The Cosplay Insanity that Roared Through Tokyo

Starting on Friday, the biannual Comic Market (aka “Comiket”) was held in Tokyo. Just as in previous years, the 2012 summer Comiket featured a whole slew of cosplayers milling about and posing for pics. Here are some of them. Sister site Kotaku Japan and cosplay blog Asagawo were on hand to soak up the festivities…

Kazunori Yamauchi won’t say when GT6 is coming out, because people will say it’s been delayed. Talk about forecasting.

This Store Sells Food. Plastic Food.

In Japan, fake food can look very, very real. It’s called “shokuhin sample” (食品サンプル) or “food sample”, and it appears outside restaurants so customers can know what they are ordering. Website DannyChoo.com recently visited a Tokyo shop called “Maizuru” that specializes in selling shokuhin sample. Most restaurants work closely with plastic food makers to accurately…

The Flood Tragedy Is Real. This Viral Photo Is Probably Not.

Last week, torrential rain battered the Philippines. According to CNN, flooding has impacted 2.4 million people. Tragically, the death toll has reached 90, and there are concerns over the spread of disease. Serious stuff. Online in Japan, there are photos of Filipinos dealing with an awful situation the best way they can. Some of the…

Child Reunited With LEGO Wheel That’s Been Up His Nose For Three Years

Since Issak Lasson was three, the boy experienced sinus problems. According to KSL.com, years of doctor visits and prescription medication didn’t ease the kid’s ills. That’s because for half his life, six-year-old Issak Lasson has been living with a LEGO up his nose. Last month, a doctor finally noticed something peculiar up Issak’s nose. “I…

I Want an Entire Coffee Table Book Made From This Video Game Artist’s Amazing Paintings

Ruan Jia is a concept artist currently living in Quebec. Having formerly worked for Chinese developers NetDragon, his most recent gig was with Volta, a studio that specialises in providing things like art and world building for video game companies. His art isn’t just great by concept art standards. If I could print these off…

100 of Cinema’s Most Maniacal Laughs Gets Your Monday Off to a Great Start

The clip’s title, “100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs”, pretty much sums it up. What’s intended as creepy, unsettling or even mildly terrifying in a movie becomes one hell of a gag when they’re all played back-to-back. 100 Greatest Maniacal Movie Laughs [honsco]

The Neo Geo Returns This December (For $200!)

Remember in January how everyone got a little excited about the official return of the Neo Geo brand, via a new handheld system called the NEOGEO X GOLD? Yeah, well, it might be time to get a little less excited. Because the thing costs $200. That’s right. For a small handheld that plays a bunch…

What if Assassin’s Creed Looked More Like Star Wars?

This futuristic take on what looks like Ezio, from the Assassin’s Creed series, was designed by artist Davis Lim. It takes the Renaissance killer and drops him squarely in the future. Or, if you prefer, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I’m getting a very “Old Republic” feel from that armour…

Van Damme “Showed Cammy His Thailand” While Filming The Terrible 90s Street Fighter Movie

Just in case you needed a little more background to the relationship between Jean-Claude Van Damme (Guile) and Kylie Minogue (Cammy) in the 1994 Street Fighter movie, know that according to the Belgian brawler/breakdancer the pair enjoyed a real-life “affair” behind the scenes. So, um, who gives a shit? I do, because he describes it…

Just Cause 2 Mod is Redefining the Term “Massively Multiplayer”

To recap: smart people are introducing multiplayer to the PC version of sandbox shooter Just Cause 2. A public beta was held last week, and another is just winding up now. It continues to look like just about the best thing ever Rather than only letting 4-8 people onto the game’s enormous map at a…

If Only This Beautiful Majora’s Mask 3DS Was Real

As far as we know, Nintendo isn’t working on a 3DS version of classic Zelda title Majora’s Mask. So as far as we know, they’re not working on a special Majora’s Mask edition of the Nintendo 3DS, either. Pity. Fan Cameron Smith is, though, and has drawn up his idea for what such a handheld…

Report: GameStop is One of the Worst Places to Work in America

Using data from online employment portal Glassdoor, business site 24/7 Wall St has compiled a list of what they claim are the worst places to work in the United States. Everybody’s favourite specialist retailer GameStop managed to make the cut, finishing in tenth place. Why? The chief reasons cited from current and former employees include…

“XBOX Durango Development Kit” Sells For $20,000

The nondescript black PC tower that its seller claims is a Durango (ie, the next Xbox console) development kit has now been sold. The winning bid? Oh, a trifling $20,100. For that price, the buyer has either got themselves an unexpectedly early look at the future of the Xbox brand or the world’s most expensive…

No, This Isn’t a Photo From an Upcoming Tomb Raider Movie

The best cosplay images rarely involve someone who just has a nice costume, or someone who can act the part, or even pretty photos. It’s usually the result of all three things combined, something this amazing shot certainly manages. Photographer Balázs Sármai and model Csenge Huszár, with make-up and effects assistance from Karolina Neszteli and…

At Least One Man Still Plays Draw Something, And He’s Damn Good

Its popularity may have been the very definition of “flash in the pan”, but there are still some people out there playing social smash Draw Something. And some of those people have gotten good. Real good. James Corbe has been cataloguing his images, most of which are off-kilter answers that involve tributes to the Criterion…

DayZ Hackers Introduce Death by Teleporting Dance Party

Hackers are rampant throughout zombie survival mod DayZ, and while this can often by a massive pain in the ass, it can also – occasionally – be cause for celebration. Like this elaborate move, which teleported an entire map’s worth of human players to an airfield, where they were left dancing the night away until…

The Week in Games: Canis Major

Square Enix picked up Sleeping Dogs from Activision’s scrap heap and early word is it’s worth a good look. Maybe being freed from True Crime‘s heavy yoke of disappointment will help the concept live out its promise. Darksiders II also hits shelves, and the Summer of Arcade closes out as the kids return to school./…

The Game is the Same and the Rules Don’t Change—So Why Do the Controls?

In basketball, it was the three-point line, or the reintroduction of the zone defense. In baseball, it’s the designated hitter, or an All-Star game played for stakes. In American football, it’s instant replay, or the two-point conversion, or moving the goal posts to the back of the end zone. All sports have confronted and incorporated…

Sons Of Anarchy Game Adaptation Has ‘No Traction,’ But That’s Better Than Being ‘A Piece of Shit Like Game of Thrones‘ Says Creator

Done right, the well regarded FX biker gang series Sons of Anarchy would seem to be a natural fit for a game adaptation. It’s got guns, violence, antiheroes and a natural open-world setting. Doing it right, however, takes a lot of money and commitment. That is is why the series is getting “NO TRACTION” toward…