• Kotaku East

  Gay Manga Kissing Puts the Energy in These Energy Drinks

  In Japan, they’re called “fujoshi” (腐女子) or “rotten girls”, and they are into homoerotic “boys love” manga. The trend has spread to neighboring China, where “fujoshi” are called “funu” (腐女). Much of the appeal of boys love in both Japan and China is that the genre allows women to freely explore various roles—whether that is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Report: Why Square Enix Average Salaries Are Sky High

  According to online research site Nensyu Labo, here is a list of the mean yearly income for the game industry with numbers crunched from public reports filed by the companies: Square Enix Holdings: ¥21,680,000 (US$272,988) Sony: ¥9,230,000 ($116,189) Nintendo: ¥9,140,000 ($115,032) Sega Sammy: ¥8,220,000 ($103,486) Konami: ¥6,780,000 ($85,371) Namco Bandai: ¥6,400,000 ($80,577) Tecmo Koei: ¥6,150,000…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2012
• Kotaku East

  How Japan Can Churn Out Game Machines for the Next…Two Hundred Years

  Our glittering game machines and our shiny gadgets aren’t made possible by merely fancy tech and electricity. They are here because minerals called rare earths, which are found in rich sludge and mud. Currently, China controls over 90 percent of the world’s current supply of rare earths. That, however, could change. China’s current dominance is,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now!

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 29, 2012
• Uncategorized

  This Amazing Spider-Man Figure is Pretty…Yeah

  Hot Toys’ upcoming Amazing Spider-Man piece, based on the utterly needless reboot of a franchise whose last film was only released five years ago, looks great, covering the bones of a 12″ action figure in spandex/lycra/whatever this Spider-Man is wearing so that you can’t actually see it’s a figure. That’s the pro! And now the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
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  The Family That Built A Video Game Together

  Set adrift like a modern day Swiss Family Robinson, Jason and Nicole Stark left the Australian games industry on a mission together. They took their four children, they packed their bags and set sail to Noosa, Queensland. They gave themselves one single year to create a successful iOS game. This is their story: the story…

  By Mark Serrels Published June 29, 2012
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  Don’t Be Afraid of This Video Game’s Realistic Darkness

  I didn’t go to E3 this year. If I had, I’d have run straight to Bohemia Interactive and sat down with military sim ArmA 3 (this vid was part of the game’s E3 presentation). Why? Because I’m a fan of things that go bump in the night. Or, at least, the way things look when…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
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  The Greatest Graffiti Game That Never Was

  As I’ve lamented here previously, graffiti is an artform that’s been woefully under-represented in video games. Something Diego Bergia agrees with. So over the past few years the former graf artist has been putting together animated clips imagining the great graffiti game that never was. It’s a damn shame this is only an animation series,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Transformers Cosplay: Humans in Disguise

  Wow. I mean, I should be deducting points for them cosplaying as terrible new Transformers, but I can’t. This is just too impressive. The photographer responsible is LJinto, who was featured in our “Best in Cosplay” series earlier in the year. Those Transformers? They’re from Cybertron, so they don’t have websites. (though if anyone knows…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Six Billion Pounds of Video Games Were Sold Last Year (And Other Weird Environmental Facts)

  We often think of video games and hardware in terms of units sold, or money made. We don’t usually think of them in terms of how much they weigh, or how much crap needs to be dug out of the ground to make them. Which is why this infographic is interesting reading. Sure, this is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
• Culture

  A StarCraft II Marine Won’t Shoot Monsters This Pretty

  Former Blizzard man Fausto De Martini is an award-winning artist who has worked on the cinematics for games like Diablo III, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft. In addition to some of his 3D model work for StarCraft II, in this gallery you’re also going to see some of the coolest aliens, monsters and future…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Buy Your Own Version of Valve’s Latest “Hero”

  You can now purchase a $30 replica of the star of Valve’s Meet the Pyro video. That’s right, not the Pyro itself: the Balloonicorn, nature’s most majestic and impractical animal. Available from Valve’s store, as you reach for your wallet, remember: you’re about to pay $30 for a 13-inch balloon. INFLATABLE BALLOONICORN [Valve]

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Spice Girls & PlayStation Just About Sum Up The Late 1990s

  Just in case you woke up this morning feel good about life, music or the PlayStation, here’s Spice World, released in 1998. It featured the vocal talents of all five Spice Girls! Which is about all it featured, really.

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
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  CultureTotal Recall

  The Mario Games That Were, For Some Reason, Released on PC

  Being Nintendo’s principle mascot, you’d think that Mario would only ever appear on Nintendo consoles. And for the most part, you’d be correct! But, as with most things in life, there are exceptions. I thought with the sad news today of the cuts at Radical Entertainment that we’d look back another one such exception: the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Best Mom Ever Steals Over 500 Video Games for Her Children

  When authorities searched the home of Rebecca Margaret Johnson following her attempted theft of nearly $2,500 AUD from a Big W department store in Queensland, Australia, they discovered a treasure trove of stolen video games. Over the course of a year the 32-year-old single mother of three had swiped more than 515 video games and…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 28, 2012
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  Why Ace Attorney Succeeds and Hollywood Fails

  The virtues of the live-action Ace Attorney movie have been expounded upon in Kotaku‘s official review. But because it’s finally hitting New York screens next week, I figured now might be an excellent opportunity to dig a bit deeper, and explain why it’s indeed the best video game movie ever crafted. ***** To date, there…

  by Matt Hawkins Published June 28, 2012
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  I Need a Dinosaur. Are You a Dinosaur? Dinosaur Needed.

  I’m not the only one who needs a dinosaur, either. This guy/gal needs one too, or at the very least, a person to dress up in a dinosaur costume. Dinosaur needed Person with dinosaur costume needed immediately for top secret project. I cannot go into the specifics until you are fully committed, but it involves…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 28, 2012
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  The World of Goo Soundtrack Had No Business Being So Crazy Good

  Think about it: World of Goo. Simple game, simple premise. Move the goo, stack the goo, get to the ending point. There was some kind of narrative, but that didn’t matter so much, did it? The game is good. Really good, really fun. But my favorite thing about it, hands down, is Kyle Gabler’s flabbergasting…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 28, 2012
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  The Time Jeff Buckley Sang in Urdu and Stole Our Hearts

  Hey, you know who was amazing? Jeff Buckley. Even the uninitiated think of him as “The guy who did that incredible, heartbreaking version of “Hallelujah” that I will literally never hear enough times.” I have Grace, I love Grace, and I’ve listened to it a hundred times. But it wasn’t until a few years ago…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 28, 2012
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  Watch Stephen Colbert Do His Goofiest Dance Yet

  It’s very, very difficult not to dance to the “Lum King” music that plays at certain points in Rayman Origins. Those saxophones! That guiro! Stephen Colbert agrees, or at least… he likes to dance. So, okay, yes, this video mashup is totally silly, but also delightful. It makes me want to both play Rayman Origins…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published June 28, 2012