After Sandy Hook And Virginia Tech, I’m Done With Violent Video Games

I think I am done. I have been an avid gamer since I received my first system—the then-just-released NES—when I was six. From the moment I picked up the light gun and downed my first duck, I was hooked. For nearly 30 years I have squashed anthropomorphic mushrooms, cleaved zombies, and eviscerated the avatars of…

Square Enix Will Bring Final Fantasy V ‘And More’ Games To iOS

At the end of this trailer for Final Fantasy IV—which is out today on iOS for the Square Enix-ish price of $16—there’s a Very Special Teaser. Final Fantasy V! And more! This is very cool, especially if they keep going through the years. While the first four Final Fantasy games have already been re-released seven…

A Rare Arcade Game Killed by an Atari Lawsuit Comes Back to Life After 25 Years

Maybe you’re like me and never heard of 1980s arcade game Meteors. If you guessed that it was a clone of Asteroids, though, you’d be right. The coin-op arcade game stood at the center of a lawsuit aimed by Atari at competitor Amusement World. Video game designer/scholar Ian Bogost runs down the impact of the…

I Admit Defeat. The Icarus Box Has Bested Me.

I have stared and poked at this image for more than an hour over the past two days. I touch it, a red card pops up and a buzzer sounds. I have no idea what to do here, and The Icarus Box isn’t keen to tell me. The Icarus Box is a puzzle/horror/mystery game for…

Man Dressed As Super Mario Arrested For Groping Woman In Times Square

As a general rule, you probably shouldn’t grope people without their permission. But if you’re going to grope people without their permission, you really shouldn’t do it while wearing a Super Mario costume. Damon Torres, a 34-year-old street performer who solicits money by wearing costumes and posing for pictures in New York City’s Times Square,…

Cooking Mama on iOS is reborn as the free Cooking Mama Seasons. Shouldn’t that be Cooking Mama Seasonings?

AVADirect Mini Gaming PC: The Kotaku Review

There are dozens of places to purchase a custom gaming PC on the internet. Companies with colorful websites with flash-animated front pages and rotating images showing off their latest products in the best possible light. Then there’s AVADirect, a custom PC builder on the outskirts of Cleveland with a website that looks like it was…

Don’t Worry. It Looks Like Dark Souls 2 Will Be As Hard As Its Predecessors

Dark Souls II, the sequel to the notoriously difficult action RPG, Dark Souls (which was a sequel to the phonetically tongue twisting Demon’s Souls) has been announced for the PS3, the Xbox 360, and the PC. One of the more shocking announcements to fans of the previous games was that director Hidetaka Miyazaki would be…

Satoru Iwata recently apologized for long Wii U load times and updates and promised future improvement. Hooray!

I Never Expected A Character Story From One Piece Film: Z

If something is popular enough, you’ll inevitably find a movie version or spinoff of it. More often than not, it’s because some executive is trying to make a quick buck by using the name value to bring people in to see whatever movie they’re selling. While every now and then you’ll find a diamond in…

These Hamburger Wrappers Are Madness and Nightmares

Freshness Burger is a Japanese burger chain. They make good burgers! “Organic & natural” is the Freshness motto. But with these new burger wrappers, it should be something else. In the past, Freshness Burger has wrapped its burgers in unusual designs, such as Jack-o’-lanterns. These latest wrappers are highly unusual. “The hell is this, it’s…

This Game Was Developed in North Korea. Play It Right Now.

There’s a first for everything. Until checking out Pyongyang Racer, I’d never played a North Korean developed game. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s also not very good. To be fair, it is a browser game developed for a British owned travel agency that takes tourists to North Korea. The…

The Wii U Isn’t Just A Large Scale DS In Function, It’s One In Spirit As Well

Nintendo’s Wii U is out, and say what you will about the innovative new controller or long loading times, it’s definitely making its mark on the gaming world. In a recent interview on Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, Shigesato Itoi, creator of the Earthbound series, sat down with the president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, and executive…

Heads up! Final Fantasy IV is now out on iOS. Yours for US$16 at the Apple Store

Dick Flashing Comedian, in Action Figure Form

When not promoting Patapon 3 or helping people, Japanese comedian Egashira 2:50 has another hobby: whipping out his dick. Now you can bring Egashira’s antics to your desktop or bookshelf with this upcoming posable figure. Part of the Figma line, this Egashira 2:50 action figure is slated for next June and priced at ¥3,800. (Amazon…

Japanese Internet Mogul Hit with Drug Accusations

In the West, Reddit says it’s the front page of the internet. But in Japan, it’s not. The internet in Japan is dominated by 2channel. It’s where news—whether that’s political or video game news—disseminates. It’s the center of online culture. And apparently, drugs. That’s perhaps why today drug charges were brought against Hiroyuki Nishimura, 2ch’s…

These Aren’t New Metal Gear Screens, But Man, They’re Sure Wonderfully Bizarre

Remember that insane Metal Gear bento? Well, game creator Hideo Kojima decided to use his new game engine, the Fox Engine, to capture the bento, and then have Big Boss hold it. Because if you could, you’d do it, too. Above is the result, courtesy of Kojima’s Twitter Perhaps you think this is a huge…

It’s Not Every Day You See Link Stabbing An X-Wing

In fact, it’s usually one of two days. The first being in January 1999, when this issue of German mag Video Games hit news stands, and the second being… today. Video Games [VGJunk]

What Happens When A SNES Controller Is Eaten By A Wii U Controller

A few months back, I gasped in horror at the sight of a third-party Wii U pad that, from the hideous photoshop promotional image, looked to be a sin against everything Nintendo held dear about controllers. Well, for the past week I’ve been using the thing. It’s called the Controller Pro U. Combining the functionality…

Sony Releasing Custom God of War Control Pad

To cash in on the upcoming release of God of War: Ascension, Sony Japan will be releasing this custom Kratos-themed DualShock 3 controller. It’s not exactly subtle, but I actually like the skin-tone shade they’ve gone for, makes a nice change from the bolder stuff companies normally choose for controller colour schemes. The pad will…