To: Geoff From: Ashcraft
WELCOME.
With Crecente in Australia on vacation, we’re happy to have you on the S.S. Kotaku for the week! Just know, the hamster that powers the Kotaku thunderdome started acting up last night. Meaning? Posts weren’t going up when they were supposed to. Tech problems right after Crecente leaves? Chalk that up to him being genetically glued to the site. He being separated from Kotaku ’causes the place to come apart at the seams. Also, I’ve been feeling shitty all day and think I’m getting ill. Hooray!
Enjoy you’re first day guest editing! Fahey will be around to answer questions and what not in the morning. Mark will be around, too. McWhertor comes in the evening. He’ll bring impeccable grammar with him. Luke and I will be back in the evening. To, you know, bust shit up and all.
What you missed last night Truly insane Japanese Fighter Good PS3 ad Our wonderful contest has started! More »
Parker and Stone have gone videogame MAD. For the past year or so you haven’t been able to watch a single episode of South Park without tripping head-first over some gaming joke, and this week’s episode is no exception. Especially since it’s built entirely around a single videogame: Guitar Hero. Or, Guitar Queer-O, as they’ve so subtly re-badged it. Episode synopsis is as follows: Stan and Kyle are hooked on Guitar Hero. But Stan’s superior skills on the video game damage his friendship with Kyle.
No doubt it’s all based on actual events. No doubt involving the show’s creators. I know I’ve lost a friend or three over my superior Guitar Hero skills…namely that I can play on medium and they can’t. Guitar Queer-O [South Park, thanks Drew!] More »
This is the last one, we promise. (That is, unless someone sends us a Team Fortress 2 cosplay with J Allard! We are sure it exists!!) Here, the gang from Industrial Light and Magic do what all the hipster did they Halloween: Group cosplay as Team Fortress 2. Looking forward to the exciting dress-up trends Halloween 2008 brings.
Thanks VillageOoOldiot! More »
Just because you like to dress up like video game or anime characters does not mean you are a second class citizen! Oh, no no. You are entitled to the same rights that those who are not “in the life” get. Japan’s first non-profit cosplayer support organisation Cosengokai officially began this month to “raise public awareness of wholesome cosplay culture and provide consultation for cosplayers who have been victims of crimes.”
Crimes? Yikes! Due to a minority of sexual explicit costumes, the organisation states that cosplayers are misunderstood and victims of stalking, criminal indecency and, somewhat ironically, voyeurism. Cosengokai hopes to raise awareness that there is a person in that costume. And in that person there are feelings! We can only hope one day that the cosplayers will one day be a sizable voting block and then, and only then, will Japan finally get the way overdue National Cosplay Day. Can’t wait! Official Site [Cosengokai via AnimeNewNetwork via Dark Diamond] More »
Singer Kelly Rowland is a successful recording artist. She’s rich, attractive and has big muscles. She should so have the pick of the litter! Who’s she dating. Rowland says:
The only thing I’m dating is my Nintendo DS. We have an amazing relationship and it’s a great boyfriend.
OH BOY. Cue the mini-games and touching jokes! Rowland Talks DS [The London Paper via Absolute Gadget via Go Nintendo AP Picture [BBC] More »
Microsoft and ESPN just signed a deal whereby select ESPN programming (mainly sports games) will be made available over the 360′s Video Marketplace. To get the ball rolling you’ll be able to buy NCAA football and basketball games, X Games programming and other relevant shows such as Madden Nation and World Series of Poker. The NCAA games will be available up to 48 hours after the game’s finished, and will cost you $US 3 for SD and $US 4.50 for a HD version. All other programming will be $US 2 for SD and $US 3 for HD. In addition, ESPN say they’re looking at ways to “incorporate the Xbox Live online gaming community into its telecasts”, though they haven’t gotten as far as letting us know just what that means, exactly. The first content available will be a download of Saturday’s Oregon State v LSU football game. [via ESPN] More »
Today, SEGA announced that upcoming Wii title NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams will take advantage of the console’s Weather Channel. Not part of the singular player game, NiGHTS features a section called “My Dream” that features artificial life called A-LIFE. It’s part of the dream world, and it seems to be an area where players can chill and enjoy mini-games. With not so hot graphics.
Perhaps these are just early renders, because the graphics in NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams are quite solid for a Wii title. Perhaps! Wii NiGHTS Weather [Game Watch Impress] More »
Sure, the screenshots were bad. No. The screenshots were awful. But maybe, just maybe, they were rough, early shots, taken from a prototypical build and were in no way indicative of the final quality of the game. There’s always that hope, right? No. No there is not. This is everything wrong with third-party development on the Wii in one easy-to-follow 38 second clip. [via Aussie Nintendo] More »
Last month brought an endless flow of game pumpkins and the PC Engine’s 20th anniversary. On October 30 twenty years ago, the PC Engine first went on sale in Japan. Three Germans posted fliers and a birthday message on a Mandarake temporary construction barricade in Akihabara. The sign wished the ill-fated console a happy birthday, thanked NEC and Hudson and listed fan site PCE Daisakusen. The police appeared, asking if he worked for that company. One of the Germans replied, “No, I’m a big PC Engine fan”. The three were put in the patrol car and driven away from the scene. Hardcore. So let that be a lesson: Japan isn’t your personal fanboy billboard! Just be happy with wearing gaming T-shirts!! PC Engine Arrest [Akiba Blog via Insert Credit] More »
