Wrong About Japan’s Coolness

A recent issue of the Japanese edition of Newsweek poses this question: Is Cool Japan going cold? The cover reads “Cool Japan Is Running Out of Steam” (息切れクールジャパン). The article centers on “Cool Japan”, which was adopted by the Japanese government and trade organizations that hoped to tap into the country’s soft power status. Cool…

Kotaku East Starts Now

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Now Anyone Can Cosplay in This “Armoured” Hoodie

Cosplay normally requires, at least in theory, a ton of design and manufacturing work. Followed by modelling and photography. That’s even more work. If you want to look like something fancy and dressed up, it’s way easier to just buy one of these hoodies. Then you can say you’re cosplaying Dragon Age, or Skyrim, or…

That Left 4 Dead Prequel Rumour Was, Sadly, a Bust

That rumour last week that there was a Left 4 Dead prequel in development? Yeah, not true. “We’re trying to be a little coy and a little fun because we want the communities to discover it,” Valve’ Chet Falisek told PCGamesN, “but those guys are still making Payday: The Heist, we’re still making Left 4…

Thundercats, and Concept Art, Ho!

Tyler Breon is an artist who has previously worked on properties such as Spider Man, Uncharted and God of War, including the most recent title in the series, the upcoming Ascension He’s currently employed at Big Red Button Entertainment, who are working on unannounced projects. If you like what you see here, you can check…

The Best of Old and New Gaming Collide in Mercenary Kings

The latest title from Tribute Games, the developers of the wonderful Wizorb, is Mercenary Kings. At first glance, it looks like a homage to old side-scrollers like Metal Slug. And, in some ways, it is! But it also involves something a little more contemporary, at least in its scope: crafting. The levels will be littered…

This Game Might Actually Get “Force Powers” Right

While it’s still very early in development – hence the rough edges – there’s still a ton of promise to be found in Stillalive Studio’s Son of Nor Looking like an Avatar game in everything but the, um, official license, players use the terrain and the elements as their weapons, shifting the landscape and creating…

For Cheaters in Max Payne 3, Hell is Other Cheaters

Max Payne 3 developers Rockstar have come up with a tidy solution to the problem of dealing with online cheaters: throw them in the same room together and let them kill (or at least annoy) each other. Here’s Rockstar’s explanation: Anyone found to have used hacked saves, modded games, or other exploits to gain an…

Blizzard Limits the Number of Diablo III Games You Can Create

In an effort to “help reduce server strain and improve overall game stability”, Blizzard has placed an undisclosed limit on the number of new Diablo III games a player may create in quick succession. While this will annoy those “farming” for rare items, who will create a game, quickly check stuff, leave then create another…

When PC Games Look Like Complete Shit

As the current generation of consoles get older and older, we’re seeing PC games like Battlefield 3, Crysis 2 and even Max Payne 3 already start to look decidedly next-gen. At least, they do if you’ve got a decent rig. If you don’t, then your games won’t look as good as they do in official…

See How Tron’s Original Arcade Looks Today

In the 1982 film Tron, nearly everything takes place, in one way or another, inside a joint called Flynn’s Arcade. While at E3 last week, video game historian Scott Patterson decided to skip the noise and light and go and see how the building used for filming is looking today. It’s…not bad! It’s still clearly…

Holy Crap, It’s a Dog With Perfect Pitch

Look at this little guy, matching notes like a pro! How does he do it? Well… okay, so maybe he’s just trained to follow his owner’s visual cues and hit the right keys. Regardless, I’m going to pretend this is real, because ignorance is bliss. And my god, I want this to be real. Also,…

This Video Game is a “Paedophile Haven”, Apparently

Being neither a small child or, it turns out, a paedophile, I had no idea, but according to a documentary put together by Britain’s Channel 4, kid’s online game Habbo is the place to go if you want someone to ” licky your v a g i n a”. The report collects a ton of…

This World War II Dogfighter Barely Feels Like a Mad Catz Game Anymore

When peripheral maker Mad Catz first announced it was going into the game publishing business, I laughed. When I got my first look last year at what was then called War Wings: Hell Catz, I laughed harder. Last week I got a chance to play the newly-renamed Damage Inc.: Pacific Squadron WWII, I’m not laughing…

Damage Gallery

Gaming’s Top Screenshot Artist Has Been Capturing Dishonored

Well, this is pretty cool. Duncan Harris, the man who runs the eye-popping website Dead End Thrills (and whose work you’ll see from time to time right here at Kotaku), has been working with Bethesda to create in-game photography from their upcoming game Dishonored In what feels like an uncommon move for a publisher, Harris…

The Best Zombie Mod in Gaming Now Has a Wicked-Cool Cinematic Trailer

Hopefully you’ve been following along with the saga of DayZ, Dean Hall’s amazing, brutal Arma II mod that adds zombies to the already intense and realistic open-ended shooter. In case you haven’t played it yet and are curious, you can now watch an extended, gritty-as-hell trailer that effectively scratches the surface of just what makes…

Holy Talking Minifigs, LEGO Batman 2!

This is what will keep me from losing interest in LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes as I did other LEGO games. Love the toys, love the concept, but I need talking, preferably of the witty variety. This’ll do.

Can Nintendo Convince Us To Care About The Wii U?

For this week’s Burning Questions, Jason and Kirk return from E3 to talk about their impressions of Nintendo’s next big console. What kinds of new games will the Wii U make possible? What will it take for the Wii U to be a success for gamers? Why can’t any company but Microsoft make an easy-to-use…