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Glittery Crotch Is Not Already Dead. Somebody Purchased It.
Fist of the North Star‘s Kenshiro got a life-sized statue last fall. It was covered in 500,000 Swarovski crystals, apparently worth ¥10,000,000 or $130,000. For those not familiar with Fist of the North Star, watch this. It’s badass. The figure was put on the Yahoo! Auction block, with the winning bid hitting ¥3 million yen…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012 -
The Taipei Game Show Is Looking To Go International
TGS, no not the Tokyo Game Show, but instead the Taipei Game Show is closing today in Taipei, Taiwan. In its 10th year the Taipei Game Show is looking to attract more visitors by becoming more international. Companies such as Sony Computer Entertainment and Mircrosoft have set up large booths to show off their latest…
By Eric Jou Published February 6, 2012 -
An Examination of Japanese Characters’ “Whiteness”
Japanese anime, manga, and game characters sometimes have blond hair. Sometimes they have blue eyes. But, that’s merely cosmetic, no? There must be some sort of analysis that cuts closer to the bone. Literally. Back in fall 2010, Kotaku ran a story titled “Why Do Japanese Characters Look White?” It was based on a post…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012 -
The NES Zapper Becomes a Transformer. A Bright, Orange Megatron.
New York LEGO builder Baron von Brunk has done something I’m surprised it’s taken decades for someone to do: take Transformers villain Megatron as inspiration and build a transforming NES Zapper. Christening his Nintendo-themed Transformer Plasmashock, von Brunk provides instructions on how the robot was created and how it transforms, before pledging to do a…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012 -
This is Cannon Fodder 3. Sort of.
We got a little excited last year when we heard a new Cannon Fodder game was being developed. Excitement quickly gave way to not-giving-a-fuck, though, when it turned out the game was for the Russian market and was likely never going to be released in the West. Still, it appears while we had our collective…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012 -
The Very Best In Cosplay: LJinto
Our little journey around the best of the best in cosplay continues today with a look at another photographer, one who, pound for pound, is probably the most widely-seen on the planet. That photographer is LJinto, and his work is amazing Comprising both dedicated cosplay shoots and pounding the pavement at conventions and shows, LJinto…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012 -
Report: Zynga Insider Spills his Guts, Talks Spying and Bad Math
A user over on Reddit, claiming to be a former Software Engineer at social games giant Zynga, has not only gone and posted the rather dense separation letter he received upon quitting the company (above), but done a little extra guts spilling at the same time. Among the claims user mercenary-games makes are, when asked…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012 -
Half-Life Art is Thinking With Portals
If you need a Half-Life chaser after playing (or not playing) Half-Life 2 this weekend, take a look at these. While drawn by two different artists, they both do the same thing, bringing the worlds of Half-Life and Portal a little closer than they already are. The image up top is by Jade Law, while…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012 -
PSN Update Stops Users From Accessing Paid Content
A routine bit of maintenance on the PlayStation Network last week has gone a little pear-shaped, it seems, with users in Europe complaining that post-update they’ve been unable to access content they’ve already paid for. While North American users appear unaffected, the problem has struck hundreds of users in PAL territories like Britain, continental Europe…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 5, 2012 -
Skyrim’s Creation Kit Launches Tuesday
The very fancy, highly-anticipated Creation Kit for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be out this Tuesday, Bethesda’s Pete Hines has revealed. “For our Skyrim PC fans, the Creation Kit is on track for release on Tuesday”, Hines wrote on Twitter. “And, we also have a special surprise with it.” That special surprise may already have…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 5, 2012 -
Street Cred
Street Cred | “In response to your latest post of the Mega Man collection, thought I’d share with you photos of my Street Fighter game collection,” says reader Clarence L. “All games are NTSC-1. Every game, version, variant, demo, cameos, even games with official Street Fighter special moves … all in original packaging.” (submitted photo)…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
GameStops Have PS Vita Demo Units, but Call Before You Head Over to Play One [Update]
Game Informer (owned by GameStop) this weekend announced that more than 3,300 GameStop locations in North America have demonstration units of the PS Vita available for people to come by and play. I’d advise calling first to see if your local store is letting it out for everyone to handle. [Update: Monday, 10:44 p.m.] The…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
So, How’d That Half-Life 2 Protest Go?
Earlier this week, tens of thousands of users joined a Steam group dedicated to playing Half-Life 2 on Saturday between 2 and 2:30 p.m. EST, as a demonstration calling on Valve to get its ass in gear and release, or at least officially confirm work on Half-Life 3. How’d it turn out? It was either…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
Reboots on the Ground
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. •Five Nintendo Series That Need a 3DS Reboot [3DS Buzz] With Kid Icarus: Uprising arriving in March, all-star commenter GiantBoyDetective whips up this argument for…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
Skyrim Super Bowl Sim Says Giants Win in a Rout
Today’s Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots won’t be much of a contest, if 1Up’s simulation of 11 giants versus 11 Stormcloak patriots is any indication. Look for a lot of career-ending injuries late in the game. The Giants pounded the patriots with a relentless pass rush, though they were briefly stopped cold…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
Skullgirls Isn’t Just a 2D Fighter, It has a Story, Too
Skullgirls, Revenge Labs downloadable game coming sometime soon (“early 2012” is the latest word) on PSN and Xbox Live, is a 2D fighter with a heavy multiplayer component. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a story explaining who its characters are, how they acquired their skills and powers, and just what the heck “Skullgirl” means,…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
Tebow Time
Our Super Bowl Sunday edition comes, astonishingly, by request. Yes, folks, you saw that picture of the Denver Broncos’ Tim Tebow at Madden Bowl XVIII and demanded it be the source image for the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. Who am I to argue with the wisdom of the crowd? If the NFL’s best and brightest are…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Today we kick off Kotaku’s eight-hour Super Bowl coverage with the Edge NFL Blitz Insider Sports Talk Amongst Yourselves Report Presented By TD Waterhouse and Driven by Bud Light. And now we’ll throw it to our analysts. What do you see here? We need you to say some falsely wise cliché-strewn bullshit with all the…
By Owen Good Published February 5, 2012 -
My First PlayStation Vita Game, Courtesy of Walmart
Just because the PS Vita isn’t out for another ten days in North America doesn’t mean you can’t start picking up your launch games in advance. This poor little guy looked so out of place in Walmart’s PlayStation section I just had to take him home. I wasn’t specifically planning on picking up ModNation Racers:…
By Mike Fahey Published February 5, 2012