Ghibli Has A Dissolution Plan (Long Live Ni No Kuni!)

Studio Ghibli, currently at work on role-playing game Ni no Kuni with developer Level-5, is famous for its films created by Hayao Miyazaki. Not to be morbid, but Miyazaki won’t be making movies forever. What does that mean for Ghibli? In an interview with Cut magazine, the 69-year-old Miyazaki talks about the future of the…

Treating Starcraft Addiction With Anti-Smoking Drugs

Starcraft is big in Korea, but for some it can be too big, and they develope a serious addiction to the game. Ah well. Nothing some hard drugs can’t cure! A study at the Department of Psychiatry at Chung Ang University has found that those “suffering” from a video game addiction – in this particular…

According to a PR rep, Plants vs. Zombies is headed to the Nintendo DS.

Lightsabers Make Everything Better

Even Metal Gear Solid: Rising. This mock-up was done in Adobe After Effects CS5 and shows Rising’s “cut what you will” system. With a lightsaber. An Act of Inception: What if Kojima Productions and LucasArts Worked Together On A Star Wars Game? [The Mad Black Gamer]

Modern Warfare Creators Out Buying Furniture

Infinity Ward founders and Modern Warfare creators Vince Zampella and Jason West may have formed a new games studio, but don’t go expecting anything from them for a long time. They’re too busy…buying furniture. Yes, while everyone’s always figured the pair’s debut game for new developers Respawn would be a few years off, it’s easy…

This Is More Than Just A Figure Of Some Lady

It is also a sculpture of a sofa. It’s really a two-for-one deal if you think about it! Amane from Dream Club, the Xbox 360 hostess game, is getting her own figurine. Good for her. Listed at ¥9,240 (US$108), this 1/7-scale Amane figure (with sofa!) will be out in December. Feel free to fill out…

Bowser Died 3000 Years Ago

This extinct species of turtle was five-feet wide and weighed half a ton. It also looks a lot like a certain Nintendo villain. The dog nose, the horns, the beaked mouth, the (relatively) enormous size…it’s official name is Meiolania platyceps, but it may as well have been called Meiolania Bowserus, so uncanny is the resemblance…

OH DEAR, PLEASE MAKE HER STOP

Voice actress Yu Kobayashi looks like an angel. Her art, however, looks like it’s from the smouldering depths of hell. Previously, Kobayashi she drew a character from the animated version of visual novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni, the character she voiced in Wii game Arc Rise Fantasia and the I-have-no-effing-clue for Konami’s Mankai Princess.…

Reduced Carbon Footprint

To: Luke From: Owen Re: Back Off R2! Working from home isn’t all cotton candy, cake and pie, but it does have its benefits. Today I gassed up my car for the first time since June 29 – and only the second time since E3, which seems forever ago. Some of what you missed this…

Excitebike, Come To Life

Pixel-style Excitebike racer made from wood. Its creator, Justin Harder, also fashioned a pixelated helmet, chest protector and trophy from the game. As seen on Vision02 where there are loads more pictures. (via The Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites)

Italian City Pissed At Gran Turismo 5

Officials of Siena, the historic walled city in Tuscany, Italy, are unhappy that their Piazza del Campo is a race course in Gran Turismo 5’s new kart mode, and will demand that Sony remove it from the game. The issue isn’t just that the Piazza or the surrounding structures, the most notable dating back to…

The Week In Games: Made Men

Mafia II’s arrival on Tuesday is this week’s biggest highlight, with strong downloadable offerings in Shank (Tuesday on PSN, Wednesday on XBLA) and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Wednesday on XBLA.) Monday, Aug. 23 And Yet It Moves (WiiWare) G.G Series: Ninja Karakuri Den (DS) Martian Panic (Wii) Tuesday, Aug. 24 Mafia II (PC, PS3,…

Kotaku’s Top Five List of Top 10 Lists

Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •Top 10 Video Game Easter Eggs You Wish Existed [Planet Xbox 360] That I wish existed? Me?. No, the ones I wish existed were, in…

GoldenEye 007 In Action

Activision’s return to classic shooter GoldenEye 007 puts you in the shoes of Daniel Craig’s take on a grittier, no-nonsense James Bond as he works his way through a new treatment of the classic movie. The game also, of course, includes some pretty amazing Wii multiplayer matches. Check it out.

The Japanese Hardware Chart, Post Gamescom Edition

What does this week’s update on the Japanese console contest have to do with Germany’s annual gaming show? Not much, other than timing. It was another week won, ever so slightly, by Nintendo. The PSP and PlayStation 3 may enjoy first and second place, but Nintendo piled up enough DSs and Wiis to win the…

Vanquish Demo Coming Sept. 2

Vanquish, the futuristic Russia-vs.-America shooter coming from Sega and Platinum Games, will get a demo on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 on Sept. 2. Atsushi Inaba, the game’s producer gave up the demo date in an interview with Gamespot Japan that Andriasang spied and translated. The demo is a prologue sequence titled “Velocity Attack,”…

Playing Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions In The Year 2099

Activision brought a new universe from Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions to Gamescom, one that I was lightly familiar with; the one set in the year 2099. That’s the one that doesn’t have Peter Parker as Spider-man’s alter-ego. Instead we play as Miguel O’Hara. This Spider-man universe is shiny to the point of being distracting, bursting with…

British Defense Boss Wants Medal Of Honor Banned

How tempting it was to write “Fox wants Medal of Honor banned.” For while the U.K.’s defense (sigh, defence) secretary is named Liam Fox, he’s not the fearmongering U.S. network. Fox (again, man, not network) is of course pissed that the game’s multiplayer mode allows one side to fight as Taliban insurgents against ‘Mericans –…

Exclusive: Microsoft Kinect Supports Furries

We know what you’re thinking. Will Microsoft’s Kinect read your body when fully encased in a fur suit? Direct from Germany, Kotaku has your answer. And it’s a resounding yes, though we’re still waiting to hear if the Kinectimals will accept you as one of their own.

Amazon Ends Xbox Live Arcade Game Sales

Amazon’s Xbox Live Store, which had allowed customers to buy Xbox Live Arcade games for their retail price instead of Microsoft Points, is no more. A notice posted on the Amazon site says it’s no longer selling the games. Says Amazon: We are no longer selling Xbox LIVE arcade game codes on Amazon.com. You can…