Brian Ashcraft

Japan Now Has Kit Kat…Sushi

This week in Tokyo, you can buy Kit Kat sushi. Dreams are real! According to Entabe and Tokyo Bargain Mania, the first street-facing Kit Kat specialty shop will open in Tokyo’s Ginza on February 2. (The other shops are located in department stores and in underground shopping areas.) To mark the event, the store will…

Namco’s Founder Has Died At Age 91

One of the individuals who built the Japanese gaming industry has passed away. In 1955, Masaya Nakamura established Nakamura Manufacturing, a amusement-ride company that turned into Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company or “Namco.” The company later merged with Bandai in 2005. During the decades following World War II, the rooftops of Japanese department stores were…

The Nier: Automata PS4 Looks Kinda Nuts

In Japan, Sony is rolling out special PlayStation 4 hardware to mark Nier: Automata’s release.  Sony has both a 500GB HDD and 1TB HDD version of the “Emil Edition” PS4, each coming with themed hardware covers and downloadable wallpaper. The 500GB version is 33,480 (US$292), while the 1TB is 38,480 yen ($335). Neither is bundled…

Overlooking The Water. Vancouver, Canada. By Gavin Bird 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: Lost Cause | Artist: Beck | Album: Sea Change  Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Some Persona 5 Fans Are Annoying Local Tokyo Residents

Persona 5 takes place in a fictionalized version of a real Tokyo location. Atlus is now asking fans to stop bothering the folks who live there. As Kotaku previously reported, the inspiration for in-game location Yongenjaya is Tokyo’s Sangenjaya. Many of its real-world spots were reborn in the game, including as P5‘s coin laundry, batting…

Resident Evil And Ace Attorney Themed Booze From Japan

Like sake? Wine? How about Capcom games? Then, Kyoto-based drinks maker Shiraito Shuzo has some beverages for you. As Famitsu points out, Shiraito Shuzo, which has been brewing sake since 1773, is releasing Resident Evil branded sake as well as a RE carved wooden sake box, known as a “masu.” The collaboration is to mark…

Final Fantasy XIV Inspires Live-Action TV Drama In Japan

It’s called Final Fantasy XIV: Daddy Of Light and is apparently the first time that FF has been the basis of a live-action TV show. According to Model Press, the show is about the bond that develops between a son and a father while playing the popular MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV It’s inspired by a Japanese…

Today in Japan, the first location test for arcade game Attack on Titan: Team Battle kicked off in Tokyo. Previously, Kotaku showed off the game’s earlier controller, but now we get a close up look at the latest versions via Famitsu. They’re nice! 

First Look At Nintendo Switch Game Cases In The Wild

This might just be a plastic box, but hey, I think game cases are interesting. Perhaps you do, too. Via Twitter user Gaijinhunter, here is our first look at the Japanese retail container for Switch games. They do look like PSP game boxes! Let’s see how they compare. Have a look at more cases below:…

A Cold Path. Germantown, Maryland. By Nate Blank. 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: Scorpio Rising | Artist: Death In Vegas | Album: Scorpio Rising Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

Japanese Vigilante Group Picks Shitty Acronym 

Surely, there were better options available than “SHAT.” You know, “shat” as in the past tense “to shit.” According to Asahi News and NetGeek, Japanese government employees in the city of Odawara donned these rogue jackets to protest alleged welfare cheaters. The acronym “SHAT” stands for “Seikatsu Hogo Akubometsu Team” (生活保護悪撲滅チーム) or the “Livelihood Protection Evil…

Today In Japan, Hundreds Of People Lined Up For….PlayStation VR

Wait, what? Isn’t PSVR already out in Japan? You bet it is. And yet, this morning, there were long lines at retailers across the country. The reason being that a new shipment of PSVR headsets hit Japanese shops today. Demand was so high at some locations that people had to line up for a chance…

Square Enix just announced Lord of Vermilion IV, the next entry in its long-running card-based arcade series. The game will be shown at next month’s Japan Amusement Expo.

Trademark Squatter Goes After “PPAP” In Japan

Last fall, “PPAP” singer Pikotaro claimed hehadn’t made any money off his viral sensation. A trademark squatter in Japan certainly isn’t helping things. According to Japanese legal site Bengoshi.com, 53-year-old Ikuhiro Ueda has submitted multiple trademark applications for “PPAP” as well as “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen” in both English and Japanese. Pikotaro’s record label, Bengoshi.com…

Our First Look Inside Kojima Productions’ New Office

In December 2015, after escaping from Konami, Hideo Kojima set up a new studio. And now, that new studio has a new office. This comes as last year, Kojima said he and his team were in a “temporary workspace.” Good to see they’ve found something permanent in Japan. Via Kojima Productions’ official site, here are…

Rainbow Bridge At Night. Tokyo, Japan. By Victor Cuesta. 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: God Moving Over The Face Of The Waters | Artist: Moby | Album: Everything Is Wrong Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to at the moment.

“The Neo Geo attracts collectors because, compared with coins, stamps, and comics, you can go years and not find what you’re looking for,” rare video game dealer Shawn McCleskey told The New Yorker in an interesting piece on the world of Neo Geo collecting. Read it right here.