Japanese Arcade Apparently Bans Smartphone Games

There appears to be a local arcade in Japan with one clear rule: If you are caught playing smartphone games, you’ll get kicked out. Spotted by Japanese Twitter user @komathi_eiki, the sign says that social networking titles and portable games are not permitted. Those who are discovered playing either of these will have to leave!…

Lightning Striking This Japanese Train Is Beautiful and Terrifying

Yesterday in Tokyo, a bolt of lightning struck Tokyo’s Odakyu Electric Railway. The incident looks both stunning and scary. Below, you can see footage of the lightning storm. Skip ahead to around the 1:18 mark to see lightning strike the carriage, which caused a power outage. As IT Media points out, minutes after the train…

Here’s Guillermo Del Toro Looking at a Giant Gundam

Movie director Guillermo Del Toro is in Japan to promote Pacific Rim. He had a big day out in Tokyo that was filled with ice cream and giant mecha. It looks like the best day ever. In this clip from Japanese morning television, you can see Del Toro enjoying, as he calls it, “fat otaku…

Project Phoenix, an indie JRPG with a seasoned staff, already hit its Kickstarter goal—no, make that nearly doubled its goal. Congrats!

There’s a Bra Vending Machine in Tokyo

Over the years, Japan has seen an array of interesting and unusual vending machines. And recently, a brassiere dispensing one debuted in Tokyo. Last Friday, Japanese lingerie maker Wacoal rolled out a bra vending machine at its Une Nana Cool branded specialty shop in Shibuya. The vending machine is packed with the popular wireless “Fun…

This Machine-Gunning Raccoon Is My Favorite Movie Ever

Sure, it’s only all of two seconds from footage filmed off a screen from the audience of a comic-Con panel, but Rocket Raccoon is all of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy I needed to see. Leaked all over the place over the past couple of days, the rapidly cobbled together footage from James Gunn’s intergalactic…

A Chrono Cross Musical Performance Made Possible By The Internet

Ah, Chrono Cross. A game with a uniquely beautiful soundtrack And here, Yasunori Mitsuda’s “Radical Dreamers” is brought to life by two performers in two places—songwriter/composer Laura Shigihara and the members of the Japanese band Meine Meinung

Breaking Bad’s Stoned Star Trek Script, Brought To Life

The Breaking Bad premiere was pretty great across the board, but one scene in particular stood out. That scene, of course, being Badger’s bananas Star Trek script, which involved a bored Enterprise crew holding a pie-eating contest… that goes horribly wrong Vulture has, amazingly enough, already created an animated version of Badger’s script: Ha! THey…

If you haven’t been keeping up with screenshot superstar Dead End Thrills, head on over and see what’s new. He’s got some great stuff from Skyrim (like the one up top), as well as some excellent shots that capture the striking look of DMC I dug this one:

What Metroid: The Animated Series Would Look Like

Would you watch an animated series based on Metroid? I sure would. We’ve featured the work of the super talented artist Dave Rapoza in the past, and now he’s taking a shot at animation. This re-imagining of Super Metroid may not be long, but it’s pretty darn cool. When’s the next Metroid game coming out,…

Petition Claims League of Legends Doesn’t Respect Satanists

Normally, games will filter obscene words, or cursing. League of Legends, curiously, filters out the word “Satan”—but not other religious words such as Jesus, Allah, Zeus, Venus and God. In response, a petition urging Riot to stop censoring the word appeared this weekend. “They are blocking Satanists’ right to freedom of religion by preventing them…

There’s A High School of the Dead Mod For… Mount & Blade

Now here’s a pairing I didn’t see coming. I am neither a big reader of the manga High School of the Dead or player of the action-RPG Mount & Blade, but I remain surprised that someone has modded the game to include the general setup of H.S.O.T.D. And yet that’s what this intrepid modder appears…

In case you missed the livestream demonstration of Microsoft’s game-making toolkit Project Spark last week, you can watch a video of the whole thing right here.

Nintendo, Your Restrictions On Demos Are Just Silly

I downloaded the demo for The Wonderful 101, and was surprised to find this message pop up telling me that I would only be allowed to run the demo 20 times. Now, of course I don’t plan on playing a demo more than once or twice, as I’m sure most people don’t. Which is why…

A Musical Star Wars Journey Featuring Only Violin And Voice

Long live the Star Wars theme music, may it take us on ever more nostalgic, heroic adventures. Here’s the latest from violinist Lindsey Stirling (of Zelda and Assassin’s Creed III renown) and vocalist Peter Hollens (known for Game of Thrones and Skyrim renditions), who together capped off the week last Friday with this rousing (and…

StarCraft II balance update: Blizzard is considering an Overseer speed buff and making Vipers start with full energy, among other changes

No Multiplayer column today, folks! Patricia is working on her Payday 2 review, which goes live tonight. In the meantime, you should read Samantha Allen’s piece at Paste about why she loves tacked-on multiplayer.

Kinect No Longer Mandatory For Xbox One (But Will Still Come With It) [UPDATE]

Another backflip? Back in May, Microsoft said that you’ll need have the motion-sensing Kinect plugged in at all times in order for your Xbox One to function, but now they’re reversing course once again. We already knew that you could turn off the Kinect, but now Microsoft says it doesn’t have to be plugged in…

Get a League of Legends AmEx (It’s a Debit Card, Though)

Typical credit or debit cards offer incremental rewards for purchases—frequent flier miles, cash back, etc. American Express and Riot Games will offer a debit card that returns points for in-game purchases in League of Legends, the New York Times reports. The arrangement will be announced Wednesday, says the Times, and the incentive currency it returns…

DuckTales: Remastered Is Like Being A Kid Again

DuckTales: Remastered is exactly what it sounds like — A faithful recreation of the NES game with beautiful 2D animations, new music and, most importantly, achievements. Take a look at the shiny new game in the video above. You can start your adventures in Duckburg August 13th on PSN, WiiU and PC, and September 11th…