Brian Ashcraft

Shenmue III Will Be Released On August 27, 2019

After a couple delays, Shenmue III has a new release date. It will be out on August 27, 2019 on the Windows and PS4. Hopefully. In June 2017, the game was delayed from December of that year to the first half of this year. Then, this past May, Shenmue III was once again delayed to…

Track: Train in Vain | Artist: The Clash | Album: London Calling Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

The Real-Life Totoro House People Could Sleep In

Previously, Kotaku introducedthe real-life version of the My Neighbor Totoro house that Studio Ghibli had built in Aichi Prefecture. You cannot stay the night in that house. In this one, you could. Japan isn’t home to one replica, but two. Located in Nagasaki Prefecture, this “Satsuki and Mei House” used to be available for 5,000…

Thank Gundam For This Photo Meme

The key art for the upcoming animated film Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative features a ridiculous pose which is spawning silly meme photos. Here, have a look at what people have been coming up with, posting their photos under the tag #ナラティブチャレンジ (or “Narrative Challenge”). Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative will open on November 30 in Japan.

The Best Affordable Japanese Whisky You Can Buy

Japanese whisky sure can be expensive. While older bottlings can easily fetch thousands of dollars or, at the super-premium end, hundreds of thousands, there are Japanese whiskies that are both affordable and excellent. Last Friday, one bottle of 50-year-old Yamazaki went for a staggering $343,000. While the prices of Japanese whisky has gone up, there…

Texan. Junction, Texas. By Nicolas Henderson | Flickr JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Once in a Lifetime | Artist: Talking Heads | Album: Remain in Light Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

North Koreans Are Playing Grand Theft Auto And Having LAN Parties, Say Defectors

Previously, Kotaku showed inside North Korean arcades. But what do people play at home? According to one fourteen-year-old North Korean defector, young people are playing some of the same games enjoyed in the outside world. “I played almost all of the most famous South Korean video games in North Korea… Every one of my friends…

Gintama Manga Is Ending Soon [Update: It’s Official]

Debuting in December 2003, Gintama is one of Weekly Jump’s most popular manga. Like anything, it will come to an end. And that end could be soon. Update August 20 – 5:01am: It’s official. The Gintama manga is coming to a conclusion in the September 15th issue of Weekly Jump. Numerous major Japanese sites (here,…

Boy Band Sells Fortnite After Disgraced Member Leaves Group

Tokio, one of Japan’s most famous boy bands, experienced a shakeup this past spring when member Tatsuya Yamaguchi was kicked out of the group, turning the five-member group into a foursome. A scandal broke earlier this year with Yamaguchi apologizing for forcing himself on a schoolgirl at his Tokyo residence. “She probably could not decline…

Understanding My Neighbor Totoro‘s Bizarre Timeline

It’s often said that My Neighbor Totoro takes place during the last half of the 1950s. But when exactly? The movie’s story might seem contained over a few months, so it should be easy to pin down when. But that’s where things get strange. The Art of Totoro, which is filled with Ghibli production drawings,…

Discovering Video Games. City of the Dead in Cairo, Egypt. By Derek Villarica | Instagram JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Everlong (Live) | Artist: Foo Fighters | Album: The Color and the Shape Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Japanese Sex Toy Gets A Transformer-Type Robot

Some transforming-type toys turn into cars or fighter jets. This one turns into a mock-up male masturbation aid. Keep in mind, it’s not one-to-one scale and not designed for actual use. This is just Japanese sex-toy maker Tenga releasing an off-beat transforming-type toy As Otakuma reports, the regular Tenga Robo is 3,700 yen ($33.50). These…

The Japanese Voice Of Pokémon‘s Professor Oak Has Died

Voice actor Unsho Ishizuka, who voiced Professor Oak and narrated the Pokémon anime in Japanese, has died. Ishizuka has been voicing Professor Oak and narrating the Pokémon TV anime since the show debuted in Japan in 1997. He also voiced some Pocket Monsters, including Onix and Steelix. Besides his Pokémon anime work, Ishizuka also voiced…

A Rural Stop. At the edge of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. By Majdi Alkhalaf. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Track: Fall In A River (Live) | Artist: Badly Drawn Boy | Album: The Hour of Bewilderbeast Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Japan Has More Than Just Square Watermelons

A few years back, there was a report that wealthy people in Russia were paying over $800 for Japanese square watermelons. In Russia, that’s supposedly 300 times the price of a regular watermelon. But why square Japanese watermelons? That’s so passé! Watermelon is a popular summer fruit in Japan. People give watermelons as gifts and…

Demon Gods From Fate/Grand Order Spawn In Taiwan

Demon gods from Fate/Grand Order are popping up in Taipei to mark the release of the free-to-play game’s latest chapter. In the clip below, you can see how the Demon God Barbatos appears in-game (jump ahead to around the 40-second mark) Barbatos has been joined by other Demon Gods for this installation. Fate/Grand Order has…

Misty Road. Tribalj, Croatia. By Eduard Tucaković | Instagram JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!