- Kotaku East
Chinese Net Cafe Robbery Leads to Fists and Punching
Two jerks in jackets worked as a team to divert some dude’s attention in a net cafe and then swipe his phone. The thieves were able to snag the phone, but didn’t make a clean getaway. Other net cafe patrons noticed something was up and came to help the victim—and deliver punches. It looks like…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe New Pokémon Movie Looks Like This
Like clockwork, every summer there’s a new Pocket Monsters movie in Japan. This summer’s flick is Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! The Movie: Kyurem vs. the Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo. It’s the fifteenth Pokémon flick, and it will hit Japanese theaters this July. Check out the trailer above. 劇場版ポケットモンスター15周年｢キュレムVS聖剣士ケルディオ｣ [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012 - Kotaku East
Taiwanese Ladies Awkwardly Holding Xbox Hardware
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Holding hardware makes pretty much anyone look like a doofus. There really isn’t a “good” or “correct” way to hold gaming hardware. No, scratch that. The correct way is to hold it in your hands as if you are playing. But that makes for crap photo…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012 - Kotaku East
…And Japan Is Getting a New PSP Color
Thought the PSP was dead? (Or was that the PS Vita? Kidding!) The Sony portable is getting a new, limited edition color in Japan. This is it. The color is dubbed Sky Blue/Marine Blue. That’s right, it’s a two-tone color. And it goes on sale Apr. 26 for ¥17,800 (US$218.48) as a value pack. PSPの新色，ツートンカラー「スカイブルー/マリンブルー」が4月26日に数量限定で発売…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
When the Rockstar Met the Nintendo Fanboy
Fanboys are awful. They can make innocent conversations uncomfortable. Just ask Japanese rocker T.M. Revolution. He is one of Japan’s most recognizable singers. He’s also the proud owner of a new PS Vita. “Just as I’d heard, the screen is huge, and it’s beautiful!” T.M. Revolution tweeted. “It’s also easy to use, and, yep, I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
Oh Dear. Mass Effect 3’s Character Import Isn’t Working Properly
So earlier today I settled in with Mass Effect 3. On the Xbox 360. Popped my disc in, booted it up, went to import my character from the last two games (which I’d preserved over four separate consoles). At first, it went well! There he was, with his decisions and class choices in place. But…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
THQ Sued for $10 Million Because it Didn’t Make a Video Game
A few years back, beleagured publisher THQ signed a deal with Adidas to make a fitness game based on the German firm’s miCoach technology. The deal was that game had to be on shelves by January 2012. It’s not, and is nowhere to be seen, so either THQ forgot all about it, or there were…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
Imagining a Future Without Xbox Live Arcade
It’s an established part of the current gaming landscape, for some perhaps even their favourite, but in a recent interview Microsoft’s Michael Wolf reminds us it won’t always be here. Asked by nefarious pirate Brian Crecente whether the service was eventually “going to go away”, Wolf replies “Personally, I’d say absolutely, yes.” “I think digital…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Horror, the Terror, the Custom Star Wars Figures Made of Baby Doll Parts
Once you see these cannibalised figures, you cannot unsee them. You may not sleep tonight, either. They’re the work of Etsy seller GeekyVixen, and take various pieces of Star Wars merchandise, various old-timey children’s toys (and some other figures from the 80s) and smash them together until what’s left is sheer horror If your tolerance…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 -
UncategorizedMagicka’s Developers Turn Badass 80s Shootouts Into a Competitive Video Game
PC specialists Paradox unveiled three new games at GDC yesterday. One is The Showdown Effect, which if you can make it past the intro in the trailer above unfurls into something that looks like Worms and Quake III had a tiny, split-screen baby. The basic premise is recreating action movie insanity. Up to eight players…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 - Uncategorized
Mafia II Developers Working on Grand Theft Auto V?
As ridiculous as that headline sounds, think about it for a second. Yeah, there you go. According to a report on VG247 developers 2K Czech, who released one of the prettiest but also one of the most boring open-world games of all time with Mafia II, are helping Rockstar on Grand Theft Auto V Remember,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall1943 Gives These Men the Least Satisfying Three Way Ever
Competitive 1943? It doesn’t really exist, but for the purposes of tonight’s episode of Retro Rumble, it does, OK? Watch to see Capcom’s classic shooter put three men through their paces for, well, not money, not trophies, just fame. Internet fame. Which isn’t even real fame, but they’re only playing the game for like a…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallHow the NES Made That Funky Echo Sound
Ever wonder how NES games like Ducktales were able to make that distinctive “echo” sound? Wonder no more, with this handy explanation. NES Audio: Demonstrating Reverb/ Echo with Ducktales [Retro Game Audio, via Go Nintendo] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Power of the Giraffe Compels You
I don’t care how damn old it is, they put me in charge of the Open Thread post while Kirk is at the Game Developers Conference and if that means giraffe pictures, then so be it. With my luck they’ll be some sort of Gawker-wide moratorium on giraffe pictures resulting in instant termination. In case…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
A Pokémon Team was Kicked out of a Hotel for Throwing Shit
Yup. According to reports, at a recent round of the Pokémon Video Game Championships held in the UK, a Spanish team covered itself in infamy (among other things) after it was ejected from a hotel for throwing human poop. From an eyewitness report, later backed up by others: After 30-40min in my room relaxing with…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
Skylanders Wave Four Brings Fresh Life, Air, and Fire to Retail
The hunt begins anew as three more Skylanders figures make their way to retail shelves, filling out the Fire element and adding one each to Life and Air. The checklist nears completion! Electricity-hurling Lightning Rod and bazooka-wielding Zook are a pair of single-packed Skylanders bringing the grand total of Air and Life creatures available to…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012 - Uncategorized
Capcom Says On-Disc DLC Is For ‘Easy Compatibility,’ File Size
A whole bunch of Street Fighter X Tekken fans contacted us over the weekend to complain about what appeared to be on-disc downloadable content in the fighting game, which comes out tomorrow for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Some gamers have outspokenly criticized the idea of on-disc DLC—after all, if content is ready in time…
By Jason Schreier Published March 5, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Kinect Star Wars Dancing Mingame is Even More Horrifying Than I Imagined
Ignore the podracing and dueling portions of this Kinect Star Wars video and jump directly to around :50 in the video. I probably should have apologized first. Too late now. Whatever reasons I might have had to purchase Kinect Star Wars, this negates each and every one of them. I had heard of this dancing game.…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012