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  The Kid Who Trained with the Masters of Nintendo During a Gaming Golden Age

  It was the hot, sticky summer of 1990. Japan’s bubble economy, the period of rapid growth during the 1980s, would be over in a year, but Japanese gaming showed no signs of ending its dominance. Dylan Cuthbert, then an 18 year-old programmer at PC gamer developer Argonaut Software, was in the lobby of a Kyoto…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  Buffy the Zombie Slayer

  Earlier today we gave you a glimpse of the spoiler-laden cinematic introduction to Call of Duty: Black Ops‘ fancy new zombie mode, Call of the Dead. Here’s a quick look at how gameplay shakes out. FYI: You don’t get to choose which scream screen star you play as in single and split-screen.

  By Brian Crecente Published May 3, 2011
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  Sony Declines To Testify at Congressional Hearings, But is Cooperating With Request For Answers

  Sony Computer Entertainment of America declined to testify at a Congressional hearing about the threat of data theft to American consumers, but will continue to work to answer Congressional questions, officials tell Kotaku “Sony declined to testify because their internal investigation is still ongoing,” an official in Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack’s office told Kotaku this…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 3, 2011
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  EA Buys Makers Of Flight Control, Real Racing

  Video game giant EA, makers of Madden, Need For Speed and Battlefield (among many others) is snatching up Australia-based Firemint, creators of some of the most popular games on the iPad and iPhone, according to EA. The publisher gets the studio and the rights to its hit games, including Flight Control and Real Racing. The…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 3, 2011
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  Is the Wii Nintendo’s Greatest Console to Date?

  As the wheels of Nintendo’s next console slowly begin to spin, commenter Wrackune suggests the Wii is the greatest Nintendo console gifted to man thus far in today’s Speak-Up on Kotaku. Now that the Wii’s time is nearing its end, I’m saying this: The Wii is Nintendo’s best home console. When I say this, I…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 3, 2011
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  One Day, We Will Play a New Guilty Gear. One Day.

  Before arcade game developer Arc System Works was known for fighting game BlazBlue, it was known for Guilty Gear. So when’s the next GG fighter coming out? Series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari says, “I honestly don’t know—not because I can’t tell you, but because I really don’t know—but it will happen eventually!” [Siliconera]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  Bethesda Details Three More Doses of Downloadable Content for Fallout: New Vegas

  With names already outed via a series of trademark applications, Bethesda Softworks finally pulls back the curtain on Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, and Lonesome Road, three new packs of downloadable content coming to Fallout: New Vegas starting on May 17. Remember how New Vegas‘ first downloadable content showed up on the Xbox 360 first?…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 3, 2011
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  Nintendo’s Next Console Will Enter the HD Era, but Not the Hard Drive Era

  The successor to the Wii will not include a traditional hard-drive but will bear some of the traits of competing high-definition game consoles, according to sources familiar with Nintendo’s planned 2012 gaming machine. The console, codenamed Project Café, will include 8 gigabytes of on-board flash-based memory, presumably for game storage. That quantity, while nearly 16…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 3, 2011
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  Top Thriller Authors Come Together for L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories

  There are a million stories in the naked city of Rockstar’s L.A. Noire, and the game can only tell so many. That’s why Rockstar has recruited eight of the thriller genre’s finest writers to create L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories L.A. Noire‘s Los Angeles is a city teeming with intrigue and corruption. Around every corner…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 3, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome, welcome! This is Kotaku’s designated forum. Kick up your legs, pour yourself a drink and stay a while. Oh, but take care not spill on the sofa—it’s new. We have user Incursor to thank for our first ‘shop of the month—and it’s rather outstanding. Think you can top it? If you’d like to submit…

  By Drew Cohen Published May 3, 2011
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  George Romero Explains The Story Behind Call of The Dead… Then Gets Zombified

  The Escalation Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops hit the Xbox 360 today and with it comes Call of the Dead, a star-studded zombie expansion that features it’s own story and a new backdrop. Here’s a look at how the game opens up and a surprise explanation of the back story by director turned…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 3, 2011
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  The Story of a Pig and His Big Day Out

  So many iPhone games are about points, or killing, or money, or twitching. Sometimes it’s just nice to kick back and guide a pig through a story. Herbert’s Day Out is a cute little iPhone game by Caleb Hystad. He calls it a “story game”, which in plainspeak means you’re just helping cute little Herbert…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011
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  Nice Balloon Dresses

  PARTY OUTFITS | TOKYO, JAPAN: Japanese figure maker celebrates its tenth anniversary with girls wearing inflatable clothes. As one would. (Photo by Moeyo) The Kid Who Trained with the Masters of Nintendo During a Gaming Golden Age It was the hot, sticky summer 1990. Japan’s bubble economy, the period of rapid growth during the 1980s,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  When Game Mags Come with Scented Panties

  Purchased a computer game magazine recently? Sure, print is all moving online. But while the internet is quick, there’s one thing it cannot do: scented panties. The June issue of Japanese bishoujo computer game rag PC Angel neo is bundled with a pair of fragrant underpants. The blue-striped panties are “fresh”, the red-striped panties are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  It Takes Six Minutes to Rifle Through this Lady’s Silent Hill Collection

  Whitney’s Silent Hill collection is impressive! She’s got all sorts of knick-knacks like Japanese in-store displays, hand painted figures, fliers, Japanese strategy guides, soundtracks—you name it! Whitney started collecting Silent Hill goods in 1999, but got serious in 2004. “Silent Hill merchandise is pretty rare when compared to my other favorite game franchises, Capcom’s Resident…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  Giving a Classic Board Game the Love It Deserves

  HeroQuest, an “entry-level” Warhammer game first released in 1989, was at the time a fairly primitive affair, limited to a board, some cards and the player pieces. So Damien Thévenin has spent a few years fixing the game up a little. He’s built an exquisite set of 3D walls and doors, meaning the game’s formerly…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011
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  What Do Portal 2 and Pokemon Have In Common?

  Yes, you have to, ahem, test them all. Portalmon by Matthew Parsons

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011
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  Nintendo Likes Surprises, Sure, but Isn’t Mischievous

  Nintendo is considerate. When the Kyoto-based game company reveals it’s working on new hardware, it wants to surprise people, but doesn’t want to screw up their travel plans. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, recently told analysts that, yes, the earlier a new system is announced, more speculation will be encouraged and there’s a higher risk for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 3, 2011
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  Kinect Lets You Relive the End of Empire Strikes Back

  The official Star Wars game for Kinect isn’t looking so hot. This unofficial Star Wars application for the motion-sensing camera, however, looks way cooler. Projecting a “template” block of carbonite in 3D space, Michael Zoellner & Jens Keil have been getting friends and family to pose in their own unique Han-Solo-in-Empire-Strikes-Back dioramas, with the resulting…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011
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  Does Anyone Love Medal of Honor THIS Much?

  Eight discs. Eight. That’s what the complete Medal Of Honor soundtrack collection is shipping on, complete with big fancy packaging and a liner note written by Steven Spielberg. The featured games run the gamut from the original to last year’s “reboot”, and the whole thing costs $60. MEDAL OF HONOR: SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION: LIMITED EDITION [La…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011