- Kotaku East
How China Has Apple (and the World) by the Balls
The iPad and the iPhone must be made in China. Ditto for, well, most everything. And it’s not only because of cheap Chinese labor. Or sprawling factories. Or lax regulations. Those are reasons, but there’s another one. And it’s one you might not expect: mud. The iPad—like other electronics—requires a large amount of rare earth…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 - Kotaku East
Twelve Sexy Anime Characters Want to Date You
Originally, Girl’s RPG Cinderellife was going to be a 3DS version of the popular cell phone title Kyabajoppi. In Kyabajoppi you manage a host club that is frequented by many famous anime characters. And while, Cinderellife now has you living the life of a single hostess instead of managing the club, the anime characters still…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 20, 2012 - Kotaku East
Climbing on the Side of a Building To Save a Suicidal Woman
This week, a 32 year-old woman climbed out on a 12th floor window in China’s Dongguan City. Threatening to kill herself, the woman, tossed aside the rescue rope. Below an air mattress was inflated in case she jumped and hundreds of spectators assembled to watch. After three hours of trying, a firefighter climbed down the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 - Uncategorized
You’ve Got Final Fantasy XIII in my Fire Emblem!
In the above Fire Emblem: Kakusei image, there’s a character named “Lightning”. In Final Fantasy XIII, there’s a character named “Lightning”. Hey, wait a second… This seems to be a player’s My Unit creation—and one that really, really looks like Final Fantasy‘s Lightning. Lightning appearing in Fire Emblem would make more sense than, say, Mass…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 - Uncategorized
Studio Ghibli Boss Is Glad Japan Lost World War II
Even for people in Japan, it’s easy to forget how awful World War II was. Entire cities were firebombed. Children were killed. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Horrible. That’s not counting the havoc the Japanese military unleashed throughout Asia and the Pacific. The whole thing was rotten. But for famed anime producer Toshio Suzuki, something good came…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2012 - Uncategorized
Making Mass Effect Adorable
Artist Andy Helms, of “Dude a Day” and movie pixel art fame, has for a little while been drawing these cute little portraits of the cast and crew of Mass Effect 2 & 3 He’s probably not finished yet, but there’s enough here already to give you an idea of where he’s going with it…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 - Culture
Beautiful Video Game Art, Direct From Korea
You probably haven’t even heard of the games Korean artist Kang Jin has worked on, let alone played them. But that’s OK. These Fine Art posts aren’t about what the game is, but how nice the art is, and Kang’s art is nice Now employed at online gaming powerhouse Neowiz, Kang has also worked at…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
UncategorizedArmA 3 Still Looks Like 2012’s Sexiest War Game
Call it Call of Duty fatigue, call it a longing appreciation for what Bohemia Interactive is doing with this series, but every time I see new footage from upcoming military sim ArmA 3 I get a little weaker around the knees. Military shooters, done well, are a guilty pleasure of mine, being a child of…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 - Uncategorized
This Weekend, Everyone Can Play Diablo III. Even You. And You.
Listen up. From noon on Friday, April 20 (Pacific) until 10:00am (Pacific) on Monday, April 23, Diablo III will be in open beta. Meaning anyone with a valid Battle.net account can get in on the action. To download the client now ahead of time, click here. Once downloaded and once the weekend rolls around, you’ll…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 - Uncategorized
Fake Adventure Game Lands Fan a Double Fine Internship
When German adventure game nut Marius Fietzek applied for an internship at Double Fine studios by, well, making an adventure game, it seemed a cute touch, though a little short on hard selection criteria. Not to worry! This is Double Fine we’re talking about, a studio run by Tim Schafer, who landed a job at…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhat Computer Animation Looked Like in 1971
Us 21st century kids with our Unreal Engines and fancy computers think our animation is just so shit hot. And it is! But it had to come from somewhere, and that somewhere are these very humble beginnings. This 1971 Canadian documentary looks at the very early days of the practice of key frame animation. For…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Man Bringing Classic Arcade Cabinets Back
The 80’s were an awesome and bizarre time for arcades. Nobody knows this better than Gary Vincent, owner and operator of the American Classic Arcade Musuem in New Hampshire. For the past 3 years, he’s been shipping 30 arcade cabinets to PAX East in an attempt to recapture the feel of those classic 1980’s arcades.…
By Chris Person Published April 19, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThose Dudes in Castlevania are Pretty Intense
Unlike the Konami of today, which relies almost entirely on milking a couple of key franchises and selling mobile games in Japan, the Konami of the 1980s was a more exciting company. You could say, in fact, they were jammin
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThere was a Good Super Mario Bros. Movie. Let’s Watch it!
When someone talks about the Super Mario Bros. movie, you’d be forgiven for assuming they’re talking about the 1993 live-action flick starring Bob Hoskins. But there are actually two Super Mario Bros. movies, the first one – a feature-length anime – having been released in Japan in 1986. It was called スーパー マリオ ブラザーズ ピーチ姫救出大作戦!…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
“After A Few Months, I Realized She Was Eating Pancakes For Every Meal”
Hello, Kotaku! It’s almost the weekend, and that is just groovy by me. I hope you’ve had a good thursday, and are ready to get your open thread on. It’s gonna be hot! So hot! Here are some things for you to read and maybe gab about. “The State Home for Manic PIxie Dream Girls”…
By Kirk Hamilton Published April 19, 2012 -
UncategorizedAtlus Publishing Vanillaware’s Gorgeous Dragon’s Crown
Dragon’s Crown, an action-RPG from boutique Japanese developers Vanillaware (Odin Sphere), has been missing in action since its E3 debut last year. If you were thinking that meant the game was dead, though, you’re wrong! Atlus just signed on to publish it on both PS3 and Vita, and it’ll be out next year.
By Luke Plunkett Published April 19, 2012 - Uncategorized
Iowa Journalism School Adds Video Games Writing to Curriculum
This fall, the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication will offer a course in writing about video games and reporting on the industry. “My idea is that everyone can learn from video games,” Kyle Moody, the course’s instructor and a teaching assistant in the journalism school, told The Daily Iowan, the independent…
By Owen Good Published April 19, 2012
