This Is How Japan Trolls Google Street View

Google Street View trolling is not new. People around the world love pulling hijinks when they see the Google Street View apparatus rolling down the street. Folks in Japan did some truly epic trolling. As IT Media points out, writers at Japanese humor site Daily Portal Zgot the drop that the Google Street View would…

Can’t Wait for Dragon’s Crown? Try its Spiritual Predecessor

In recent years, Japanese company Vanillaware has made some of the most beautiful and unique-looking games ever. But long ago, in the ancient time known as the 1990’s, before Dragon’s Crown, Muramasa: The Demon’s Blade, and Odin Sphere—before even the creation of Vanillaware itself—there was Princess Crown Princess Crown is a side-scrolling action RPG much…

Samurai Shodown Stars in a Korean Mobile Game

Huh. As tipster Sang points out, Samurai Shodown characters are now appearing in a South Korean runner game called Everyone Kal Kal Kal. “Kal” (칼) means “sword”. SNK signed off on the game, which is for iOS and Android. So there ya go! Everyone Kal Kal Kal [Official Site Thanks, Sang!] To contact the author…

The First Film of Ghost in the Shell: Arise is True to Its Roots

This past week saw the release of the first chapter of the newest iteration of the Ghost in the Shell franchise with Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain. While the changes in the character designs have caused many to worry, let me assure you, the changes are only skin deep. Ghost Pain…

18 Year-old Male Sells Kidney In China, Video Games Get Blamed.

Earlier this month, a criminal gang was arrested by Shijiazhuang police in Hebei province, China. The gang was arrested for dealing in black market organs. One of those organs supposedly belonged to a Chinese gamer. You might know the story of the Chinese boy from Anhui province who sold one of his kidneys (most of…

RYG Thumbslip: The Kotaku Review

Last month I talked about a very personal and embarrassing problem that I have when it comes to touch screen gaming: sweaty hands. In the days and weeks after, many kind readers sent in solutions for me, ranging from surgery to gamer gloves. But the solution that really caught my eye was the RYG Thumbslip.…

Why Sony Fans Are Called “Cockroaches” in Japan

Outside Japan, the perception is that all Japanese people love Sony. Sony’s a Japanese company, so everyone must support the home team, right? Eh… Some people in Japan love Sony. Other people hate it. Then some really don’t care at all. And over the years, there have been a series of nicknames for the country’s…

On June 26, Nintendo is holding a Pikmin 3 Direct for Japan. It will feature a special guest: comedian and filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto.

The Real Hairstyles of Final Fantasy

The hair. Just look at the hair! It’s magnificent. These aren’t video game characters. They’re men who would like to drink cocktails with you. Earlier this month, Japanese internet users chattered about how the latest entry in the Final Fantasy role-playing game series, Final Fantasy XV, featured a protagonist who looks like a “host”. Here…

Saints Row IV All But Banned In Australia

Saints Row IV has been “banned” (or to be more precise refused classification, which is as good as a ban) in Australia. Which is strange. Australia used to see such “bans” because of the lack of an adults-only rating for video games. The country now has such a rating, however, labelled as R18+, restricting the…

The Only Zelda Movie You Ever Need To See

There are no cosplayers or grown men in tights here. Just some incredible stop-motion animation and the best Nintendo action figure ever made It took creator counter656 over a month to make the 4:51 clip. Totally worth it, though. Zelda Stop Motion – Figma Link and Black Rock Shooter [YouTube]

A Zombie Steampunk Wizard Of Oz? Sure, Why Not.

American McGee’s Spicy Horse studio just launched a Kickstarter for a new game where you play as Dorothy going up against the Scarecrow. And it looks a lot cooler than it sounds. Well, what there is looks cool. Sadly there’s only really art to go on, and nothing more substantial, but unlike indie startups on…

Link Can Now Save Zelda Using His…iPhone

This is great. It’s what Link’s home screen would look like, if the Nintendo of the future ditched his backpack/tunic for a more contemporary way of getting stuff done. If Ganon could be defeated via Vines, check-ins and messaging apps, that is. What I like is that it’s a pretty accurate conversion! Well, except for…

Yes, You’re Going To Have To Go In There, Joel

John Sweeney is a concept artist at Naughty Dog who didn’t just get to work on The Last Of Us, but had one of his images from the game selected as a winner in this year’s Into The Pixel awards. You can see more of his work at his personal site and CGHub page To…

DJ Krush’s Crackdown Intro Is An All-Time Great

I have very fond memories of Crackdown, one of the earliest Xbox 360 exclusives and a game that, in many ways, still stands strong today. I’d love to say those memories are thanks to the collecting of orbs, of jumping over buildings and driving stupidly large trucks, but they’re not. They’re thanks to a single…

Kid Gets Crazy Mario Face Shaved Onto His Entire Head

It may not be forever in the way a tattoo is, but this is a kid. And as far as kid statements go, getting an enormous Mario head shaved onto the back of your noggin is about as big as they go. No idea who it is, or who the barber was, but as someone…

Microsoft Games Are Coming To Android, iOS Phones

You read that right. Develoepr Klab will be bringing a mobile version of Age of Empires to both iOS and Android devices later this year. A report on Nikkei says the game will be free-to-play, so it’s likely a port of the recent PC reboot of the series. It’s also merely the first in a…

Apple Is Now Refunding People Whose Kids Bought iPhone Crap

It’s a tale as old as the iPhone itself. Kid picks up parent’s iPhone, kid plays game, kid accidentally buys a ton of in-app junk without their parent’s knowledge. Parent goes bananas, complains to Apple. Those complaints got too loud to ignore for Apple, so in February it agreed to a large settlement. That settlement…

The Water-Repelling Spray That’s A Mix Of Science And Outright Sorcery

What. The. Hell. I’ve seen a video demonstration of NeverWet before, but never a demonstration as all-inclusive as this one, posted about a week ago. The product, which is arriving (or has already arrived) in Home Depot and Red Rose Commons, will turn anything it touches into a magical water-repellant material. More info here Watch…

Team Fortress 2 Brought Them Together. Now They’re Married.

It’s 2013—people meeting through online dating sites if not through video games is not rare, but in Redditor IdentityProductions‘ case, it’s tough to deny just how intense the love for their partner and Team Fortress 2 is. Even Valve sees it. Earlier today, a Reddit thread was posted with a link to a photobook sent…