• Kotaku East

  Namco Bandai’s Latest Gundam Game Is Free*! (*Not Completely)

  Gundam is a bit like a Japanese version of Star Trek: It’s an epic sci-fi fantasy series with multiple spin-offs and games (some of which fans don’t like to talk about), a massive fan base, a gargantuan library of technical information, and it all came from an original series that was canceled during its initial…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published June 28, 2012
• Kotaku East

  This Gaming Mouse Has a Fan. A Spinning Fan. Really.

  Taiwanese peripheral maker Thermaltake created this: a gaming mouse with a fan that, and I quote, “blows away your gaming tension and sweat.” Better than just saying “it blows”. Thermaltake’s Element Gaming Mouse Cyclone Edition’s cooling fan is detachable, because, c’mon. The Cyclone Edition is the world’s first pro-gaming mouse with a fan—and probably the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Raw Liver Rush Ends in Stomachaches

  Raw liver has long been a delicacy in Japan, but after food poisoning worries, the country’s health ministry decided to ban the raw food. This week, liver lovers have been rushing to restaurants to get their last taste. Four of them ended up ended up ill. According The Mainichi Daily News, four women in Fukuoka…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Nintendo Says More 3DS Models Would “Perplex” Gamers

  Right now, there’s one type of 3DS handheld you can buy. This summer, a larger 3DS, called the 3DS XL, will be released. So, you’ll have two options. What about a third option? You know, with the add-on extra circle pad already on board? At a Nintendo meeting today, honcho Satoru Iwata (above, blowing crap…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Feel Good Fighting Game Story of the Summer

  The fighting game community gets a bum rap. Sometimes it’s deserved. Often it’s not. There are good people in the fighting game community. People like Daigo Umehara. People like Osamu Ichikawa. And people like the folks at Shoryuken. Osamu has cerebral palsy, a condition he was diagnosed with when he was one. For his whole…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now. Right Now.

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

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 28, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Former Age of Mythology Star Now Makes a Killing Playing Pro Poker

  Not long after we brought you the story of Griffin “Flush_Entity” Benger, former pro Counter-Strike player and now pro poker player, comes another tale of a champ gamer hanging up the controller in exchange for a cold stare and a fistful of cards. Englishman Rob “Vaga_Lion” Akery has made over $600,000 playing poker, using skills…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• Uncategorized

  It’s Frustrating Trying to Have Sex in a Zynga Game

  Kelly Bourdet writes a column over on Vice called Future Sex. It’s about “how technology affects our personal relationships”. In this case, it’s about signing up for Zynga’s Sims clone The Ville and trying to knock some digital boots. Sadly, the game is a little obstructive. “Frustratingly, the “make out” and “snuggle” options, which my…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Quantum Conundrum Turned Into a Real, Live Game Show

  Square Enix and art group iam8bit have gone and done a thing. They’ve paid for a TV show based on first-person puzzler Quantum Conundrum, and it’s going to be hosted by Kevin Pereira. It’s called The Super Dimensional Quantum Learning’s Problems and Solutions Gametime Spectacular!!, and will put contestants in a replica of the game’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Oh God, Jennifer Lopez Might (Still) be Carmen Sandiego

  There’s been talk of a Hollywood adaptation of classic educational series Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego for years now, but it looks like the project is finally starting to pick up some steam. Darren Lemke (Shrek Forever) is writing, while one of the producers, Jennifer Lopez, is still looking to star in the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• Culture

  A Game of Thrones Concept Art Banished to The Wall

  Cyril Tahmassebi is a French concept artist and visual designer who has worked on games like Darkworks, I’m Alive, Project Kane and, most recently, Dishonored and Cyanide’s Game of Thrones RPG. While that lost one might not have been much of a game, the art Tahmassebi put together for it is terrific Every piece you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• Uncategorized

  This Nutty Graphics Card Looks Like Ammo For a Sci-Fi Gun

  Colorful, a Chinese firm specialising in Nvidia cards, is bringing us this. The iGame GTX 680. It’s ostensibly just a single GTX 680, currently Nvidia’s flagship single-GPU card. But look at it. The iGame GTX 680 doesn’t have a fan like just about every card on the planet. Instead, it packs its own pair of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Um, It’s Not Really Atari’s 40th Birthday

  There was much fanfare today as Atari celebrated its 40th birthday. Only, it’s not really Atari’s 40th birthday. I hate to be that guy, but the Atari of 2012 has about as much in common with Nolan Bushnell’s original company as my beard trimmings do. Maybe even less, since Nolan has a killer beard. The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  What’s the Deal With All These German Cyborgs?

  One game featuring a German with extendable robot arms is a thing. Two is a coincidence. But three? All starring in games developed by Japanese studios? OK, three is a pattern. This post over on GameWTFs, highlighting ten cyborgs starring in Super Nintendo games, contains not one, not two, but three Germans with robot arms.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Private Eyes, And Regular Eyes, Are Watching You

  Hi there Kotaku, and a happy Wednesday to you. It’s 10:30 PM, and that means it must be time for the open thread. We’re all so constantly connected to social media that it’s easy to forget just how many people can see everything we say. So thank goodness for WeKnowWhatYoureDoing.com, who have put together a…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The 3DS XL Getting Its Own Circle Pad Pro

  When Nintendo revealed the 3DS XL, Kotaku asked the game maker about the Circle Pad Pro—you know, the add-on circle pad—as it would be too small for the larger 3DS. Nintendo said that the company had nothing to announce at that time. Fast forward to today. In the recent issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 27, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Sony’s Best Commercial in Years

  For around a decade, Sony and its various advertising agencies managed to create not only some of the most memorable commercials in gaming, but straight-up of the most memorable advertisements. While things haven’t been too bad lately – Kevin Butler has his fans, and as corny as it is, “Michael” was a neat idea –…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Insanity, Urination and Other Things to Watch Out for in The Amazing Spider-Man

  While we continue our review-aimed adventure with the new Peter Parker under, over and through the streets of New York, here are some of the fun features of The Amazing Spider-Man you can expect to experience in the game’s earliest moments. I’d make a joke here about crazy people urinating and the authentic New York…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 27, 2012
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  Max Payne’s Day-To-Day Life Probably Shouldn’t Be This Funny

  And yet it is. This video by Michael Shanks (the same man behind that great Box-Art Brawl video from last week) depicts the high’s and lows, mostly lows, of Mr. Max Payne’s day-to-day life. Yes, it’s a joke that’s been done before. Perhaps too many times. And yet the execution here is pretty damned funny.…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 27, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Liara, You’re Looking Awfully Blue Today. And Very Three-Dimensional.

  Hello, Dr. T’soni. Why are you looking at me that way? One Reddit user Nobody_home’s cousin is apparently both a sculptor or prop artist and a Mass Effect fan. This recreation of Liara may not be pitch-perfect—she’s hovering somewhere between her earlier, innocent archaeologist self and her later, darker, Shadow Broker self—but it’s still remarkably…

  By Kate Cox Published June 27, 2012