Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Piracy Makes Call Of Duty 4 Devs Sad
11:30PM Kotaku US Edition | PC gamers pirate stuff. We all know that. But just how many PC gamers pick up their games via less-legal means? An astronomical amount, if some statements by a Call of Duty 4 developer are any indication: On another PC related note, we pulled some disturbing numbers this past week about the amount of PC players currently playing Multiplayer (which was fantastic). What wasn’t fantastic was the percentage of those numbers who were playing on stolen copies of the game on stolen / cracked CD keys of pirated copies (and that was only people playing online). Not sure if I can share the exact numbers or percentage of PC players with you, but I’ll check and see; if I can I’ll update with them. As the amount of people who pirate PC games is astounding. It blows me away at the amount of people willing to steal games (or anything) simply because it’s not physical or it’s on the safety of the internet to do. He labels the post “They Wonder Why People Don’t Make PC Games Any More”. Which says it all, really. Fourzerotwo [via Luckyman @ NeoGAF] More »
Professor Layton Developer Gets Soccer Stadium
11:00PM Kotaku US Edition | Just look at Level 5 go! The company behind those Professor Layton games, ponied up for slapping its name on a soccer stadium for J League team Avispa Fukuoka. For $US 287,000 a year, the J League stadium will be dubbed “Level 5 Stadium.” The contract is for a three year lease, starting March 1, 2008 and ending February 28, 2011. Says Fukuoka major Hiroshi Yoshida: I’m very happy about Level 5’s decision. Fukuoka’s position in the gaming industry is rising every year. The involvement of the youth is increasing. The meaning of this naming rights is that Fukuoka is putting greater effort in the gaming world, and this is a symbol of that. Another interesting thing to consider: This year, Level 5 is releasing a soccer RPG called Inazuma Eleven for the Nintendo DS. If anything, this stadium seems to be a very, very clever marketing ploy. Level 5 Stadium [Famitsu] More »
Custom Marcus Fenix Figure Is Great (And Jaundiced)
10:30PM Kotaku US Edition | Some official Gears figures are on the way from toymakers NECA, but some people just cannot wait that long. Soulbrother73 is one of them, so he went ahead and forged this custom Marcus Fenix figure, complete with rifle, grenade and Jack the robot. The detail is fantastic, all the way down to Fenix’s skin, realistically jaundiced by his years of hard drinking and a poor, post-apocalyptic diet. xbox 360 gears of war customs macus fenix and jack [Figures.com, thanks John!] More »
The Cross Dressing Akihabara Maid Cafe
10:00PM Kotaku US Edition | We have one rule about non-game related maid content: POST. (Indulge us, it’s late and After Dark!) That picture you are looking at? That’s a dude. No, really. That’s a maid at Akihabara maid cafe Hibaritei, where the entire staff consists of men dressed as maids. The cafe opens only a few times a month at irregular times at other established maid cafes. The reason? All the cross dressing maids are dudes with other jobs (one guy is a writer, another is a model). The owner of Hibaritei came up with the idea when some men dressed in drag when there was a shortage of female maids at a cafe he owned previously. This is the maid cafe equivalent of Guilty Gear’s Bridget! Men Maids [Sankei via Canned Dogs] More »
Portable GameCube Needs To Be Better
9:30PM Kotaku US Edition | I have a dream. That one day, I can sit on the subway, and play Wind Waker on a portable Nintendo device. So this is my dream come true, right? No. This thing is not my dream come true. It is a nightmare. An abhorrence of nature, which if it were living would have been killed and eaten by its parents at birth in order to preserve the strength of their bloodline (and hide their shame). Unskilled Modder Makes Portable Gamecube [Geekologie, via Giz] More »
Wii Fit Gets a Mat (Yes, a MAT)
9:00PM Kotaku US Edition | Japanese peripheral maker Hori is releasing a mat to be used with Wii Fit. The “Wii Fit Mat” (so clever) is pretty self-explanatory: Put it on the floor, under the Wii Fit Balance Board. We guess it’ll help prevent slippage, which so far hasn’t been much of a problem. Haven’t heard of people flailing wildly into their TVs… This goes on sale in February for around $US 32. Pricey! Wii Mat [Famitsu] More »Now You Can Watch As PC Games Are Streamed To Your PS3
8:30PM Kotaku US Edition | We’ve told you, twice, how you can stream PC games to your PS3, but words just don’t stack up against 10:28 worth of visual demonstration. Word of warning, though: for such promising tech this vid is decidedly backyard, so you might want to let it buffer then jump through to the interesting bits. More »
Do You Look Like a Japanese Otaku?
8:00PM Kotaku US Edition | You may think you look so cool, but Japan doesn’t! Website goo Research is here to help coordinate your closet. Over a thousand goo Research members completed an online questionnaire that reveals what “regular” Japanese folks think otaku look like. Fascinating results! Hit the jump for the results on what male (and female!) otaku look like. More »
Roger Avary In Trouble With The Law
7:30PM Kotaku US Edition | Roger Avary, who were it not for the writer’s strike would probably be hard at work finishing up his script for the Wolfenstein movie, is instead looking at some potential jail time after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. He’s alleged to have been driving under the influence when, early Monday morning, he was involved in a car accident which saw his wife hospitalised and his friend, Italian Andreas Zini, killed. He’s currently out on $US 50,000 bail. In a statement released this afternoon, Avery’s representative says: Roger wishes to publicly convey his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased. Words cannot express how sorry he is, and this tragic accident will always haunt him. Screenwriter Avary releases statement on car wreck death [LA Times] [Image] More »
