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Battlestars, Guitars And One Shocking Haircut
Shocking, I guess, because I was going to try to go all the way to this year’s Tokyo Game Show without getting a haircut. I…did not make it. But I got a shave! And honestly, that’s all that counts. The Battlestar Galactica Game Is Still Spooling Its FTL Drives Earlier this week, the new Battlestar…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
Hayao Miyazaki Advocates Knives, Fire-Making And Other Stone Age Skills
Japan’s answer to Walt Disney does not like technology. Hayao Miyazaki is concerned that the virtual world of video games, television, and even his own Ghibli Studio animated movies, is snatching away power from kids. Better teach them how to use knives! “The environment that surrounds our children, including our animation, is all virtual,” says…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
Sony Is Also Competing Against Booze, You Know
This month, Nintendo is launching a new gaming portable, the 3DS. Sony also has a new, still forthcoming portable the NGP. How is Sony going to compete? When asked that question by Japan’s Nikkei, Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai replied, “I think that it’s too narrow-minded to discuss the competition among game platforms such…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
This Is Not A PlayStation 3 Ad, But It Should Be
You are looking at the first thing that 29-year-old Ben McCambridge claims to have ever directed. Not bad for a first-timer, because this is awesome. McCambridge is an assistant editor working in Los Angeles, cutting commercials. “I’ve worked on dozens of commercials and thought I’d try my hand at making one myself,” he tells Kotaku.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
The Battlestar Galactica Game Is Still Spooling Its FTL Drives
Earlier this week, the new Battlestar Galactica game went into open beta. Being a massive BSG fan, I figured I’d jump right in and see how it was shaping up. In these two clips, I’ll walk you through the two main parts of the game — on-foot and space combat — and show you what…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Activision Blizzard Loses An Ancient European Court Appeal
In 2009, the EU let Nintendo (slightly) off the hook when it reduced the company’s fine for engaging in price-fixing during the 1990’s. Well, Activision asked for a similar reduction in its fine (same case), and has been denied
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Pearls Of Wisdom From Final Fantasy’s Iconic Illustrator
Yoshitaka Amano first cut his teeth at the tender age of 15, working on the popular Speed Racer anime. He went on to create some of the most iconic illustrations gaming’s ever seen. He’s 58. He’s been around. And he’s wise. In an interview with The Japan Times, Amano talks about his upcoming debut anime…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
This Strategy Game Could Be The Best Of Both Worlds
Indie studio Brain Candy is working on a game called Fray, which it describes as a “turn-based, multiplayer, real-time strategy game”. Hrm. Let’s see how they explain that little contradiction. Fray sounds a lot like Bullfrog’s classic Syndicate, at least in terms of general setting: the world is a dark place, corporations are running the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Rhythm Control Is Big In Japan
This is not your typical story: an American and a Swede meet over the Japanese language and decide to make a video game. That game then takes the Japanese iTunes charts by storm. Dubbed Rhythm Control, the game has players touch bubbles that appear on screen. It’s simple and fun, and in Japan, it’s the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
Kinect Can Be Used For Real Games After All
The first bunch of games for Microsoft’s Kinect were…crude. Resulting in a fear from many gamers that the peripheral may not be cut out for more complex titles. Well, this Dead Space 2 footage might convince you otherwise. In it, you can see the guy – if this is legit – is almost literally playing…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
The Origins Of Nintendo’s Game & Watch
Nintendo may have been around for over 100 years, but the Nintendo we know today does video games. And it first hit the handheld gaming big time with its line of Game & Watch units. Here’s how they got their start! A new “Iwata Asks” Q&A on Nintendo’s website goes into great detail on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
What The Hell Is Uncharted’s Movie Director Talking About?
Hollywood is making an Uncharted movie. It could star Mark Wahlberg, Robert DeNiro and even Joe Pesci as a family of treasure hunters. This makes us wonder, has the movie’s unlikely director, David O. Russell, even played Uncharted? “I want the gamers to be happy,” Russell tells IGN, adding that he’s not supposed to talk…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
Killzone 3 Taps FPS-Loving Japanese Porn Star
You’ve made a first-person shooter. Who better to hawk it than somebody who really likes first-person shooters. Somebody like Noa. Noa Torigoe, star of adult films like Max Orgasm, Ultimate Gold and The Fuck Fuck Fuck: 10 In Rapid Succession, has been roped in to promote Killzone 3 in Japan. While first-person shooters do have…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 10, 2011 -
How FOX News Gets Video Games So Wrong
Yesterday, FOX News ran a story on Bulletstorm and got pretty much everything wrong. That’s not the real story, though. They real story is how they got everything wrong: they did it on purpose. Yes, we know, it’s FOX News, but still, how the media outlet steadfastly refused to consider both sides of the argument…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Sony Is Not Allowed To Ask Google For The PS3 Hacker’s Names
So, some guys cracked the PS3’s copy protection security wide open. One of them is a “celebrity”. The others are complete unknowns. So unknown that Sony can’t find them, meaning it can’t take them to court In an attempt to track them (“them” being the fail0verflow team) down, Sony earlier this week tried to get…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Halo 5 Is A Microsoft Joke
A segment on British TV shows Microsoft’s vision for the home of the future. That vision of a Microsoft Home, as demonstrated by a Microsoft official for England’s Channel 4, included an image of a TV displaying an icon for Halo 5. That’s what we call a joke and inevitably, but clearly not announcement of…
By Stephen Totilo Published February 9, 2011 -
Spider-Man, Doctor Who, Fennel & More
Tonight’s open thread is brought to you by fennel. Let’s all thank the great bulb for hosting this semi-nightly post where off-topic conversation thrives. After a hard day of dealing with the death of Guitar Hero and the threat of even more Call of Duty, let’s all take a moment to share better, more enlightening…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 9, 2011 -
Should You Buy A Nintendo DS?
The Nintendo DS is the most successful portable gaming machine on the planet. More than 100 million of them are out there. Should you get one, or wait for the Nintendo 3DS? [UPDATED for the pre-3DS shopping season.] This is our best advice — updated regularly — about whether or not you should buy a…
Team Kotaku Published February 9, 2011 -
Nintendo Revives 30-Year-Old Handheld ‘Ball’ For Club Nintendo Members
Nintendo’s most loyal fans in the United States will be able to get their hands on the company’s Ball, the Club Nintendo exclusive re-release of the 1980 Game & Watch portable. It’s the latest Club Nintendo reward. Club Nintendo of Japan gave out Game & Watch Ball hardware way back in 2009, a recreation of…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 9, 2011