Kotaku

How Is Sony Pitching LittleBigPlanet To Japan?

Last week, we spent a good ratio of our time in Tokyo haunting the subway lines. We must've seen this LittleBigPlanet ad spot about twenty times. It's cute, but also a little bit frightening. Can Japanese consumers be won over by a wee and mysterious alien planet hovering over a Japanese suburb? Will the two seconds of gameplay footage seal the deal?

Retro Gaming's Best Halloween Costume Ideas

Stumped for a solid Halloween costume idea? Vintage Computing & Gaming's Benj Edward got your back, with eleven new outfits that will this Halloween one to remember. Overly aggressive Wii granddad? Easy. All you need is a polo shirt, Wii remote, khakis and a "do not resuscitate" sign. Oh, you'll also need an insanely creepy grimace and lifestyle photography posing skills.

There are group get ups, a Dude Huge recipe, and even some for the ladies — Computer Space Robot Bimbo is a can't lose costume. Thank you, Benj, for reminding us of our costume-rich past and making us laugh at love again.

VC&G’s Halloween Video Game Costume Ideas (2008) [VC&G]

Microsoft Hit With Class Action Over RROD

Somewhere in Redmond there must a be a huge warehouse stuffed to the rafters with class action notices and a random legal claims against Microsoft. The hapless multinational has been walloped with another suit - this time from consumers who are a little ticked off about the Red Ring of Death.

A lawsuit filed at Sacramento County Superior Court alleges that Microsoft concealed the extent of the RROD problem in order to compete with the Wii and PS3 and contends that the company knew that as many as 50% of the launch consoles were susceptible to the overheating problem.

As well as seeking damages, the suit could force Microsoft to institute a refund programme in the state of California.

Microsoft Hit With California Class Action Lawsuit For Xbox 360 Failures

You Can Now Pay For Left 4 Dead

Valve dropped word today that its upcoming zombie shoot-fest Left 4 Dead is now available to pre-order via Steam. You can't actually play the damn thing yet, though, so consider the pre-purchase more of a cruel taunt than an opportunity to beat the crowds. We see a 10% discount for placing an early order through Valve's digital distribution service, making the game $44.99 USD, but your mileage may vary.

If your computer can handle it, Left 4 Dead comes recommended based on our early hands-on time with the game. In the meantime, Peggle Nights will probably make the month long wait seem but a mere blink in time.

Blizzard: DRM For Diablo III? No, Thanks, We Have Battle.net

Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design at Blizzard says that the company has "no particular plans" to institute software verification checks for Diablo III to prevent piracy. Pardo tells Wired's Game|Life blog that its solution is "more similar to Steam than EA," good news for Diablo fans who don't want a steaming pile of anti-piracy debacle a la Mass Effect on their hands.

Blizzard's "solution" is Battle.net, the service it launched in 1997 to handle its online gaming capabilities.

"If you wanna play online on Battle.net with other players you’re going to have to have a legitimate copy," Pardo said in a BlizzCon interview. Battle.net, he says, has "saved us from a lot of the PC piracy that I think hurts a lot of other single-player-only games."

Q&A: Blizzard's Executive Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo [Game|Life]

Sega announced rather quietly at Tokyo Game Show that Phantasy Star Portable will be coming to North America. The Phantasy Star Online-style action RPG will hit these shores in March of next year, with Sega likely hoping it will match the success it has had with the game in Japan. Phantasy Star Portable has sold well over 600,000 copies on its home turf, in some part riding on the success of Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G.

While Phantasy Star Portable features wireless multiplayer of the local "ad hoc" style, it may be taking advantage of upcoming PlayStation 3 functionality that simulates infrastructure connections. That means online monster hunting with primary colors and futuristic laser swords, the kind of stuff that can make us momentarily pause our Phantasy Star V daydreaming.

A Visit To NetDevil: Hands On With Jumpgate Evolution

Following up on where we left off, the guys at NetDevil were merciful and — even though they caught Crecente trying to get a sneak peak at Lego Universe — kind enough to give us some hands on time with a build of Jumpgate Evolution. Lead Designer Hermann Peterscheck gave us the grand tour of Jumpgate on a monster triple 24 inch monitor setup, sporting a resolution near 5000x1080. He explained to us some of the goals the team had been trying to achieve with the title since the last time Crecente gave it a try.

Popular Mechanics Honours Spore, Dual Flush Toilet

Science & Technology journal Popular Mechanics is hosting its annual Breakthrough Awards this evening and will be celebrating the past year's high achievers in the fields of invention, engineering and general cleverness.

Among the latest batch of winners is EA's intelligent design masterpiece Spore, which will be receiving a Breakthrough Product Award alongside Intel's Atom processor, Amazon's Kindle e-book and - of course - the Caroma Profile Smart Dual Flush Toilet.

The ceremony will take place tonight at the Hearst Tower in New York.

Breakthrough '08 [Popular Mechanics]