• Uncategorized

  Watch This, Play This Begins Now

  Stuff to play, stuff to see, here comes Watch This, Play This. Confused? Read this

  By Tina Amini Published April 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Studies Linking Game Violence with Real-World Aggression May All Be Wrong

  Studies in the past have found that winning competitions can make you mean, and we’ve all seen the stereotype of the angry gamer yelling at his console. But the latest research on the psychological effects of video games finds that, contrary to popular opinion, what really makes gamers tick is their ability to cooperate and…

  By Kate Cox Published April 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Hell Yeah Is a Gory, Comedy ‘Metroidvania’ Set In Hell

  Ash is a rabbit and the prince of Hell. His questionable interactions with a rubber ducky have been photographed by the paparazzi. As a result, embarrassing images have spread across Hell’s version of the Internet—the Hellternet—which is full of porn, gossip, ads and nice commenters. That’s where the story of Hell Yeah begins, though story…

  By Stephen Totilo Published April 9, 2012
• Culture

  Mario Kart. Made Out of Chocolate.

  The Mario Kart games have wound up on nearly every Nintendo platform since the wacky combat racer debuted back in 1992, thrilling millions. But this might be the first time that Mario and Luigi have become artisanal delicacies. Reader Daussy sent in these pictures of a chocolatey tribute to Nintendo’s kart-racing game, which were crafted…

  By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Happy Monday! Several Kotaku staffers are recovering from serious overloads of awesome after being at PAX East. You can discuss PAX East and more here in Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want…

  By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  All The Awesome Stuff We Saw At PAX East This Weekend

  PAX East 2012 is no more. Legions of gamers have returned to their nests. Boston is finally at peace. But for three days, the East Coast morphed into a cosplay-stuffed playground for all things gaming, a wonderful wonderland of Mass Effect characters and developers who look like cats. We had a great time out at…

  By Jason Schreier Published April 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  I Can’t Read Stories About Gaming Parents Shaking Their Children to Death Anymore

  Chicago. Arizona. Tennesee. New Zealand. England. Now a man in Polk County, Florida is accused of murdering his three-month-old son after admittedly shaking the infant for interrupting his Xbox session. I can’t read this crap anymore. 20-year-old Jacob David Hartley, a stock boy at Sam’s Club, was playing on his Xbox on Thursday morning last…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Here’s a First Look at Massive Online Shooter Defiance in Action

  Trion’s Defiance, the platform-agnostic shooter-MMO that Stephen Totilo saw at E3, promises to deliver open-world action with thousands of simulataneous players. It’s also supposed to sync with an in-development SyFy TV series, so that developments in the game affect the show. That’s a tall order, right? We’ve seen nothing of the TV show yet but…

  By Evan Narcisse Published April 9, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Skullgirls Saved the Creepiest Combatant for Last

  There are fighting games that seek to capitalize on the sexier aspects of girl-on-girl fighting, and then there’s Skullgirls, where characters like Double trade sexy for scary with a twist of Gradius Reverge Labs and Autumn Games’ Skullgirls is not your ordinary 2D fighter. Crafted by fighting game professionals and rendered in a visual style…

  By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Bad Chinese People, Stop Effing with the Robot Policemen!

  Japan’s Nikkan Spa recently posted images of a Chinese robot cop “patrolling” the streets. Despite looking humanoid, the “RoboCop” in question was far from a robotic police officer. They also look nothing like RoboCop. RoboCop will shoot you in the face. These will not. Standing at attention, the near two meter tall sentries are not…

  By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Another Porn Star in the Running for a Yakuza Game

  What is it with Sega’s Yakuza games and adult video stars? Whatever it is, another could be promoting the next one. Her name is Sakura Kiryu. Sega selected a host of ladies from across the country (Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Nagoya) for its “Miss Yakuza” competition. Only five of the fifteen will be selected…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• 

  Kotaku East

  Jean Reno Makes a Great Anime Cat

  Doraemon is a robot cat from the future. His ears were eaten off by a mouse (hence him being afraid of them!), and his pocket carries all sorts of amazing gadgets. Doraemon is a beloved cartoon character, and he’s being brought to life by…Jean Reno. The famed actor has appeared in Toyota ads on and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Young Chinese Women in Trouble for Writing Dirty Website

  Founded in early 2011, homoerotic fantasy website “Boys Love Novels Online” (“耽美小说网”) recently went offline. The government charged its founder with spreading pornographic materials. The websites writers however, weren’t men. They were women. The website supposedly spread over 1,200 articles of gay erotic fiction during the time that it was active. While the site was…

  By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Udon or Soba? Fight!

  In Japan, you are either an udon person or a soba person. You cannot be both! This is serious Beatles-Stones kinda stuff. Well, not that serious. And people do like both, but most of my friends and family seem to prefer one to the other. Both udon and soba, of course, are noodles. However, udon…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Bootleg Chinese Arcades Sure Can Make Popular Video Games Boring

  The original Plants versus Zombies is a classic in China. Even before the Chinese version came out, the game was a success. My girlfriend, who is Chinese, had a PvZ phase. During that time, she would playPvZ everywhere she went— be it on my smartphone, tablet or on the PC at home. One time a…

  By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Meet China’s Real-Life Blow-Up Doll. She’s Totally Fake.

  For the past few months, 17 year-old student Wang Jia Yun has been tearing the internet up in both China and South Korea. In China, she was quickly given a nickname: “chong qi wa wa” (充气娃娃 )or “inflatable doll”. Like so many of the young internet idols emerging out of China (ditto for the West),…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Report: Another Foxconn Employee Gives iPhone 5 Release Info

  This year, a new iPhone looks set to hit. The big question now is when it will be released: this summer or this fall. Late last month, a Japanese TV crew filmed an interview with a Foxconn recruiter, who said the phone would be out this June. South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper begs to differ.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  No, Mom, I’m Not Talking to Strange Men Online

  Life as a net idol is tough! If your old lady isn’t bursting down the door when you are chatting with your online fans, she wanders in when you’ve got your shirt off—which is apparently what this awkward photo depicts. Many young women are holding court on “live” video chats sites on Japan’s Nico Nico…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Report: Sony Is Firing a Whole Bunch of People [Update]

  Today, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Sony is axing 6 percent of its global workforce—approximately 10,000 individuals—by the end of the year. Half the cuts will supposedly come from Sony’s chemical and LCD businesses. The paper also added that Sony is asking the seven executive directors who served through the last fiscal year to return…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Hands On with the Official Akira Bike

  There are other customized Akira bikes, sure. But there is only one that has been officially recognized by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. This is it. As previously posted, this US$121,000, custom-built bike raced across Japan for charity. Its final destination was a Katsuhiro Otomo exhibit, which was also for charity. Sister site checked out the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012