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Arrested Megaupload Boss Cheated His Way To Video Game Glory, Opponents Say
Kim Dotcom, the imprisoned mastermind behind busted file-sharing site Megaupload and, bizarrely, also the top-scoring killer on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, wasn’t always a showboating millionaire. He also ran a competitive video game league in the late-90s. And was by all accounts a rather sore loser. How sore? Like, banning from his league…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012 -
When Minesweeper Met Minecraft, a Gaming App Love Story
Mine: To extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mine: An explosive device used to destroy enemy personnel, shipping, fortifications, or equipment. Minecraft Sweeper: An explosive Android app about extracting ore and minerals from the earth used to destroy any free time you might have accumulated. Developer K.Misiunas has taken two of the most beloved…
By Mike Fahey Published January 23, 2012 -
This Soul Calibur V Grafitti May Be An Ad… or Just the Work of Ardent Fans?
The latest chapter in Namco’s medieval martial arts series is due out in a short while and the Japanese publisher’s been throwing up adverts that have, um, riled up the internets a while back This giant grafitti mural—sent in by reader Schnide—shouldn’t piss anyone off, though. It showed up in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood and features…
By Evan Narcisse Published January 23, 2012 -
ArenaNet Rings in the Year of the Dragon With Guild Wars 2 Beta Details
We may be four weeks into 2012, but it’s the first day of the Year of the Dragon, which sounds like a perfect day to get a better idea of when we’ll get a chance to play the most anticipated, dragon-bothered massively multiplayer online game of the year, Guild Wars 2 After years of teasing…
By Mike Fahey Published January 23, 2012 -
Dragon Nest? No, Idol Nest.
Dragon Nest | TOKYO, JAPAN: HanGame promotes its latest title in Tokyo. (Photo: Game Watch Impress) Japanese Mecha Game Invites Crazy Controller Holding The Armored Core games, from Dark Souls‘s developer From Software, give players the experience of controlling a giant mecha. As you can imagine, giant mechas are complex machines and, thus, so are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Poll: 10 Percent of PS Vita Owners Experienced Hardware Failures
Certainly not 100 percent scientific, but according to Kotaku Japan‘s PS Vita survey, 1 out of 10 Vita users had hardware issues and had to exchange or repair their hardware. Most everyone seemed happy with the Vita, though. [Kotaku Japan]
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Japanese Mecha Game Invites Crazy Controller Holding
The Armored Core games, from Dark Souls‘s developer From Software, give players the experience of controlling a giant mecha. As you can imagine, giant mechas are complex machines and, thus, so are Armored Core‘s controls. The above photo appeared on Japanese forums recently during Armored Core V discussions. According to Mecha Damashii‘s Ollie Barder, this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Elderly Man Thanks Resident Evil for His Longevity
Shiro Suzuki, famed Japanese broadcaster, loves Resident Evil. As Kotaku previously posted, Suzuki discovered gaming over 15 years ago. It was Resident Evil that quickly became his favorite. At the recent Resident Evil event in Tokyo, Shiro Suzuki spoke about his love for not just the series, but also gaming. “I owe making it to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
She’s Only 23-Years-Old, But Has a Retro Game Museum
Ever wonder how much retro game idol Haruna Anno loves video games? Enough to make a retro gaming museum. Anno, who also does bikini modeling, believes that video games are culture and spearheaded this space to preserve that culture. The museum features old arcade games on free-play, old game mags to peruse, games, and retro…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Is This Japan’s Favorite Western Cosplayer? Maybe!
Whenever Japanese bulletin boards discover bad Western cosplay, forum users begin piling on the bad cosplay photos, saying foreigners just cannot cosplay. (This is incorrect.) But then, inevitably, somebody usually pulls out a Maridah photo, pointing out that some of the best cosplay ever is not Japanese. Who’s Maridah? She just might be Japan’s favorite…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Japanese Politician Is a Computer-Building Badass
Kaoru Yosano looks like your typical politician—navy blue suit, glasses, and a Showa Era hairdo. Kaoru Yosano is anything but typical. He is a PC-building, nerd-hero. At Nicofarre, the teched out nightclub for Japanese video service Nico Nico Douga, Kaoru Yosano participated in the “Kaoru Yosano Triathlon” in which the well-known politician underwent five events…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
iPhone6? No, It’s the iPnoho6!
China is infamous for its knock-offs. Some are so well-made, it’s impossible to tell them from the original. And sometimes they are even made at the same factories! As good as China’s knock-offs are, nothing beats their clever names. There was the iPed, the Yinlips YDPG18 (okay, not so clever) and now, there is iPnoho6!…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
You’ll Never Look at the Resident Evil 6 Logo the Same
Apologies for all the blowjobs tonight! (I’ve always wanted to write that.) Just like Yoshi on the Japanese tea cartons, here’s another subliminal image you cannot unsee: a pink giraffe getting off in bizarre S&M play with a pink slug. Capcom, you should be ashamed of yourself. A pink giraffe and a slug? Disgusting! Kotaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
Warner Bros. Wants to Make Movies Out of a Book Based on a Giant Video Game
I got excited in 2008 when news hit somebody was making a game based on Tad Williams’ Otherland series of books. That game never turned up. Since it was an MMO, I am already over it, and now excited all over again because Otherland is being turned into very expensive motion pictures instead. The books,…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012 -
The War Against Piracy is as Much About Politics as it’s About Piracy
This has long been a bit of an elephant in the room when it comes to “giant publishers talking about piracy”, so naturally it’s taken a representative from a small publisher to bring it up. Asked by GameSpy why companies like Ubisoft insist on hideous forms of DRM, Paradox Interactive CEO Fred Wester replies with…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012 -
Copywriter Points to Skyrim “Blowjob” Ad
If you pay attention to ads, you know there are subliminal messages. Even if you don’t, your brain picks up on them. Typically, these messages are sex-related, but not always. Blogger Copyranter, who’s apparently been an ad copywriter for 18 years, sure notices them. On a post titled “Today’s Blowjob Ad”, Copyranter pointed this this…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
The Very Best In Cosplay: Crystal Graziano
Continuing our series highlighting the very best cosplayers on planet Earth, this morning we’re looking at Crystal Graziano, who unlike most other people in the field gets to put “professional cosplayer” on her tax return. Having recently got Firefall developers Red 5 to fit the bill for her cosplaying efforts throughout 2012, Graziano should be…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012 -
The World’s Smallest Aperture Logo?
Nanotechnology engineering student TheObviousTrap created a 300 nanometer thick Aperture logo in an undergrad class. Bravo! “Obtaining the image using scanning electron microscopy is probably overkill but that was only equipment I had access to,” TheObviousTrap wrote on Reddit Portal players will be familiar with Aperture—the in-game scientific corporation. Nanotechnology students will be familiar 300…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2012 -
The Muppets Look Great In LittleBigPlanet 2 [Update]
This Wednesday, LittleBigPlanet 2 gets its most interesting update in months, when The Muppets come to Media Molecule’s PS3 exclusive. For USD$6/€6/£4.80.UD$9.95 you’ll get all kinds of stuff like stickers, new levels, etc, but strangely the official description lists only a Rowlf costume for Sackboy, and not the others seen starring in the video. Media…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2012