Legendaries Do Not Ruin Competitive Pokémon

Legendary Pokémon get a bum rap in competitive play. Many casual observers and players constantly ask why legendaries are allowed in the first place. Aren’t legendaries overpowered? Don’t legendaries make battles boring? I see sentiments like these expressed all the time on social media: These beliefs don’t represent the full spectrum of competitive Pokémon players…

Splatoon 2 Makes Sure That Almost Anybody Can Jump In And Play

Splatoon 2 is a great time. Fighting as a squid-kid is fun and the game takes steps to make sure many people can enjoy. From new players to those with disabilities, games can take actions to help everyone join in the action. We take a look how in this critical video. Transcript: I think that…

Dota 2 Skin Creators Say Valve Is Ripping Them Off

Designers who say they are able to make a living selling outfits and skins for Dota 2 say they may need to get new gigs now that they’ve noticed an unannounced change to the game’s economy affecting their bank accounts. In a post on the Dota 2 subreddit, a collective of anonymous artists alleged that…

Put A Little Overwatch On Your Keyboard

Not only are Overwatch mechanical keyboard caps a fine way to show loyalty to your favorite character, they also help you remember which key does what thing. There’s a group buy going on over at Reddit’s MechMarket through April 2, featuring caps for almost every character. A group buy is where someone gets a whole…

Link’s Best Breath Of The Wild Outfits Are The Simplest

“Less is more,” is a common aphorism you hear about fashion. While it’s not always true, in Breath of the Wild, the simplest outfits are the most stylish. My favorite outfits in Breath of the Wild aren’t the “coolest” ones. That trophy can handily be given to the Guardian Armor, with its glowing Tron lines.…

Hardware Maker Mad Catz Dies

Following a lengthy struggle with financial insolvency, gaming peripheral maker Mad Catz has formally ceased all operation. The company’s directors and officers have all resigned, and its assets will be liquidated. The company that spent nearly three decades pumping out PC and console gaming gear is no more. According toan official announcement released today, yesterday…

Ghost In The Shell Really Bummed Us Out

Last night, Kotaku’s intrepid anime and snack reporters, me and Mike Fahey, saw the anticipated and controversial live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, an anime we both love. It was, to say the least, an utter disappointment. We spent some time this morning sharing our thoughts on the film, and now we’re sharing them…

A Hacker Dropped Yoshi Into Sonic 2, And It’s Amazing

I’m not sure what I love more about this newly-released ROM hack that lets you play the Genesis classic Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as Nintendo’s Yoshi. The incredible, detailed sprite work? The fact that the gameplay has been totally overhauled to use Yoshi’s eating-and-pooping mechanic? It’s just so hard to decide. No, I’ve got it.…

Look At This $699 Witcher 3 Statue

How much do you like Yennefer of Vengerberg? Because as you’ve probably sorted out by now, $699 is how much this 22-inch statue of the sorceress by Japanese company Prime 1 costs. I mean, it’s a good statue. But boy, even if it does feature a “slayed Forktail at her feet” (which looks cool) and…

You Can Play Ms. Pac-Man In Google Maps Right Now

If you’ve ever had the very specific fantasy of playing Ms. Pacman on your neighborhood streets, there’s good news. The Google Maps phone app will let you transform anywhere into a playable Ms. Pacman stage. The process is simple. If you have the Google Maps app, all you need to do is open it up…

New Zelda: Breath of the Wild Patch Fixes Frame Rate Issues

Last night, Nintendo put out an update for Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and their patch notes are just about the most Nintendo thing ever: “Adjustments have been made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.” In reality, they’ve made some huge frame rate improvements. Whereas in the past, walking through the Korok Forest…

Destiny Armor Shaders Are A Great Excuse For Variant Action Figures

McFarlane Toys really lucked out with the Destiny license. Not only does it get to make some cool figures and replica weapons, with Destiny’s armor shader system the repaint potential is massive. Here are four retailer-exclusive variants dropping in July. For reference, here are the original paint jobs for the Hunter, Warlock and Titan figures…

An Accidental Ghost In The Shell Live-Action Movie Reminder

Of course the Ghost in the Shell manga’s original publisher never thought a Japanese actor would play the lead in the Hollywood version. But at a publicity event for the film in Tokyo, we get a look at what that might’ve been, if the movie had been made in Japan. Even if that’s within the…

In Japan, You Can Lift Weights With Maids

This is “Maid Gym.” It’s a weight training gym with, well, maids. Oh, if maids aren’t your thing, there are also beefy butlers.  As pointed out by Nari Nari, Maid Gym opens in Tokyo on April 10. It was originally a crowdfunding project, which set out to raise 700,000 yen (US$6,256), but ending up doubling…

The World Ends With You. Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. By Frida Tørring. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Scully Always Was A Believer

Lisa Sterle is an illustrator, concept artist and graphic designer. You can see more of Lisa’s work at her personal site To see the images in their native resolution, click on the “expand” button in the top-left corner. Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both…

Build-A-Bear Have Some Great Keyboards

Because you may not have been inside one of these stores in a long time/ever, let me show you that Build-a-Bear have some of the most amazing keyboards on planet Earth. I was in a store on the weekend with my kid, bracing myself for the pricing for a birthday party, when I saw another…