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DC Universe Online‘s Battle for Earth Begins March 13
Brainiac is going down, but he’s not going down without a fight. Players looking to help serve the metal menace his final comeuppance should hit up DC Universe Online on the PlayStation 3 or PC March 13, when The Battle for Earth expansion goes live. With new earth-based powers and epic battles to fight, The…
By Mike Fahey Published March 2, 2012 - Uncategorized
Hitting Maids on the Head with Foam Swords
Eternity | TOKYO, JAPAN: A maid cafe promotes the latest The Spirit of Eternity Sword game. (Photo: Famitsu) The Hardcore World of Japanese Tattoos Will Make You Stronger “I used to be into video games during the PS2 era,” Benny Her says, as he buys a green tea espresso at convenience store in Osaka’s fashionable…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
Japan’s Doll Festival with Little Kids
Tomorrow is the Hinamatsuri, or Japanese Doll Festival. During the festival, dolls are displayed on stands against gold leaf backgrounds. This evening while I was working (and making things for you to read), Mrs. Bashcraft and my two kids went to a friends to celebrate it. The holiday is for girls—and a good excuse for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLet Gundam Rock Your Face Off
The Gundam VS series has been headlining Japanese arcades for almost a decade now with its fast-paced Virtual-On-style robot-on-robot gameplay. The upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam VS Full Boost is the latest iteration in the series. It sports a roster of over 50 mobile suits, with at least one suit from every single Gundam series—it even…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
Let’s Look Inside a Chinese Factory. A Chinese Condom Factory.
The world has heard about the conditions in the Chinese factories where gaming hardware is made. But what about the factories where, um, condoms are made? They look like this, apparently! Website Buzzfeed is running a series of Reuters images of the Safedom condom factory in Zhaoyuan, China. Safedom is the fourth largest condom marker…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
Cosplay Isn’t Just About Costumes. It’s about Shoes.
It’s easy to forget, but shoes can make or break an outfit—especially a cosplay. Good shoes, whether you’re dressing as a soldier or Sonic the Hedgehog, matter. That was evident at the recent Comic World in Busan, South Korea, where some fancy footwear was on display. Comic World is a huge fan-based comic convention held…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Most Frightening Lunch Ever
Most Japanese bento lunches are either cute (for little kids) or boring (for adults). This one is…different. Online in Japan, some are saying it’s based on Detroit Metal City, the popular Japanese manga about heavy metal. However, as Kotaku reader lone_wolf99 pointed out, it’s based on The Evil Dead Lunch has never looked so horrifying.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 -
Kotaku EastGal☆Gun in Three Words: Tentacle. Monster. Orgasm.
At TGS 2010, just inside the media entrance, there sat a van owned by Inti Creates (a game studio formed by ex-Capcom staff). As I came upon it my first day, I saw Kotaku‘s own Brian Ashcraft standing beside a crowd of Japanese photographers who were fighting for position in front of the van. I…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
Spider-Man, Like You’ve Never Eaten Before
Remember when Japan got meat buns shaped like the Slime character from Dragon Quest? Well, now your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is getting his own bun, too. Ditto for Hello Kitty. There will be Snoopy buns with custard in them, instead of meat. Starting March 14, they’ll be available at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Hardcore World of Japanese Tattoos Will Make You Stronger
“I used to be into video games during the PS2 era,” Benny Her says, as he buys a green tea espresso at convenience store in Osaka’s fashionable youth district, Americamura. “But then I started apprenticing and didn’t have any free time.” That apprenticeship was a huge gamble. And Benny Her didn’t look like a gambler.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2012 -
Kotaku EastMetal Gear …Arcade!? It Can’t be!
While Metal Gear Online‘s servers will be shutting down soon, there is one last place to get your Metal Gear Online fix: Japanese Arcades. Developed by Kojima Productions, Metal Gear Arcade is a light gun-FPS released in Japan on December 20, 2010. Much of Metal Gear Arcade is identical to Metal Gear Online with many…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published March 2, 2012 - Uncategorized
Coach, Not Community, is to Blame, Says Female Fighter Striking Back in Sexual Harassment Controversy
The fighter inside the controversy that stirred allegations of sexism and misogyny in fighting video games says that its community, fans and star performers do not deserve the collective blame they have endured, and vows that she will not leave her sport despite the alienating remarks of the man who once coached her. Miranda Pakozdi,…
By Owen Good Published March 2, 2012 -
UncategorizedWatch Tim Schafer’s Screw-Ups, Bloopers, and Outtakes
Last month, Tim Schafer took to the internet with a very funny video for a Kickestarter funded game. The video pitch was a smash, and Schafer raised over US$2 million—well over the planned $400,000. This video documents the flubs and bloopers—or as Schafer calls them “acting”! The clip is yet another reason—among many—to love this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 1, 2012 - Uncategorized
Programming Note: No Total Recall Today
There will be no Total Recall programming block on Kotaku today. We apologize to all of our fans of history and retro games. Sorry about the skip! Care to read the Total Recall archives? Think of it as re-runs.
By Stephen Totilo Published March 1, 2012 - Uncategorized
While the Kirk’s Away the Mikes Will Play
It takes a special kinda man to kick off a new month of Kotaku‘s daily Open Thread posts. Unfortunately that man could not be with us today. Here’s a bunch of My Little Pony links. Oh you know I would never share my top secret pony links with you folks. Instead, here’s some quality pony-free…
By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2012 - Uncategorized
Fighting Game Community’s Leading Voice Calls for Accountability and Respect in Sexual Harassment Fallout
Shoryuken, one of the most respected voices in the fighting game community, has called upon its readers and followers to deal honestly with questions of misogyny and sexual harassment, following sexist match commentary on a controversy that has roiled the fighting game community for a second day. “If we continue to let the worst elements…
By Owen Good Published March 1, 2012 - Uncategorized
Creator of Minecraft Divvies Up $3 Million Among Employees
Markus ‘Notch’ Persson announced the act of singular generosity via Twitter: “Before tax, my dividends from Mojang for 2011 was about three million dollars. I chose to distribute that to the other employees.” Kotaku anthropologists are guessing a cake will be waiting upon his desk tomorrow morning.
By Pierre Bienaimé Published March 1, 2012 - Uncategorized
There Exists an ATM That Dispenses Cupcakes 24 Hours a Day
All I Ever Wanted | In sunny Beverly Hills, California they have built mankind’s greatest achievement — 24-Hour Sprinkles (Image by Sprinkles via Neatorama.) Assassin’s Creed III‘s Official Box Art Verifies Revolutionary War Setting Looks like that rumored image we ran last night of the protagonist from Assassin’s Creed III checks out-Ubisoft has posted the…
By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2012 -
UncategorizedStan Lee as a Playable Character in The Amazing Spider-Man, Can You True-Believe It?
The interwebs are abuzz with the news that comic book legend Stan Lee will upgrade from his usual cameo role to playable character in Activision’s Spider-Man movie tie-in. Seriously? I will give the good folks at addict of fiction this: Stan Lee does indeed say he is going to be a playable character in Beenox’s…
By Mike Fahey Published March 1, 2012