• Kotaku East

  …And Japan Is Getting a New PSP Color

  Thought the PSP was dead? (Or was that the PS Vita? Kidding!) The Sony portable is getting a new, limited edition color in Japan. This is it. The color is dubbed Sky Blue/Marine Blue. That’s right, it’s a two-tone color. And it goes on sale Apr. 26 for ¥17,800 (US$218.48) as a value pack. PSPの新色，ツートンカラー「スカイブルー/マリンブルー」が4月26日に数量限定で発売…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  When the Rockstar Met the Nintendo Fanboy

  Fanboys are awful. They can make innocent conversations uncomfortable. Just ask Japanese rocker T.M. Revolution. He is one of Japan’s most recognizable singers. He’s also the proud owner of a new PS Vita. “Just as I’d heard, the screen is huge, and it’s beautiful!” T.M. Revolution tweeted. “It’s also easy to use, and, yep, I…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now

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

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Oh Dear. Mass Effect 3’s Character Import Isn’t Working Properly

  So earlier today I settled in with Mass Effect 3. On the Xbox 360. Popped my disc in, booted it up, went to import my character from the last two games (which I’d preserved over four separate consoles). At first, it went well! There he was, with his decisions and class choices in place. But…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  THQ Sued for $10 Million Because it Didn’t Make a Video Game

  A few years back, beleagured publisher THQ signed a deal with Adidas to make a fitness game based on the German firm’s miCoach technology. The deal was that game had to be on shelves by January 2012. It’s not, and is nowhere to be seen, so either THQ forgot all about it, or there were…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  That New Wasteland Game Might Actually Happen

  Good news, everyone! Efforts to get a proper Wasteland sequel off the ground appear to be paying off, as the project now has a website. A website! [The Wasteland Chronicles]

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Imagining a Future Without Xbox Live Arcade

  It’s an established part of the current gaming landscape, for some perhaps even their favourite, but in a recent interview Microsoft’s Michael Wolf reminds us it won’t always be here. Asked by nefarious pirate Brian Crecente whether the service was eventually “going to go away”, Wolf replies “Personally, I’d say absolutely, yes.” “I think digital…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Horror, the Terror, the Custom Star Wars Figures Made of Baby Doll Parts

  Once you see these cannibalised figures, you cannot unsee them. You may not sleep tonight, either. They’re the work of Etsy seller GeekyVixen, and take various pieces of Star Wars merchandise, various old-timey children’s toys (and some other figures from the 80s) and smash them together until what’s left is sheer horror If your tolerance…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Magicka’s Developers Turn Badass 80s Shootouts Into a Competitive Video Game

  PC specialists Paradox unveiled three new games at GDC yesterday. One is The Showdown Effect, which if you can make it past the intro in the trailer above unfurls into something that looks like Worms and Quake III had a tiny, split-screen baby. The basic premise is recreating action movie insanity. Up to eight players…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Mafia II Developers Working on Grand Theft Auto V?

  As ridiculous as that headline sounds, think about it for a second. Yeah, there you go. According to a report on VG247 developers 2K Czech, who released one of the prettiest but also one of the most boring open-world games of all time with Mafia II, are helping Rockstar on Grand Theft Auto V Remember,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• 

  CultureTotal Recall

  1943 Gives These Men the Least Satisfying Three Way Ever

  Competitive 1943? It doesn’t really exist, but for the purposes of tonight’s episode of Retro Rumble, it does, OK? Watch to see Capcom’s classic shooter put three men through their paces for, well, not money, not trophies, just fame. Internet fame. Which isn’t even real fame, but they’re only playing the game for like a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012
• 

  CultureTotal Recall

  How the NES Made That Funky Echo Sound

  Ever wonder how NES games like Ducktales were able to make that distinctive “echo” sound? Wonder no more, with this handy explanation. NES Audio: Demonstrating Reverb/ Echo with Ducktales [Retro Game Audio, via Go Nintendo] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Power of the Giraffe Compels You

  I don’t care how damn old it is, they put me in charge of the Open Thread post while Kirk is at the Game Developers Conference and if that means giraffe pictures, then so be it. With my luck they’ll be some sort of Gawker-wide moratorium on giraffe pictures resulting in instant termination. In case…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  A Pokémon Team was Kicked out of a Hotel for Throwing Shit

  Yup. According to reports, at a recent round of the Pokémon Video Game Championships held in the UK, a Spanish team covered itself in infamy (among other things) after it was ejected from a hotel for throwing human poop. From an eyewitness report, later backed up by others: After 30-40min in my room relaxing with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Skylanders Wave Four Brings Fresh Life, Air, and Fire to Retail

  The hunt begins anew as three more Skylanders figures make their way to retail shelves, filling out the Fire element and adding one each to Life and Air. The checklist nears completion! Electricity-hurling Lightning Rod and bazooka-wielding Zook are a pair of single-packed Skylanders bringing the grand total of Air and Life creatures available to…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  Capcom Says On-Disc DLC Is For ‘Easy Compatibility,’ File Size

  A whole bunch of Street Fighter X Tekken fans contacted us over the weekend to complain about what appeared to be on-disc downloadable content in the fighting game, which comes out tomorrow for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Some gamers have outspokenly criticized the idea of on-disc DLC—after all, if content is ready in time…

  By Jason Schreier Published March 5, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  The Kinect Star Wars Dancing Mingame is Even More Horrifying Than I Imagined

  Ignore the podracing and dueling portions of this Kinect Star Wars video and jump directly to around :50 in the video. I probably should have apologized first. Too late now. Whatever reasons I might have had to purchase Kinect Star Wars, this negates each and every one of them. I had heard of this dancing game.…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012
• 

  Reviews

  Street Fighter X Tekken: The Kotaku Review

  Worlds collide, battles erupt, and pink-haired transgendered beauties fight tooth-and-nail with freaking bears; Street Fighter X Tekken has arrived, pitting two of the fighting game scene’s favorite franchises into one sexy, riding-crop wielding package. Perhaps I’m a little obsessed with Capcom’s Poison, or maybe she/he merely represents the best of both worlds with a little…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Dev Behind Crysis Is Making A Mobile Game, And It’s Not What You’d Expect

  Crysis has long been a benchmark for PC hardware, a high-octane series packed to the brim with nasty aliens and powerful graphics. So it only makes sense that developer Crytek’s next project is a cartoon game for your phone. Coming this spring for iOS and Android, Fibble is a physics-based puzzle game starring adorable extraterrestrials…

  By Jason Schreier Published March 5, 2012
• 

  Uncategorized

  Fun, Pointless Things To Do With a Portal Gun and a Plumber

  We recently reported that Mari0, the Super Mario Brothers-meets-Portal mash-up-game, had launched. Does Mario need a Portal gun? Well, no. Not really. He managed just fine in his 1985 adventure with only basic jumps and fireballs at his disposal. He can squash goombas and rescue princesses just fine without Aperture Science’s latest, greatest device. But…

  By Kate Cox Published March 5, 2012