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Don’t Expect Call of Duty-Like Games from Nintendo
When you think of “Nintendo”, you think of plumbers. You think of princesses. You think of fluffy clouds and lush green grass. You do not think of 13 year-olds waiting to pop caps in you. Here’s how Nintendo honcho Satoru Iwata explained it to The Independent: “…we also have titles like Mario Kart that are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Poll: Most Gamers Plan To Buy A 3DS XL, Even Though Most Already Own A 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS upgrade, the 3DS XL (“3DS LL” in Japan) will be hitting stores in Japan later this month and in the US in August. Looking at what will hopefully be a bigger launch than the launch for the original 3DS (Granted, they had to deal with a weak launch lineup and a major…
By Toshi Nakamura Published July 12, 2012 -
This Pikachu Can Pull a Man’s Arms Out of His Sockets
It’s Han Solo’s co-pilot, Chewbacca, crossbred with Ash’s buddy, Pikachu. The result? Wookimon? Chewbachu? Pikachewie? Yes, Pikachewie That’s what custom figure maker KodyKoala is calling it—and he should know because he made it. According to KodyKoala: I used a Jakks 2007 Electronic Pikachu and I covered him in Apoxy sculpt and made him look hairy.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Death Blogger Might Need an Internet Time Out
It hasn’t been a good past few months for Japanese actress Aki Higashihara. Her blog—nicknamed the “Death Blog”—has been on a roll. That’s…not good. Higashihara’s blog is called the “Death Blog” after the Japanese manga Death Note, because her entries seem to make bad things happen. Over the years, her luck has been infamously bad.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 11, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Poor Godzilla, a Game Boy is Too Tiny For His Giant Fingers
When he’s not crushing major Japanese cities, Godzilla likes nothing more than to kick back and play his own video game on the original Game Boy. Only, because his giant claws can’t hit the buttons properly, he’s always dying, which pisses him off, causing him to stomp around crushing cities. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s a…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 10, 2012 -
Smash Bros. Creator’s Studio Closes Down, Smash Bros. Sequel Apparently Unaffected
Project Sora, the studio headed up by Smash Bros. Masahiro Sakurai, has been dissolved. Project Sora, a spin-off studio of Sora Ltd. (both run by Sakurai), last worked on Kid Icarus: Uprising. Sora Ltd. was established in 2005 as freelance gaming agency for Sakurai to work on games, and Project Sora was established in 2009…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 10, 2012 -
I Need a Shiny New Phone So I Can Make It Look Like a 25-Year-Old Controller
The wonderfully named Killer Duck Decals sells, well, decals. Stickers for your phone or smallish electronics. But not just any stickers. These NES controller iPhone decals kind of make me wish I had an iPhone, not going to lie. (The store does stock some Android decals! But not, sadly, for my phone.) On the other…
By Kate Cox Published July 10, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Pokémon Black and White 2 Is Neither Black, Nor White. It’s Gray.
There have been a lot of games in the Pokémon series but none has been a direct sequel to any other. Rather, they have each focused on a different region in the world with a unique adventure largely unrelated to any other one. However, this all changes with the first direct sequels in the series,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 10, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Why I Feel No Need to Catch ’em All
Way back in 1999, a friend of mine gave me an ancient gray brick of a Game Boy and a very used copy of Pokémon Red while we were on a middle school field trip. An eighth grader, I already knew myself to be “too old” for Pokémon. After all, I was already into games…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 10, 2012 -
This Live-Action Metroid Movie Only Cost $200 to Make
Think back to when you first played Metroid to the end for the first time. Your mind was blown when you found out Samus Aran was a woman, right? But you couldn’t do anything like, say, hit on her. The guys in the short try to do exactly that. It’s awkward. Via Twitter
By Evan Narcisse Published July 9, 2012 -
Club Nintendo Gifts Suck Less Now That You Can Download a Free Game
It happens every July: Club Nintendo announces its loyalty gifts for members who reached gold or platinum status in the past year, and everyone craps all over them. Well, if you don’t want another poster or desk calendar (and I quite enjoy mine, thank you very much) now you may pick a free game from…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2012 -
This $1,238,099.99 Video Game Auction Boggles the Mind [Update]
For a minimum bid starting at a more than a million dollars, a collector is offering his entire catalog of video games for Nintendo home systems from the NES/Famicom through the GameCube, plus the full lineup of every game released on any Sega system—all of it in the box with original instructions. Easily numbering more…
By Owen Good Published July 6, 2012 -
In Amsterdam, Mario Will Totally Get You High
If you’ve ever played a Mario game, you’ve probably wonder, “Is Nintendo on drugs?” Well, no, Nintendo is not on drugs, but that doesn’t mean Mario can’t get you stoned—especially in Amsterdam. Spotted by Japanese site Rocket News, this “Mario Shop” features the iconic plumber with bloodshot eyes and sells mushrooms, bongs, and cannabis seeds.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 6, 2012 -
Nintendo Shows off a New 3DS Colour That is VERY PINK
Nintendo is bringing two all-new 3DS colours to the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets when the handheld officially launches there in September. One is “Cerulean Blue”, while the other is “Shimmer Pink”. While there are already blue and pink models available elsewhere, “Cerulean” looks a lot brighter than the current “Aqua”, while “Shimmer” is a…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 6, 2012 -
Heroes of Ruin and The Legend of Zelda Clash in This Week’s Nintendo Download
Old school action role-playing meets newfangled dungeon crawler in this week’s Nintendo download, as a free demo for Square Enix’s Heroes of Ruin goes head-to-head with one of Nintendo’s most legendary games. If you were one of the folks that picked up the Nintendo 3DS before they dropped the price from $250 to sensible, then…
By Mike Fahey Published July 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Monster Hunter 4 Will Have A Bunch Of New Features… No News On A PS Vita Version
The Monster Hunter series will be getting its “fourth” numbered game (Seeing as they seem to have a different numbering system from the rest of us… What kind of game series considers “3rd” and “3” (tri) as two separate numbers?) next year with Monster Hunter 4 scheduled for release in Spring 2013. As a whole…
By Toshi Nakamura Published July 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
To Get Ready for the 3DS XL, Nintendo Cutting Japanese Plug Prices
In Japan, Nintendo is not selling the 3DS XL with an AC adapter. According to Japanese site Famicom Plaza, Nintendo is cutting the price from ¥1,500 (US$19) to ¥1,000 ($13). [Famicom Plaza]
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 5, 2012 -
Microsoft Thinks the Wii U is Pretty Much an Xbox 360
It’s not only that Pro Controller that reminds Microsoft of its Xbox 360. The graphics do, too. “I think their Pro Controller makes a lot of sense with the platform they’ve built,” Microsoft’s Phil Spencer told website Games Industry. “They are building a platform that is effectively a 360 when you think of graphical capability.”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 4, 2012 -
Nintendo Can’t Promise Its Online Service Will Always Be Free
Another day of Nintendo honcho blowing the gasket off of things. This time, it’s Nintendo’s online service, the Nintendo Network. It’s supposed to be free, but that doesn’t mean it will be free forever. Forever is a long time. At a recent investors meeting, Iwata said, “We cannot promise that Nintendo will always provide you…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 4, 2012
