- Culture
We Fear a World Without Twinkies as Hostess Files For Bankruptcy Again
Being a comic book fan in the 80s I grew up thinking there was no problem that couldn’t be solved by golden flaky crust or delicious cream filling. Apparently that doesn’t apply to financial insolvency, as snack cake maker Hostess Brands files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time. It’s hard for me to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
What’s Your Early 2012 Gaming Game Plan?
In today’s timely edition of Speak Up on kotaku, commenter Nyan Khajiit lays out their video gaming plans for the first three months of 2012. Do you plan ahead, or just play the games as they come and hope for the best? Gaming Plans for the First Few Months of 2012 JANUARY — Decided today…
By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
You Cannot Top the New Pac-Man World Record
I am sure you have Pac-Man skills. We all do. I’m sure you’re good at turning the corners of getting Inky, Blinky & Clyde to trail you just as you’re approaching the power pellet. But I doubt you can break the new Pac-Man world record of one Dave Race of Ohio, who has cleared a…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Here comes Kotaku‘s official forum, bobbing and weaving between hits as its tiger stripe spandex rides up. Let’s talk about games, shall we? Thanks to pan1da7 for today’s great tiger TAYpic! Join in the fun and submit your own TAYpic. Please do your best—or your worst—and share your own riffs on our January image to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Spaced Away is All About the Orbital Fling
To channel the late great Chris Farley: Do you remember the part in Apollo 13 (the movie and the real-life NASA crisis), where they used the Moon’s gravity to slingshot their crippled space shuttle around and back to Earth? That was awesome. That is also essentially the setup for Falanxia’s Spaced Away, an iPad 2…
By Kirk Hamilton Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
I Reckon Mass Effect 3 In-Game Goodies Will Do Wonders for the Kingdoms of Amalur Demo
Who’s going to download the January 17 demo for38 Studios fantasy action-RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? Now that folks that play it earn exclusive armor and weapons for Mass Effect 3, I’d say everybody. In a completely brilliant marketing move, BioWare and 38 Studios have inexorably linked the incredibly popular Mass Effect series with the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
That’s a Nice Looking Arcade Cabinet, Square Enix
Not Lancia | TOKYO, JAPAN: Square Enix shows off its new arcade game Gunslinger Stratos. (Photo: GameWatchImpress) Who Is to Blame for Slave Labor-Made Game Consoles: Gamers or Game Companies? Last month, when I got my hands on the PS Vita, the first thing I did was open the box. The second? Flipped over the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
From Metroid‘s Power Suit to a Pink Nurse Outfit, She’s Got You Covered
Meet MissNatsume. The Costa Rican cosplayer is at ease covered both in Samus’ Power Suit or dressed up cute, like a real life Kirby. Now nearly 20 years old, MissNatsume tells Kotaku that she first started cosplaying at 13, and she began to take the form seriously at 17. Characters she’s cosplayed included Samus Aran,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Before Robot Chicken, Before Mass Effect, Seth Green Did This
He also appeared in the Austin Powers and a bunch of other stuff. But we’re not talking about that right now. Now, we are talking about Seth Green’s first Robot Chicken style short from 1999, which was recently aired again on Conan. Have a look! In the short, Britney Spears is crazy. Very, very crazy.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Who Is to Blame for Slave Labor-Made Game Consoles: Gamers or Game Companies?
Last month, when I got my hands on the PS Vita, the first thing I did was open the box. The second? Flipped over the device to see where it was made. China. It wasn’t always that way. Heck, it wasn’t even that way until fairly recently. For years, Sony made its consoles in Japan.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Old Dude Who Apparently Won’t Stop Robbing Arcades
Japan’s Mainichi Daily News lists Hiroyuki Miura (not pictured) as “unemployed”. That’s not exactly fair. He’s apparently self-employed, with police believing that Miura has been breaking into arcades across Japan. Last year on Nov. 29, the 64-year-old is suspected of breaking into a Iwakuni City game center by smashing a window and stealing ¥86,000 (US$1,119)…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Samus, You’re All Legs and Shiny Plastic
First shown at last month’s Comiket, this Metroid: Other M statue features heroine Samus in her Zero Suit. Here’s a better look, because this figure deserves one. The 1/8 scale PVC statue is expected to go on sale this June in Japan. Pricing will be announced at a later date. There was also another Samus…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Dead Rising Creator Keiji Inafune Hurt Himself. He’ll Be Okay!
Chalk this up as Japanese developer minutia, but Keiji Inafune, creator of Dead Rising and Onimusha, pulled a muscle in his calf while playing tennis. Recovery will take a month. [Keiji Inafune だぜ！！]
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Guns Blazing, Square Enix is Ready To Shoot Up Japanese Arcades
This summer, Square Enix is releasing a new third-person shooter dubbed Gunslinger Stratos. It’s not a home console game—yet. Rather, it’s a four-on-four team-based online arcade game that allows players to battle others in game centers across Japan. Gunslinger Stratos runs at a brisk 60 frames-per-second on 60 inch, full HD displays. It’s slated for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 -
UncategorizedAnyone Can Sing the Halo Theme Underground. And Sing it Damn Well.
Welshman Jonny Mason was exploring some abandoned oil chambers with pals when one of them thought, yes, these acoustics are just perfect for a rendition of the Halo theme. And what do you know. They totally were. Underground Halo Theme Performance of the Day [TDW]
By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Namco Bandai Is Making *GASP* a New Game (Please Wait!)
Shoemakers make shoes. Carmakers make cars. And video game makers? They make video games. Tokyo-based Namco Bandai Games is developing, wait for it, a new video game. This is apparently a picture of the teaser, which was snapped in the upcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu The teaser features four young women, all in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 -
UncategorizedLink Sucks at Haggling
Link from The Legend of Zelda is good at many things: slaying enemies, solving puzzles, and saving Zelda. One thing he totally sucks at is haggling. Pwn Stars (geddit?) is a gaming parody of reality program Pawn Stars (geddit?). In the above clip, Link tries to get the best price for the Triforce of Courage.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
How Cops Use Xbox Consoles to Catch Crooks
Did you know that in the US, police can use Xbox 360 consoles—and Xbox Live—to trace and catch criminals? And that there are often law enforcement officers posing on the service undercover in an effort to catch child porn offenders? A report on Ars Technica, using recently-leaked correspondence from a digital forensics mailing list, shows…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 11, 2012