- Kotaku East
No Fox News, The Entire Nation of Japan Isn’t Going Extinct
This year marked the first year in Japan that the sale of adult diapers surpassed baby nappies. The country’s population is declining. The country isn’t going gray. It already is. What it’s not doing is going extinct. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there was a huge youth boom in Japan that reflected a baby boom.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 -
UncategorizedIt’s Like Metal Gear, Metal Gear…Pomeranian
This last weekend, Sony kicked off a nationwide promotional tour for the June 7 release of Tokyo Jungle at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara. While the event consisted of little more than a spokesperson and two demo stations, I was able to spend almost a half hour with Sony’s newest big name PS3 title. The demo…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published May 15, 2012 - Kotaku East
Hollywood + Pokémon = … Pokéwood?
The homepage for the upcoming Pokémon game for the DS, Black and White 2 has been updated with some news and new features of the game, including movie making. The starter pokémon is the same as its previous version; Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. But instead of Professor Juniper greeting you in the beginning, it will…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published May 15, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Real Weapons of Modern Warfare
Earlier this month, Astana, Kazakhstan played host to an international military equipment expo. You know, like E3, but with real guns, real tanks, and real fighter planes. So nothing like E3, then. Still, there were grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and an array of combat vehicles and aircraft—basically, a bunch of stuff you can see in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Looks Like a Japanese RPG, But It’s a First-Person Shooter (No, Really!)
Japanese games get pigeonholed: Young characters with big eyes swinging big swords. Screw swords, give them guns! Independent game developers Ayaemo Research Institute’s latest project, The Legend of Alfur, is a PC first-person shooter. There are shades of Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles, which was a third-person shooter. But make no mistake, The Legend of Alfur is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 - Kotaku East
South Korea Set Ablaze with Fancy Diablo III Outfits
At the Diablo III launch in Seoul, the country’s most famous cosplayer collective, Spiral Cats, was on hand to help kick of the game’s Korean release. Spiral Cats donned Diablo III outfits and appeared at a stage show for the game. In the world of Korean cosplay, the group is about as big as they…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Well, I’d Say This Stupid Error Message About Sums It Up, Diablo III-Wise
Hey, I know that server errors are to be expected when an online game launches. That doesn’t make it any less annoying that I’ve been trying (quite diligently!) to log in to Diablo III for the last half-hour to no avail. I don’t even want to play with other people! I just wanted to click…
By Kirk Hamilton Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Come On, a Card Game About Tentacle Rape? [Update]
Tentacle Bento is the name of a card game currently up on Kickstarter seeking funding. As of posting, it has received twice as much money as it originally said it needed. Which is a bit of a bummer, since it’s a game about raping girls with tentacles. Yeah, you can say this is a fetish,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Sega’s Greatest Hero Had an Action Figure
If you think I mean Sonic, get out. And don’t come back. I mean Segata Sanshiro, Sega Saturn ad man and star of easily the greatest video game commercials ever made During the height of his popularity in Japan in the late 90s, Takara released this figure based on Sanshiro (played by former Kamen Rider…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Diablo III is now LIVE
After eleven years, the next entry in the Diablo series is now unlocked, open and ready to go. Or, at least, it should be. If you’ve got the client installed, have at it! And if you have any problems, comments or excited thoughts, please, leave them below. UPDATE – And whaddya know, people are having…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Batman Figures Pull a Knife on Arkham City’s Finest
There are two kinds of Batman: Arkham City action figures. There are the standard ones, and there are the expensive ones. These are a new line of the standard ones, but before you let that put you off, some of them look pretty great. DC Collectible’s third series of Arkham City toys include six figures.…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 -
UncategorizedKingdom Hearts 3D Trailer is so, so Cheesy
Here’s an English-language trailer for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, for the Nintendo 3DS. Throwing Disney and Square Enix is still resulting in pretty much exactly what you’d expect it would.
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Official Servers Make a Battlefield 3 Comeback
After it was discovered last week that the number of “official” DICE and EA Battlefield 3 servers on console had dropped significantly in the wake of a new rental scheme, the developer has moved to bring a large number of them back. We were told last week that no servers had gone offline; instead, DICE’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
PC Zombie Darling Causes Sale Explosion, ArmA Devs Happy to Help
Diablo III may have all the marketing and hype as far as the PC market is concerned, but I’ll be damned if anything, Blizzard-developed or not, is going to keep me from playing more DayZ this week. The zombie survival mod for Bohemia Interactive’s military sim ArmA II has come out of nowhere to be…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 -
UncategorizedGhost Recon “Trailer” is More of an “Awesome Short Movie”
In 2010, Ubisoft released one of the best video game “trailers” I’d ever seen, using fancy effects and real actors to bring Ghost Recon to life. Now, two years later, they’re back, and this one’s not only longer, it’s better. I can’t imagine the marketing pull this will receive will be worth the time and…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - Uncategorized
Designing a Better Steam, For PC and TV (and Phones!)
Unlocks aside, Valve’s Steam service works pretty damn well. One thing it’s always been a little lacking in, though, has been its appearance. The latest redesign helped, but it’s still a little cluttered, a little messy. So designer Josh Collie thought he’d take a swing at redesigning the thing. I like what he’s come up…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 15, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
The Creator of Mario and Zelda Reveals his Secrets (in 1999)
In 1999, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto gave a keynote address at the Game Developers Conference. An address you can watch here in its entirety. Remember, this isn’t the quasi-executive, Wii Music Shigeru Miyamoto we know today. This is the designer at perhaps the height of his powers, with games like Super Mario 64 still fresh…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
Fresh New Images of Tired Old Hardware
If you’re short on ideas for new wallpaper, and have a bit of a thing for old video game hardware, check out French artist Alan Cloiseau’s collection of vintage Sega, Sony and Nintendo systems and controllers. His personal site has plenty more great art.
By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2012
