• Kotaku East

  In China, Hire Your Online Fans and Internet Defenders—Cheap!

  I listen to This American Life a lot, and for the longest time at the end of each show Ira Glass would say, “This episode of This American Life is bought to you by Reputation.com.” For long have I pondered what exactly what it is that Reputation.com does. Do they Google-bomb Google or do they…

  By Eric Jou Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Namco Bandai Puts a Giant “X” on a Website

  Another teaser website. Sick of them yet? This latest one from Namco Bandai is for a new title. The teaser site has a giant “X” on it. Fascinating. New Title [Namco Bandai]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Area Ravaged by Japanese Earthquake Gets…a Cute Character

  To help lift the spirits of Tohoku, Japan, the area hit by March 2011’s earthquake and tsunami, illustrator Ninico Edomura created Zunko Tohoku. Named after zunda mochi rice cakes, she’s a 17 year-old, who excels at archery. And she’s copyright free. The idea is that the character will go viral via fan art and whatnot—thus,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  The Korean Subway to Nowhere

  You step off the train. You head through the immaculate blue and white terminal and make your way to the surface. It’s like you’ve arrived in the future alright—only, a post apocalyptic one. These photos are making their way around Japanese forums and blogs, with some saying they resemble Fallout 3. According to Andy Tebay…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Phantasy Star Online 2 Will Also Be on on Smartphones

  On March 26th, SEGA has officially announced that the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released not only on the PC, but on the PS Vita and smartphones as well. The game is planned to be released early summer of 2012, and will be free to play with certain purchasable in-game items.…

  By Toshitaka Tachibana Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  A Woman with Gundam Models in Her Hair Is Not Japan’s Craziest Hairstyle

  Oh no. Japan can do better—or rather, the girls at fashion magazine Koakuma Ageha can. How about a headphones hairdo? Or a glasses hairdo? Or cat ears? Or Tokyo Tower? You got it! While Koakuma Ageha is popular with hostesses (who, infamously, have big hair), I’ve never actually seen anyone, hostess or not, in Japan…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Are You An Average Dude? You Might Make Good Husband Fodder in Japan.

  During the 1980s, the stereotype for Japanese women was that they wanted three things in a marriage partner: high education, high salary, and a tall man. These days, Japanese women are content with things that aren’t nearly so sky-high. For marriage partners, they’re fine with “average”. In Japanese, “sankou” (三高), or what would be localized…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 26, 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 March 26, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  A My Little Pony Xbox 360. Just in Case you Needed One.

  I am not Michael Fahey. I do not understand the appeal for grown men of My Little Pony, a franchise my little sister thought was rubbish when she was nine If you are Michael Fahey, though, you may go bananas for this custom My Little Pony Xbox 360, with hand-etched plexiglass, paint scheme and fancy…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Argh, the Bad Guys in The Last of Us Look Just Horrible

  Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is taking the old zombie stereotype in a different direction, substituting hordes of ravenous flesh-eaters for…a global population that’s been infected by some kind of fungus and now looks really gross. While we’ve seen the monsters before, this statue of one was posted on Twitter over the weekend by…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Art of the Death of the Manual

  This piece by artist Maskull Lasserre takes the impending demise of the printed computer manual quite literally, pressing a number of old pieces together and then carving a skull out of it. Morbid, but also quite lovely. [Maskull Lasserre, via Boing Boing]

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Awesome Lady Turns Nerf Guns into Video Game Guns

  Nerfenstein – more boringly known as Aesthetic Nerf Mods Australia – takes regular old Nerf guns and, with a little customisation and paint work, turns them into replica weapons based on those found in video games, movies and comic books. Replica weapons you can shoot a kid in the face with and not feel that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  How Assassin’s Creed III Will Work on the Wii U

  As bizarre as it seems to be thinking of a proper Assassin’s Creed game appearing on a Nintendo console, it’s going to happen later this year when Assassin’s Creed III is released on the Wii U. Leading many people to wonder, how’s it going to take advantage of the console’s unique control pad? The latest…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Very Best In Cosplay: Omi Gibson

  For the last few months, I’ve used this feature to highlight the very best cosplay artists in the world. To the last, each of them produces astonishing work, whether they be costume builders, props makers, photographers and/or models. None of them, however, can quite match the output of Japanese superstar Omi Gibson. Whether it be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Mega Man Becomes Mega Girl

  So what if Capcom seems unwilling to make any more Mega Man games. They could always make a Mega Girl game instead! At least, that’s the premise behind this gender-swapping take on the platforming hero by artist dcwj, in which the star and several other characters/bosses are reimagined. It’s adorable. So much so I would…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 26, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The BioShock Movie Just Lost its SECOND Director

  In case you somehow thought the ill-fated BioShock movie project would emerge from the depths of production hell and actually get filmed, know that this seems even more unlikely now given the fact the film has lost its second director. 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who came onboard in 2010 to replace the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Can a Vita Survive Being Dropped Onto the Road?

  I dropped my Vita over the weekend. Luckily, it landed on grass, and it was totally fine. These guys aren’t dropping their Vita on grass. They’re dropping it on a road. Over and over again. For science. As part of their highly practical “drop test” series, Gizmo Slip let the Vita fall to the bitumen…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012
• 

  Reviews

  Total War: Shogun 2: The Fall of the Samurai: The Kotaku Review

  Or, as I should have called it, my review of the Great Colon War of 1864 In 2009, Creative Assembly released one of the greatest strategy games ever made. A year later, they had the cheek to release an expansion pack and try and pass it off as an all-new title. Skip ahead to 2011,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  It’s GTAIII, Running on GTAIV’s Engine

  Similar to the Vice City Rage project (and the San Andreas Rage project), here’s an undertaking bringing the world design of Grand Theft Auto III’s Liberty City to the more robust engine of Grand Theft Auto IV Why bother? Same old classic game world you know and love, only now the cars drive better and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2012
• Culture

  The Tail of a Tiger

  Tiger Woods, who just won his first PGA Tour event in two years, dominates a very thin week for releases at the end of the quarter. Tuesday • Supremacy MMA (PS Vita) • Myst (DS) • Country Dance: All Stars Kinect (360) • Warriors Orochi 3 (360) • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (360, PS3)…

  By Owen Good Published March 25, 2012