• Kotaku East

  See How the Amazing Final Fantasy Tech Demo Stands Up to Pre-Rendered Graphics

  Square Enix, the folks behind Final Fantasy, are working on a new game engine. And hot damn, it looks fantastic Recently, Square Enix showed a real time demo of the tech in action. In the above gallery, you can see how a pre-rendered version stacks up with a real-time version. This shows just how stunning…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012
• 

  Kotaku East

  How Nintendo Created a Sex Symbol

  Dressed in smart business attire and glasses, she takes her seat behind a desk. She’s here to explain a turn-based strategy game. Yet, online forums are buzzing in Japan that she is “way too erotic”. She is Cepko Culd, Japanese gaming’s newest sex symbol. With Culdcept for 3DS, Nintendo is bringing Omiya Soft’s classic fantasy…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now!

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  You’ve Probably Never Seen These Smash Bros. Challengers Before

  You can modify the Wii’s Smash Bros. to play differently, sure, but you can also mod it to look differently, using existing models as templates to introduce a whole range of new characters to the game. Samba Di Amigo? He’s there. Woody and Buzz from Toy Story? They’re there. Carl from Up? Yup. There’s even…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  You Can Now Control (Some of) Your Xbox 360 From a Phone

  Microsoft released an update to its Xbox Live iPhone app yesterday that adds some basic remote functionality, letting you launch games and navigate menus from your iPhone. For some reason that good stuff is iPhone-only; the iPad version didn’t get it, and the new Android edition doesn’t have it either. [Microsoft]

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  When LEGO Becomes Political Art

  We normally associate LEGO with childish things. Playful things. Which is exactly why artist Mike Doyle used it to craft this powerful piece on Iraq. A staunch opponent of America’s actions in the country, Doyle has taken material normally used for stuff like giant robots and turned it into a work that, while the politics…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Now This is One Badass Metal Gear Figure

  I liked the last Metal Gear figures Play Arts released, but I like the looks of this one a lot more. Metal Gear Solid 2’s Solidus Snake is the next character from the series to get the action figure treatment from Square Enix’s toy division, and he’s a beauty. You’d think those arms would be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• 

  Culture

  This One’s For Fans of Blizzard’s Cinematic Trailers

  David Luong is an artist who, aside from helping out on a number of big-budget Hollywood movies, has also been involved with several Blizzard titles, including Diablo III, World of Warcraft and StarCraft II While he’s done visual FX work as a compositor on some of Blizzard’s best cinematic trailers, he also does matte paintings,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Nintendo Handhelds Given a Very Sexy Sega Makeoever

  It doesn’t matter that Sega hasn’t made hardware for over a decade. Let’s pretend that, in addition to teaming up for Olympics sporting games, the company also partners with Nintendo to make handheld game consoles. These customised pieces show a 3DS and DSi with a very Sega makeoever, both given the livery of a Mega…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Two Best Twitter Accounts Around (For Video Games)

  Use Twitter? You just might! You may, if you’re one of the clever ones, be following sites like this, or people like this Those two are OK, I guess, but they’re far from my favourite. Especially when it comes to video games. Instead, that honour is shared between two accounts. Two very different accounts. I…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• Uncategorized

  An Idiot Was Paid $5 Million to Smuggle Cocaine Inside an Xbox

  It was only a month ago we heard of a guy who tried, and failed, to hide a few bricks of coke inside an Xbox. Guyanese drug smugglers obviously don’t keep up with the news. Border authorities in Jamaica have arrested a man who, after initially clearing customs with two items of luggage, tried to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  An Evolving History of Old Video Games For Girls

  Think back to the video games of the 80s and 90s and most characters, let alone protagonists, were dudes. But not all of them. Which is where the delightfully-named Femicom comes in. It’s a website that’s looking to “collect information about 20th century electronic games and toys, especially video games and computer software, that feature…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 13, 2012
• 

  CultureTotal Recall

  The Secrets, and Threats, Lurking Behind Pokémon Games

  This is the first episode of Did You Know Gaming?, a new series close to my heart because it does exactly what I try to do here with Total Recall: not necessarily dwell on the known history of games, but the more interesting stuff hiding in the background. It’s off to a good start, with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  What Will Become of Game of Thrones In The Long Run?

  Oh hi there, Kotaku. Welcome to the Wednesday night open thread! For tonight’s open thread, a single prompt, brought on by a great article over at Pajiba. What will happen to Game of Thrones, long-term? Brian Byrd lays out a number of big challenges for the show, including the fact that “There’s no way HBO…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Medal of Honor: Warfighter is Releasing a ‘Military-Only’ Edition

  Active, reserve, and retired members of the U.S. armed forces (and government employees) can buy a “Military Edition” of Medal of Honor: Warfighter when the game releases in October, Electronic Arts said today. A news release announcing the “Military Edition” said it would be available exclusively through GovX—”a privileged e-commerce Web site where qualified members…

  By Owen Good Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Daenerys Targaryen Takes to America’s City Streets to Find Her Lost Dragons

  Has anyone seen Daenerys’ dragons? Anyone? No? I guess there’s nothing left to do but hang up some flyers like you would with any other lost pet. What: THREE (3) MISSING BABY DRAGONS Last Seen: QARTH Reward: AN ALL EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO KING’S LANDING IN WESTEROS HA. If you’ve seen them, call Jorah. Or,…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Nintendo’s Not Worried About SmartGlass, Because You Only Have Two Hands

  While E3 was occupying everyone’s attention last week, Nintendo held an analyst event for their investors. During the Q&A, one meeting participant honed in on something many of us have been wondering since Microsoft unveiled their SmartGlass, and posed the question: “Are you worried about SmartGlass? How does Nintendo intend to differentiate its hardware system?”…

  By Kate Cox Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  These Gifs Prove That Mad Men Would Make For a Fantastic Video Game

  The fifth season of Mad Men has concluded, and now we must all sit in silence, have long conversations about symbolism… and wait for a depressingly long time for the next season to begin. Why can’t they just make a video game version of the show? Our own Patricia Hernandez was asking this same question…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 13, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Story of a Family in Turmoil After a Video Game Studio Closes its Doors

  The collapse of 38 Studios has been notable not just for the scale and suddenness of the closure, but the manner in which it has affected employees. It’s easy for us to read a story about a shuttered game developer, think of the games we’ll never get to see, then move on with our lives.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 13, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  As Promised, Here I am Looking Like a Jackass Playing NBA Baller Beats

  We saved my weirdest E3 appointment for last—checking out the rhythm/sports hybrid NBA Baller Beats from Majesco and HB Games about four hours before my flight last Thursday. The teaser videos may have looked ridiculous, but some of that can be attributed to overacting and over-editing. How does this Kinect game look when someone is…

  By Owen Good Published June 13, 2012