-
How Japanese Cosplay Is Moving Closer to Porn
Its beginnings were humble. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese fans went to manga and anime conventions dressed as their favorite characters. There’s a long history of people dressing as their favorite characters in the West, too—notably, Trekkies. Those were innocent times. As the 1980s wore on and turned into the 1990s, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2011 -
Don’t Expect Blizzard’s New MMO at BlizzCon
As World of Warcraft begins its slow, inevitable decline, people will want to hear more about the company’s next big MMO. People might be hoping that this project, code-named Titan, will be spoken about at this year’s BlizzCon. Those people will be disappointed. A Blizzard representative has told IGN that the company’s “‘unannounced MMO’ will…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2011 -
Wizorb is out, Still Looks Brilliant
Hey, kids. Wizorb is out today on the Xbox Live Indie Games Channel. You should, uh, check it out. You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2011 -
Heavy Rain’s Creator Doesn’t Sound Stupid at all
You’re right, David Cage, creator of games like Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy. You do sound stupid. But just the kind of stupid this industry needs more of. He’s right, turning down the chance to make a sequel to a successful PS3 exclusive is, from a business standpoint, bananas. But too many publishers and too…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2011 -
Internal PayPal Email Points to Nov. 15 for New Xbox Dashboard Release
In May, Microsoft revealed that PayPal would be added as a payment option for Xbox Live transactions such as subscriptions and Microsoft Points purchases. This week, an internal email to PayPal employees asked them to test the service, and pointed to Nov. 15—the 10-year anniversary of the original Xbox launch—as the date the new dashboard…
By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011 -
Ghost Dad
Hey Kotaku! Thanks for sticking around. My gift to you is tonight’s open thread, in which we might talk about ghost movies, we might talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation and we might talk about Skrillex. Maybe we’ll even talk about video games! As we approach Halloween, I’m starting to get the horror movie…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 28, 2011 -
Looks Like Super Mario Land 3 is Next Up on the 3DS Virtual Console
GoNintendo dug up a current Australian rating for Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, pointing to it as an upcoming release for the Game Boy Virtual Console on the Nintendo 3DS. Remember, early adopters “ambassadors,” you get 10 VC titles for free in addition to the 10 free NES classics you downloaded at the beginning…
By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011 -
Burgertime Reboot Delayed to Deliver Beefier Multiplayer
Burgertime World Tour is being held a little while longer as it tests online multiplayer features, publisher MonkeyPaw Games told fans via Facebook on Monday. That means the game won’t hit Xbox Live, PSN and WiiWare until late October or early November. “We’d like to apologize for not getting the game out yet,” MonkeyPaw said.…
By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011 -
Battlefield 3‘s Producer Is His Own Viciously Hard Critic, Says He’s ‘Ashamed’ of Bad Company 2
Patrick Bach, executive producer of upcoming shooter Battlefield 3, is in little danger of having his ego run wild on him. Instead, he sounds positively self-loathing when talking about his studio’s last game, Battlefield Bad Company 2 In an interview with Wall Street Journal’s Tech Europe that’s largely about the QA process for Battlefield 3,…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 28, 2011 -
Chinese TF2 Knockoff Drafts Tomb Raider Alum to Vouch for It
Ahem. Well, back in July, we were introduced to Final Combat, China’s homage to ripoff of Team Fortress 2. The game won’t have a western release, but for any Chinese who managed to defeat the Baidu censorship and learn of the game’s true origins, we have Troy Horton, formerly of the Tomb Raider series, to…
By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011 -
Felicia Day is Just What Gaming Needs
As I watched Felicia Day interact with a video game version of herself, I was struck by the degree of existential weirdness that was going on in front of me. What must it be like to come face to face with a pre-recorded, interactive version of yourself? I tried to imagine having a branching, BioWare-style…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 28, 2011 -
NBA 2K12‘s Legendary Teams Are Pay-to-Play for Online Multiplayer
Earlier this month Kotaku reported, per 2K Sports itself, that the historic teams featured in NBA 2K12‘s “NBA’s Greatest” mode would not be available for online play. That turns out not to be the case. A Twitter photo from someone with the game already shows that gamers can take the 1993 Chicago Bulls or 1986…
By Owen Good Published September 28, 2011 -
Golden Modern Warfare
Gone Gold –A celebratory picture taken by Infinity Ward producer Pete Blumel used to Tweet that Modern Warfare 3 was officially complete. Credit: Charlie Intel Somehow, They Turned Chemistry Into the Next Video Game You Should Play A friend who was recently planning his amusement for a 14-hour flight asked me for a game recommendation.…
By Brian Crecente Published September 28, 2011 -
Duke Nukem, Pokémon and Reviews of the The Final Wave of DC’s New 52
Here are our weekly new-comics recommendations. Plus! You’ve heard about DC Comics New 52? The reboot of the company’s entire line? This week, I’ve got capsule reviews of the final 25 books. I’m tired, and you’ve got some reading to do. There are some gems in there. Dare I suggest you buy a comic called…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 28, 2011 -
Attention Pimps and Hustlers, the Saints Row: The Third Clothing Line Is Now Available
Don’t just play Saints Row: The Third this November, wear Saints Row: The Third all over your person with the Crooks & Castles capsule collection. It’s the perfect real-world complement to your in-game pimping, hustling and mayhem making. THQ, streetwear label Crooks and Castles and Complex have collaborated on a line of Saints Row-inspired fashions—stadium…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 28, 2011 -
The King of Fighters XIII Set to Rule in November
SNK Playmore’s latest entry in the long-running King of Fighters series won’t make its previously scheduled October release. Publisher Atlus, no stranger to minor delays, has pushed The King of Fighters XIII to November 22. Yes, that means you’ll be waiting another month to get your hands on Mai, King, Saiki, Vice, K’, Yuri, Maxima,…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 28, 2011 -
Rift Rises Above Its Level Cap With Ashes of History
Is it alternative advancement time already? Trion Worlds’ Rift got its 1.5 Ashes of History update on today, giving level 50 players the ability to fill a honeycomb-shaped board with powerful new abilities. What else does 1.5 have in store? How about a master dungeon version Darkening Deeps, promising powerful rewards for elite groups of…
By Mike Fahey Published September 28, 2011 -
A Riotous Beginning for the New Mutants of X-Men: Destiny
How does one go from being a displaced teenager with a dickhead father one moment to being an unofficial member of the world’s greatest mutant fighting force the next? Let’s ask X-Men: Destiny Whatever may happen later in the game, at least X-Men: Destiny starts strong. Professor Xavier is dead, humans and mutants are on…
By Mike Fahey Published September 28, 2011 -
Dark Souls Slays the Competition in Japan
More than a quarter million masochists in Japan have snapped up a copy of Dark Souls for the PlayStation 3 , making From Software’s punishing role-playing game the country’s bestselling game. That’s a big improvement over the Japanese debut of its predecessor, Demon’s Souls, which bowed with about 40,000 in sales in early 2009. Japan’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 28, 2011