Nintendo

Motion Controls, The Most Popular And Most Broken Idea Gaming Ever Had

It was an idea so good that it vaulted Nintendo into first place last-gen with a console using last-last-gen technology. It was an idea so flawed that a Kotaku reader—the moment this series of best and worst features of the outgoing console generation was announced—shredded it. Motion controls… boy did they mostly suck. If you…

Mario Games Are Better When They Change

Do you know Mario? Do you really know Mario? The long and storied history of the plumber (ahem, not janitor) has been a crazy ride through all sorts of changes, new settings and new features. And it’s those changes that make up the core of the games he stars in. It’s also the reason why…

You Might Need Your 3DS If There’s Ever A Legend of Zelda Movie

We all remember the disastrous Super Mario Bros. movie. It’s pretty much the entire reason that Nintendo generally doesn’t put its properties in other media. But, Eiji Aonuma—the guy in charge of all things Zelda—says that if there ever were a film based on the Hero of Hyrule, it couldn’t be just another passive, sit-down-and-watch-it…

Pikachu Is Pretty Good at Parkour

There’s also some freerunning, gymnastics, and even fishing. No lighting-based attacks, though. Pikachu Parkour/Freerunning [kumakumafilms@YouTube Thanks, Kade!] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune…

Ubisoft’s new Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag story trailer shows a colorful Caribbean setting, the game’s young captain’s fight for glory and how he got drawn into the war between the Assassins and Templars. An action packed trailer, so what better song than “Two Steps From Hell?” Edward Kenway story trailer | Assassin’s Creed IV…

Does A Nintendo 2DS Burst Into Flames Inside A Microwave?

You bet your Pokemans it does. Long-time internet microwaver (I’m sure that’s what he puts on his tax return) dOvetastic is the man here putting a brand new 2DS in the box then killing it. If you find yourself asking “WHY DO PEOPLE DO THIS?”, first ask yourself “did I just watch that video until…

Which Pokemon Did You Get, X Or Y?

If you have a pulse and own a 3DS, chances are you probably spent part of the weekend playing Pokemon X & Y. And yet before you even buy the game, you must begin to make decisions. Which one to get, X or Y? And which Pokemon to train? Time for a reader poll. And…

Lack of Pokémon X/Y Lefty Mode Set To Bum Out 10% of World Population

Pokémon X does not have a mode for the lefthanders among us, and I’m willing to bet that there’s no option for my long-suffering people in Pokémon Y, either. This minor travesty will make Super Training in Game Freak’s game a little tougher for the hand that painted Starry Night, invented Super Mario and won…

Tips For Playing Pokémon X & Y

Sure, the world of Pokémon is kind and charming…but that doesn’t mean you can’t step your game up a little while playing. You wanna be the very best, like no one ever was, right? We’re here to help you with that. Here are some things you should do or keep in mind while playing Pokémon…

The Best And Worst of the Last Generation of Gaming

PlayStation 3. Xbox 360. Wii. Over the past eight years, electronic boxes wearing one of those three brands came to occupy space in the entertainment centers of millions of people around the world. They were the heralds of the most innovative, occasionally uncomfortable, undeniably exciting era in video game history. That era is finally nearing…

The Man In Charge of Zelda Says He Wants to Keep Changing It

Any little change in a Legend of Zelda game—tweaks to established mechanics, a shift in art style or sly nods to a previous iteration—excites and infuriates the players who love Nintendo’s iconic RPG series. Eiji Aonuma knows this and the designer who’s charting the future for the franchise came to New York ready to tease…

With Any Luck, Call of Duty Just Made Tea-Bagging Uncool

Nothing against tea-bagging in first-person shooters other than it being played out, stupid-looking and annoying. But I guess it’s also super-hilarious, hence this immortal awards show moment a couple of years ago. Uproarious! Now. Despite the good people at Microsoft’s Halo development team trying to re-dub “tea-bagging” as “victory-crouching“, the former is still a thing.…

One of the villains hunting the Dark Knight in Batman: Arkham Origins must hate water. Revealed during the game’s spotlight panel during this past weekend’s New York Comic-Con, the Electrocutioner is one of the super-assassins looking to collect a bounty on Batman’s head. It’s a safe bet that some of that electrified villain tech will…

Perverts Are Making Pokémon X/Y All Salacious

Pokémon X/Y are not sexualized games. Yet, some players keep pointing to instances that seem unintentionally so. Damn them! Both X and Y allow players to interact with their Pocket Monsters by petting them. In Japan, however, this function is one reason why some Twitter users are dubbing the game “eroi” (エロい), or “erotic,” because…

The Most Convenient Portable Skylanders Game Yet

Now that the console version of Skylanders has finally caught up with the portable one in terms of jumping, the 3DS version of Skylanders: Swap Force ups the ante, letting players load all of their toys into the game at once. The previous installments of Skylanders for the 3DS only allowed players to load two…

The New Voice Of The Joker Killed It At Comic Con

Troy Baker, who has replaced Mark Hamill as the Joker in the next big Batman Arkham video game, and who has replaced Nolan North as the ubiquitous voice-actor who seems to star in every other major game, read some lines at New York Comic Con yesterday. And not just any lines. Some lines the great…

Skylanders: Swap Force: The Kotaku Review

It’s taken 40 long years, but it’s finally happened. I’ve finally become an adult, and it’s all thanks to the latest Skylanders game. I just don’t understand the Swap Force The first Skylanders game gave us a batch of toys we could place on a portal to use as characters in a well-crafted action role-playing…

Pokemon X Versus Pokemon Y: Which To Buy

Coke or sprite? Scrambled or sunny side up? Paragon or renegade? The world is full of difficult existential questions, and while you’re on your own/SOL with most of them, we here at Kotaku would like to offer a helping hand in choosing between Pokemon X & Pokemon Y. Some context, before we talk specifics: traditionally,…

Pokémon X & Y: The Kotaku Review

It’s impossible to escape the influence of Charles Darwin: even if you’ve never paid attention in class, his theory of evolution has influenced everything from science to pop culture—including, yes, the highly popular Pokemon games. You could say evolution is the backbone of the series: from its inception back in 1998, the idea behind the…

There’s At Least One Guy Who Never Figured Out How to Beat King Hippo

Mike Tyson never beating Glass Joe is one thing. He’s the first opponent in the boxer’s titular Punch-Out!!, so this means Iron Mike played the game once or twice, gave up, and went back to tending pigeons in his spare time. But not being able to defeat King Hippo is a different brand of shame.…