Snapped at the recent Jump Festa in Japan, this cosplayer didn't stop at the costume, oh no, but sports a solid effort at the Sazh afro. We like the pose, and the plastic bag is pretty neat, too!

［JUMP FESTA '10］リアルすぎるFF13サッズのレイヤー [Kotaku Japan]

These types of photos are very much a Japanese internet meme — people showing their Christmas meal and female characters with whom they are eating. They're more a gag than anything else with each photo trying to outdo the others. Not entirely serious! Though, still, slightly bitter sweet.

One of the pictures might be NSFW. Guess which one.

ゲーマー達のクリスマスお祝い画像集 [オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

Priced at ¥12,800 (US$140) for the PS2, the V3 SA version has a slightly curved front instead of a sharp edge like some other older fighting sticks. It's easier on the hands. The stick and the buttons are all up to Japanese arcade spec.

HORI - リアルアーケードPro.V3 SA [Official Site]

A special "Love Plus Merry Plumas Campaign" (Plusmas, geddit?) ran at three Tokyo-area cake shops — with each cafe selling a different version of the Love Plus girls, Nene, Rinko and Manaka. The lines at the cake shops stretched over a hundred strong with the special cakes selling out.

Famitsu.com notes that there were even female Love Plus fans buying cake, too.

The delicious deserts came with a AR card that when used with a web camera would produce the Love Plus lovelies.

販売2時間以上前に完売！　『ラブプラス』ケーキを求める彼氏大集合 - ファミ通.com

A Bandai Namco spokesperson has revealed that the huge 18-meter statue will be once again erected in the city of Shizuoka this July — specifically, the east exit of Japan Rail Higashi-Shizuoka Station.

Why Shizuoka? The Production Factory for Bandai's Gundam plastic models are located in Shizuoka. This is a homecoming of sorts. A really, really big homecoming.

Originally, the statue went up in Tokyo's Odaiba last July for the 35th Anniversary of Gundam and was taken done in September. The statue was visited by over 4 million.

等身大ガンダム、静岡で来年７月に復活決定 [SANSPO via reggiocomics via DannyChoo]

Located right up the street from Shibuya 109, Love Plus is also a newly opened massage parlor. Look, there are girls in school uniforms, kinda like in the Konami game and a billion other video games in Japan.

But this love plus has step ladders.

And massage chairs.

Relaxing! On the establishment's homepage, it is made clear several times that this is not a place of prostitution and customers who put the make on therapists or try to get them to remove their clothes will be asked to leave. Doesn't sound like this place of business is being coy, maybe honest?

The goal here is relaxation — and climbing stairs!

Forty minutes is priced at ¥7,000, not including the ¥1,000 entrance fee. That's more expensive than Love Plus the game, and people can play it longer than forty minutes.

道玄坂に１８禁ラブプラスがオープンしたみたいです（お子様閲覧禁止 [読みゲー]

Speaking with Famitsu, Ubisoft's Alain Corre has revealed that as part of the company's push into the Japanese market, they'd one day like to release a JRPG.

"We have never made any RPGs, a genre Japanese people love," he told the magazine. "We've made shooters, strategy, sports, action, and adventure games, but not any RPGs yet. Still, we're open to all possibilities. If we can get a quality team of RPG-oriented developers, I'd love to release one. If we have a chance to work with Japanese creators, then I'm sure we can make a game that appeals to the Japanese audience."

Sounds ridiculous, but then...imagine some of Ubisoft's franchises turned into RPGs. And I'm not talking Splinter Cell. I'm thinking more...Beyond Good & Evil.

Ubisoft Hints at Japan Marketplace Push [Famitsu, via 1UP]

Japan especially is quite good about keeping instruction manuals and boxes in pristine shape as many who purchase gaming goodies do so with intent to sell back in the future.

For retailer TSUTAYA, the Xbox 360 does not appear to be part of that future.

A "wanted" list for the Japanese retailer lists the Wii, PS3, DS, PSP, PS2 and the Xbox 360. Then there is the dreaded asterisk that notes, "We are not buying Xbox 360 consoles". It should be noted that TSUTAYA is not buying back Xbox 360 consoles from customers hoping to sell their used machines and that there is no reason to believe that TSUTAYA will stop carrying the hardware.

Also, this is one retailer in Japan so your mileage may vary — depending on stores and even depending on which TSUTAYA you frequent!

TSUTAYAがXBOX360本体の買取りを拒否しているようです [はちま起稿]

The Ethics Organization of Computer Software in Japan banned the sale of games with forced sexual situations after an outcry in the Western press over Rapelay, a niche game released a few years back.

Some game adult game developers have cut themselves off from the West, while one dev is looking at the entire situation with a sense of humor. On December 18, new ero title Shinobiryuu was released in Japan. Before starting the game, the following title screen appears (translated by website Canned Dogs):

Declaration
This is a declaration made with the consensus of all the characters that appear in this story.
All the characters appearing in this game have gone through special training and all actions carried out are done on the basis of mutual agreement.
Even if you're a inhuman person who believes that fictional characters in creative works do not have human rights, please do not ignore this.
We also thank all the kind people who see a character in the story saying phrases such as "help me" and take it as a real call for help.
However, even though you are worrying for the characters in the story, these are all lines spoken from a script.
They are not saying all this from the bottom of their hearts. We are sorry that they have put in so much effort into their acting that some people will confuse it as something that is really happening.
This game is a fictional story.

Fiction! Remember that? In-game characters also make note that fictional characters apparently have human rights. "There are apparently some special people that will get angry and show sympathy for us if we get raped," says one character. "And they'll start lobbying for us too." Save the in-game characters!

Eroge characters comment on restrictions [Canned Dogs]

The 16-foot tree is decorated with over 60 Gundam models and strung with red, white and blue lights that twinkle pure awesome.

Gundam Christmas Tree Akihabara UDX [Otaku2]

By genetically engineering bacteria to express fluorescent proteins and carotenoid pigments. The result?

Mario from Super Mario Bros.

*applause*

Masterworks in Petri dishes [NewScientist Thanks, Tommy!]

These new kiosks will be outfitted with touch screens and cameras. Users can use the fairly standard touch interface to learn more about Nintendo's titles, recommendations, sales figures and whatnot or they can wave a DS or Wii title in front of the kiosk's camera and have it play that game's trailer.

There are two types of kiosks: counter top type and floor type.

Two of the kiosks will be rolled out in Tokyo, one in Osaka and one in Kawasaki.

This map appeared on the Japanese internet and is pieced together of the various sections players will apparently encounter in the game's first 5 or 6 hours. We cannot yet confirm this, however.

The first six hours of the game consists of the title's first 3 chapters — players are just starting to dip their toe in the title. They've got a long game ahead of them.

The beginning of the game is on rails, which can be explained in part because a small bit of it takes place on a bridge. But even up to the boss fight, it's straight as an arrow.

However, after that boss fight, the map starts to move and becomes slightly more dynamic. Still, the first 5 or 6 hours are not incredibly difficult to understand. That, however, could very well be point. These linear dungeons might be a design choice on Square Enix's part so that players can focus on the new combat system and the story and not have to worry about where they need to go.

FF13の序盤5〜6時間はずっと一本道MAP！？ [オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

The focus here is largely pigtailed character Oerba Dia Vanille and her underoos. This close-ups have reveal more than in-game character panty preferences — check out those textures and polygons.

FF13にはちゃんとパンチラあります 安心してご購入ください [はちま起稿]

DoA Paradise will be released in Japan on April 2, 2010.

As we previously noted, because Dead or Alive: Paradise is a lot like Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, only without all that volleyball, giving extra attention to the gambling, mini-games and relationship management aspects of the Team Ninja series. And it's probably a port of the game of the same name released for Japanese cell phones in late 2006. Expect to see the DOA girls in bikinis, doing bikini-appropriate things.

The game will be sold either as a stand alone or in two different bundles. The ¥7,329 "Secret Paradise Box" is bundled with a secret photo album, soundtrack CD, an original Kasumi box cover and the game. The ¥15,729 is bundled with all that plus the Kasumi figurine. It allows players to enjoy two different bathing suits: skimpy and skimpier.

The above image has a Japanese subtitle of the director offering this insight: "Lots of unnecessary things are being sold here."

He also noted, "Shopping may brighten the spirits, but they're just fooling themselves." Yes, fooling themselves by buying plastic models of giant robots.

When Moore visited a maid cafe and got the standard "Welcome master" greeting from the maids, Moore replied, "I'm not your master! Everybody's equal." Not in a maid cafe, Michael Moore!

Good thing nobody told Moore that maids charge otaku 500 yen ($5.50) to play paper-rock-scissors, right?

マイケル・ムーア監督秋葉原へようこそ [灯里のブログ via Sankaku Complex]

But what about the Xbox 360? According to early sales figures, over 10,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold the week that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launched in Japan. Those who follow the weekly hardware sales will know it's been forever and a day since Microsoft has sold 10,000 consoles in one week — heck, in two weeks, even.

The boast in sales is believed to have been caused by the bundled MW2 console. Call of Duty is on a roll in Japan, outselling even Namco Bandai's Wii RPG Tales of Graces in its first week.

Since these are early sales figures, do wait for the official numbers later this week.

スタジオジブリ最新作「借りぐらしのアリエッティ」2010年夏公開決定、他｜忍之閻魔帳

Besides avatars of FFXIII characters, Lightning, Snow and Sazh, there are also items like FFXIII monsters. Available for free until January 14, 2010.

This promotional image features more of 15-year-old Miki than perhaps she'd like to be shown. And as the Japanese internet has pointed out, this game makes it appear as if all the young heroines cannot be bothered with dressing themselves properly. Underwear is important!

Except in the bath.

Misshitsu Sacrifice is a psychological adventure thriller out next February in Japan. It is rated ages 15 and up. There's blood, too.

『密室のサクリファイス』ヒロインのミキは完全に穿いてない少女 [チラシの裏でゲーム鈍報]

As of December 13, the Wii has sold 9,048,012 units since it went on sale in Japan, while the PS3 has sold 4,020,563. The PS3 experienced a significant spike in sales this year. In December 2008, Enterbrain tallied 2.6 million PS3 units sold in Japan. The Wii sold 7.5 million.

Wii title New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to give a 1up to software sales, moving 1.4 million copies in its first 11 days on sale. As previously posted, the game is the fastest selling Wii title to date.

販売台数Wiiは900万台、PS3は400万台を突破！ 気になるアレは大台達成！ - ファミ通.com [Famitsu]