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A Cat. Watching Star Wars.
This is a perfect storm. It’s as if the internet gods got together and created this just to show what they were capable of. It is, as noted in this post’s title, a cat watching Star Wars—no, a cat sitting up while watching Star Wars Cat is watching “Star Wars” [YouTube via GWen Harlow via…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 1, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Cops Crack Down on Darth Vader
When Darth Vader showed up in Osaka to march about and promote the 3D Star Wars flicks, it was glorious. When he did the same in Tokyo, it was glorious, too. That is, until the cops showed up. This past weekend, Darth Vader and his Imperial Stormtropper, the Japanese Garrison of the 501st Legion, strutted…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 29, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Neglected Regions Carve Out Their Own Home in The Old Republic
When Star Wars: The Old Republic launched last December across Europe and America, players on the other side of the world were told they would have to wait until some time in the indeterminate future before they would be allowed to join Bioware’s first MMORPG. But gamers—not to mention Star Wars fans—are a determined lot.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 28, 2012 -
I Bet I Know Why You Will Play Kinect Star Wars’ Dance-Off At Least Once
It’s going to take a hell of a turnaround to get me to change my tune on Kinect Star Wars. Yeah, Totilo said the game’s improved over what I played at E3, but, come on, a dancing game? I mean, how stupid is that. Do I look like a guy who wants to— fast forwards…
By Owen Good Published February 26, 2012 -
Star Wars: The Old Republic Players Average At Least Four Hours Per Session, Love Sundays
The average player of the massively multiplayer game Star Wars: The Old Republic plays the game between four and six hours per session, according to one of the chief architects of the game. “When they play, their sessions are absurd,” Greg Zeschuk, head of BioWare Austin, the studio leading continued development of the game told…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 24, 2012 -
The Death Star Arrives in Earth Orbit, They’re Here for our Toys
In this neat ad for Toys ‘R Us in Denmark, the Death Star pops into Earth orbit and Imperial shuttles start landing. In Denmark. Which seems pretty believable. That’s where all the LEGO is. If I came from outer space for something, it’d probably be LEGO.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2012 -
Meet Admiral Ackbar, Who Still Hasn’t Seen the Original Star Wars
Everyone knows Frank Oz, of The Muppets fame, voiced Yoda in the Star Wars movies. Ditto for James Earl Jones and Darth Vader. But do you know who did the voice for Admiral Akbar, uttering one of the most widely-used lines from the original trilogy (IT’S A TRAP!)? Or the voice of Mr. Head Tentacles…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
George Lucas’ Daughter Could Kick Your Ass
She really could. She could kick a lot of people’s asses—not just yours. That’s because Amanda Lucas is a mixed martial arts superstar. Lucas began MMA in 2008 after taking Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes. The former dance instructor’s first fight was in May of that year. “I got beat up pretty bad,” Lucas told Sports Illustrated.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 21, 2012 -
Kill a Room Full of People With Your Brain (For Fun)
This Darth Vader may not have James Earl Jones’s wicked baritone or David Prowse’s imposing height (nor even Hayden Christensen’s adolescent whine), but the evil overlord skills on display simply cannot be denied. It just goes to show: there’s a little force-wielding maniac in all of us. Seriously, how great would it be to be…
By Kate Cox Published February 14, 2012 -
Not a Jedi Mind Trick: Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 Bundle Out on April 3rd
Those rumors about an April debut for the Kinect Star Wars game—and the fancy console associated with it—have turned out to be true. Xbox exec Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb confirmed an April 3rd date on Twitter and an official press release cites a $450 price for a console + Kinect + game bundle.
By Evan Narcisse Published February 7, 2012 -
Darth Vader Invades South Osaka (Noooooooooo!)
When I first moved to Osaka, I lived near Shinsekai—a rough part of town in the south. My apartment was clean and spacious, but the area was populated with drunks, prostitutes, and gangsters. And this weekend, it was filled with Imperial Stormtroopers. Shinsekai is one of the stigmatized parts of Osaka. Many in North Osaka,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 7, 2012 -
These Are Not the Same-Sex Relationships The Old Republic Players Were Looking For
Riffing on the Family Research Council’s outrage over same-sex NPC relationships in Star Wars: The Old Republic, talk show host Conan O’Brien and team cobble together some footage of the science fantasy franchise’s most famous gay couples. Of course the actual footage has nothing to do with the actual situation in Star Wars: The Old…
By Mike Fahey Published February 3, 2012 -
How to get Lightsabers in Skyrim
There’s a lot of talking here at the beginning. A lot of boring crafting stuff. Stick with it. Eventually, you’ll see that you really can get lightsabers in Skyrim. And canon be damned, they are awesome The mod has actually been available since late last year. If you don’t have it installed, get on it!…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 3, 2012 -
The Force is 1.7 Million Subscribers Strong with Star Wars: The Old Republic
According to EA’s third quarter financial results report, BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic has generated more than 1.7 million paying subscribers since its December launch. One wonders if that number was recorded before the game’s PVP balance issues began
By Mike Fahey Published February 1, 2012 -
Family Research Council: ‘Rebel Fleet Surrenders to Gay Empire’
Oh boy. The Family Research Council, acting in its role as wise counsel to all that goes into video games, hath finally noticedeth that BioWare intends to publish a game update to Star Wars: The Old Republic that accommodates same-sex relationships between player characters and NPCs. This didn’t go over well with them, because he’s…
By Owen Good Published January 28, 2012 -
Kinect Star Wars Makes Chris Pratt More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine
Parks & Recreation and Moneyball star Chris Pratt’s turn as a micheivious Obi-Wan in this commercial for Kinect Star Wars does not make me want the game. It does, however, make me to hang out with Christ Pratt. There’s no gameplay whatsoever in this Kinect Star Wars trailer, which all things considered might be for…
By Mike Fahey Published January 26, 2012 -
BioWare Bans Old Republic Player For Using Internet Meme
“I’m 12 and what is this”. If you don’t know what that means, here. Everybody back on the same page? OK, so we can all have a laugh at this poor guy’s expense when he was banned from Star Wars: Old Republic for using the line. Posting “I’m 12 and what is this” in a…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012 -
Disabled Gamers Laud The Old Republic as 2011’s Most Accessible Title
The advocacy publication for disabled video game enthusiasts has named Star Wars: The Old Republic its Mainstream Game of the Year, meaning it is the most widely released title that also is most accommodating of gamers who have different needs to enjoy full-featured gameplay. AbleGamers praised SWTOR for “many accessibility options such as full subtitles,…
By Owen Good Published January 21, 2012 -
Report: BioWare Wanted to Make a Marvel Comics MMO, But Made a Star Wars One Instead
A fascinating report in the Los Angeles Times about Star Wars: The Old Republic ought to get some attention for pegging the cost of making the massively multiplayer game at $200 million. But for fans of the game’s developers at BioWare—and for fans of some of the cooler pieces of pop fiction around—there’s another detail…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 20, 2012 -
Star Wars: The Old Republic Factions Learn to Work Together to Exploit the PVP System
Now that BioWare has instituted fixes limiting the number of Republic and Imperial players taking part in each instance of player-versus-player planet Ilum an uneasy truce has been formed. Now both sides can take turns killing each other for credit! Patch 1.1 for BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic patched the game so players could…
By Mike Fahey Published January 19, 2012