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  And Now A Little Princess Saving Music

  It’s a musical edition of the daily Speak-Up on Kotaku today, as commenter Harrier entertains us with more than 25 minutes of Mario piano music, played nonstop and without the aid of sheet music. My 25-minute-long medley of songs from various games featuring Super Mario! It isn’t perfect, but it’s kind of tough to go…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 22, 2011
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  The Real Enemy To Fight In Homefront Is The Decline Of America

  Route 66 is full of potholes and Wal-Mart is out of asthma medication. A high school football field is being used for mass graves. These are facts from a video game world, facts designed to make a gamer angry They’re the truths of Homefront, a March video game that somehow merges an unfathomable near-future event…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 22, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  It’s Tuesday, another day made for talking about video games. Chat about them here. With any luck, Mothra will show up. Thanks to Hisilarn for today’s image. Submit yours to #TAYpics (Read this thread for directions on how to do a TAYpic.)

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 22, 2011
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  A Nintendo Museum, The Bionic Beat Goes On And Studying In The Toilet

  It’s true, studying in toilet is the best. Here’s what we have taped on the door of our bathroom — poems from the hyakunin isshu. Kind of makes the toilet seem all the more literate. When Your Developer Goes Bust, The Music Must Go On Game designer (and musical maestro) Simon Viklund has had some…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  The Things China Endured To Bring You Apple Touch Screens

  Between May 2008 and August 2009, workers at China’s Suzhou industrial park slaved away, cleaning touch screens for Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The chemical used, hexyl hydride or “n-hexane”, made workers ill. The chemical evaporates faster than alcohol, which is why the Chinese factory, owned by Taiwan’s Wintek, began using it to speed…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  The Games You Can Absolutely Buy the Day the 3DS Goes on Sale

  Nintendo’s nebulous 3DS launch window includes months for the game company to fill their slate for the new portable. But what will U.S. gamers be able to pick up the day the 3D handheld goes on sale? This morning Nintendo finally dropped a list on us that includes all 16 games available on March 27.…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 22, 2011
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  Stereotypical Gay Cartoon Characters Hawk Dissidia Final Fantasy

  The World of Golden Eggs is a popular Japanese-language cartoon, set in America with English subtitles. And two of its characters, Rose and Mary, are promoting the latest Final Fantasy game. Rose and Mary are twins. They love exercising and cooking. Rose and Mary seem to be based on Piiko and Osugi, two gay Japanese…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  More PSP Cooking (But Not Stupid Or Gross)

  A couple of misguided Japanese kids decided it would be funny to make PSP tempura. It wasn’t. It was actually depressing and scary. But the folks at Japanese comedy troupe Megawin aren’t nearly as thick. Instead of actually trying to eat a PSP, which will, you know, probably kill you, Megawin uses a PSP case…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  When Your Developer Goes Bust, The Music Must Go On

  Game designer (and musical maestro) Simon Viklund has had some adjusting to do over the past few years, watching a game series he was once a driving force behind end up in the arms of another man. Well, team. Viklund served as creative director on 2008’s Bionic Commando Rearmed, a pulsating remake of 1988’s Bionic…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  Today’s The Day For Your Dragon Age 2 Demo

  A demo for upcoming RPG Dragon Age 2 just hit Xbox Live. It’s 2GB, and is available (sorry!) only for Gold subscribers. The PS3 and PC versions are due later today (or tomorrow if you’re in Europe).

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  A Country With No Late Night Online Gaming

  Starting March 3, those hoping to play online games between 10pm and 8am in Vietnam will need to find a workaround. The country’s Ministry of Information and Communication has asked internet service providers to block access to online games. “Provincial departments of information and communication will inspect on-line games activities nationwide and deal with organizations…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  This Uncharted Art Is So Good You’ll Think You Can Touch It

  Despite the amazing name, Hanno Hagedorn is not a Norse God. He is a mortal, an artist who worked on Uncharted 2, crafting 3D images so damn pretty you have to be told they’re not actual works of sculpture. These pieces are “unpainted” digital models of some of Uncharted 2’s main characters, including villain Zoran…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  Taiwanese Game Show Heroically Shows Old Stuff

  This year’s Taipei Game Show recently wrapped up. And while it’s short on breaking news when compared to the Tokyo Game Show or the E3 gaming expo, it does look like a grand time. Japanese website Game Watch Impress was on hand to capture the festivities. Well-known Japanese game designers like Hideo Kojima and Kazunori…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  Watch A 360 Avatar Try Lip-Syncing

  Microsoft’s upcoming “Avatar Kinect” was pitched as a glorified chatroom. It didn’t sound that exciting. This real-time demonstration, though, at least makes it look remotely interesting. Sure, it’s still a glorified chatroom, but there’s some neat technology on display, not the least of which is the impressive almost-real-time lip-syncing your avatar is capable of when…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  The PlayStation Phone Looks Better In White

  Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play, the device we used to call the PlayStation Phone, isn’t the prettiest thing on the planet. Swap the drab silver out for a creamy white, though, and things are looking up. This white version of the handheld will be offered by British telco O2 when the Play goes on sale in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  How A Blind Man Plays Video Games

  Mechanical engineering student and gamer Terry Garrett can play just about the perfect game of Abe’s Exoddus. Which is pretty awesome, considering Garrett is totally blind Having lost one eye at the age of 5 and the other at age 10, Garrett is limited in what he can play because, unable to see what’s happening…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  China Getting Mysterious Motion-Controls For MMO

  With the “eBox”, China already has a Kinect-like motion sensing controller. And apparently, the country is also getting a totally different motion-sensing-controlled PC game. If only there was more to go on than some lady waving her hands around. According to website ChinaGame, massively multiplayer online game Land of Lords Online is getting motion controls.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  Nintendo-Powered Museum Closes Its Doors

  I often get emails from readers, asking where they should go while visiting Japan. There are the obvious answers like Akihabara or Den-Den Town. But one place I usually recommend, a Nintendo-funded museum in Kyoto, is closing its doors. For the time being, at least. Dubbed Shigureden, it sits in Arashiyama, a quaint Kyoto village…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 22, 2011
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  This Slick Minecraft Documentary Needs Your Help

  2 Player Productions, the world’s finest purveyors of video game documentaries, are in a bind. Having filmed a short documentary on Minecraft, they now want to make a much longer one. But they need your help. Making professional films isn’t cheap or easy, and the team need money to get the project off the ground.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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  Celebrate Zelda’s Birthday With This Stunning Painting

  Japanese artist ag+ has commemorated the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Legend of Zelda in the best possible way: with one of the most amazing pieces of fan art you will ever see. If Nintendo had a chapel and (bear with me) that chapel had an ornately-painted ceiling, this would surely be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011