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  Kotaku East

  One of Japan’s Greatest Directors Brings Steel Battalion to Life

  Mamoru Oshii, the creative force behind the Ghost in the Shell anime, recently helmed a live-action TV spot for Kinect game Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. This is it. The result will look familiar to those who saw Oshii’s 2001 live-action flick Avalon Yes, this is a nice spot. Needs more basset hound, though. Check out…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  A Love of Japanese Vending Machines

  While some Japanese vending machines are under fire for offering sexy good times, the vast, vast majority of vending machines offer only beverages. Good times, though! You can buy either cold or hot canned drinks. I’ve always been fascinated about being able to buy a can of hot coffee. It’s truly marvelous. And sometimes you…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Guild 01 Sequel, Guild 02, Features Ant-Sized Tanks And Monsters Every Friday

  Guild 01, the collection of 4 different games by 4 different directors from Level-5 for the 3DS, which will be hitting the stores in Japan on the 31st of this month, already has a sequel in the works. Guild 02 does not have a release date yet, but already it’s looking to be as outlandish…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Nine Nerd Belongings That Freak Japanese Ladies Out

  If you are a nerd, be proud. But also beware that some people in Japan might not be totally cool with your otaku (geek) lifestyle—even fellow geeks. There are otaku belongings, let’s call them lifestyle products, that make some recoil. Everyone has his or her own boundaries! Japanese website Sugoren ran a list of nine…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 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 May 24, 2012
• Culture

  What is This, Video Games or a Fashion Show?

  Jace Wallace is a concept artist currently employed by Electronic Arts. Some of his more recent works include The Sims 3. But don’t let that put you off what you’re about to see. Because what you’re about to see is some beautiful art. You can see a lot more stuff at Jace’s personal site To…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Another Enormous, Expensive Metal Gear Figure

  Though it was unveiled last month at an event in Hong Kong, it was tough to get an idea of the scale of threeA’s Metal Gear Ray figure until now. And boy, it’s just as big and ridiculously excessive as the company’s Metal Gear Rex was That “small” figure underneath it is Square Enix’s Cyborg…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Designing a Better Face for Mass Effect’s Tali

  There comes a point in Mass Effect 3 where, your actions permitting, you get to see what Tali looks like under her mask. To say it’s a crushing disappointment is to take the piss Rather than stew in her own rage and/or send hostile emails to BioWare employees, Finnish artist K4ll0 decided to set things…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Soviets Are Making Their Own Fallout, and it Looks Great

  Novy Soyuz is an upcoming game from Best Way, the Ukranian devs behind the excellent strategy series Men at War. It’s basically Fallout, only set in the USSR. The story – translated by Reddit user Dreamercz, since the game’s page isn’t in English – is that the Cuban Missile Crisis doesn’t end so peacefully, and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Now THIS is How You Celebrate a Game’s Anniversary

  It’s been really disappointing in the last few years watching companies like Nintendo do so little to really commemorate significant anniversaries in the life of beloved game franchises. Mario got a tiny little extras disc while Zelda got even less. Capcom, though, seem to know what long-time fans are looking for with their anniversaries, that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Relax, The Xbox 360 Probably Isn’t Going to be Banned

  International Trade Commission judge David Shaw has recommended that the import and sale of Xbox 360 consoles in the US be halted immediately. Sounds drastic, I know, but maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds. Speaking with GI.biz, patent expert Florian Mueller says “I’ve never seen an ITC judge make any other recommendation than…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Leaked Copernicus Screens Look Like a Futuristic World of Warcraft

  Most likely spilled by a disgruntled current/former employee of developer 38 Studios, which isn’t exactly having the best time of it at the moment, a Kingdoms of Amalur fansite has what sure look like the first screens from Copernicus, the codename for 38’s upcoming MMO. While we recently got to see a trailer for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Increase Loyalty To Your Government In This Game. Or Else.

  Like something out of the book 1984, The Republia Times is a small flash game that forces the player to become complicit in a government’s attempt to increase public loyalty. You are a news editor tasked with choosing stories that best function as propaganda. You need to assure the world that Everything Is Okay in…

  By Patricia Hernandez Published May 24, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  The Secret Behind the Success of DayZ, the Most Interesting PC “Game” of 2012

  You can keep your Diablos, the most interesting thing to happen to PC gaming this year has easily been DayZ, a zombie survival mod for military shooter ArmA II What’s even more impressive than the experience itself, though, is the fact it was created by a single man, New Zealander Dean Hall. So earlier this…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Excitement of Driving a Public Bus Around Tokyo. Very Slowly.

  Japan has a long and storied tradition of developing games where you are a train driver. Doing very little but going forwards, backwards and slowing down at stations. If that sounds a little too pedestrian for your tastes, well, there’s always Tokyo Bus Guide. Released around the turn of the milennium on the Dreamcast (and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  Game Box Nipples and Gunsmoke Moustaches

  This is Game Over, a title for the Spectrum, first released in 1987. A game released amidst controversy. See, while later editions of the game would feature slightly edited variations of the box art, the original featured one of video gaming’s first wardrobe malfunctions. You could see half a nipple. And it caused an outrage.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!

  Hello there, Kotaku. We had a crazy day today, and I haven’t been able to accumulate links for you. So instead, here, have one of my favorite stand-up routines ever. When I was a kid, my parents would play us Bill Cosby tapes when we were in the car, and this bit in particular has…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 23, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Too Human is Worth, Oh, a Few Bucks, Says Judge

  The great Silicon Knights-Epic Games slapfight is at last underway in a courtroom, but already a judge has suggested that even if the maker of Too Human wins, it could lose. He’s said that the damages up for grabs are $1. That’s because Silicon Knights failed to provide him with a timely, or acceptable, itemization…

  By Owen Good Published May 23, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  Why Yes, I Will Play a Music/Fighting Vita Game That Lets Me Import My Own Tunes

  I know I’m not alone in thinking that the best fighting games have their own rhythm—you get in the zone of a Street Fighter, BlazBlue or even Mortal Kombat and it’s a lot like drumming. So it seemed like it was only a matter of time before we got an actual full-on music/fighting game. (As…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 23, 2012
• Uncategorized

  How Diablo III‘s Always-On Internet Requirement Makes It a Better Game

  Last week’s rough launch of Diablo III neatly illustrated the biggest problem with the game’s ‘always-on’ internet requirement. It was a reminder that consumers have lost a portion of their ownership of the game, that we no longer have complete control even over whether or not our game will start. That’s as true this week…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published May 23, 2012