Brian Ashcraft

Track: The Kids Are Alright | Artist: The Who | Album: My Generation Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Former Japanese Game Developer Arrested Over Embezzlement Allegations

Back in 2013, a developer at Tokyo-based Matrix Software allegedly artificially inflated the budget of an online pachinko game just to pocket some of the difference. According to Fuji New Network (via Tokyo Reporter), Yuji Anamizu was a section chief at Matrix Software, which most recently developed PS Vita title ωLabyrinth. Anamizu allegedly inflated the…

Anime With Characters That Look The Same 

Recently, there was an online poll in Japan that asked folks which anime featured characters that all looked too similar. According to Goo Research (via Excite News), over five thousand votes were cast. Here are the top ten choices of anime with a spitting-image cast: 10. Sword Art Online – 119 votes 9. Clannad – 124…

Japanese manga artist Jiro Taniguchi passed away this weekend. Notable works include A Distant Neighborhood, The Walking Man and Kodoku no Gourmet, among many others. He was 69. 

The Four Ways Of Sitting At Japanese Arcades, Explained

There are four common ways players sit at arcade cabinets in Japan. Here they are. Sitting? That’s right, because while North American arcade cabinets have players stand up to play, Japanese ones are seated affairs. Japanese Twitter user Ringo Tart created these explanations. Bending Forward Style Getting one’s face as close as possible to the…

Arc System Works is collaborating with Dead or Alive 5 Last Round for “collaboration costumes” from BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, and Guilty Gear Xrd Sign. The DLC is slated for a March release in Japan. No word yet about an international release, but perhaps simultaneous. 

Alleyway. Tokyo, Japan. By Cody Ellingham 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! 

Valve Is Making Three Full VR Games

Not one. Not two. But three. “When I say we’re building three games, we’re building three full games, not experiments,” Valve’s Gabe Newell told Eurogamer. “One of the questions you might be asking is ‘Why in the world would you be making hardware?’” Newell continued. “What we can do now is we can be designing…

In Japan, A Service For Video Game Coaches To Come To Your House

How would you like a pro gamer to come to your house and teach you stuff? A Tokyo-based company planned to launch such a service. GameLesson was slated to over “home tutors” that would actually come to your house and show you how to improve at Street Fighter V, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U,…

Nagasaki’s Beautiful Lantern Festival 

The weather might be cold, but late January and early February are one of the most beautiful times to visit Nagasaki. To celebrate Chinese New Year, Nagasaki Chinatown is lit up with lanterns for the Nagasaki Lantern Festival. The area is filled with over 15,000 lanterns!  The port of Nagasaki has been home to Chinese…

Why Valve Loves Making PC Games

“We get really frustrated working in walled gardens,” said Valve’s Gabe Newell. During the last gen, Valve released some big hits on consoles (and PC, of course!), such as the Left 4 Dead titles and the Portal games. But this gen, Valve appears to be concentrating on PC. “We love the PC right now,” said…

Konami Turns Bomberman Into Bombergirl 

It’s been over twenty years since a Bomberman title has been released in Japanese arcades. So, I assume, Konami decided it was time for Bombergirl. According to 4Gamer, this is a 4-on-4 co-op title that’s basically Bomberman with…anime girls. And from the looks of it destructible clothing. Bombergirl’s release date in Japanese arcades is still…

The Top of the CN Tower. Toronto, Canada. By Logan Predy. 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! 

Japanese Robots Are The Best At Putting On iPhone Screen Protectors 

Don’t you hate the air bubbles? Or when you stick on the screen protector all crooked? Here’s a robot that aims to change that. Oh, and take your job. According to IT Media, that is Kawasaki’s dual-arm manufacturing robot “duAro” putting on those screen protectors just so. This was a display at this week’s Pepper…

Online Shooter Leads To Surprise Bromance Between Japan And America

In H1Z1: King of the Kill, there are 150 players gunning to be the last man standing. This isn’t exactly the place you’d expect to see a friendship bloom. But for one American dude and one Japanese guy, that’s exactly what happened. As pointed out by GameOver, Japanese player Koumai ran into some dude from…

Hideaki Anno is working on his next project! He couldn’t pick up a screenwriting award at the Kinema Jump awards ceremony for Godzilla Resurgence ANN reports that his producer appeared instead, saying Anno was “already working on his next project.” What could it be?

Lincoln Tunnel into New Jersey, USA. By Mike Bruno. 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!

British Father Visits Korean Net Cafe, Plays Overwatch For The First Time 

Henry is “hopeless” at games. So YouTuber Josh decided to take this English gentleman to an internet cafe and have him play Overwatch Even if he’s not too keen about killing people and worries about spilling food on the keyboard, Henry is a great sport and better than you’d expect. It’s fun to see Henry…

The Nintendo Switch Is Perfect For Japanese Celebrities

Are you a Japanese celebrity? No? Well, Yo Oizumi is, and he’s going to show you how the Switch is ideal for famous folks. We’ve seen loads of footage showing plebs enjoying the Switch at home. And here is the actor, TV personality, and Professor Layton voice actor doing that, too. He’s just like us!…

Studio Ghibli’s Connection With Mother Designer Shigesato Itoi

In the West, Shigesato Itoi is most famous as the guy who made the Mother games. But in Japan, his main jobhas been copywriting, including penning taglines for Studio Ghibli movies. Itoi’s Ghibli connection is deeper than that. Not only has he written copy for Studio Ghibli posters, but he also voiced Tatsuo Kusakabe, the…