Brian Ashcraft

Hideo Kojima Isn’t Making A New Game Engine

The Fox Engine, which powered Metal Gear Solid V, was impressive. But it seemingly took forever to make, which means MGSV took ages, too. Thankfully for his upcoming PS4 game, Hideo Kojima won’t go back to the game engine drawing board. At least, for now. “I honestly think it’s better to make your own engine…

Dragon Ball Body Paint Is Only Freaky If You Smile

Here, we have body paint wizard Kay Pike once again showing off her amazing skills. The cel shading looks straight out of a Dragon Ball anime. Pike opening her eyes and smiling do not! Besides painting herself (!!!), Pike also made the little prosthetic Piccolo antennae, which certainly help complete the effect. Impressive work. Bravo.

There’s more Pokémon Sun and Moon news coming on June 2 says the official Pokémon Japan Twitter account. Stay tuned.

McDonald’s Released A Green Burger In China

Goodness. Look at those buns! They’re quite green. To mark the Angry Birds’ movie release, McDonald’s in China is serving up Angry Birds themed food, including this Bad Piggy burger. Well, according to website That’s, it’s actually called a “Naughty Green Pork Burger.” That’s said the burger “wasn’t half bad,” adding: “It wasn’t as large,…

The Original Voice Actress For Digimon‘s Sora Has Died

If you’ve seen anime, then you’ve probably come across Yuko Mizutani’s voice work. Today, Oricon reports that Mizutani passed away on May 17. Previously, she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Mizutani made her TV anime debut in 1985, voicing Sarah Zabiarov in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam before going to lend her talents to numerous…

Tsukiji Fish Market. Tokyo, Japan. By Eli Mitcham. 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: Autumn Leaves | Artist: Stan Getz Quintet | Album: Chamber Music by the Stan Getz Quintet Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Looks To Be PS4 Only in Japan [Update]

This year, we’re getting a new Dragon Ball Xenoverse game. In the West, it’s coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC. In Japan, it currently appears to be PS4 only. Update – May 20 4:26am: A Namco Bandai spokesperson told Kotaku, “The game will be a PlayStation 4 exclusive in Japan. It will be available…

No Further Lupin The Third Cosplay Is Necessary

Because cosplayer Aokage nailed the character. Not gonna get any better than this! Via her Twitter account, Aokage shows how cosplay isn’t only about the outfit or the photography, but how posing and subtle makeup can also help sell the whole thing. This is just about perfect. You can follow her on Twitter, and do…

China Has Its Own WoW Movie [Update]

Not to be confused with the Hollywood Warcraft film, this is My WoW. As website The Nanfang points out, its Chinese title is 我的魔兽世界, which literally means “My World of Warcraft.” Oh. Okay. Pretty sure that should be “Blizzard’s World of Warcraft,” but it doesn’t seem like Blizzard is involved, so… May 18 1:45am Update:…

There’s an Anime Underwear Trope for Male Characters, Too

One of the most famous (infamous?) anime underwear tropes for female characters is light blue and white striped underpants. Male characters, it seems, have a similar trope. For the female characters, the stripes are horizontal, but for the male characters, they are vertical. As you can see below in this Twitter by Japanese Twitter user…

Kojima Productions’ Logo Gets a Body 

Hideo Kojima showed off the full body for his studio’s logo, which he previously described as “very cool.” He was right. It is! Doesn’t look like Kojima Productions looked toKotaku readers for inspiration, but as this tweet shows, the battle dress does look familiar:

Japanese Cosplayers Can Buy Fake Tears

Don’t be sad! Be happy, because you can now buy tubes of faux tears in Japan just for cosplay. As pointed out on GameOver, this is Namida Gel AS. “Namida” means “tear,” and this clear gel can be used to simulate, well, tears as well as sweat for sad or gruelling cosplay. Apparently, the gel…

Ginkaku-ji. Kyoto, Japan. By Damion Zale. 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!

Nintendo Wants To Make Movies

The last time Nintendo went Hollywood, it was a disaster. But now that the company is offloading the Seattle Mariners, it’s ready to get back into showbiz. In an interview with the Asahi News, one of Japan’s biggest newspapers, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima pointed out that when companies license out their characters for movies, they…

If Marvel’s Civil War Starred Anime Girls

It does not. But what if it did? Then, Civil War would probably look something like this. As pointed out by tipster Sang, Twitter user and artist Bin1 Production has been uploading images of characters from Namco Bandai’s The Idolmaster as if they were Marvel superheroes. You can follow Bin1 Production on Twitter here or…

Poll: The Ten Anime That Disappointed Japan This Spring

What. A. Letdown. Japanese site Anime Portal polled fans in Japan, asking them which Spring 2016 shows disappointed them the most. Nearly a thousand votes were cast (954, to be exact), and here are the ten that garnered the most, well, disappointment. I guess these are shows people in Japan were looking forward to, but…

Spirited Away. Jiufen, Taiwan. By Kuan-Yi Chu. 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!

The New Kojima Productions Logo Has a Whole Body, Apparently

You’ve seen this, no? It’s the new Kojima Productions logo (above), which was first shown last December and which shows a skull and some sort of helmet. But that’s not all, according to Hideo Kojima. “I can’t really say yet,” Kojima recently told Famitsu, “but this logo has a secret. It has a full body,…

Track: All for One | Artist: The Stone Roses | Album: All for One (Single) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.