NEW YORK, 10:20 AM, SAT MAY 17 | 0 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@gridskipper.com | SUBMIT A TIP | RSS

Posts Tagged “Kotaku”

new york

The Grand Theft Auto IV Guide to New York

The next installment in the popular Grand Theft Auto video game series comes out on April 29th, 2008. This fourth edition of the controversial crime game deals with a Russian mobster running amok in Liberty City, a fictional stand-in for New York. Photos of a Liberty City map were leaked on Kotaku this morning and to help whet your appetite for spreading murder and mayhem through this virtual cityscape, I've mapped some GTA IV locations onto their New York inspirations.

6:15 PM on Thu Mar 27 2008
By hwalker
10,279 views, 1 comment

Latest by belltolls: Alderney is one of the Channel Islands. Another Channel Island is Jersey; so of course you are right. My little sometimes wrong friend Wikipedia tells me so and in this case it is correct. more »

tehran

Iranian Propaganda Mural Inspired by Video Game

In a gallery of anti-American/anti-Israeli murals decorating the "U.S. Den of Espionage" in Tehran (i.e. the former American embassy), I noted the clawed hand crushing the Earth appeared similar to the cover art from a sci-fi novel by Scientologist overlord L. Ron Hubbard. But an astute reader points out that the weird, bifurcated fingernail/claws actually point to the cover art for classic 1990 video game Star Control as the mural's real inspiration. Ur-Quan akbar!

9:20 AM on Wed Feb 13 2008
By Chris Mohney
7,582 views, 28 comments

Latest by Guild_Navigator: When the Ur-Quan masters come an funki da shiz up, all this petty squabbling will take a back seat to dealing with the slave shield around our planet. more »

las vegas

Dying to Lose In Vegas: The $3 Blackjack Death March

"Fuck it, split 'em."
"Split 10's against dealer 9? Are you sure, sir?"
"Look, I am trying to lose all my money. I'm currently failing at it. Split 'em."
I may have the greatest job in the entire world. When I told Chris Mohney that I was in Vegas for vacation (and later, CES coverage) and was interested in doing a piece for Gridskipper, I thought I might get a free show or dinner out of it. I didn't think I'd be doing a mini-marathon of blackjack at a historic but mediocre casino at the far end of the Strip. I went to the Sahara Hotel and Casino with $100 of Gridskipper's money to blow at the $3 tables, and I was joined by another writer, Mike McWhertor, who had $100 from his site, Kotaku. We were pumped. More »

12:40 PM on Thu Jan 10 2008
By Jordan Golson
38,761 views, 12 comments

Latest by w_snipes: $2 Blackjack is available at The Klondike Casino down by the Welcome To Las Vegas sign. Its grim as you like, but in that, it also has its own appeal. Had many late night blackjack sessions after a night at Studio more »

new york

"Harajuku Girl" Now Prepackaged Costume

When pawing through the depressing mounds of Halloween costumes at my local Ricky's in New York, I was amused to discover this "Harajuku Pop" costume. Dress up like those Tokyo girls who dress up in that Gwen Stefani song, kids! Where's the "Akihabara Otaku" cosplaying as Naruto costume? (Not to be confused with actual Naruto costume.)

1:55 PM on Thu Oct 25 2007
By Chris Mohney
3,933 views, Comment

singapore

Actual To-Scale Police Raid Action Figure Protest

Hard to decide which creates more pathos: Anime fans using figures to hold a protest, or real police arriving to break up the "disruption." In late August, Singaporean enthusiasts used their action figures to declaim a clampdown on Internet anime downloads; police responded with four riot vans and some lightweight on-the-scene interrogation. Ultraman had to leave via a back exit, as considering his prior record, he could not easily afford another arrest. More »

10:40 AM on Mon Sep 10 2007
By Chris Mohney
2,881 views, 3 comments

tokyo

Akihabara's Bandage Girls

Bring me to your one-eyed virginal maid mummies! It's a fair enough request, especially if you're looking to get in on the latest fetish to hit Tokyo's already fetish-heavy Akihabara district. According to the Mainichi Daily News (from Weekly Playboy), the kegadoru ("injured idols") are all the rage these days. What exactly do you get? Pretty girls feigning injury and wrapped in elaborate bandages, with eye patches to complete the look. Why the popularity? It's seen by many as an extension of the maid phenomenon — where maids were subservient to their "masters," the bandaged girls inspire protective feelings among their adoring fans. How popular is it? "For girls hanging out in Akihabara, bandages and eye patches have become a must-have fashion item," explains a maid cafe worker, who probably knows her stuff. Expect appropriately themed cafes to start popping up anytime now. More »

9:20 AM on Thu Aug 30 2007
By jeansnow
10,824 views, 7 comments

Latest by Jonn: @drifter13: Seconded. more »

tokyo

Tokyo Game Bars

A lot of people who come to Tokyo for a visit are big gamers — and I expect plenty to be in town next month for the Tokyo Game Show, which yours truly will be covering for sister-site Kotaku. Visiting gamers should stop by 8-Bit Cafe and 16 Shots in Shinjuku, a couple of bars that celebrate their love of old-school gaming in a very overt way. Check out the first episode of the newly launched Points series for GameVideos.com, where Jason DeGroot — a gamer, performer (as 6955), and game company employee — will guide you through some of the coolest game-related happenings in Japan. More »

8:40 AM on Wed Aug 22 2007
By jeansnow
1,709 views, 2 comments

Latest by chris m: @2kreative: That would be our man Jean Snow. Someday we'll get our bylines back, tech-gods willing ... more »

new york

Nerdy New York

Let's hear it for the nerds of New York, the coolest nerds on the planet. Like everything else in the big city, the intensity of the nerd experience here gets ratcheted up to astronomical levels because of the sheer density of nerds and the unlimited resources available to realize every nerd fantasy. With grassy parks to stage jousting tournaments, exhibition halls to host conventions, and shops to sell the paraphernalia for every nerdy pursuit, the New York nerd is the envy of his nationwide peers. Naturally, nerds, dorks, and geeks from far and wide descend upon the city for annual events like Comicon and the ASDA Fall Postage Stamp Mega-Event, but for the everyday New York nerd experience, you can't beat these classic New York nerd venues.

4:10 PM on Tue Aug 14 2007
By Victor Ozols
7,845 views, 2 comments

Latest by Tuesday PM Linkage on Curbed: · Traffic update: Feds will pay $354 million for congestion pricing [Cityroom] · Tourists are being diverted to Astoria [Smarter Travel via Joey in Astoria] · Classic New York City nerd venues [Gridskipper] · E. more »

los angeles

LA's Best, Weirdest, Coolest, Dodgiest Arcades

You're not going to rack up any great stories for the grandkids by playing video games alone at home all night, so put down your Wii or your Guitar Hero and make the perilous leap back into the world of good old fashioned human contact. The arcade may be an endangered species, but a few are still alive and kicking, and some inspired minds have even re-imagined and revolutionized the concept. The following six Los Angeles arcades range from the retro to the futuristic, so crack your knuckles, flex your thumbs, shake out your wrists, and kick some alien ass.

12:00 PM on Thu Jul 26 2007
By hjupiter
4,083 views, 5 comments

Latest by Geek out! on Metroblogging Los Angeles: David Markland:Time to clean up your room, turn off the Atari, and don't even think about firing up the Commodore 64. more »

chicago

Shoot an Iraqi in Real Time

After taking up 24/7 residence in a room at Chicago's Flatfile Gallery, Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal activated a paintball gun connected to a webcam to allow net users to take a shot at him. Not a "game" you "win," conventionally speaking, and while the artistic statement is rather pointed, interest is high enough to crash the gallery's server. While they try to get back up and running, check out this Chicago Tribune slideshow of the "Domestic Tension" installation. More »

2:20 PM on Fri May 11 2007
By Chris Mohney
9,942 views, 5 comments

Latest by JetSetCD: @chris m: don't know about the sleeping part, but the plexi covers his living area and the computer, and he has a little shield to go between them. He actually outright provokes the onlookers to shoot at him though, and more »

montreal

Ready, Aim, Arcade Fire: A Neon Bible to Montreal Gaming Scene

With all the hullaballoo surrounding the most recent release by Montreal's Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, one might be tempted to forget their roots. But don't. Montreal's Arcade Fire wouldn't exist without Montreal's arcades, oases of pixelated violence, zitty testosterone and sweaty frantic victory. More »

8:52 AM on Tue Mar 6 2007
By Amanda Kludt
2,726 views, 1 comment

tokyo

Cosplay Cafes: Dress up, baby, we're going out!

Cosplay (costume + play) is a massive Japanese subculture centered around dressing as characters from anime, manga, and video games. Cosplayers attend the major comic event Comiket, hold costume parties, and more often, hang out at cosplay cafes. The most popular neighborhood for cosplay cafes is Akihabara in Tokyo, home of the world's cutting edge technologies and Mecca for Otaku (geeks). These fantasy obsessed, socially awkward, manga-lovers crowd the streets here and frequent the cafes with waitresses dressed as their favorite characters or as English-style maids. More »

12:43 PM on Wed Jan 31 2007
By Amanda Kludt
6,507 views, Comment

kotaku

Meteor: For Original Gamers

Retro gaming is all the rage these days, and it's never been easier to join the craze and hop on the nostalgic trip, what with re-issues of classics becoming available through online services such as Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Nintendo's Virtual Console. Some go one step further though, and prefer to collect and play the original cartridges and consoles, and if that's your thing, then Meteor in Kichijoji is going to be your gaming paradise. Even better, they also carry all sorts of retro gaming-related goods, like CDs, books, toys, and of course, great looking tees (a lot of them from The King of Games). More »

8:49 AM on Wed Jan 24 2007
By jeansnow
179 views, Comment

tokyo

GS Meets TGS, Makes Sweet Love

For this weekend's Tokyo Game Show, sister site Kotaku's master gamer Brian Ashcraft (he makes me call him that) has convinced me — alongside Michael McWhertor — to go cover the event with him in a crazy two days (well, that's all I'm signing on for) of games, games, booth babes, cosplayers, and then maybe some more games. Expect a steady stream of coverage direct from the game show throughout the weekend (and don't forget to read up on what's already happened over the past few days days leading up to the show) as the team tries to keep up with all the announcements and games on show, while hopefully ending up not losing complete sense of reality. I'm just hoping I'll make it out alive, which Ashcraft has not been able to deny or confirm... More »

11:20 AM on Fri Sep 22 2006
By jeansnow
39 views, Comment

kotaku

Kotkau Emwidulates

As with Fleshbot, our twitchy-fingered sibling site Kotaku has joined the Gawker Widescreen revolution with a site redesign. Now you must physically turn your head to watch plasma bolts shot from Master Chief's rifle directly into your thorax. For our part, we remain quite content with narrow cranny-like post column and institutional blue pallor. You damned kids git offen our yard! More »

10:10 AM on Wed May 10 2006
By Chris Mohney
259 views

sydney

World's Largest Water Balloon Fight

This past weekend in Sydney, over 2,900 combatants hurled about 50,000 water balloons at each other to establish a new record for world's largest water balloon "event" ('cause "fight" just sounds so aggressive and negative, man). The best collection of public photos may be found on the Xbox Oz site, but even those pics are deucedly poor on facials. I had to go to the fine folks at Getty to get the above smash shot, because what's a water balloon fight with balloon-on-face action? I guess it's an "event." More »

11:35 AM on Mon Apr 24 2006
By Chris Mohney
1,296 views, 1 comment

Latest by AndrewMLin: I love these crazy things that people do to break world records! I would love to be in Spain (?) for the tomatoe throwing festival. Is there a central repository for all of these crazy happenings around the world? more »

metropolis

Designing Urville

This is pretty damn amazing. A 28-year-old French autistic man named Gilles Trehin has for some time been designing a fictional Antarctican city named Urville (after Dumont d Urville, one of France's science bases in Antarctica). To call his schematics, urban plans, geographical layouts, and socioeconomic philosophies obsessive doesn't do justice to the effort. Over 200 drawings and a forthcoming guidebook provide a startling depth of detail. More »

10:33 AM on Wed Mar 29 2006
By Chris Mohney
37 views, 3 comments

tokyo

PlayStation Spots in Tokyo

Our sister-site Kotaku is reporting that Sony is set to expand the number of Tokyo PlayStation Portable Spots — where you can wirelessly download and play demos of upcoming games on your PSP — to 150. Since the PSP makes for such a terrific travel companion (why depend on the lame content offered on your flight when you can get better games and choose your own TV/movie content to bring with you), it's not much of a stretch to imagine many visitors to the city equipped with their own PSP, and this way you get to try the latest and greatest in PSP gaming. Often this is stuff that won't get released outside of Japan for a while yet. Your first order of business: Try the demo for the insanely fun Loco Roco. But even with this expansion happening, the original PlayStation Spot at the Sony Building in Ginza will have the largest selection of demos. And even if you have no interest in gaming, the Sony Building is still pretty much a must-see destination, offering countless floors of showrooms. Be sure to spend some quality time with their high-priced Qualia gear. More »

11:09 AM on Tue Feb 28 2006
By jeansnow
62 views, Comment