Hayao Miyazaki Is Retiring

The famed director of My Neighbor Totoro and numerous other classic anime is retiring. The recently released Kaze Tachinu will be the 72 year-old Miyazaki’s final feature film. According to Japan’s Cinema Today, Studio Ghibli exec Kouji Hoshino announced the news this Sunday at the Venice Film Festival, where Kaze Tachinu is being shown. “Please…

Maybe A Dark and Gritty Pokemon Wouldn’t Work

Oh, sure, many of us would love to see Game Freak try for a more mature Pokemon, just to see what it’s like. But could it even work? Or would it just seem ridiculous to take the elements of Pokemon and try to make them dark? I’m starting to have my doubts after looking at…

Playing Blackbar is Like High School English Class, And I Love It

Because there’s nothing you love more than when strangers recommend random iOS games to you, here’s one that its creator calls “serious,” “artsy,” and “texty.” Sound up your alley? The game is Neven Mrgan and James Moore’s BlackBar. It’s a purely text-based experience, with old-fashioned typewriter font letters outlined starkly against page after white, white…

LocoCycle: It’s Like KITT, GLaDOS and Spy Hunter Had a Xbox One Baby

Talking cars. Who doesn’t like talking cars? And talking cars that can blow stuff up? Even better. Except in this case, the vehicle in question is a super-smart sentient motorcycle that got hit by lightning and decided it doesn’t want to work for The Man anymore. That’s the basic plot of LocoCycle, a racing combat…

Thank Goodness: Octodad Sequel on PS4 Uses PS Move Motion Controls

I don’t always enjoy motion controls, but if there’s one game that I feel shouldn’t be without them, it’s the one where you control a wildly flailing octopus masquerading as a human husband and father of two. Young Horses COO Kevin Geisler confirmed on the PlayStation Blog this weekend that Octodad: Dadliest Catch will indeed…

Mega Man Designer Says Capcom Hasn’t Reacted to New Mega Man-Like Game

Last night, Keiji Inafune blew the gaming world’s collective mind when he announced Mighty No. 9, a game that closely resembles the iconic Mega Man franchise that he was associated with for more than a decade. Today, he said that he hasn’t heard anything from former employer Capcom, the company that owns Mega Man In…

The Week in Games: Ray of Sunshine

At long last, Rayman Legends arrives this week, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and, ahem, Wii U. Diablo III likewise ventures onto consoles, along with Total War: Rome 2 for PC. Tuesday • Total War: Rome 2 (PC) • Rayman Legends (360, PS3, Wii U, PC, Vita) • Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (360, PS3)…

A Generic Name Wouldn’t Do Justice to Secret Ponchos‘ Outlaws

Secret Ponchos features outlaws. It features guns, it features shootouts, it features eight-on-eight free-for-alls. It features exactly one poncho, however, and zero secrets. So what’s in its name? “When we started work on the game we put up a development blog, and we needed a name for it,” said Caley Smyth, a developer for Switchblade…

Double Fine is Making Free DLC for the PS4 Pack-In The Playroom

The developer behind Broken Age, Massive Chalice, The Cave, Brutal Legend, and of course Double Fine Happy Action Theater is developing content for the PlayStation 4 tech demo known as The Playroom The Playroom is the augmented reality and mini game application that Sony’s been using to show off the ways the DualShock 4 controller…

Are you in Seattle for PAX this weekend? Come watch me geek out about Final Fantasy with some other cool folks at our panel,The Good, The Bad, and The Moogles: Final Fantasy Funtime Geekout

The Only Reason I Still Own An Original Xbox

Every girl I date seriously must eventually pass a trial. It happens at a certain point in every relationship I have; by then she basically knows what she’s getting with me, including my tendency to get weirdly obsessed with things. The bands Titus Andronicus and Belle & Sebastian, for one thing, or Game of Thrones.…

Playstation 4 With Launch Day Delivery In Stock, No Money Down

Amazon has a new Playstation 4 Bundle available. It comes with an extra DualShock 4 controller, and more importantly launch day delivery. If you are going to get a Playstation 4, we highly recommend this option to save yourself inconvenience (and potentially taxes) later. UPDATE: Sold out • Target has 9 different bundles available. •…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Ultimate Exploitable

Evan gave us some fine cosplay shots yesterday, but when you need a good exploitable, sometimes you must take matters into your own hands. This is me with the Ultimate Warrior yesterday at 2K Sports’ booth here at PAX. I don’t know what we’ll get from this, but it should make all those bagsuit ‘shops…

Mighty Switch Force 2 is Following its Predecessor Onto Wii U

3DS eShop favorite Mighty Switch Force 2 is making its way to the Wii U’s digital storefront “by popular request,” Wayforward Technologies announced this week on its blog. The developer estimates that it will arrive in October. The original Mighty Switch Force was similarly ported from 3DS to Wii U as Mighty Switch Force: Hyper…

Sony Offers Cryptic Statement on PS4 Voice Commands

Sony last night addressed whether the PS4 features voice command capabilities through the PlayStation camera, but the company’s statement may not reveal as much as it initially seems. The rumor that the PS4 would feature voice command capabilities popped up when video of a presentation made by SCEA’s group manager of retail training and advocacy…

Sunday Comics: The Bigger They Are …

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto. Published Aug. 30. Read more of Brawl In The Family Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

PAX Cosplay: Male Tomb Raider, Zangief in Briefs and a Great Mega Man

You don’t need to wonder what Mega Man would look like in real life. One dude at PAX Prime nailed the Blue Bomber’s look. Scroll down and you’ll see a Mega Man costume that effectively channels the feel of the Capcom icon: a short, friendly dude who’s got off-putting proportions and a laser cannon for…

XCOM‘s ‘Flying Spider Shark’ Wasn’t Left on the Cutting Room Floor

At the beginning of the latest video for XCOM: Enemy Within you can see some hideous tentacled thing that turns invisible and sneaks up on a lone soldier to strangle him, facehugger-style. That’s a Seeker, and its original concept looked even more dreadful. “That’s our Flying Spider Shark,” said Garth DeAngelis, putting a sum-of-all-fears capper…

Here’s The Mega Man Spiritual Successor You’ve Always Wanted

It’s called Mighty No. 9, it’s designed by Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune, and it’s on Kickstarterright now Inafune and crew want $900,000 to make Mighty No. 9 happen, and they hope to bring it to Steam in early 2015. They just announced the game at Inafune’s PAX Prime panel in Seattle today. It’s basically…

New Sherlock Footage Debuts Tomorrow

If you’re anywhere near as obsessed with the BBC’s Sherlock as I am, then you’ll be thrilled to know that new footage will debut in the morning. Season 2 ended on something of a cliffhanger, and we’re all waiting eagerly to see how exactly things will resume. That wait is almost over, as season 3…