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There’s A New Mech Fighting Arcade Game
Developed by Konami, Steel Chronicle is a multiplayer mech combat game that’s currently – and rather quietly – having some location testing done in Japan. The game is a shooter of sorts, with a viewpoint sat close behind the player’s mech, while you’re tasked with mowing down waves of invading alien bugs. The action is…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
Some Of Gaming’s Giants Give Toys To Quake Kids
While some of the Tohoku Earthquake’s youngest refugees told the Mainichi Newspaper that they really want to play video games, power shortages make that impossible. Kids are kids, and they want to play. This is why twenty-six companies are donating four ten-ton trucks worth of toys, clothing and stationary to the relief efforts. Among those…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2011 -
UncategorizedOh, Turns Out You CAN Run Gmail Using Kinect
Last week, Google thought it’d be funny to have an April Fool’s gag based on Kinect powering, of all things, Gmail. Well, turns out you can actually do that. A research team at USC already has Kinect running Google’s email service, and as you’ll see in this slightly stupid video (it’s keeping things in the…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2011 -
UncategorizedThis 3DS Sports Game Sure Seems Gimmicky
The Nintendo 3DS is not multi-touch. That hasn’t stopped Namco Bandai from making a game that requires two touch pens. So players not only have to hold two touch pens like total goobers, they cannot use them at the exact same time. Well, they can, but the multitouch won’t register. Only one of the brain…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
Not Everyone Knows Who The Hell Hideo Kojima Is
You probably know who Hideo Kojima is. He makes Metal Gear Solid. But is he famous? Probably, but that doesn’t mean mainstream Japanese celebs know who the heck he is. Kojima appeared on a recent episode of variety show Real Scoop, talking about how popular he is abroad. Famous celebrities like Yusuke Kamiji as well…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
Video Games Say The Darnedest Things
While the video games of today are (usually) professional enough to hire proper writers to handle localisation and translation duties, it wasn’t always that way. Take the 1980s and early 1990s, for example. Lots of games turned up in the West from Japan. And some of them got a little…lost in translation. You may have…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
When You Think Of Japan, Think Of This
More than schoolgirls, salarymen or neon lights, when video games want to evoke Japan, they pick one thing above the rest: cherry blossoms, or “sakura”, as they are called in Japanese. During spring, Japan is awash in pink and white. Cherry blossoms are in bloom for a short period (around two weeks or so), and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
Anonymous Targets Sony, Warns Of Penises Stuck In Hornets Nests
Militant hacker group Anonymous has launched a campaign against Sony, citing the Japanese company’s “unforgivable offense against free speech and internet freedom” after it took legal action against a pair of hackers. As you’d expect from the group, its statements are neither polite nor subtle. It says Sony has “abused the judicial system in an…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2011 - CultureTotal Recall
Meet The Four Americans Who Built Sega
Nintendo and Sega. Hardware rivals for decades, and even today they remain the archetype Japanese video game companies. Only, Sega isn’t entirely Japanese. It was founded by some American guys. While Nintendo, with its history in trading cards and love hotels, is as Japanese as they come, Sega’s history can actually be traced back to…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 4, 2011 - Uncategorized
Hit for Six
World Champions | All of India is rejoicing, including these expatriates in New York, at the nation’s World Cup triumph. Yesterday’s victory over Sri Lanka gives Sachin Tendulkar, considered one of the greatest batsmen in the sport’s history, a legacy-cementing world championship in his final try. It’s the second title for the cricket-mad nation. (Photo:…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Teaching First-Graders with Minecraft
When his five-year-old daughter built a treehouse by herself in Minecraft, Joel Levin, a computer teacher at Manhattan’s Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, got the idea to try incorporating the PC game into his lesson plan at school. He worried about numerous possibilities that the game would simply be incompatible with students that young, but…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Triple-As Take the Week Off
Very little in the way of big releases this week. Among games we’re likely to play around here, Hoard arrives on the PC and Mac, five months after its console release. Spiral Knights, a free-to-play game from Sega, launches tomorrow. The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, an Xbox Live Arcade game, is probably the biggest game with…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Overseas Rating Points to Burnout Crash
Unannounced by Electronic Arts, Australia’s Classification Board has nonetheless listed Burnout Crash. LinkedIn bios for Criterion developers hint that the game will be available on Xbox 360 and PS3. The game received a PG (basically, T for Teen) down under. [Siliconera]
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Top 5 of 10: Pedo-Sedate
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. •10 Unique Game Boy Accessories You Never Knew Existed [The Kartel] Ah, good old Pedi-Sedate (pictured). How in the Christ did that thing ever get…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Left 4 Dead Screen Looks Awesome on the 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS’ support of 3D imaging isn’t limited just to games. It also has a nifty 3D camera, and of course can display 3D-rendered images with the same effect. One Kotaku reader, who had been fooling around with 3D stereoscopic images of screen shots in the past wondered if they’d also display on the…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Hackers Snare Website of Xbox Live’s Top Cop [Update]
Stephen Toulouse, known to many as Stepto, is Microsoft’s director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live. That means he’s the guy with the biggest, baddest banhammer on that service, making him a prime target for grudge-nursing hackers. Apparently one just seized control of his personal website, stepto.com Update: A hacker took control of his…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
First in Line
Astute readers probably had this pegged for a ‘Shop Contest the instant it published a week ago, but don’t worry, we’ve got more than one image to exploit from the Nintendo 3DS launch, aka “When Reggie Met Triforce.” We have two images for you to work with, actually. Source Image: Triforce Johnson receives the first…
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011 - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Welcome to Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves, your Sunday morning reminder that all things games are fair game under the hashtag #tay Today’s TAYpic is courtesy of ShinLord. Submit your image to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on how to do a TAYpic.)
By Owen Good Published April 3, 2011