents, Please Don’t Name Your Kid “Pikachu”

For decades, no, centuries, Japanese parents were happy giving their kids regular Japanese names. Sure, there have been trends, but the latest one is producing some kids with peculiar names—and even worries about bullying. Japanese names are slightly different from English ones. Traditionally, first names were selected based on the number of brush strokes in…

Let’s Go With Uncle Go, One of China’s Most Interesting Indie Games

Over the last three years, I’ve been attending the Game Developers Conference China (not to be confused with the China Game Developers Conference) and I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the creations of many independent developers show casing their work for the Independent Game Festival China. I’ve got around to playing FTL:…

This Bonsai Tree Made Entirely of LEGO Makes Me Wish I Had LEGO Scissors

Seeing the original Karate Kid as, um, a kid, I was amazed that there were little trees that needed to be cut with little scissors. Those trees, of course, are bonsai trees. Via botanical artist Makoto Azuma, come these bonsai trees made out of LEGO. All that’s missing are little LEGO clippers! As website Spoon…

Here’s What Makes a Final Fantasy, According to Square Enix

This last weekend in Tokyo, Square Enix held an open conference centered around its real-time tech demo, Agni’s Philosophy: Final Fantasy. While presenting the technical aspects was paramount in the design of Agni’s Philosophy (as it was meant to showcase the detail and flexibility of Square’s new Luminous Engine), its creators were adamant it feel…

Non-Gamer Gets Screwed By Game Companies and Banks

Seeking damages and reparations for money he lost, Mr. Shao of Foshan, Guangdong, has filed a lawsuit against two of China’s largest game companies, as well as China’s equivalent of PayPal, and a bank. What exactly is Shao so peeved about, apart from his lost cash? Apparently the money was going into accounts for online…

New Final Fantasy XIV Director Talks About What Went Wrong With The Original

Naoki Yoshida is about as far away from the stereotypical image of a Japanese businessman as you are likely to get. Clad in designer jeans with expertly styled hair and numerous finger rings, he looks more like a rock star than anything else. His business card even features a caricature of himself smoking while relaxing…

Between Dec. 1 and Feb 28, Japanese rental store Tsutaya is renting copies of Dragon Quest X free of charge.

Students Immortalize Cafeteria Chefs With Card Game Spoof

Rumor has it that the immensely popular card game Three Kingdoms Killers became popular because of the Communications University of China in Beijing. So it only makes sense now that a mock game, “Three Kingdoms Chef Killers”, is something that students at the University would come up with. The mock game replaces the base characters…

Some of the Smallest (and Most Amazing) Figures on Earth

Welcome to the realm of dust particles and hair strands. Tinyland! It’s also the scale at which some truly minuscule—and impressive—sculptures have dazzled Japan, a country with a long tradition of making things small. For several years now, these carved figures have appeared on Japanese bulletin boards. The figures are called “100 Yen Coin Person”…

Third Grader Dazzles Twitter with Her Amazing Doodle

Some say artistic talent is innate. Other claim it’s the result of hard work. Whatever it is, this Japanese third grader has it. On November 24, a Japanese Twitter user named Shin_Toto uploaded the above image online, writing, “My daughter’s (third grade) drawing. Ball point pen on A4 photocopy paper. What’s the best way for…

Why Apple’s Siri Is Personified as a Butt Lady in Japan

In Japan, it’s been popular for the past several years to make “-tan” versions of electronics. These are cute personifications of game hardware or even computer operating systems. Most recently, Microsoft released the official Windows 8-tans; however, most of these “-tan” creations are not official. They are fan creations, like “Siri-tan”. Everyone’s favorite virtual personal…

Yes, the Wii U Also Works on Japanese Bullet Trains

For those worried that the Wii U doesn’t work on outside, say on Japanese high speed rail, take heart. Apparently, it does. And here’s the photo proof. Kuzo from Japanese site Rocket News recently boarded the Nozomi bullet train—the N700 series Nozomi, to be exact, which is outfitted with electric sockets and WiFi. Besides being…