• Uncategorized

  Just How Cute Is the Hello Kitty Plane? Pretty Damn Cute.

  You thought the Kitty-chan dentist office was cute? It is. The Hello Kitty plane, though, isn’t just cute. It’s cute that flies According to CNNGo, Taiwanese airline EVA Air is launching three Hello Kitty-themed Airbus A330-300 planes, serving Japan, South Korea, and Guam. Passengers get special baggage tags, Hello Kitty headrests and pillows, Kitty-chan soap,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Chinese Tifa Goes Camping. She Makes Curry Fried Rice.

  Kotaku has posted tons of cosplay over the years. Yet, I cannot remember any pieces the site did on cosplayers who cook, let alone camp. Tifa—that’s her name—does both. And with a name like Tifa, you betcha she’s dressed as the Final Fantasy VII character Tifa Lockhart So what the hell is going on here?…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Gamers Donate $400,000 IN ONE DAY To See Their Heroes Make a New Game

  Wow. Good job, internet! Despite the fact the project was announced less than 24 hours ago, Double Fine’s Kickstarter campaign for a new graphic adventure has reached its goal of $400,000. That means around 10,000 regular humans on the internet (maybe you!) donated $400,000 out of your own pockets to see some legends of an…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  In Indonesia, Pirated Games for Two Bucks a Pop

  Spotted at an Indonesia game shop by Japanese site Game Watch Impress. All these Wii games are priced at Rp.20,000 or around US$2.30. The game shop, like so many in the region, also had binders and binders of pirated Xbox 360 games—here, XGame 360. “規制”から”支援”へ変わりつつある中国市場と [Game Impress Watch] (Top photo: Game Impress Watch)

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  This Awesome Music Video Thinks it’s a Very Old Video Game

  After I posted Sole’s new video yesterday, I was inundated with emails from people saying “OH YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THIS MUSIC VIDEO THAT’S LIKE A VIDEO GAME”. Most of them were rubbish, but this one, from Polinski, was great The entire clip plays out like an old Spectrum game, down to the tape loading…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  This Pro Gamer Lady Will Electrify You

  Early last year, pro gamer Linda Liao made waves when she joined Team Razer’s competitive gaming team. Lao isn’t only a pro gamer. Oh no, she’s much more. In her native Taiwan, she’s an actress and pop star, who stars in dramas like Chase or They Are Flying and movies like horror flick Twisted. She’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Adventure Time Game Ideas Sound like Something for Awesome Old PC Gamers

  The creators of Adventure Time have long been dreaming of the perfect video game adaptation for the series. So much so they’re starting to write stuff down. And share it! These sketches are the product of a little brainstorming session between Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and Patrick McHale, one of the show’s writers. I…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Watch the Hilarious Intros and Entrances for Street Fighter x Tekken‘s Tag Teams to See Why They’re Working Together

  Street Fighter x Tekken is more than just the crossover of two powerhouse fighting game franchises. It’s also a fusion of the sensibilities behind the two universes. Similar plot points—lethal government agents, shadowy underworld crime syndicates, etc.—get used in various Street Fighter or Tekken games, but the latter series tends to feel more self-serious than…

  By Evan Narcisse Published February 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Even Stand-Up Comedy Routines Are Giving the Farmville Guys Shit

  This is Jason Baily, the CEO of East Side Games, with a mic in hand and some beef with Zynga, makers of Facebook games like Farmville. The world doesn’t have much of it, but it could really do with more video game stand-up comedy VIDEO: Stand-up comedy on Zynga cloning [Develop]

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Culture

  Reckon With Some of Kingdoms of Amalur’s Concept Art (Sorry)

  With the game out this week, now’s as good a time as any to look at some concept art from Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning While a whole team of artists worked on the game, today we’re taking a look at the colourful contributions of Big Huge Games’ principal concept artist Sean Andrew Murray. If you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Middle Earth is Being Recreated, Tower by Tower, in The Elder Scrolls

  Ever since EA binned The White Council, I’ve been dying for an open-world RPG set in the world of The Lord of the Rings. I am also far from the only one, as a team of modders has been working on building themselves just that, using Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls games as a base. The project,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The PS Vita Store Is Apparently Now Live

  Tonight, readers are telling Kotaku that the Vita Store is live in North America, selling games and renting movies. The page itself isn’t live, but the games are supposedly available. Check it out, if you already have a Vita.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  A Zelda Movie Could Never Look This Cool

  Come on, be honest. Someone, somewhere along the line would find a way to screw everything up. So these make-believe movie posters are probably as good as we’re ever going to get! These posters are the second batch we’ve seen from artist Olly Moss in this style, after the Super Mario ones we showed you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Buy Your Own Life-Size Portal Gun

  The cake might be a lie, but this 1/1 scale Portal gun looks as real as one can get without being able to shoot holes in walls. This Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device is priced at ¥16,000 (US$208). It’s from Neca, the famed replica and prop maker. Back in July 2011, Kotaku reported that Neca…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 8, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Thanks to You, Skyrim Now Has Fancy Crabs, Spider-Man and Tiny Nords

  Skyrim’s offical Creation Kit hasn’t even been out a week (or half a week!), and already, there is some amazing stuff being done. There are now crabs with tophats A new island in the game. With a village on it. And the whole thing is made of ice. The chance to get a new follower…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Nintendo Employee Reported “Missing”

  Meara Lynn Nichols, an employee at Nintendo of America, has been reported missing by her husband after failing to return home from an appointment at her son’s school. Although she had left her laptop on and Facebook account logged in, when she didn’t come home Matthew Nichols contacted the school, who let him know there…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Whatever, Hot Nazi Moon-Chick. Sarah Palin’s Going to Kick Your Ass

  Greetings, Kotaku readers, and welcome to our hump-day open-thread. Hey, we’ve reached the peak! It’s all downhill from here. Here are some things from around the internet for you to enjoy and possibly talk about. There’s a new trailer for The Bourne Legacy – Whoo? I dunno, this sort of looks like that movie Shooter…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 8, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Kinect-Enabled Shouts and Dragon Mounts: Will Skyrim‘s ‘Game Jam’ Experiments Ever See the Light of Day? [Updated with Video]

  At D.I.C.E. 2012, Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard just showed an amazing highlight reel of mods the studio built into The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim during a week-long “game jam” after the game’s release. Features like mounted combat, a lycanthropy skill tree, and one enormous mudcrab, the width of the horizon, were all shown. And…

  By Owen Good Published February 8, 2012
• Reviews

  The Darkness II: The Kotaku Review

  The first Darkness game was released in 2007. With some original ideas for the genre and a setting that wasn’t space or a war, it was a surprise hit, and people still say nice things about it today. The second Darkness game was released in 2012. It’s…well…yes. While The Darkness was developed by Starbreeze, who…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2012
• Uncategorized

  PSN Update Shows Vita Titles Discounted Between $3 and $5

  The most recent PlayStation Store update has quietly delivered five PS Vita titles—discoverable by search—that show the digital versions costing between $3 and $5 less than their retail versions. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is listed for $45; it’s $50 at retail. Modnation Racers: Road Trip comes in at $27 ($30 MSRP). Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational…

  By Owen Good Published February 8, 2012