Delicious | TOKYO, JAPAN: Part of a give-away to promote the game in Japan. (Photo: GameWatchImpress)

Report: Mass Suicide Threats at Xbox 360 Plant

On Jan. 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plan in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. Foxconn makes Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony products. More »

---

The Sexy and Sadistic Nintendo Art of NekoshowguN

You might not known Japanese illustrator NekoshowguN. But you damn well should.
The young artist first made her splash as part of the Osaka art collective Digmeout. More »

---

You Cannot Kill the PS2. It Will Not Die.

The PlayStation 2 was released back in Oct. 2000. That's well over a decade ago, and the damn thing is still selling-and selling lots.
As Kotaku marveled back in Feb. More »

---

Who Wants To Crap Next to a Window?

Tokyo is expensive. That new Shinjuku office Square Enix is moving into must cost a large fortune. Some of the country's most expensive real estate is Tokyo's Ginza and Osaka's Umeda.
There are deals to be had, but land is expensive and space comes at a premium in big cities. More »

---

Runescape is Getting a Facelift. Here's Some Art.

Here's something cool. Runescape, the venerable (and hideous) MMO that's now over ten years old, is getting a graphical overhaul later this year.
Before the new models take their place in the game, though, concept artists had a tricky challenge. More »

---

Kinect Coming to Windows on February 1 (and Costs $250??) [Update]

Microsoft has announced that Kinect is coming to Windows on February 1.
While you'll of course be playing games on it, as has been explained when the crossover was first revealed, there's more to it than just waving your arms to play Microsoft Flight. More »

---

The Legend of the Legend of Zelda Board Games

In 1988, Milton Bradley released a Legend of Zelda board game. Awesomely, it wasn't a lazy conversion of an existing game like we see now, with Nintendo Monopoly or Metal Gear Risk. More »

---

What Dark Souls Is Really All About

The first and sometimes the only thing people say about Dark Souls is that it's hard-really hard, migraine hard, ready-to-shoot-yourself challenging. More »

---

Say Hi To the Next PlayStation Certified Phone

At CES today, Sony unveiled the latest of its mobile devices to carry PlayStation Certification: the Xperia S.
With the company's Ericsson partnership lying in the dust, this one's branded with only the Sony logo, and carries a 4.3 inch, 720p screen. More »

---

Rockstar Studies the Cops 'n Robbers of São Paulo for Max Payne 3

Rockstar Games has posted the first in a series of posts about the creation of their upcoming action game Max Payne 3. In this one, they talk about visiting the city of São Paulo, Brazil, the setting for the game. More »

---

Thank website Doodle of Boredom and be glad Vader is out of the ladies room and back where he belongs: riding a Pocket Monster.

Better than Dewbacks [Doodle of Boredom]

You've already seen a man clone himself and play The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the violin.

Now, you're going to see a man clone himself and sing the game's iconic theme. The man here is Diwa de Leon.

Don't fret; there are hats and instruments, too, including, yes, violins! Well, a violin that's been cloned.

Skyrim Theme Remix by Diwa de Leon [YouTube]

On Jan. 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plant in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. Foxconn makes Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony products. These workers manufacture Xbox 360s.

According to Chinese anti-government website China Jasmine Revolution (via Watch China Times), the workers were protesting denied compensation they were promised.

On Jan. 2, the workers asked for a raise. Foxconn told them they could either keep their jobs with no pay increase or quit and get compensation. Most decided to quit with compensation. However, the agreement was supposedly terminated, and the workers never received their payments.

Website Record China reported that the uproar the incident actually caused Xbox 360 production to be temporarily suspended.

The mayor of Wuhan intervened to talk the group down, and on Jan. 3 at 9pm, the group of 300 decided not to jump, ending what could have been a deadly game of chicken.

Foxconn made major news in 2010 when over a dozen employees committed suicide, leading to Foxconn installing suicide prevention nets at some of its facilities.

In 2010, Kotaku asked Microsoft about Foxconn and the reported abuses. Microsoft's Phil Spencer said at the time, "Foxconn has been an important partner of ours and remains an important partner. I trust them as a responsible company to continue to evolve their process and work relationships. That is something we remain committed to—the safe and ethical treatment of people who build our products. That's a core value of our company."

Kotaku is following up with Microsoft over this latest incident.

UPDATE:
A Microsoft spokeperson replied to Kotaku with the following comment on the situation at Foxconn:

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue. We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge. Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Indignant workers threaten suicide at Foxconn park in Wuhan [Want China Times]

It's called "Machinera". And it's just the tip of the iceberg of yet another painfully funny post over on parody site Christwire.

By the end, you'll see Halo revealed for what it is: a "Nietzschean New World Order" recruitment tool, played by dehumanised robots on their Xbox shooting consoles.

You'll also see how the Covenant aren't alien bad guys, they're the Evangelical Christians of America, and that the Halo is actually "God's Kingdom of Grace on earth that players try desperately to escape".

Wonderful stuff.

Halo, the Videogame That Trains Your Teens to Fight for the Nietzschean New World Order [Christwire]

You might not know Japanese illustrator NekoshowguN. But you damn well should.

The young artist first made her splash as part of the Osaka art collective Digmeout. She's done art for music games GuitarFreaks and DrumMania, but her highest profile work to date is lead character and weapon design for Goichi Suda's upcoming hack-and-slash Lollipop Chainsaw.

Before that, NekoshowguN was doing illustrations of Nintendo characters in her freetime—for fun. (These illustrations have no official connection to the Kyoto-based game maker.) And before that, she was playing Nintendo games.

Her art is pulpy and glossy, covered in lipstick and blood. There's pure sex appeal mashed with pure terror.

"I loved video games since I was a kid," NekoshowguN recently told Kotaku. She grew up playing Mario and Zelda. "I'm kind of stuck on recollections of meeting Nintendo characters. Surely, I'm not alone."

No, NekoshowguN, you are not.

For more of NekoshowguN's work, visit her official site as well as her Flickr page. Images courtesy of NekoshowguN.

For all intents and purposes, HezaChan has been cosplaying since the dawn of the internet. Granted, loads of people were online before 2001 (many of you included), but take a look back at her cosplay photos from 2001. It looks like a million years ago.

HezaChan's first cosplay was Saber Marionette J at the 2001 SugoiCon. Since then, she's become one of the internet's most recognizable cosplayers.

In Dec. 2009, Kotaku interviewed HezaChan for this feature on Western cosplayers.

What makes her cosplays so darn cool is that Hezachan makes her own costumes and often does her own wig styling. She even makes costumes for others.

On HezaChan's official site, she lists her cosplays over the years, cataloging the photos and linking her photographers, such as MonkeySensei and LJinto.

It's fascinating to see how her cosplays have evolved over the years, as well as digital photography. Here's to another ten years, HezaChan.

More photos (and photographer links) below.

HezaChan [Official Site]

Hey, it's Zander Brandt! Builder of fake Team Fortress 2 guns and fake Mass Effect guns, he's back with...another fake Mass Effect gun. And this one's great.

It's one of the best-looking guns in the franchise, the M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle, and doesn't just look like it's made of metal (it's not, it's made of wood), it looks like it's been across the galaxy and back shooting at things (it hasn't, it's been in Zander's garage).

You can see the finished item above, while there's WIP shots below.

Mas Effect 2 M-96 Mattock Heavy Rifle [ZPROPS]

The PlayStation 2 was released back in Oct. 2000. That's well over a decade ago, and the damn thing is still selling—and selling lots.

As Kotaku marveled back in Feb. 2011, the PS2 continues to shift consoles. And today, Kotaku will marvel at this some more.

According to an official Sony Computer Entertainment release, "The PlayStation 2 platform continues its sales momentum and remains robust sales especially in emerging counties and regions such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America, and exceeded half million units worldwide."

That's not only nuts, that means the PS2, a decade-old console sold as well as the brand new PS Vita.

No doubt the PS2's affordable price tag and extensive game library makes the console very attractive to those folks just getting into gaming. There's a reason Sony has sold over 150 million of these things.

Note: according to Sony, the holiday period is "from November 21, 2011 to January 5, 2012 for Japan and Asia, from November 21 to December 31, 2011 for North America, and from November 18 to December 31, 2011 for Europe / PAL territories."

Beams, the Japanese hipster brand, is designing a set of PS Vita carrying cases, straps, and clothes. Have a look.

The Beams Design Pouch and Strap Set goes on sale Mar. 22 in Japan. Available in Dark Gray, Impact Blue, and Red & Dark Blue, each set is priced at ¥2,800 or US$37.

The PS Vita was released last month in Japan. Read the Kotaku review here.