In Real Life

Insert 100 Yen And Watch This Trailer

I’ve been involved with 100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience for a while now, and it’s a delight to see how the project is coming along.


In Real Life

Here’s What New York’s Chinatown Fair Looks Like Right Now

Excitement swirled around the gaming industry this week in the wake of reports that New York’s legendary Chinatown Fair may be reopening for business. Film director Kurt P. Vincent, who directed a documentary about the beloved landmark called Arcade, reported that he had found workers moving arcade cabinets back into the building.


March 9, 2012
Retro

Who Would Have Thought Skiing Down A Mountain Would Be So Damn Hard

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another instalment of grown men playing competitive, mostly awful arcade classics for nothing but internet fame.


March 7, 2012
Retro

This Game Is Terribly Sorry About Michael Jackson, S&M And Dead Japanese Politicians

In Japan, this game was called Gonbee I’m Sorry. In the West, it’s more commonly referred to as just I’m Sorry. But really, it has nothing to be sorry about whatsoever.


March 3, 2012
Retro

Q*bert Finally Conquers Man After 68.5-Hour Game

When most of us think of a long session spent playing a single game, we think of spending a day or maybe a weekend immersed in story or competition. Eight or 10 hours, maybe more, spent on the couch or at a PC while the player loses track of time.


March 2, 2012
In Real Life

Let Gundam Rock Your Face Off

The Gundam VS series has been headlining Japanese arcades for almost a decade now with its fast-paced Virtual-On-style robot-on-robot gameplay.


February 21, 2012
In Real Life

Dancing Girls And Giant Robots! The Arcades Of AOU 2012.

Every February, the Amusement Operator Union holds its annual trade show. Much like the Tokyo Game Show, it’s held at Makuhari Messe — right outside of Tokyo — and also much like TGS, it showcases all of Japan’s upcoming games — only this time in arcade form.


In Real Life

Witness Arcade Button-Mashing Madness

Last weekend, Kotaku scoured the Amusement Operators Union (AOU) trade show for the craziest game coming to Japanese arcades in 2012. And what we found is a game as fun and simple as it is crazy.


In Real Life

The Very Last Face I’d Expect To See On An Arcade Stick

I’ve seen many a custom arcade joystick in my days, but not moved me quite as much as the world’s first and only Michael McDonald Arcade Fighting Joystick, now available on eBay.


February 16, 2012
In Real Life

Girls Plus Hardware Equals Hardware Girls

Photographer and pin-up model Julie Watai, whom Kotaku has featured before, is releasing a magazine version of her Hardware Girls photos.