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Notebook Dump: My Favorite Thing In Tokyo, Secrets Of Hollywood, And More
There comes a time in the week to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? I have written all but one of the Tokyo Game Show posts I still needed to get to this week. I’ve had little time to report on much else. So,…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 2, 2009 -
Crazy Man Wanted God Of War III To Be An FPS
God of War III art director Ken Feldman says he lobbied the PlayStation 3 game’s director, Stig Asmussen, to consider switching the third-person hack and slash action game to be a first person shooter. Oh, Ken! In an featured interview with CGSociety, Feldman says that he attempted to convince Asmussen that “Kratos could have some…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 2, 2009 -
Level 5: More People Need To Ask For A Dark Cloud Sequel
While talking to Level 5 about the studio’s next big role-playing game for the U.S., White Knight Chronicles, I inquired about the status of an old favorite, the Dark Cloud RPG series. “At this moment we don’t have a specific plan for a sequel in the Dark Cloud series,” Level 5’s Yoshiaki Kusuda told me…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 2, 2009 -
Tim Schafer To Make Legendary Late Night TV Appearance
Heavy metal adventure Brutal Legend will make a repeat appearance on NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, as Double Fine big boss and game developer Tim Schafer will be a guest on tonight’s show. Nice little upgrade from basic cable! We don’t know much about the content of the appearance, other than our expectations: lots…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 2, 2009 -
Now This Is A Super Street Fighter IV Announcement Trailer
Forget that other trailer – the one with only Ken and Ryu? The official announcement trailer for Capcom’s Super Street Fighter IV has all the Dee Jay, T. Hawk, and Juri you could ever want. Actually it might have too much Juri in. Dee Jay and T. Hawk are impressive, if you like that sort…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Should A Game Demo Work In A Pirate-Themed Nightclub?
If something goes wrong when you, a video game producer, try to show a trio of Kotaku writers a DS game, should you blamed the pirate-themed nightclub you’re standing in? Or should you blame a questionable staple of game design? These questions popped into my head last week in Tokyo. Koichi Yamaguchi was the game…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 2, 2009 -
The Next Modern Warfare Trailer Will Be Televised
Activision is kicking off a multi-million dollar advertising campaign for Modern Warfare 2 with a new trailer, airing during this week’s installment of NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Interrupting a football game between the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers is enough reason to cause some sports fans to want to shoot someone, so slipping the…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Don’t tell Crecente, because I’m supposed to have a Gran Turismo PSP review readied for Monday, but it’s more Phantasy Star Portable I’m looking forward to playing this weekend. Sure, Gran Turismo PSP is a fine game, as portable driving sims go, but after coveting the playable Phantasy Star Portable 2 at Tokyo Game Show,…
By Michael McWhertor Published October 2, 2009 -
Know The Likes And Dislikes Of Your Tecmo/Koei Producers
One guy likes buying toilet paper. Another says he never drives on the same road twice. But were you also wondering which Tecmo producer can walk like a zombie? This two-sided document was handed to reporters who attended a Tecmo-Koei event in Tokyo last week. Video game producers from the recently-merged company mingled with press…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 2, 2009 -
Rock Band’s Queen 10-Pack In All Its Glory
It’s hard not to randomly choose 10 Queen songs and not come up with an amazing set, but the October 20th Queen track pack for Rock Band manages to collect 10 of the very best. We knew back in August that a 10-pack of Queen was on its way to Rock Band, but the only…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Ace Attorney Devs Want Mia Fey For The Defense, No Console Spin-Offs
Two of the top men at Capcom responsible for making interactive murder investigations funny know which fake lawyer they’d hire and why their games should only be on handhelds. They also talked about their new game. “Young Mia Fey,” Motohide Eshiro was telling me through a translator without hesitation last week at the Capcom media…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 2, 2009 -
Left 4 Dead 2 Preorder Lurches To Life
Valve cracks open the door to its zombie-proof fortress and tosses out preorder details for Left 4 Dead 2, with a 10% discount, early demo access, and an in-game bonus awaiting those who put their money down. Answering one of the questions Luke raised when the Left 4 Dead 2 demo was first announced, customers…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Microsoft: Motion Is the New Multiplayer
While Project Natal, and its ability to allow Xbox 360 gamers to play video games completely free of a controller, will launch as a niche of sorts on the platform, Microsoft believes it will one day become the norm. Motion control, Microsoft Game Studios’ corporate vice president Phil Spencer told Kotaku, will change what gamers…
By Brian Crecente Published October 2, 2009 -
This Is What Beaver Defense Looks Like
Vogster is bringing Robocalypse – Beaver Defense to Nintendo’s WiiWare platform this fall, and here are some screens to give you an idea of what exactly that looks like. It’s not exactly what I expected, though my expectations might have been a bit off to begin with. Vogster was quite clear that this would be…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Trine Hits U.S. PlayStation Store This Month
Released two weeks ago on the European PlayStation Store, developer Frozenbyte and publisher Nobilis are nearly ready to release the award-winning physics platformer Trine in the states. Trine has been available on the PC for quite some time, but on the PlayStation 3 it’s been only our friends over in Europe who’ve gotten to purchase…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Is Microsoft Working on Universal Vid Cap for Xbox 360 Games?
In a meeting last week with a game developer at the Tokyo Game Show, I asked them if they were planning on trying to incorporate in-game video capture into their title. The type you see in Halo 3. The answer was interesting and, I believe, accidental. “We’d love to have video capture in our game,…
By Brian Crecente Published October 2, 2009 -
Rock Band Next Week: I Can Write This Post With No Handlebars
Just when I had gotten The Flobots’ “Handlebars” out of my head, next week’s Rock Band Music Store update crams it back in, along with tunes from Electric Six, The Raconteurs, and a little Alanis. Setting The Flobots aside for a moment, both The Raconteurs and Electric Six make their Rock Band debut next week,…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Assassin’s Creed II Gets More Kristen Bell
Once again actress Kristen Bell answers the call of Ubisoft, reprising her role as adorable blonde woman in Assassin’s Creed II. The adorable blonde woman in question is Lucy Stillman, the Abstergo employee with a dark secret of secretive darkness. Lucy plays an even bigger role in Assassin’s Creed II, and the former Heroes and…
By Mike Fahey Published October 2, 2009 -
Thexder-Neo PSP Impressions: Classic Robot Action
The PSPgo and Playstation Portable were everywhere at Sony’s Tokyo Game Show booth. And tucked away in one section of the booth was a blast from the past: A PSP remake of classic 80s action title Thexder. In Thexder you control a tiny little robot that can quickly transform into a jet and back again…
By Brian Crecente Published October 2, 2009