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Meet the Retro Game Master
Star of Retro Game Master, Shinya Arino will be in Los Angeles this week, providing U.S. fans a rare opportunity to meet The Kacho. Arino, who is big time comedian in Japan, will be appearing at the Little Tokyo Galleria this Friday, September 9. The event starts at 7pm. Be sure to tell ‘im Kotaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Culture
The Metallica Game We Never Got (But Maybe Should Have)
Around 2003, Black Rock Studio (which is sadly now no more) was working on something fairly unique: a Metallica game that didn’t involve plastic instruments. It instead was a “post-apocalyptic driving/adventure game”, in which the band’s members were badass, gun-toting characters. Destined for the PS2, nothing ever came of the title. It was never even…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
It’s Soccer! It’s Role-Playing! It’s on the 3DS.
This December, the Nintendo 3DS is getting one of Japan’s most popular games, soccer role-playing title Inazuma Eleven. The latest entry will be released in two versions: “Shine” and “Dark”. [ファミ通]
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
There’s More To Learn about Nintendo’s Ugly 3DS Add-on
It’s dubbed the “3DS Kakuchou Slide Pad” or “3DS Expansion Slide Pad”. It’s real. And it’s truly an ugly product—the ugliest since the original Nintendo DS. The lackluster looks are a shame because the 3DS is so pretty. There’s more than looks to this, though. The 3DS Expansion Slide Pad is less a simple add-on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Bans Users for Stealing Xbox Live Content
Last month, Microsoft very quietly swept a broom through the Xbox Live userbase, finding—and banning—a number of Xbox 360 owners for “illegitimately [accessing] Xbox LIVE Marketplace downloadable content”. As the company “will not divulge additional information regarding individual suspensions for these offenses”, it’s unclear what brought on the crackdown, or how the culprits were able…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
When a Japanese Gamer Girl Speaks Her Mind
Haruna Anno is a retro gaming idol—the young girl who loves old games. She also speaks her mind, and that’s always good for an idol. When Dragon Quest X was revealed yesterday, some gamers were excited. Many, when they learned about the required online and subscription fees, groaned. Like many people, Anno took to Twitter…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Isn’t the First Time Nintendo Has Stacked Something on Top of Something Else
The 3DS’s new second thumbstick is, to be blunt, horrific. It’s an ugly, quick fix to a problem that should have been identified during the handheld’s design phase, not six months after. It is, however, not the first time Nintendo has done this. Indeed, you could say if there’s one thing Nintendo does better than…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
3DS Boob Game Offers More Than Boobs. There’s an Awkward Pillow Case, Too.
When the designer of Senran Kagaura was thinking about what kind of 3D game he wanted to make for the Nintendo 3DS, one thing came to mind. Well, two. The result is ninja game Senran Kagura. The chief appeal here ain’t the ninjas! It’s NSFW imagery. Like most games of its ilk, Senran Kagura has…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
It’s Like Star Trek, You’re Kirk/Picard, it’s for the iPhone
Star Command is like Game Dev Story. Only instead of running a games studio, you’re running a starship, its crew, and dealing with aliens. So, yes, it’s an exciting prospect. It’s essentially Star Trek without the license, and with cute retro graphics and the promise of, well, commanding your own starship (something few games seem…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
A Handful of New PS Vita Games Leak Out
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, there will be around 40 PS Vita games. Forty. And the machine isn’t even out! Some of the games have already been revealed. Some haven’t. Leaks from this week’s forthcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu shed light on some of the new titles. Here’s a list of what’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
If Charles Darwin Had Studied Pokémon…
Artist Michael Casteel has reimagined the Pokédex as something you would have found in the tattered diary of a 19th-century British man with a Pith helmet and a magnificent beard. He calls it his “Pokémon Field Guide”, and alongside the hand-drawn illustrations are rough notes detailing the first encounters between the bumbling Professor Baobab and…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Is This a Sign of Microsoft’s Japanese Retreat?
After spending millions upon millions of dollars promoting the Xbox 360 in Japan, Microsoft still only sells about 2,000 or so consoles every week. Last sales week, the Xbox 360 was outsold by the PS2. The PS2! After all these years, it looks like Microsoft might finally be tossing in the towel and calling it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
UncategorizedPlaying a Video Game on the Side of a Building Looks Awesome
This impromptu little piece of street performance involves a large building, Kinect, the cover of darkness, a copy of classic arcade game Breakout and some very interested bystanders. Put together by the art/marketing team at WECOMEINPEACE, all it asked of players was to jiggle around a bit and watch as they played the biggest arcade…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Pretty Lady. Dead Fish. Nerds.
When Japanese people travel, they often take tours. Travel agents offer an array of packages from simple all-inclusive air-plus-hotel to bus guided tours complete with bus lady. This tour is a little different. No, it’s a lot of different. It’s a fishing tour (okay, normal) for otaku (huh?) with a famous voice actress (bwah?). The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 7, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis Might be the Future of iPhone Gaming (Or Board Gaming? Or Both!)
The biggest problem with iPhone gaming at the moment is that, thanks to the lack of control options, it’s hard to play a game with much meat to it. This rather left-field solution may have a…solution to that. Granted, you lose much of the iPhones portability with this, but when you see what it’s got…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Turn Deus Ex: HR Into More of a PC Game
I played Deus Ex on PC. It was…OK, but didn’t run as nicely as I thought it would, and didn’t give me as much control over things as I would have liked. Know what it was missing? A debug mode. Know what we’ve got now? A debug mode! How’d you guess? A mod has been…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallBelieve it or Not, There Was a Goonies Sequel
Despite annual reminders, Hollywood has never made good on its threat to release a sequel to classic 1985 adventure flick The Goonies That didn’t stop video games from coming up with their own Goonies II, though. In 1987, Konami released The Goonies II on the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System. And proceeded to confuse the shit out…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2011 - Uncategorized
Like A Woth To A Flame
Kotaku readers, welcome back. I trust you had an enjoyable three-day weekend, should you have the luxury of having a three-day weekend. Well, we’re back into it, so let’s get this shorter work week going with some off-topic talkin’. I had a relaxing one, thanks for asking, playing some Shadows of the Damned and The…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Add-on is Real, Here’s Your First Horrifying Look
Wait a second. That crazy insane rumor that the struggling Nintendo 3DS would be getting a second analog slider might actually be true? If you believe early reports from the latest issue of Japanese video game mag Famitsu, well, yeah. According to still unconfirmed reports from the mag, which typically leaks all over the internet…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
HD Re-Release of Devil May Cry Trio Looks More Likely Than Ever
Earlier this year we published a rumor that the first three games in Capcom’s famed Devil May Cry series would be getting an HD re-release. Today, G4 reports that all three games have been rated by the ESRB for release on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. It’s looking more likely than ever that…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 6, 2011