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Facebook Gainers: How the Heck Does Bubble Safari Ocean Score 23 Million Players?
I often pick on Zynga’s social games; that’s what comes of being the biggest fish clumsily flopping through the pond. I poke at the company’s financial troubles, bemoaning game closings. I’ve been known to revel mildly when their more popular games lose players to the underdogs (every other Facebook game developer). None of this changes…
By Mike Fahey Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
YouTube Shuts Down Popular Angry Video Game Nerd Channel [Update: It’s Back!]
As of this morning, it appears that all of the videos on the well-liked Angry Video Game Nerd webseries have been removed from YouTube. Text on the landing page cites severe violations of YouTube terms of service, which seems to indicate that this wasn’t a voluntary move on Rolfe’s part. Chatter on NeoGAF and Facebook…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 8, 2013 -
UncategorizedFinished with Flow Free? Graduate to Lost Cubes
A simple little puzzle game involving connecting colored circles on a grid, Flow Free is a mobile sensation, devouring the free time of Apple, Android and Windows Phone gamers around the world. When Flow Free’s puzzles stop flowing, Pocket PlayLab’s Lost Cubes for iOS is ready to pick up where it left off. Lost Cubes…
By Mike Fahey Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
Do You Want To Own The Saints Row Series? Or Just Buy Red Faction? Bids For Parts of THQ Must Be In By January 22.
THQ, the troubled publisher of Saints Row, WWE games, Company of Heroes, Metro: Last Light, the new South Park role-playing game, Red Faction and more, may still be sold in its entirety to an investment group called Clearlake as part of a bankruptcy sale, according to a court ruling. But other interested parties may also…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 8, 2013 -
UncategorizedAn Action Figure Was Nintendo’s Star Of E3. Here’s How To Make Your Own.
The star of Nintendo’s E3 was not Nintendo, nor the company’s software lineup. It was an action figure known only as Non-Specific Action Figure While obviously not a real figure, meaning you can’t buy one of your own, in the months since E3 Gametista’s Andrea Campton has tracked down the parts needed to make one.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
Psycho Pass is a Compelling Cyberpunk Mystery (And It’s Only Half Done)
Nearly two decades ago, Japan redefined the cyberpunk genre with the groundbreaking anime Ghost in the Shell. A police mystery, Ghost in the Shell used its futuristic framework to explore the relationship between cybernetics and the very nature of the human soul. This season in Japan marks the release of a new anime that is…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 8, 2013 -
UncategorizedLet’s Marvel at How Pretty Pokémon X/Pokémon Y Looks
There are new Pokémon games! And if this batch of screens is anything to go by, the games are going to be pixelated purdy. “We brought Pokémon into an entirely new dimension and we’re incredibly excited to bring Pokémon X and Pokémon Y to fans,” said game designer Junichi Masuda, in an official release. “The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
The Guy Who Made Bayonetta Is Not Interested In Valve and PC Gaming. That’s Common In Japan. [UPDATE 2]
Over the weekend, Hideki Kamiya—director of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Okami, Viewtiful Joe, and Bayonetta—was asked over twitter about his opinion of Valve, Steam, and PC gaming in general. He responded thusly: While Western readers may feel that Kamiya not knowing about Valve is akin to an American developer not knowing about Nintendo,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
Here’s the Newest Pokémon. It’s Out Worldwide This October.
Tonight, Nintendo unveiled the newest Pokémon games, Pokémon X/Pokémon Y. They’re completely new titles for the 3DS. One point of interest: in the core series, as long as you consider diamond, pearl and platinum color shades, these are the first Pocket Monster games that are not named after colors. The three starters look to be…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
When You Can Rent Friends, You Are Never Forever Alone
It’s not easy making friends. For some in Japan, it’s even harder. Enter “Rental Friend”. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the country’s largest newspaper, a Tokyo based firm called Client Partners offers a “Rental Friend” service—among other services—at its locations across the country. The article recounts how last summer, one lonely 25 year-old named Kouichi…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 -
Kotaku EastA Game With Fast Cars, Racing Action, and… Hardcore Anime Pornography!?
Moero Downhill Night Blaze is the latest adult visual novel in the Moero Downhill Night series of street racing-themed games. In most visual novels (“adult” or otherwise), the gameplay is little more than a few major choices set up in a choose-your-own-adventure type story. However, Moero Downhill Night Blaze moves well outside the visual novel…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
Hey Ladies, Want Long Legs? Go to a Japanese Arcade.
But, who doesn’t want long legs? In the past few years, especially after leggy Korean popstars like Girls’ Generation (above) hit it big in Japan, long limbs have definitely been in. For those who want added proportions, there’s an easy answer: Head on over to your local Japanese video game arcade. Twitter user Tanichan101 uploaded…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
Professor Layton Chocolate Snacks Don’t Look Puzzling. They Look Delicious.
For a limited time only, beloved puzzle game series Professor Layton is getting its own chocolate treats in Japan. This month, candy company Glico is rolling out “Professor Layton’s Riddle Solution Break Chocolate”. The chocolates come in two flavors: gateau chocolate or English tea sponge cake. The bite sized chocolates come with one riddle card…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Kotaku East
Sending Tweets While Doing Yoga Is Truly Madness
Ah, Twitter. Japan loves you so. Like the rest of the world, Japan has gone gaga for the microblogging service. But surely, even the most active Twitter users can take a break while working out, right? This image shows a Japanese magazine article on “Mobile Tweeting Yoga”, with various tweet-friendly yoga exercises, like the Tree…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
These Pokémon Are So Ugly
Pocket Monsters are supposed to be cute. That’s just the way it is. Or rather, the way it should be. But these Pokémon are anything but cute. They’re butt ugly. Bad teeth, simpleton stares, and generally surly dispositions turn some of the cutest Pocket Monsters into some of the ugliest. Even the teeth hurtingly cute…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
Here’s One Shadow Of The Colossus… Colossus You Won’t Want To Stab In The Face
While this looks like an expensive statue based on 2004 classic Shadow of the Colossus, it’s a little bit more than that. Well, OK, it does work as a statue, but its more practical use is that it’s an external hard drive. Reddit user foxfoxwaltz has posted an album showing the piece in all its…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013 -
UncategorizedOne Man Can Sing a Hobbit Song As Well As A Whole Room Of Dwarves
When a house full of dwarves starts singing Misty Mountain, it’s perhaps the saddest moment in the new Hobbit flick. Partly because of the effect of so many little dudes singing in such deep voices. So nerd vocalist Peter Hollens—who you may remember from his Game of Thrones theme—does a good job here with just……
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
If You Like Video Games (Or Roxanne), You’ll Want To Contact These People
So design house Dark Igloo has the greatest contact page a website has ever had. Instead of an email link or, worse, an email form, they’ve got… look, just play it. And turn up the speakers. Contact [Dark Igloo, via Laughing Squid]
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013 - Uncategorized
The Shadow of The Colossus Movie Has A New, And Talented, Writer
Normally when we learn about the people responsible for writing movies based on video games, there’s a round of muted applause. If we’re lucky. More often than no there are groans. So it’s a nice surprise to learn that the long-in-development hell Shadow of the Colossus movie project—which last year got a director—now has a…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013 - Culture
We’re One Step Away From Mechs Charging Cannons On Horseback
It’s not every day we get to feature the work of an artist who, amidst pieces drawn up for video games and trading card companies, has also dabbled in the style of 19th century battlefield paintings. But we are today. So today is a good day. You’re looking at the works of Karl Kopinski, a…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013