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New FIFA Game Coming (But It’s For Facebook)
When EA bought casual games developer Playfish, people thought it would mean EA games based on fluffy animals. Nope. Turns out the “well-known brand” the studio has been working on is a Facebook version of football series FIFA. The game will be called FIFA Superstars. Details are thin on the ground, but from the way…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
What’s It Like Going On Sale In Akihabara?
Pretty darn great, that’s what. For someone who covers Japanese pop culture, seeing one’s own work absorbed and digested by said culture is quite thrilling. Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential, my tome to the impact Japanese schoolgirls have made on the country’s society and popular culture, has gone on sale in Japan. I never intended the book…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
America, You Spend A LOT Of Money On Video Games
When it comes to spending money on video games, nobody does it quite like the US of A, with research finding that Americans spent over $25 billion on the things in 2009. The exact figures is $25,300,000,000, a tally made all the more frightening considering it doesn’t include new hardware or new accessory sales. Factor…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
This Pikachu Pancake Does Not Look Good
At all. As seen on Hawty McBloggy
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
Dragon Punch Chun-Li Where It Counts With This Male Supplement
This is Stree Overlord. It’s a supplement for men aimed at helping with…yeah. And to help sell it, we have two of Street Fighter’s most famous characters going at it hammer and tongs on the front of the box. Sorry it’s been censored, but what’s going on under that fish should stay under that fish.…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
Ten Reasons Why Teenage Girls Become Otaku
Everyone has their reasons. What’s yours, sister? Japanese website Otalabo polled over 600 individuals about what led them to become an “otaku”. Otalab focuses on polling teenage females, and it should be noted that the website uses the word “otaku” and not the gender specific fujoshi, which means literally means “rotten girl”. The term “otaku”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
Let’s Imagine New Pokemons!
On Sunday, Japanese kids’ show Pokémon Sunday showed silhouettes of new characters in the all-new forthcoming game Pocket Monsters: Black and White. Time to imagine what these characters will look like! Pokémon Black and White is a completely new Pocket Monster series. And this fall, the fifth-generation Pokémon series will be released on the Nintendo…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
Marvel vs Capcom 3: Four New Challengers Enter
There’s a Marvel vs Capcom 3 feature in the latest issue of Game Informer Magazine, and along with some new screens of the game, a number of previously unconfirmed – though strongly hinted-at – characters have been revealed. The “new” characters are ones we already guessed at from the game’s first promo art, but hard…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 10, 2010 - Uncategorized
Old Haunts
To: Luke From: Owen Re: Half a Move As some know I was down in the Bay Area this weekend for a couple things we’ll learn more about later. But it was nice putting actual faces to some names I’ve gotten to know over the past year, whether it was the guys at EA Sports…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 -
UncategorizedWii at Last, Wii at Last, Thank God Almighty …
So President Obama, once again, dinged video games in a speech. I’d rather send a more uplifting message, where a console is judged not by the content of its games, but the color of its skin. As we know, today is an historic day* in America – the first black Wii is available for purchase.…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Obama Doesn’t Know How To Work An Xbox Or A PlayStation
Addressing graduating students at Hampton University, Virginia on the weekend, US President Barack Obama has spoken out on the challenges facing government in an information age, one dominated by “Xboxes and PlayStations”. “You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Week in Games: Two Sequels and Something New
Lost Planet 2 (above) and Skate 3 highlight the coming week. But let’s do this roundup a bit differently and, I hope, in a way that’s a little more useful and interesting to you. Monday (May 10) • Photo Dojo (DS): It’s a chop-socky side-scroller/fighter, but more importantly, it gets you into the action, with…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku’s Top 5 List of Top 10 Lists
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. •Nine Things I Learned from the Halo: Reach Beta [GamerCrave] No. 10: They should just change the game’s name to “Powerhouse Slayer.” •15 Life Lessons…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
More Sonic 4 Video Spills Onto Internet, Threatens Wildlife [Update]
About a month ago several videos purporting to show gameplay from Sonic the Hedgehog 4 leaked out. This one, visually consistent with the others, shows a new stage: “Mad Gear Zone.” YouTube user SuperBlizHedgehogRev got these up on Friday and they’ve managed not to get smashed down by a Sega copyright claim since then. Skip…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
If Not Creating Truth, Then Suspending Disbelief
Ultimately, the challenges the “uncanny valley” poses to motion capture and animation will be overcome by technology. But suspension of disbelief is just as important to a game’s storytelling, writes the actor who portrayed Ethan Mars in Heavy Rain Pascal Langdale, writing on his blog Motives in Movement, examines the latter concept, which he reasons…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Weekend Coupons: Deserve’s Got Nothin’ to Do With It
I’ve killed women and children. I’ve killed everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to my Weekend Coupons. Sorry they’re a day late Mr. Munny. Here are your coupons. Now, if you’ll just lower that shotgun … Hardware • Reminder:…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Culture
Sunday Comics
Penny Arcade published May 5 PvPonline published May 4 ActionTrip published May 3 Digital Unrest published May 3 EXTRALIFE published May 5 GU Comics published May 6 Dotgif published May 3 Ctrl+Alt+Del published May 7 Dueling Analogs published May 6 Nerf NOW published May 3 Rooster Teeth published May 8 Monday Night Crew published May…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Originals: A Day Late
But, like this guy, not a dollar short. We still had plenty of news – LucasArts’ power outage, Activision’s financials, Fallout: New Vegas and the Black Wii – worth rounding up in the five-star final edition of Kotaku’s original reporting. K Monthly – April 2010 Kotaku Talk Radio Top Stories LucasArts President Resigns Activision Boss…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010 - Uncategorized
Kotaku Off-Topic: Home is Where the Smells Are
Just got back from five days away on assignment. Is anyone else weirded out by how their home smells different upon returning from a trip? Like, “Holy Toledo, does it smell like that to visitors?” This time, however, I’m pretty sure the weird aroma was not of my own making. It’s largely attributable to the…
By Owen Good Published May 9, 2010