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We Are Getting Yakuza 4 After All
Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Yakuza 4 will be making its way to the western market next spring, exclusively for the PlayStation 3, and this time Kazuma’s got a posse. Released in March in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku 4, Yakuza 4 is now heading to the west, as we thought it might…
By Mike Fahey Published June 8, 2010 -
New Carnival Games Is New Carnival Games
Congratulations to the fine people at Take Two Interactive for doing their part in promoting the use of the word “new” as an essential element of a new game’s title. Today’s newly-revealed Wii and DS game New Carnival Games can sit comfortably on alphabetical store shelves beside New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 8, 2010 -
My Own Private Architecture
In games there are three basic ways we experience architecture: as game design, as a personalized space, or through a hybrid of the two. I could tell you how many steps make up the streets rising like stairways, and the degree of the arcade’s curves, and what kind of zinc scales cover the roofs; but…
By Lauren Orsini Published June 8, 2010 -
DJ Hero 2 Designed For People Who Want Two Fake Turntables, Mic
The next DJ Hero game will be out this fall with a whole bunch of new options, including new multiplayer modes, microphone support for singing and/or rapping and, well, I think they want you to possess two turntable controllers. The official word from the game’s publisher today is that DJ Hero 2 is all about…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 8, 2010 -
Stress Dream Number 1 and 2
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Shit, the Day’s Over Already??? E3 is around the corner. And I’m starting to feel the heat. So hot. Oh yes. Last night’s stress dream: I went to LA without my computer. :/ The night before that? My re-entry permit to Japan was not valid, causing me to lose my…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
North America Getting New DSi XL Color
This July a new DSi XL color will be making its way to the US. That color is “Midnight Blue”. The new DSi XL color will join its bronze and burgundy brethren on American store shelves. Earlier this month, Nintendo revealed three new DSi XL colors for Japan: Yellow, Blue and Green. Midnight Blue appears…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Let’s Quietly Judge How Gran Turismo’s Creator Drives
Kazunori Yamauchi doesn’t just make racing games. He races cars, too. In this clip, Yamauchi is behind the wheel of a Lexus IS-F race car, doing a complete lap at the 24-hour Nurburgring circuit. The vehicle is in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5. Call this research No crashes, engine noises, European track. Watching this video…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Yakuza Gets A Plastic Model Car
And it’s covered in stickers. Because Japanese gangsters just love stickers? In Japan, cars covered in anime and video game stickers are called “itasha” (literally “painmobile”). Itasha, like this Ferrari, are favored by hardcore otaku. Sega’s crime franchise Yakuza (known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan) takes players into the underworld of Japanese organized crime.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
You’ve Got Snoop Dogg In My NBA 2K11
As seen on Twitter via Destructoid
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
You Too Can Look Like A Pokemon Popstar
Take otaku hero Shoko Nakagawa. Combine with illustrator Noizi Ito. What do you get? A character named “Jewel”. You are looking at a reproduction of Jewel’s outfit right now. Nakagawa and Ito are pals, so it’s no surprise that Ito illustrated the Jewel image character on the singer’s album “Shokotan Cover 3 ~AniSon wa Jinrui…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Two iPads And An iPhone Gets You This Racing Game
Pad Racer is a racing game for the iPad that lets you control your car with an iPhone. It’s now a lot bigger You can now combine two iPads and make one large track. A neat trick, but it could really be made better as a “LEGO” style system, where 4-8 people can get together,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2010 -
The Gundam Unicorn PC Case
Computers are great. I love them! Gundam is pretty darn great, too. And, yes, they mix. A Hong Kong based computer hardware company is releasing a series of Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn) themed products that include a CPU casing, keyboard and earphone. This is hardly the first Gundam CPU casing, and it won’t be…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Brrraaaaiiiiinnnnssssss
Is anyone excited about the upcoming TV series based on The Walking Dead? Anyone? I am. I know by all rights I should be expecting horror for all the wrong reasons, but the comic is just so good, and the wisdom in making it a TV series instead of a movie so sound, that I…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2010 -
This Is Much Better
AKB48 member Mayu Watanabe was immortalized in Xenoblade CG for a commercial to promote the game. The end result was not so great. At the moment, AKB48 is the most popular idol group in Japan. It has many members. Mayu Watanabe is one of them. Above is what Mayu actually looks like. Say “hi” to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Duct Tape And A Bag Of Rice Helps Disabled Man Get In The Game
Steve Spohn suffers from muscular dystrophy, leaving him physically limited. But thanks to duct tape, a bag of rice and an Xbox 360 controller, he can still get his game on. Evil Controllers, a company based in Arizona, specialises in modifying existing console peripherals to suit those with special needs. Like Spohn, for whom EC’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2010 -
It’s Time For Star Wars Corsets [Update]
Currently, I’m not in the market for a corset. Perhaps one day, I will be. Right now? No siree. That doesn’t mean you aren’t though! Custom corset maker Evening Arwen has this “Galactic Lord Corset” and this “Galactic Trooper Corset”. (The “Galactic” moniker is code for please-don’t-sue-us-George-Lucas!) They ain’t cheap! The Galactic Lord bit is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Star Fox’s New Friend Fights Like A Dairy Cow
Global dairy superpower Arla sure knows how to sell milk in Sweden: with Starfox, on the Super Nintendo. This new commercial, set in present-day Sweden, kicks off with a small boy in a rad knitted sweater playing some Starfox. There’s even a barrel roll. To keep his energy levels up, he can turn to a…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 8, 2010 -
A Week In Comments
The Beauty of Human Error, Committed by a Computer Umpire Comment by: dandank Nominated by: BryanH Now I’ll admit that I don’t typically play sports games, but I have a theory: Say the game is set to call everything perfectly without error. If the game’s controls over the in-game players allow you to consistently replicate…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010