• Kotaku East

  Welcome to Vending Machine Hell, Where You’ll Be Threatened with Brutality

  Castration. Cutting off fingers. Photos of your genitals shown publicly forever. These aren’t just idle threats. They’re vending machine threats. It’s like a ring of Hell Dante missed, but with fizzy drinks and canned coffee. There’s a cluster of fifteen vending machines in Tokyo’s Akihabara, the city’s gaming and geek district. The unmanned machines are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2013
• Kotaku East

  To Train This Charizard Action Figure, You Don’t Need Badges. You Need Money.

  While you might come up short with badges to train Charizard, you probably have enough cashola to do that. Slated for an April release, the fully poseable action figure is priced at ¥3,990 (US$46)—though, I’ve seen it priced at around $30 online in Japan. The Charizard figure is part of Bandai’s D-Arts line of action…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Well, Excuse Me, Princess Zelda Cosplay

  Zelda is more than a damsel in distress. She’s more the namesake of The Legend of Zelda games. For fans, the magic-wielding princess is one of the most iconic Nintendo characters. Hence, all this cosplay! Above is a sample of some—not all—of the best Zelda cosplay from the bowels of internet. The above gallery focuses…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Mario’s Piranha Plant Becomes Something A Little More Recreational

  “This item is intended for use with legal tobacco products only.” Hah. Of course it is. This glass piranha plant pipe sells for $85, and is made by Etsy seller Hedcraft, a purveyor of “High Quality Custom Glass Smokeware”. Glass Pipe – Monster Plant- MADE TO ORDER- Hedcraft Glassworks [etsy, via topless robot]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Windows 8 Was A “Giant Sadness”, Says Valve Boss Gabe Newell

  He’s rarely had kind words to say about Microsoft’s latest operating system, but in the same interview with The Verge in which he spoke at length about his company’s plans for a “Steam Box” PC, Valve boss Gabe Newell also talks about Windows 8. Mainly, how it’s a “giant sadness”. And how he finds the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  The Hidden Inspiration (OK, Not Really) Behind The New Pokémon Starters

  You may not think animated series Bob’s Burgers and the just-announced Pokémon X/Y have much in common, but they do. And once it’s seen, it cannot be unseen. Guys, I noticed something about the new starters [Nick DeWitt]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  The Great Wii U Robbers Might Actually Get Away With It

  Last month, thieves made off with 7000 Wii U consoles in a brazen robbery near Seattle’s SeaTac airport. They stole some trucks, drove right up to a warehouse, got out, used forklifts to remove the consoles, then just drove off. If the cops were hoping they’d catch the thieves red-handed, they’d be pretty disappointed by…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Culture

  Robot Angels, Dragons, Starships & Bikes

  This is the work of Taiwanese artist Evan Lee. Having worked on local MMO Gladius Regalis Online and mobile game Galaxy Saga, he’s also released several art books, and also finds the time to teach. You can check out more of Evan’s work on his personal site and CGHub page To see the larger pics…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Why The First Truly “New” Pokémon Game In Ages Is On 3DS, And Not Wii U

  A Pokémon game that looks new? Amazing. If you’re wondering why the company chose to release a 3D Pokémon adventure on a handheld, though, and not the Wii U, there’s a simple answer. Well, a simple answer that’s different from “because we’ve only ever released main Pokémon games on a handheld”. In an interview with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Sony And Microsoft Should Be Worried About The Steam Box. Very Worried.

  The future of home gaming. The next generation. For years now, the anticipation and excitement over what’s to come has been dominated by speculation over what would come next from Microsoft and Sony. In one day, Valve has changed all of that It’s been hard to get excited about PC gaming in the way you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Vote For Your Favourite Fighting Game, Donate Money To Cancer Research. Easy.

  Seven of the eight games that’ll make up this year’s EVO fighting game tournament in Las Vegas have been announced by the show’s organisers. Those seven are: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Mortal Kombat 9 Street Fighter X Tekken 2013 King of Fighters XIII Persona…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Meet Piston: Valve and Xi3's Steam Box Love-Child

  new GReel( ‘http://edge-cache.gizmodo.com/gizmodo/reel/pisten/’, 8, 24 ) The Steam Box (or Steam Boxes, more likely) has been a long time coming, and today, the Xi3’s Piston is leading the charge. While the details about Piston specifically are few and far between, we got a look at her and boy is she pretty. The first of what…

  By Eric Limer Published January 8, 2013
• 

  Uncategorized

  What Half-Life Looked Like In 1997, One Year Before It Came Out [Update]

  This footage is taken from something called Half-Life Alpha, a demo of Valve’s classic shooter playable in 1997, a year before the game would eventually be released. As you’ll quickly see, most of this is actually a tech demo. Which might explain why there’s a Macross Pod hiding in a stairwell. Update – Ah, the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013
• 

  Uncategorized

  Oh No Big Deal, It’s Just A New David Bowie Single

  You know, no big. Just another day. We got a cool new video from Anamanaguchi. And oh hey also, a single from a little-known singer named DAVID BOWIE. This is the first single of Bowie’s in ten years, released to celebrate his 66th birthday. “As long as there’s me, as long as there’s you,” he…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 8, 2013
• Uncategorized

  VP Joe Biden Wants To Meet With Video Game Reps Over Gun Control

  Later this week, Vice President Joe Biden will be hosting a panel looking at ways to reduce the level of gun violence in the United States. According to a report on Bloomberg, he’s invited the NRA, along with “gun-control advocates, victims of shootings and representatives of the movie and video game industry”. Note this isn’t…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2013
• Uncategorized

  The Mods We’d Like To See For Far Cry 3

  PC modders have really begun to dig into Far Cry 3. The mind reels at the possibilities. Granted, Ubisoft hasn’t been as supportive of user-created modifications as, say, Bethesda was with Skyrim. But that doesn’t mean we can’t put together a wishlist of mods we’d love to see. I did an informal poll of the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 8, 2013
• 

  Uncategorized

  Studio Ghibli’s Musical Maestro Talks Ni No Kuni‘s Soundtrack

  If you’ve ever seen one of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated films, you’ve encountered the work of composer Joe Hisaishi. His haunting, gorgeous compositions have accompanied films from Castle in the Sky to My Neighbor Totoro to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away Hisaishi will also be creating the music for Studio Ghibli and Level-5’s upcoming PS3 role-playing…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 8, 2013
• 

  Uncategorized

  A Rhyme Of Ice And Fire: The Stark Kids Rap Over The Game of Thrones Credits

  I wouldn’t have guessed Sansa Stark would be much of a rapper, but this clip from the DVD commentary for the second season of Game of Thrones proves me wrong. This comes as something of a follow-up to last year, when the actors who play the Starks sang along with the intro music on the…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 8, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Waaaaaaalt! It’s A 16-Bit Video Game Tribute To LOST

  Not only is this new College Humor video-game spoof of LOST funny on its own, it’s also got some good criticism of the show. I particularly liked dodging bad plots in season 3, and anyone who agrees with me that “The Constant” was the series’ best episode is cool in my book. Spoilers! Obvs. CollegeHumor’s…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published January 8, 2013
• Uncategorized

  Miiverse Moments: Adventure Time Fan Art

  Most fans show their love and adoration anywhere they feasibly can and few fans are as obsessed as Adventure Time fans. As a result, their artistic presence in the Miiverse is strong, particularly on the no holds barred fanfest that is the Nintendo TVii community. Today’s Miiverse Moment is a small sample of the Adventure…

  By Chris Person Published January 8, 2013