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CultureMinecraft Earth Gameplay Looks Adorable
Minecraft Earth, an augmented reality mobile game based on the hugely popular series, is coming to a closed beta later this summer. To tide you over, Mojang released a short video yesterday on that shows off some gameplay. It’s incredibly charming. So far, all we’ve seen of Minecraft Earth is the admittedly impressive augmented reality…
By Gita Jackson Published July 12, 2019 -
UncategorizedFirst Look At The New Death Note One-Shot Manga
Death Note ended in 2006, but manga artist Takeshi Obata is bringing it back for a one-shot manga. Obata collaborated with writer Tsugumi Ohba to create the manga back in 2003. At a new art exhibition celebrating Obata’s work, panels from the forthcoming manga were on display. One-shot manga are standalone releases and not serialized…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 12, 2019 -
Kotaku EastJapanStay In A Japanese Castle For Only $9,000 A Night
Starting next year, Ozu Castle in Ehime Prefecture will open its doors to tourists willing to cough up a cool 1 million yen ($9,250) per couple for a night’s stay. This is not the only castle in Japan that will begin offering accommodations next year. Ozu Castle was originally built in 1331. According to Nikkei,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 12, 2019 -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Shining Road
Shining Road, from the long-running indie band Sultan Of The Disco, is a retro powerhouse. The video game-reminiscent music video is just an added bonus. Sultan Of The Disco is a five-member band which debuted in 2007. Although it fluctuates, their current lineup consists of Nazahm Sue, J.J. Hassan, Kim Kanji, G, and Hongki (all…
By Seung Park Published July 12, 2019 -
CultureTurboGrafx-16 Mini Launches In March With 50-ish Games
You’ll be able to complete the trifecta of tiny 16-bit throwback systems on March 19, 2020, when Konami releases the TurboGrafx-16 Mini. It’ll include Dracula X, Bonk’s Revenge, Gradius and many more games, including many Japanese exclusives. Konami said today that it will sell the device exclusively through Amazon, with preorders opening up on Monday,…
By Chris Kohler Published July 12, 2019 -
UncategorizedBig Halo Mod Drags The PC’s 2003 Original Into 2019
There’s an official Halo remaster coming soon, but if you can’t wait that long, you could always try SPV3, a “total overhaul” of the 2003 PC version of the original game that changes…well, pretty much everything. In addition to a visual overhaul (which isn’t as sweeping as MCC’s official work but is still impressive!) there…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2019 -
CultureUbisoft Bans Player-Created Assassin’s Creed Quests That Let You Level Up By Doing Nothing
Last month, Ubisoft released a tool that allows players to create their own quests in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. Players could choose to have other players’ custom quests appear in their games.. Almost immediately came a mess of quests dedicated to rapid-fire power-leveling. “To each their own,” you might say of this questionable practice, but Ubisoft…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 11, 2019 -
UncategorizedPreviously Japan-Only Iwata Asks Series Is Being Translated Into English
While Nintendo has an archive section where fans can revisit old installments of the popular Iwata Asks series, not every Q&A the former Nintendo president ever sat down for is there, because not all of them were translated into English by the company. One such example of that is an interview about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsBlazing Chrome Is A Fine Love Letter To 16-Bit Contra
I didn’t know I needed more Contra III in my life until I started playing Blazing Chrome The run-and-gun action platformer, out today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, is set against a backdrop of a futuristic world in which humanity has been overrun by an army of evil cyborgs. Blazing Chrome succeeds…
By Ethan Gach Published July 11, 2019 -
CultureWhy Veronica Mars Is Still Worth Watching, 15 Years Later
Veronica Mars has been on a hell of a ride. The beloved, short-lived TV series debuted in 2004, telling sun-drenched teen noir stories about a high school girl who solved mysteries in her spare time. Starring Kristen Bell as the eponymous troubled amateur detective, the show gained a cult following for its sharp wit, heartbreaking character arcs,…
Joshua Rivera & Gita Jackson & Jason Schreier Published July 11, 2019 -
Uncategorized‘Embrace Death’ Twitter Trend Baffles Everyone, Turns Out To Be Video Game Marketing
Yesterday evening, the hashtag “#EmbraceDeath” began trending on Twitter, to the alarm of people who had not heard of the fighting game Samurai Shodown. The grim marketing motto sparked a variety of reactions from baffled non-fighting game fans. As edgy as“Embrace Death” sounds on its face, the slogan does make sense in context. While Samurai…
By Ian Walker Published July 11, 2019 -
CultureSteam’s New Customizable AI Tool Scans Your Playtime And Tells You What To Buy Next
Just days after the end of a summer sale that laid bare many of Steam’s issues with helping people discover new games, Valve has announced a new section dedicated to “experiments around discoverability, video, machine learning, and more.” It’s called Steam Labs, and the first bits of mad video game science to emerge from it…
By Nathan Grayson Published July 11, 2019 -
UncategorizedXenoblade Developer Once Pitched An EarthBound Sequel For GameCube
The EarthBound, or Mother, series took a lengthy hiatus between the releases of Mother 2 and 3, but that didn’t mean Nintendo wasn’t interested in keeping the series going. In fact, at one point, the developer that would eventually create Xenoblade was asked to pitch Nintendo on a sequel to the beloved role-playing game series…
By Ethan Gach Published July 11, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsA Mario Maker Level Where Mario Has Post-War PTSD
Oh, you’ve been playing nearly impossible kaizo levels or 20-second speedruns? Sounds great. Me, I just played a Super Mario Maker 2 level where Mario comes back from the army with PTSD. Mario Maker is not the best storytelling medium. In fact, Nintendo goes out of its way to make it difficult to create a…
By Chris Kohler Published July 11, 2019 -
Tips & GuidesHow To Get Into Final Fantasy XIV In 2019
As Final Fantasy XIV’s new expansion “Shadowbringers” hits, I’ve seen a lot of curiosity from co-workers and friends about how to get started with the game. With hours and hours of content, tons of jobs to choose from, and multiple places to hop in, it can seem daunting, but it’s still well worth the time.…
By Heather Alexandra Published July 11, 2019 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Messenger’s New Island DLC Is A Perfect Substitute For A Day At The Beach
It’s already mid-July, and I still haven’t made it to the beach. Maybe you haven’t either. The Messenger’s free Picnic Panic expansion can fix that. You won’t actually hear seafoam waves crashing along the shore or feel the grainy piles of hot sand beneath your feet, but Picnic Panic’s bright colors, catchy new chiptune-inspired melodies,…
By Ethan Gach Published July 11, 2019 -
CultureSplitscreenThe Nintendo Switch Lite Has Sealed The 3DS’s Coffin
Remember the Nintendo 3DS? Enjoy that while you can, because after the Nintendo Switch Lite comes out, the 3DS will be erased from all of our collective memories. Okay, not really, but the Switch Lite does look nifty. On this week’s Kotaku Splitscreen, we talk about playing Switch games while lying in a hammock and…
By Maddy Myers Published July 11, 2019
