Welcome To A House Of Horrors (I Don’t Think This Is How You’re Supposed To Play Animal Crossing…)

So, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a bit of an Animal Crossing addict. The game continues to be a smash hit in Japan. So much so that even now, almost a month after its initial release, most stores are still sold out with only the download version available. Players clock into…

Beat the Crap Outta People with Comic Book Sound Effects

Pow! Smack! Brass knuckles can mess people up. Japanese designers Shuji Tomishima and Takushi Okina are going more for fashion than violence with these “sound effect” rings. The rings have sound effects that one would typically find in Japanese manga. For example, above there is a ring that reads “do” (ド), but could be used…

Aero-Cross, the HD download version of Metro-Cross, has been cancelled due to “various circumstances”.

How Japanese Police Use the PlayStation Vita To Catch Criminals

Sony brands the PS Vita as more than simply a game portable. Maybe it should call the machine a “crime fighter”, too? This week’s episode of Gekiroku: Keisatsu Micchaku 24ji!! (think Cops, but in Japan) followed the cyber police division in Fukuoka Prefecture. In one scene, the cyber cops were tracking down a criminal for…

That is One Giant, Over-Sized Game Boy You’ve Got There

This is a Game Boy made by MaboroshiTira. It doesn’t work, in so much as you can’t put a regular cartridge in it and play it. Because, uh, it’s made of cardboard. Its buttons do press in, though, which is a bonus, because really, just looking at this thing is pleasure enough. MaboroshiTira [DeviantArt, via…

Want To Play FIFA Against Snoop? Sure Thing, But He Prefers Madden

Considering that Snoop Dogg’s Ask Me Anything on Reddit is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on the internet, I’m truly thankful he talks about video games enough to justify me posting about it in Kotaku The Ask Me Anything wound up earlier today, and it is an absolute must read, mainly because—unlike…

This Video Game Bug Is Truly Terrifying

Ack! With this new horrifying glitch, Phantasy Star Online 2 has discovered a new level of hell. Character skins can accidentally change… for the worse. The much, much worse. *shudder* Players discovered this bug (and others) after a recent update, and it causes the skin of non-playable characters to, under certain conditions, turn a truly…

How Adventure Time’s Creator Beat Up On Small Kids (In a Video Game)

Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward tells Edge magazine about his favourite games. Others listed include Altered Beast and, awesomely, Klik & Play My favourite game: Pendleton Ward [Edge 248, Christmas 2012]

Steampunk Princess Peach is in Another Manor House

Should Nintendo ever work up the courage to really mess with the setting of Mario games, there are worse ideas they could have than to have the plumber fighting his way through some Dickensian clockwork castle. And if he did, well, the lady he was trying to rescue would need to dress the part as…

There’s a Lady Killer Stalking These Lands

I’ve been featuring a ton of Assassin’s Creed III art here lately, so it’s about time I showcase some from its handheld stablemate Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation These images are the work of Nacho Yagüe, a senior concept artist at Ubisoft Toronto. You’ll see not only a selection of his work on the first Vita…

Shooters, Let Me Play As A Rookie Moron, Please

Far Cry 3 does something interesting with its protagonist Jason, presenting him not as a bloodthirsty killer with military training, but as some kid, thrust into a situation well outside his abilities or understanding. When you jump off a cliff, he screams. When you cut open an animal for its skin, no matter how many…

League of Legends Using Neuroscientist to Stop Players Being Vicious Jerks

League of Legends might be one of the biggest games in the world, but it’s not without its share of problems. Chief among them the fact many of its players are hostile, anti-social assholes. That’s something developers Riot Games are trying to address, and according to lead producer Travis George in an interview with Gamasutra,…

A Portal 2 Movie Made Entirely Out of LEGO

As promised, LEGO movie-maker extraordinaire Kooberz has finished the first part of his epic re-telling of Portal 2 via the wonders of stop-motion animation. This opening part runs for over five minutes. The amount of work that must have gone into this makes my head want to go lie down independent of the rest of…

Journey’s Soundtrack has Been Nominated For a Grammy

The nominations for the 55th Grammy Awards have been revealed, and for PS3 gamers there’s quite the surprise: Austin Wintory’s wonderful score for PSN title Journey has been nominated for Best Score Soundtrack. That’s not some weird term for an obscure category nobody will ever hear about; it’s the category for the best original score…

Assassin’s Creed III Used to Have Scalping

Thomas Deer is a cultural liaison officer at the Kahnawake Language and Cultural Centre. He helped Ubisoft out on Assassin’s Creed III, and did one hell of a job making sure it became easily the best representation of Native Americans in a video game. According to this report in the Montreal Gazette, Deer “was brought…

The Real Hobbit (and Dwarves) Meet Their LEGO Counterparts

The entire cast of The Hobbit, from hobbits to dwarves to wizards, have had a photoshoot where they were snapped, in full costume and make-up, with their respective LEGO minifigs. Ian McKellen looks so impressed I really hope they let him keep it. The Hobbit Cast & Their LEGO Minifigs [The Hobbit]

Rest In Peace, Dave Brubeck

Today, the world lost one of the greats: Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck died at the age of 91. Among his many musical achievements, Brubeck was the man behind the iconic jazz record Time Out, a collection of odd-meter compositions best known for the famous tune “Take Five.” Time Out experimented with song-form, meter,…

A Kotaku 5-Player: Will the VGAs Announce a Flash Game? Or Wonder Woman?

As news goes, the Video Game Awards are more about the future games they will tease than the existing ones they honor. Kotaku will be in Los Angeles on Friday covering the gala. Here is an internal chatroom discussion among Stephen Totilo, Luke Plunkett, Mike Fahey, Kirk Hamilton and yours truly as we try to…

Eat ‘Toritos’ And Drink ‘Mountain Dude’ In This Game About Becoming A Pro Gamer

A game where you become a pro gamer… by playing games? How meta! This was made in 24 hours, so while not particularly fleshed out, it’s still worth spending a few minutes with it. My favorite bit is that going outside ends the game, though the stuff you can purchase comes close. The Toritos are…

Zynga Applies for a Nevada Gambling License

As part of its lengthy preparations to offer real-money gambling via its social games in the U.S., Zynga has taken the first step towards acquiring a Nevada gaming license, which would help pave the way towards giving American players a chance to give the company their money without getting virtual livestock in exchange. They’ve comleted…