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Namco Bandai Is Ripping Off a Japanese Clothing Store?
Namco Bandai’s idol simulator The Idolmaster seems to be getting more than inspiration from an online retailer. The “rare” Idolmaster card for character Megumi Ijuin looks exactly like a photo spotted on Japanese internet retail site Sunflower. Just look at the above comparison. The card is featured in the new social Idolmaster game called Cinderella…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012 -
Final Fantasy Creator Hard at Work on a Surfing Game. For iOS.
Kotaku previously reported that Hironobu Sakaguchi was working on three iOS games. He’s revealed one of them: a surfing game with the temp title Party Wave. Sakaguchi, who lives in Hawaii, is a huge surfer himself. Above is the first concept art for the game. See that expression on the surfer girl’s face? That’s kind…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2012 -
This Incredible Battlestar LEGO Model is Ten Feet Long
The Battlestar Valkyrie, Bill Adama’s last command before taking control of the Galactica, isn’t exactly as famous as the show’s namesake, or even the Pegasus. But it looks magnificent in this LEGO recreation. LEGO builder Garry King has, by getting hold of images of the old ship, done a fine job of bringing the dead…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
Failed Rap Game Might Owe Record Company Millions
Remember Def Jam Rapstar? The SingStar for…rap? It had promise, but ultimately fizzled on the vine and died without making much of a splash. Now, making things worse, a record company is trying to squeeze the game’s creators for millions EMI is suing both 4mm Games and Terminal Reality, claiming that they used songs in…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
A Star Wars: Old Republic Figure That Stands Seven Feet Tall, Costs $6000
First announced last year, Sideshow Collectibles has finally unveiled product images and details about its upcoming Darth Malgus statue from Star Wars: Old Republic Just in case you never saw the guy at a gaming show last year, he stands 88″/2.2m high, and weighs 159lbs/72kg. So, yes, when they say he’s “life size”, they’re not…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
This Portal Movie May not be Official, but it Still Looks Awesome
Aperture: Lab Ratt is a fan film based on the Portal universe. And, as you’ll see five seconds into this trailer, it’s looking very professional. Proper music, proper outfits, an expensive camera, good lighting…yes, it’s looking lovely. If it helps sell you on the quality behind this flick, it’s being made by the same crew…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
Cerberus Wants YOU!
French artist Rémy Pontzeele has done these super Mass Effect posters, one each for two of humanity’s less…savoury organisations. There’s one for science villains Cerberus and another for cut-throat mercenaries the Blue Suns. Norzeele [DeviantArt, via Nerdwire]
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
EA is a “Worst Company in America” Semi-Finalist!
Consumerist’s always-entertaining “Worst Company in America” showdown is on right now, and a video game company is making a rare appearance alongside the likes of Bank of America and AT&T That company is Electronic Arts, which while being a rookie in the comp has stormed into the semi-finals, blowing past more fancied opponents like Comcast,…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
Westeros Deserves Better From The Game of Thrones Video Games
It’s the biggest thing in fantasy, and right now, with the possible exception of The Hunger Games, the biggest thing in entertainment, especially with its second season about to kick off this weekend. So why has George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones series been given such short shrift by video game publishers and developers?…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
Giant Painting is a Capcom Fan’s Delight
Artist Larry D Warren Jr., who we recently featured with his giant Zelda painting, is back, this time with a giant Capcom painting including characters from most of the publisher’s most treasured properties. So, yeah, Ryu is there. And Mega Man. And Ryu, Phoenix Wright and Dante. But there are plenty of other lesser-known heroes…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 30, 2012 -
Prince of Persia’s Source Code Found in Dad’s Closet
Jordan Mechner, the creator of the Prince of Persia series, hasn’t had his hands on the source code to the original game for over a decade. Why? Because it had been sitting hidden in his dad’s closet, that’s why. Mechner recently got a call from his dad to tell him that, after cleaning out a…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2012 -
Come Here, Cersei Lannister; Go Away, Cersei Lannister
Hello, Kotaku! Welcome to our Thursday night open thread. Are you as excited as I am for the second season of Game of Thrones? Probably. I hope so, anyway. Here, from around the internet, are some fun things to read and check out and talk about. Some Game of Thrones links may or may not…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 29, 2012 -
Hunger Games Stud Can’t Shake Off the Super Mario Theme
At the end of a nearly 13 minute interview, Peter Travers, the eminent film critic from Rolling Stone asks Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta in current box office smash The Hunger Games to sing the song currently on his mind. OK, Hutcherson says, just one problem: The song has no lyrics. For some reason, the…
By Owen Good Published March 29, 2012 -
BioWare Gives All 400 Protest Cupcakes to Charity
As promised, 400 cupcakes commissioned as a protest against the conclusion of the Mass Effect trilogy arrived at developer BioWare’s offices today. They were not, however, gobbled up by BioWare employees. Writing on the company’s forums, Chris Priestley says that while “we appreciate creative and thoughtful” acts of feedback, “we decided ultimately the reason that…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2012 -
Draw Something Gets Better When It’s Draw Batman
Some players of Draw Something are exceptionally good at it, creating little digital masterpieces for their play partners’ benefit. Then there are players like me, who have the audacity to consider their orange-ish, vaguely four-pronged blobs a reasonable representation of a tiger. And then there’s what happens when a cartoonist by trade, Mathew Digges, starts…
By Kate Cox Published March 29, 2012 -
Insomniac’s Canceled Pinball Project had Powerful Potential
Celebrating the company’s transition to Facebook’s mandatory Timeline format, Insomniac Games shares the secrets of 1080Pinball , the high-definition downloadable game that never was. Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted Resistance (sorry, temporarily insane) are nice and all, but give me a strong pinball video game with tight physics and a meaty selection of tables and…
By Mike Fahey Published March 29, 2012 -
Dragon Roost Island, You Stole My Heart
Long-time readers of Kotaku may already know that my absolute, unquestioned, favourite video game of all time is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. There are many reasons for this. The timeless art style, the “open world” design, the inherent charm and humour present throughout. There’s one more reason though that’s not quite as…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 29, 2012 -
The Silly Bulls*** of Censored Soundtracks in Sports Video Games
Sports video games must license everything. League symbols, player likenesses, individual events, even certain stadiums. Then they must provide a soundtrack every year and, yep, those songs must be licensed, too. It is a neverending headache unique to the sports genre. Further complicating the job, nearly all league-licensed sports video games are rated E, or…
By Owen Good Published March 29, 2012 -
A Hidden Gem on the Greatest Jazz Album of All Time
It’s widely held that Miles Davis’ 1959 album Kind of Blue is the greatest jazz album of all time. I believe that in some jazz style-manual or another, it is actually required that people who write or talk about it refer to it as a “seminal.” While it’s of course impossible to declare that any…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 29, 2012 -
This Game Will Make Your Epic Sax Guy Dreams Come True
We all want to be Epic Sax Guy. No matter our race, creed or political persuasion, every single person on the face of the planet has wanted to put on some blue pants, don some red leather gloves, pick up an alto saxophone and pelvic-thrust their way to glory. Now, thanks to the magic of…
By Kirk Hamilton Published March 29, 2012