• Kotaku East

  Report: Tales of Xillia 2 Dated

  According to leaks from Japanese magazine Weekly Jump, role-playing game Tales of Xillia 2 will be out November 1 in Japan. [ゲーム情報！ゲームのはなし]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  John Travolta Sure Looks Like a Japanese Manga Character

  People age. They get old. Some retain their youthful looks. Others gracefully slide into their golden years. John Travolta? The 58 year-old now resembles a Japanese manga character. Last night, Travolta appeared at the Savages premiere, making out with his wife and seemingly groomed as professional assassin Golgo 13. It’s not just the clothes, it’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Hindu Leader Says Controlling Goddess in Online Game Is “Denigration”

  Upcoming free-to-play online game Smite features three Hindu gods: Kali, Vamana and Agni. According to religious leader Rajan Zed, the manner that they are depicted in the game is insensitive to Hindu worshippers. The game, Zed contends, trivializes these highly revered Hindu deities, who are worshipped in temples and home shrines and not simply reduced…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Sony Boss Steps Down from Sony Computer Entertainment

  Kaz Hirai, Sony’s CEO, is stepping down as chairman and executive director at SCE. He’ll still be involved in a part-time capacity, however. The decision seems to be so Hirai can focus on running Sony Corp. [Inside Games]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Luigi Has a Bra on His Face

  Cannot. Unsee. Reddit user SexyPenguin‘s seven year-old daughter pointed out that Luigi’s mustache looked like a bra. That it does. That it really, really does. No wonder Luigi’s so frightened—you would be too if you had underwear permanently affixed to your face. My friend’s 7 year old daughter told me… [Reddit]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Meet Dead or Alive 5‘s Newest Fighter

  This is Rig, the latest fighter to enter the Dead or Alive 5 fray. Not much is known about the new character: He’s from Canada and his fighting style is taekwondo. Voice actor Hiroki Tochi, who has done lots of work with game studio Tri-Ace, will bring Rig to life. The first images of Rig…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Dangerous Game of Real-Life Frogger Almost Ends in Tragedy

  Growing up, my parents taught me two things: be polite and don’t play in the street. These two kids in Changde, China might know their Ps and Qs, but it looks like they didn’t get the memo about playing in traffic. Out of what appears to be sheer boredom, the two young children sprint across…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 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 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  That’s No Moon…It’s An Insanely Detailed Death Star Made Out of a Ping Pong Ball

  Japanese craftsman tatumaru5963 took a ping pong ball, cut a piece out of it, made some alterations, painted it up and hey presto. A teeny tiny version of the Second Death Star. I look at the size of this thing, I try to think of the skill needed to get it looking this good, and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  This is Why I’m So Damn Excited About Carrier Command

  I’ve been chipping away at Carrier Command’s beta for a while now, and telling most people who’ll listen how much fun I’ve been having. Those who know the track record of developers Bohemia Interactive (ArmA) or the limitations of the original game it’s based on (first released in 1988) often wonder why that is. This…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Meet the New Woman Behind Lara Croft

  Developers Eidos have done away with the long-standing tradition of having a real-life Lara Croft promote a Tomb Raider game. Instead, they’ve done something far more useful: brought in someone to actually play Croft in the game English actress Camilla Luddington will basically be Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, as she’s done…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Argh This Game Just Threw Up All Over The Inside of my Brain

  This is TRIP. By Axel Shokk. There’s not much to it, apparently, just wandering around exploring a world, checking out some animals. But what a world this is. It’s like an acid trip sat down and learned how to program in Unity. If the trailer above doesn’t send you lunging for a way to end…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  What a $750 Pair of Star Wars Figures Look Like

  You know what? Never tell me the odds. It was only yesterday I took a look at Sideshow’s new Boba Fett figure, and today, they’re wheeling out two more. Well, one? Two figures, but they come in the one box. The pairing is an obvious one: C-3PO and R2-D2. Unlike the company’s Sixth Scale pieces,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• Culture

  Concept Art From The Last of Us, Prey 2, Tomb Raider…

  James Paick is a freelance concept artist who has worked on more big games recently than I could fit in that headline. Since I’ve got more room down here, here’s a continued selection: The Last of Us, Uncharted 2, Prey 2, Infamous 2, Medal of Honor, Tomb Raider, Lost Planet 3… ...Resistance 3, Tron, City…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  See the Wii U’s Zombie Shooter In Action With Ten Minutes of Gameplay Footage

  Kirk walked away from E3 quite impressed with Ubisoft’s Wii U shooter ZombiU, but since none of us got to see what the game really looked like, we had to take him at his bullet-pointed word For those of you who distrust saxophone players – and really, who can blame you – try watching this…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Upcoming LEGO Movie Sounds Almost Too Good to be True

  When Warner Bros. was first trying to put a LEGO movie together, one of the groups it approached was Blur Studios. Sadly, their vision of a coming-of-age quest didn’t get the nod. But you know what, that’s OK. Because what we’ve got instead might be just as good. Variety reports that the actual and upcoming…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Q: Why the Sega Saturn Never Really Took Off in the West

  A: Because this ad, and this console, never appeared outside Japan. Many people blame the Dreamcast for Sega’s exit from the console market, but that’s a harsh point for both the console and the company. Really, it was the Saturn that marked the beginning of the end. The market share the Saturn ceded to Nintendo…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 26, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Nintendo Made a Poker Machine. That You Shot At.

  Regular Kotaku readers will of course know that Nintendo hasn’t always made video games. The company has dabbled in everything from love hotels to badass “LEGO” sets. It also, in the early 1970s, tried its hand at electronic card games. In about the most bizarre way imaginable. This is Electro Poker, released in 1971. It…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Tell Me You Don’t Want To Go To Hawaii After Seeing These Pictures

  One of my favorite things ever on earth is crisp, clear blue water. Throw a dash of sunlight on that, and bam. Perfection. This shot of a curling wave in Hawaii looks pretty fantastic. It also looks pretty. If you look at it as a small thumbnail, it kind of looks like a Monet painting,…

  By Tina Amini Published June 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Last of Us and the Rest of the Game Critics Award Winners of E3 2012

  Who won E3 2012? Judging from the results of the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2012, Sony takes tops honors. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us scored five wins, but I’m more impressed by the tiny triumphs of Sound Shapes and Unfinished Swan An epic cinematic experience that isn’t a sequel to anything, The…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2012