Pokémon‘s Epic Yarn

Arts and crafty individual Mochillery is a master of amigurumi (あみぐるみ)—the Japanese craft of knitting plush toys from yarn. Her latest work is a set of unbelievably cute Pocket Monsters. Can you believe how cute they are? No, no you cannot. If you feel like you must have one, Mochillery will be offering these through…

Why Sina Weibo Is Better Than Twitter (Even Though They’re Pretty Much The Same…)

In 2008, Facebook was banned in China. Almost exactly a year later, Twitter was banned as well. With the removal of the two biggest social networking companies from China, many imitators tried to fill the void. No single one social network was able to completely fill the void left behind by the forced departure of…

JRPG Characters Grow Up, Too

This fall, Tales of Xillia 2 will be released in Japan. Familiar faces will return, but the game takes a year after the first Xillia. Thus, some characters have aged—notably, Jude Mathis. A year is a long time when you are a teen, especially a teen in a JRPG. In Tales of Xillia, Jude was…

This Topless Paper Lady Makes Sushi Unappetizing

Nyotaimori—the practice of eating sushi off a woman’s body—is not really a thing in Japan. That isn’t to say it doesn’t exist, but you’d probably have an easier time finding a nyotaimori place outside Japan. For example, there’s an Italian sushi chain that’s apparently happy to help you live out those dehumanizing food fantasies. According…

iPhone-Stealing Monk Sentenced to Prison

Last year, a young monk in his early 20s was arrested in the Qingpu district of Shanghai for stealing from another monk. Among the items he took, was an iPhone. According to recent reprots, this monk was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 6,000 yuan (about $946). According to court documents, the young…

As Superannuation points out, Sony has filed a new Last Guardian trademark registration.

Want an iPhone 5 Mock-up? Got a Few Bucks?

While the inevitable iPhone 5 reveal is right around the corner, some companies cannot wait (and already have Android versions). Others, however, are happy to produce—and sell you—a mock-up. If you want to impress your friends (and really, who doesn’t?), then here are a handful of fully assembled iPhone 5 mock-ups that are available throughout…

How to Annoy Metal Gear‘s Creator: Ask Him About Project Ogre

Remember when Hideo Kojima jokingly told Kotaku readers to petition Konami so that he didn’t have to make Metal Gear Solid anymore? Good times. But as the stunning debut trailer for the newest Metal Gear Solid, the open world game MGS: Ground Zeroes, proves, yes, Hideo Kojima does have to make Metal Gear Solid. That’s…

Hey, It’s Ico on a Sony Dude’s Vita

Shuhei Yoshida is a Sony dude. The guy oversees all of Sony’s software development. When he’s not doing that, he’s using the internet to tweet and post photos. Photos like this. This is classic PlayStation 2 game Ico running on Yoshida’s Vita. It might not be his Vita—it could be someone else’s. But, yes, it…

Push Kong Suni’s Tummy, And Watch Her Fart

Meet Kong Suni. She doesn’t just wear cute frocks and eat all the food you shovel in her mouth. Oh no, she’ll also toot—because tooting is cute, and so is poop. In Korea—as well as elsewhere in much of Asia—doo-doo is often shown as adorable when presented to kids. This, of course, is to encourage…

Black Ops II Is So Classified It Won’t Run On Windows XP

You knew it was coming, XP users. Every operating system has to call it a day sooner or later, and 2012 – the year Windows 8 is released and DX11 becomes mainstream – looks like it’s the end for perhaps Microsoft’s best-loved gaming OS. I say this now because Call of Duty: Black Ops II…

The War Z Looks Like a Zombie Game With Less Zombies

The footage you’ll see here won’t stop people comparing this game to DayZ, but it might be worth a watch for those who find the ArmA II mod a little too janky and volatile for their tastes. The War Z is an upcoming multiplayer zombie shooter that leaves the frantic action of games like Left…

Unreleased Altered Beast Games, Guns And Crazy Naked Dragon Ladies

You’ve got concept art with a pinch of news this morning, as Superannuation points out the portfolio of Kiwi artist Christian MacNevin, which contains images from a pitch for an Altered Beast remake that Sega never picked up. They’re…interesting, to say the least, but I’m just as interested in MacNevin’s other fantastic pieces for projects…

Game of Thrones Gets Classy When Redesigned By a Nike Artist

Darrin Crescenzi works as a designer at Nike, where he’s done stuff like the Dream Team’s uniform for the recent London Olympics. Another thing he’s done recently that’s even cooler is this redesign of the family crests from George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones) series. A branding…

DayZ is Getting…Dogs. Not Zombie Dogs, Real Dogs.

Zombie survival mod DayZ is to receive an update soon which will see the introduction of dogs. Who, in a similar vein to games like Fallout, will act as a companion and bodyguard on your travels. Your trusty German Shepherd can be given basic orders, but much like the (relatively…aside from the zombies) realistic slant…

This Week’s Best Cosplay is Charming, To The Last

PAX hasn’t been the only place recently to check out some great cosplay. There’s been Star Wars Celebration VI, AmeCon, Anime Expo, Panicon…and that’s before you get to the awesome shots people just feel like taking whenever and wherever the hell they want to. So for today’s cosplay roundup I’ll be looking everywhere but PAX,…

Guild Wars 2 Bans Over 3000 People

Over the weekend, Chris Whiteside, Lead Producer at Guild Wars 2 developers ArenaNet, took to Reddit to announce that over 3000 players had been temporarily banned over the weekend from the game for taking advantage of an exploit. The exploit in question involved a merchant who, in an error, was selling valuable gear at low,…

The Amazing War Between New Video Games and Old Video Games

Well, this brings new meaning to the word “comeback”. In this terrific clip from Freddie Wong and team, retro games invade the modern world, and it’s up to today’s stars to try and stop them.

The Mechromancer Class in Borderlands 2 Lets You Stack Abilities. Releasing October 16.

The Mechromancer class DLC will be released on October 16, Gearbox revealed at their PAX Prime panel today. It will be free with pre-order, but $10 to those who do not. Gearbox also dove into the Mechromancer’s skill trees, distinguishing two contrasting modes: one that lets skilled players stack abilities in combination with her robot…

Borderlands 2 Has Four Post-Release Campaign DLCs Planned

Four pieces of campaign DLC will add to your Borderlands 2 experience after the game’s release on September 18. Gearbox revealed their committment to releasing the extra content at their PAX Prime panel today. CEO Randy Pitchford noted to me that they’ll be on par with the scope of something like Borderlands 1’s General Knoxx…