Brian Ashcraft

Escalators. Tokyo, Japan. By Jonathan Godinez | IG  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: Blue Rondo à la Turk (live) | Artist: Dave Brubeck Quartet | Album: Time Out Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

NCsoft announced that it’s developing Blade & Soul for home consoles. While no specific platforms were named and no release window was given, NCsoft said it’s being developed at its U.S. branch. [Thanks, Sang!]

Months Later, Game Company Apologizes To Square Enix For Ripping Off Final Fantasy XI

On November 15, 2016, free-to-play MMORPG Chaos Saga launched in Japan. A day later, its service suddenly stopped after character design similarities between Chaos Saga and Final Fantasy XI were discovered. The company behind Chaos Saga has publicly apologized. Braeve, the publisher behind Chaos Saga, was able to confirm that the game had 24 copyright…

TV anime Macross Delta is getting an animated movie. Details are scant, but the news was announced over the weekend. Expect more, including a debut trailer, at a later date.

China Wins This Year’s World Cosplay Summit, Japan Comes In Third 

Team China won its first World Cosplay Summit championship with an impressive Blood: The Last Vampire performance. Cospalyer Tian Tian was Blood’s Saya, while Xue Yan Xue was a chiropteran monster. This was China’s first World Cosplay Summit grand prix win. Congrats! Below you can watch Team China’s performance: Mexico, which took the top slot…

In Japan, Square Enix announced Dragon Quest I, II and III for PS4 and 3DS downloads. DQI and II will be released on August 10 for 600 yen ($5.40) and 850 yen ($7.70) respectively, while DQIII will be out later this month for 1,500 yen ($13.54). 

Mission Bay Sunset. Auckland, New Zealand. By Ricardo Castilho. Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Track: One | Artist: Mary J. Blige, U2 | Album: The Breakthrough Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Japanese Politicians Cosplaying As Anime Characters

The mayor of Nagoya and the governor of Aichi Prefecture both recently suited up as famous anime characters. This was not a first. Mayor Takashi Kawamura and Governor Hideaki Omura cosplay at least once a year for the World Cosplay Summit, a major cosplaying event held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Here is Kawamura: And Omura:…

In Japan, two classic shoot-em up games are coming to the PS4: Ketsui, originally released in Japanese arcades in 2003, and Sorcer Striker, originally released in 1993. Both are downloads, with Sorcer Striker coming out this fall, while Ketsui’s release date is TBA. 

The JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Movie Being Called ‘Better Than Expected’

It seems like most live-action movie versions of manga and anime are terrible. (Remember Attack on Titan?) However, the release day buzz around the new Jojo live-action movie is that it’s actually good. Created by an ageless man, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure debuted as a manga back in 1987 and has gone on to spawn anime…

All Gray. San Francisco, USA. By Dom. 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: Last Nite (The Modern Age EP Ver.) | Artist: The Strokes | Album: The Modern Age EP Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

A Cute Japanese Character For Enemas 

If there is a product, then a Japanese company probably has a cute character for it. Usually, it doesn’t seem to matter what the product is. Case in point: the enema-themed character “Kan-chan.” According to NicoNico News, Ichijiku Pharmaceutical created the character in 2016, designing it after its home enema kits. The character’s name “Kan-chan”…

Guile Is Now Selling Hair Gel In Japan

Guile. Hair. Gel. It makes sense that the Street Fighter character would now be a hair product pitchman in Japan. Guile is the new spokesperson forJ-Gelfrom Yanagiya, a company that’s been making cosmetics since 1615. The official site has a humorous interview with Guile in which he says nuggets like this: “Disheveled hair is connected…

Danganronpa V3 Is Banned In South Korea [Update]

Released earlier this year in Japan, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony has been rejected by South Korea’s Game Rating and Administration Committee. Update August 3 – 6:00AM: Sony Computer Entertainment Korea released a statement saying that due to the Game Rating and Administration Committee’s decision, it will not be releasing Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony in South…

“Nintendo” Probably Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does

The common assumption is that “Nintendo” (任天堂) means “leave luck to heaven” or even “to leave one’s fortune in the hands of fate.” Those assumptions, however, could be wrong. In Japan, Nintendo’s official logo still uses the kanji characters 任天堂, so it’s important to understand what they could have originally meant to company founderFusajiro Yamauchi.…

The Dock. Fårö in Gotland, Sweden. By David Olsson. 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! 

Persona Q2 Announced For Nintendo 3DS

Atlus launched a teaser sign with the Persona 5 catchphrase “Take Your Heart” and theArsene top hat logo. Below that, it reads Persona Q2 and Nintendo 3DS. That’s about it! No word yet on when Persona Q2 will be released in Japan or internationally. The previous game brought together cuted-up versions of Persona 3 and…