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Kotaku EastJapanHello Kitty And Sanrio Show Their Support Of Black Lives Matter
Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty and her friends, has taken to social media to show its support for inclusivity, stating, “Black lives matter. Kindness matter.” On Instagram, the company wrote: We stand for friendship, kindness and inclusivity. Sanrio was built on the foundation of social communication for people to express their heartfelt feelings of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2020 -
CultureBoard Gaming’s Industry Body Refuses To Say A Word About Black Lives Mattering [Update]
An increasing number of prominent board game industry and community members have pulled out of an upcoming show over The Game Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) continued silence over Black Lives Matter. UPDATE 6:53am, June 11: GAMA has since released a statement on their Facebook page, cancelled Origins Online and offered to “match, dollar for dollar, any…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureRiot Games Executive Says George Floyd Was Murdered By Police Because Of His “Criminal Lifestyle” [UPDATE]
Ron Johnson, Global Head of Consumer Products at Riot Games, has shared an image on his personal Facebook account that lists George Floyd’s prior convictions before saying “this type of criminal lifestyle never results in good things happening to you or those around you”. He is now being investigated internally by the company. As Vice…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureArcade1Up Announces Ms. Pac-Man, Marvel vs. Capcom Cabinets
During today’s IGN Summer of Games event, the folks over at Arcade1Up revealed a handful of new additions to their line of miniature arcade cabinet replicas. These include Ms. Pac-Man, Marvel vs. Capcom, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Big Buck Hunter, and a virtual pinball machine based on Marvel Comics superheroes. While Ms. Pac-Man is iconic…
By Ian Walker Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureWizards Of The Coast Bans 7 Racist Magic: The Gathering Cards
The company behind Magic: The Gathering is apologizing for racist cards that have been part of the game for decades. Seven cards will be removed from competitive play and from the game’s official card index.. “The events of the past weeks and the ongoing conversation about how we can better support people of color have…
By Ash Parrish Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureRacist Spam Bots Are Running Rampant In Team Fortress 2
If you hop into a Team Fortress 2 match right now, there’s a good chance that you’ll be greeted by some very unwelcome guests: spam bots who overwhelm chat with everything from annoying troll-speak to full-on racism. Bots of various types have been giving players fits since early this year, but they took a turn…
By Nathan Grayson Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureSega’s Alex Kidd Is Making A Comeback Next Year
The classic Sega Master System platformer Alex Kidd in Miracle World is getting a makeover courtesy of Merge Games and Jankenteam. It will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC early next year. As you can see in the reveal trailer above, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX is absolutely beautiful.…
By Ian Walker Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureChivalry 2 Will Allow Crossplay Between PS5, Xbox Series X, And Other Consoles
Multiplayer hack-and-slash Chivalry 2 will be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X in addition to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store, a new trailer revealed during IGN’s Summer of Games event. Furthermore, everyone will be able to play together no matter which platform they choose. Chivalry 2, developed by Torn…
By Ian Walker Published June 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Excellent Ys: Memories of Celceta Just Jumped From Vita To PS4
If you want to know why I love Nihon Falcom’s long-running Ys series of fantasy action role-playing games so much, look no further than Ys: Memories of Celceta, which is easier than ever now that a PlayStation 4 port has been released. Though released for the PlayStation Vita in 2012, three years after Ys Seven…
By Mike Fahey Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureKiller Instinct Documentary Reveals Surprising Connection to Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Fighting game community documentarian Esteban Martinez of Hold Back to Block returned this week with a full-length look at the history of Killer Instinct, focusing on its 2013 reboot. Surprisingly, the celebrated competitive fighting games actually has roots in licensed fare like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Green Lantern Double Helix Games was one of…
By Ian Walker Published June 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Good And The Bad Of Destiny 2’s Season Of Arrivals
I’m enjoying the little things in Destiny 2’s latest season. A giant bow that looks like you could windsurf on it. An ominous black pyramid hogging the horizon on Io. Another overpowered exotic whose exploding projectiles bathe enemies in a pool of fluorescent liquid. I’m not sure they can redeem the game’s extremely uneven third…
By Ethan Gach Published June 10, 2020 -
UncategorizedA limited preview of Session, the upcoming skateboarding simulator from creā-ture Studios, is now available on Xbox One. The two-hour trial is meant to act as an appetizer leading up to the Xbox Game Preview release on June 17. Session has been in early access on Steam since September 2019.
By Ian Walker Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureOdds and EndsIt’s Animal Crossing Music Played On Tesla Coils
The fine folks at ArcAttack use tesla coils to create music by shaking the air with electrical discharge. Sometimes a robot plays drums. Their latest musical lightning storm happens to be an amazing rendition of the music that plays at 5PM in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It’s shockingly good. Get it? I am sorry. If…
By Mike Fahey Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureHow’s It Going?: Forethought Edition
I thought it was Thursday for several hours of today, but it’s only Wednesday, and the day’s just begun! Welcome back to our daily open thread. I got a lot of greens in my CSA yesterday, including the biggest napa cabbage I’ve ever seen. Greens tend to wilt almost immediately in my crisper drawer, which…
By Riley MacLeod Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureNo Man’s Sky Gets Crossplay Between PlayStation 4, Xbox One, And PC
They’re going to have to change the game’s name to Everybody’s Sky, as Hello Games replaces the entire network backend of their procedurally-generated space opera No Man’s Sky to open up crossplay across all game platforms. Now PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC players will be able to explore the game’s space lanes together. Tomorrow…
By Mike Fahey Published June 10, 2020 -
ReviewsToysA Great Big Book About Tiny Toy Cars
Remember Micro Machines, the tiny toy cars pitched by fast-talking pitchman John Moschitta Jr.back in the late ‘80s? Bitmap Books’ Micro But Many: An Unofficial Micro Machines Collection is 400 pages of color photos and history that will ensure you never, ever forget them. Featuring photographs of more than 1,000 nickel-sized cars, trucks, planes, boats, and…
By Mike Fahey Published June 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsDisintegration Tries Mixing RTS With FPS, Succeeds At Neither
Disintegration has a weird setup. You are a hotshot pilot who is also a robot with a human brain. You ride a hoverbike and command a squad of similar robots with human brains. The idea is to mix real-time strategy mechanics and first-person shooting. After playing a few hours of the game’s campaign I’m not…
By Zack Zwiezen Published June 10, 2020 -
CultureReminder: Don’t Buy The Wrong Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass
The Pokémon Sword Expansion pass is for Pokémon Sword and not Shield. Vice versa is also true. If you buy one, you cannot play it on the other. Today, Nintendo Support (via Hachima) warned people about confusing the two and making the incorrect purchase. Nintendo Support added that if you simply purchase Expansion Pass in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2020
