- CultureTotal Recall
The Year E3 Went to Japan and Tried to Kill the Tokyo Game Show
With the Tokyo Game Show having just wound up, I thought today would be a good time to look back to 1996, when for the first and only time it wasn’t the only major gaming event held in Tokyo. For one year, and one year only, it had competition in the form of E3. An…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 19, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Golden Potato
Gabe and the Golden Potato | Valve boss Gabe Newell autographed this golden potato (both his signature and “Spaaaaaaaaace!” above it) for Kotaku reader Rodger A., who won a virtual golden potato during the Portal 2 ARG release event. As he already had all the games in the Valve Complete Pack awarded to Golden Potato…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedSuper Pixel Bros. is a Playable Super Mario Bros., in Only 64 Pixels
This is Super Mario Bros. reduced to a 64-pixel version (sorta). Modder Brad Slattery made this handheld 8 by 8 LED board which displays a playable Super Mario Bros., if you use a lot of imagination, of course. Mario is just a single yellow blip. Just as impressive, Slattery wrote a level editor that converts…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Culture
Gears Up
The conclusion to Epic Games’ Gears of War trilogy arrives only on Xbox 360 this weel, joined by the HD remake of Resident Evil 4, another DLC extension for Fallout: New Vegas, the Rezurrection map pack for Call of Duty players on PS3 and PC, and the controversial fighter Supremacy MMA Monday • Dragon Quest…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Former Mega Man Producer Says He Offered to Finish Mega Man Legends 3 Under Contract but Capcom Said No Thanks
Keiji Inafune split from Capcom about a year ago, clearly burned out—at one point he said he “hated” his job. However, he still was committed to finishing the 3DS game Mega Man Legends 3, whose cancellation set off a firestorm of anger this summer. Inafune threw more gasoline on the blaze when he suggested that…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Come Out to Play …
Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •The Top Ten Gangs in Video Game History [Joystick Division] JD plumbs the lineups of some of the most well known crime-genre games to compile…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
There Will Be No Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 3
In late August, details leaked about a Modern Warfare 3 “Hardened” special edition, but none for a “Prestige,” a more deluxe package that notoriously included night-vision goggles for Modern Warfare 2 in 2009. There are no details yet on a Prestige edition because there will be no Prestige edition for Modern Warfare 3 Infinity Ward’s…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Go Pick Up The Gunstringer‘s Soundtrack for Free
If you’re a fan of video game soundtracks, you can pick up a hefty 27-track compilation for free right now from The Gunstringer. Twisted Pixel just made it available on the game’s official page. Head over there, click on “Downloads” atop the page and you’ll see it. It’s about a 70MB .zip offering you more…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Extras and Add-Ons
The 3DS’ second slide pad got its big hands-on reveal at Tokyo Games Show this past week, and now we’re going to give the concept the respectful treatment and consideration it deserves. But this week’s ‘Shop Contest may not be exactly what you think it is. Because so few exploitable images of the 3DS slide…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves: Paid Programming Edition
Mornin’. I have company this weekend, and my friend’s deliberately watching infomercials on the regional sports network, waiting for “Seahawks All Access” to come on. There was a damn awesome contraption that looks like a handheld version of the chainsaw the Swamp Loggers use. I was about to buy it until I realized I did…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedI Can See Myself Playing Ridge Racer on the PS Vita
Back in December 2004, I bought two things. One was a PSP. The other was Ridge Racer Ridge Racer was a PSP launch title, and I played the crap out of that game. I haven’t played a Ridge Racer before or since as much. As time passed, my interested in Ridge Racer waned, and I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 - Culture
Sunday Comics: A Fraction of the Price
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 12.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 14.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Japan’s Wildest Gaming Designer Wanted To Be in America’s Wildest Game
If Tomonobu Itagaki, the hard drinking cigarette smoking game designer behind Devil’s Third, were a video game, he’d be Saints Row: The Third. No wonder he wanted to lend his voice to the game. At a Tokyo Game Show press event, Itagaki professed his love for Saints Row character Phillipe Loren, who leads the Syndicate…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedTokyo Game Show Is Also about Chinese Arcade Games
Chinese arcade games with characters named “Lancelot” or with sharks that can drive and are dressed like pirates with some sort of Native American headdress. The game’s dedicated cabinet moves and blinks its light. A good time is conceivably had by all. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Why Japan Never Got Rock Band
A few years back, Rock Band exploded in North America. In Europe. In Australia. It didn’t in Japan. There must be a reason for that. There is. The game was never released in Japan. There must be a reason for that. There are—several. According to Harmonix Music Systems’ boss Alex Rigopulos, there was interest in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedBooth Companions Make Gaming Easier in a Glass Box
Those hoping to check out Sega’s Binary Domain at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, got the opportunity to play the game in small rooms with large windows overlooking the show floor. Standing in a small room with a window, gaming alone is no fun! So Sega threw in a booth companion for some good old…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
It’s Steel Battalion, Minus What Made It Bananas
The original Steel Battalion is remembered for two things: It was an Xbox exclusive, and it had a batty controller. The latest Steel Battalion gets the Xbox part (well, Xbox 360) right, but something is sorely missing. That is an enormous controller. With Kinect, players become the controller. Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor does not use…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe PS Vita’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Looks Marvelous
Not only does Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 do fighting games just fine on the PS Vita, it also looks great. Here, Kotaku films some random dude as he play through the Vita version. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011 - Uncategorized
Yesterday Was the Biggest Tokyo Game Show Day. Ever!
Some of the booths are smaller, sure. Some companies weren’t even there. Right now, they’re probably having regrets, because the first public day of the 2011 Tokyo Game Show was the biggest ever On the first day, over 86,200 people attended TGS, compared to 81,469 people last year and 61,138 people the year before. The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 17, 2011