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Taiwanese Game Show Heroically Shows Old Stuff
This year’s Taipei Game Show recently wrapped up. And while it’s short on breaking news when compared to the Tokyo Game Show or the E3 gaming expo, it does look like a grand time. Japanese website Game Watch Impress was on hand to capture the festivities. Well-known Japanese game designers like Hideo Kojima and Kazunori…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011 -
Watch A 360 Avatar Try Lip-Syncing
Microsoft’s upcoming “Avatar Kinect” was pitched as a glorified chatroom. It didn’t sound that exciting. This real-time demonstration, though, at least makes it look remotely interesting. Sure, it’s still a glorified chatroom, but there’s some neat technology on display, not the least of which is the impressive almost-real-time lip-syncing your avatar is capable of when…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
The PlayStation Phone Looks Better In White
Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play, the device we used to call the PlayStation Phone, isn’t the prettiest thing on the planet. Swap the drab silver out for a creamy white, though, and things are looking up. This white version of the handheld will be offered by British telco O2 when the Play goes on sale in…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
How A Blind Man Plays Video Games
Mechanical engineering student and gamer Terry Garrett can play just about the perfect game of Abe’s Exoddus. Which is pretty awesome, considering Garrett is totally blind Having lost one eye at the age of 5 and the other at age 10, Garrett is limited in what he can play because, unable to see what’s happening…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
China Getting Mysterious Motion-Controls For MMO
With the “eBox”, China already has a Kinect-like motion sensing controller. And apparently, the country is also getting a totally different motion-sensing-controlled PC game. If only there was more to go on than some lady waving her hands around. According to website ChinaGame, massively multiplayer online game Land of Lords Online is getting motion controls.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011 -
Nintendo-Powered Museum Closes Its Doors
I often get emails from readers, asking where they should go while visiting Japan. There are the obvious answers like Akihabara or Den-Den Town. But one place I usually recommend, a Nintendo-funded museum in Kyoto, is closing its doors. For the time being, at least. Dubbed Shigureden, it sits in Arashiyama, a quaint Kyoto village…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011 -
This Slick Minecraft Documentary Needs Your Help
2 Player Productions, the world’s finest purveyors of video game documentaries, are in a bind. Having filmed a short documentary on Minecraft, they now want to make a much longer one. But they need your help. Making professional films isn’t cheap or easy, and the team need money to get the project off the ground.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
Celebrate Zelda’s Birthday With This Stunning Painting
Japanese artist ag+ has commemorated the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Legend of Zelda in the best possible way: with one of the most amazing pieces of fan art you will ever see. If Nintendo had a chapel and (bear with me) that chapel had an ornately-painted ceiling, this would surely be…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
Hirsutes With The Parachute Fruits
Welcome back to the workweek, Kotaku readers. How are you loving that new scroll bar? This is the place where we can talk about our fondness for UI changes, video games, or any other thing that crosses the mind. I’ve got a dog full of something that needs to be taken, outside, so unless you…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
How The Great Gatsby Became A Long Lost NES Game
The Great Gatsby—the “NES” version, that is—started its strange life as a single screen shot, a pixelated recreation of Francis Cugat’s iconic cover art for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great American novel. “It was just too funny,” says The Great Gatsby NES lead developer Charlie Hoey of that artwork “all NESified and blocky with PRESS START…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
Looks Like More Mass Effect 2 Is Coming With ‘Arrival’
Plans for even more downloadable content for Mass Effect 2 is hardly surprising, given BioWare’s extended post-launch support for the role-playing game. Somewhat surprising is how we’ve learned about Arrival, via a patch for the PlayStation 3 version. Kotaku reader Vamplosion spotted something strange after updating his copy of Mass Effect 2: three new PlayStation…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
Well Hellooooo PC Gaming
I got my boutique-built gaming computer in the mail today. It was a monster, packed in a wooden crate and ensconced in a sheath of black cloth. It worked for almost four hours before I ran into my first issue…. sigh. (Don’t worry, I think it’s a static issue I’m having with USB ports.) Can…
By Brian Crecente Published February 21, 2011 -
Xenogears, A PlayStation Great, Becomes A PSone Classic
Well, we can’t say we didn’t see it coming, but the arrival of PlayStation role-playing game classic Xenogears as a downloadable PSone Classic is still welcome news. The official PlayStation.blog heralds the release of Square Enix’s turn-based RPG on the North American PlayStation Store tomorrow.
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
Historic New York Arcade Closure Is ‘Rumor Started By A Moron’, Though It’s Kinda True
The phone has been ringing repeatedly today at New York’s Chinatown Fair, a beloved arcade in downtown New York, thanks to word on Facebook that the place was shutting down. Not true, not really, well … probably not really. “That was a rumor started by a moron,” Chinatown Fair manager Valentino Ventura told Kotaku on…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 21, 2011 -
The Uncharted Movie Director Explains The Method To His Madness
The director of The Fighter and I ♥ Huckabees is hard at work on transforming Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune into a movie, much to the chagrin of some fans of the PlayStation 3 game. What does David O. Russell have to say to his early haters? Slashfilm took that question (“How does it feel to be…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
The Hacker Who Stole Half-Life 2 Is ‘Very Sorry’
In 2003, Axel Gembe got his hands on the game everybody wanted, Valve’s Half-Life 2. He hacked into the developer’s network and swiped the game’s source code—which eventually wound up on the internet. These days, Gembe says he’s “very sorry” about that. The German hacker’s actions were in-part responsible for the highly anticipated Half-Life sequel’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
The Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule & Castlevania In Mini-Ecosystem Form
Pixel artist Jude Buffum mixes terrariums with the familiar flora and fauna of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda and Castlevania, illustrating what’s required to keep a Hylian fairy and Piranha Plant alive at home. Buffum’s prints are available at his online shop and at next week’s Game Over IV show at Giant Robot…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 21, 2011 -
You Are This Japanese Dancing Queen’s Only Hope
Cat-eared Japanese idol Toshi loves to dance, but she’s forgotten how to walk. Only your mastery of physics and bullets can get her to the dance floor before she dies a horrible, dance-less death. Or just shoot her. Your choice. If anyone is surprised that I’m checking out an iPad / iPhone game that uses…
By Mike Fahey Published February 21, 2011 -
Final Fantasy X Was Less Complex Than It Seemed
I played Final Fantasy X all the way up to the end boss and loved upgrading my characters by activating nodes in the game’s massive, complicated sphere grid. Little did I know that the sphere grid was really a group of primarily straight lines that masquerade as something more convoluted. FFX is an attractive game…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 21, 2011