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  Now The Mushroom Kingdom Is In Russian Doll Form

  The Matryoshka doll is the cake/custom action figure of 2009. Not the most obvious of pioneering creative avenues to pursue, true, but we can’t direct these artistic waves, only react to their flow. Where last week we saw the zombies of Left 4 Dead transformed into stackable little dollies, this week, it’s the inhabitants of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  2D Fighter BlazBlue Gets Release Date

  Guilty Gear developers Arc System Works released BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger in Japanese arcades last November. A multi-platform console port was announced earlier this month. Today, the game gets a Japanese release date. Out June 25, the home version of BlazBlue will add a substantial single-player story mode, one touted to take 30 hours to complete.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  The Mouse Sent Back In Time To Kill Sarah Connor

  Ask PC gaming snobs why they prefer playing games on a rig to a console and they’ll tell you, it’s the controls. Pads just can’t match the speed and accuracy of a mouse and keyboard. And it looks like few things on earth (at least, the earth of the present) can match the accuracy of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Hideo Kojima’s iPhone Is Covered In Hideo Kojima

  With Metal Gear Touch, Metal Gear Solid has arrived on Apple’s iPhone. It’s not a huge surprise as Apple products are littered throughout Metal Gear Solid 4. Kojima’s a Mac user, and he’s got a one-of-a-kind iPhone with his own mug on it. Hello vanity! We assume (hope?) this is a gag on his part…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Online Game Gets Real-World Banking License

  While some online games have problems with real-money transactions, Swedish MMO Entropia Universe has no such issues. Indeed, it’s so responsible that publishers MindArk have been granted a proper banking license. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority granted the license last week. What does that mean? It means the publisher “gains the protection of the Swedish…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Sony Computer Entertainment Patents Robot Peripheral

  Last June, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a patent application for a real robot that interacts with video games. Think of it as Sony’s take on R.O.B. The patent shows a robot outfitted with a camera that enables the bot to decipher the surrounding environment. There’s a microphone that makes it possible for the robot to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Councilman Resigns After Spruiking Racist Flash Game

  Georgia City Councilman John Dowdy thought it would be a good idea to send an email round the office recommending a racist flash game. John Dowdy is no longer a Georgia City Councilman. The game in question is “Border Patrol” (sample its tastefulness above), a 2006 release that sees you trying to stop Mexicans from…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 (Yakuza 3) Ships Over Half A Million

  PS3 exclusive Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 is a smash hit. The game sold 372,000 copies in its first week and is one of the biggest selling copies on the PLAYSTATION 3. The game has in-game tie-ups with 27 different companies, including a karaoke parlor, a sake distillery and a tanning salon. The voice cast boasts…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Get The Most From Your Kotaku Kommenter Account

  So you’re commenting on Kotaku. Congratulations! But did you know that aside from speaking your mind and saying mean things about us (do we not bleed?), there are other things you can do as well? Let’s take a look at them. First, you’re going to want to access your profile. You can do that by…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Nintendo Discovers That Wii Fit Is As Good As… Walking

  In this ad, Nintendo says it had Wii Fit researched by Japan’s National Institute of Health and Nutrition. About time! The game’s only been out for over a year. The researchers found out that doing the Wii Fit hula hoop game was the equivalent of “light walking” or playing golf without using a golf cart.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Shoko Nakagawa Returns, But Minus The Mecha Cosplay

  The last time Japanese geek idol Shoko Nakagawa appeared in a Super Robot Taisen ad, it was amazing. She cosplayed as in-game character Valsione. This time, she wears a dress. Ho hum. Super Robot Taisen K is out March 20 in Japan. Click through the pics of the ad below. There’s lots of standing and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Whoops, Dev Releases Alpha Build On Steam By Mistake

  Indie first-person shooter Merchants of Brooklyn was released over Steam earlier in the week. Which should have been good news, except, developers Paleo Entertainment released the wrong version of the game. Yup. Instead of releasing the finished, final product, somebody at Paleo clicked on “alpha build” by mistake before hitting “upload”. Naturally, everyone buying the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Valkyria Chronicles, The Art Book

  In Japan, SEGA’s beautiful PS3 exclusive Valkyria Chronicles has an anime and saucy figurines. Next month, it gets an art book, too. The 300 page book is published by Enterbrain, the same company that publishes Japanese game mag Famitsu. Titled Valkyria Chronicles Development Artworks, it goes on sale at the end of April. Price is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Team Fortress 2 Patch Goes Out To All The Multi-Core Users Out There

  Does your PC have multiple cores? Mine does. And I just love it when a developer is able to release something that specifically takes advantage of them. So thanks, Valve! Team Fortress 2‘s latest patch – of which, you’re no doubt aware by now, there have been many – takes multicore rendering support out of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2009
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  Raw Deal Capcom Pre-Paid Credit Card Policy Changed

  When Capcom announced its pre-paid Visa debit card, folks got excited. Then they saw that the card carried exorbitant fees and got angry. CheapAssGamer’s goomba478 did what most would. He started complaining. Goomba478 detailed all the charges the laundry list of add-on charges to use the card: “Pay to activate the card, pay to call…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2009
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  Mega Man Takes The Paper Mario Route

  Click to view THIS IS NOT REAL. It’s made by a guy called Peter Sjostrand. Nothing stopping you wishing it was made by Capcom, though, so please, wish away.

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2009
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  Watch Pokemon In HD

  The official site for Pokémon Diamond & Pearl announces some changes for next month. This April, the Sunday morning kiddy show Pokémon Sunday anime is going HD. The show is co-hosted by geek idol Shoko Nakagawa. The anime Pokémon Diamond & Pearl is getting a new end theme song sung by Shoko Nakagawa, and the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2009
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  Psst, Metal Gear Solid Touch Is Out

  Forget that announcement saying it would be out on March 19. It’s not. It’s out today, and today is March 18, so if Metal Gear-themed Duck Hunt sounds appealing, get on it. It’s $8, it features characters and settings from Metal Gear Solid 4, and it clocks in at an impressive 90MB, so you’ll probably…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2009
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  Hideo Kojima Has A New Role At Konami

  Creator of the Metal Gear Solid series, Hideo Kojima is responsible in large part for Konami’s success. His games do well, Konami does well. What does that mean? Fancy white collar job titles, that’s what. While “Chief Of I Can Do Whatever I Want” would have been an obvious choice, his new title starting April…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2009
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  Cities XL Takes Tycoon Fiends Online

  Think of Cities XL as a sort of spiritual successor to Sim City Societies, but with less emphasis on the people-please and more emphasis on playing God. Now that Maxis has been swallowed by Spore and the guys who made Sim City Societies have moved onto bigger, better things Children of the Nile, indie developer…

  By AJ Glasser Published March 18, 2009