Brian Ashcraft

Sorry Men, You Cannot Advertise Maxi Pads in China Anymore

The Chinese government issued a new set of tough guidelines that are bound to radically change advertising in the country. According to People’s Daily, The Nanfang, and Qingdao News, the new advertising rules do things like ban child celebrities under the age of ten from doing endorsements, under the rationale that these young celebs cannot…

Track: Something Good | Album: Bye Bye Hello | Artist: The Telephones Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Goku Kicking Everybody’s Ass in Street Fighter II

Who do you think would win in a fight: Goku or Ryu? What about Goku versus Chun-Li? Or against Guile? Kotaku reader Nabil at GamebillStudio always wondered what it would be like if the Dragon Ball Z character appeared in Street Fighter II. So he decided to take SFII sprites, Goku sprites (made by Balthazar),…

Why Japanese Splatoon Players Are Feared

From the sound of it, some English-speaking Splatoon players are either afraid of or annoyed with their Japanese counterparts. A few even hate playing against them. Earlier today, several popular Japanese game sites and blogs (here, here, and here) reported that some (not all!) international players do not enjoy online multiplayer with Japanese folks. The…

And Now, for Some Chinese War Pornography

Today, China marked the end of World War II with a massive military parade. But prior to the event, Chinese gaming and tech giant Tencent released a five minute CG clip showing off the country’s military might. Tencent owns one of China’s largest websites as well as popular social networking services and online games. The…

Hideo Kojima Sneaks Out, Signs Autographs

While Konami is giving out Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain posters signed by… somebody, series creator Hideo Kojima spent the game’s launch putting his name on anything he could. It’s not uncommon for game developers to stealthily visit stores when their games are released. After all that work, many enjoy seeing first hand…

Akihabara. Tokyo, Japan. By Ross Goodwin. 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: Forever | Album: When the World is Wide | Artist: Ykiki Beat Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Straw Dinosaurs Appear in Japanese Fields, Try To Eat Humans

It’s September. In Japan that means rice is being harvested across the country. It also means straw art. After the grains are harvested, rice straw (“wara” in Japanese) is left behind. In Niigata Prefecture, however, locals have been turning that rice straw into art with a yearly Wara Art Festival Bringing these giant beasts, not…

Dancing Pikachus Sure Are Hypnotic

You thought the marching Pikachus were mesmerizing? They were! And so are these dancing electric rodents. Just. Look. At. Them. These clips were taken at last month’s Pikachu festivities in Japan—with YouTube users swapping out the Pocket Monster songs for pop tunes. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him…

Dressing Up Like Dragon Ball Z Made Easy

Costumes can be hard work. If you really like Dragon Ball Z, want to dress up, and are kind of lazy, here are masks and outfits that require minimal effort. Famitsu reports that the Goku, Piccolo, and Frieza masks go on sale in Japan this month for 5,590 yen (US$47), 4,990 yen ($42), and 4,990…

Metal Gear Fan Does Sony’s Job, Makes Phantom Pain PS3

The PlayStation 4 has a pretty Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Painconsole. The PS3 does not. One person decided to change that. Over on South Korea’s Ruliweb (via tipster Sang), net user NCDinos created this custom painted PlayStation 3, complete with the Diamond Dogs gold emblem and the “Molybdeum” misspelling. [Photo: Ruliweb] [Photo: Ruliweb]…

High School Student Arrested After Threats To Kill Anime Fans

A 15 year-old student ended up in police custody after allegedly writing threats on Twitter, directed at Love Live!anime fans. According to Sankei News, this past July, the student allegedly wrote, “With this hand, I will kill all fans nationwide, leaving none behind.” Sankei added that the student also supposedly uploaded a photo of a…

Dusk. Kyoto, Japan. By Cheng Hoo Sew. 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: Making of a Cyborg | Album: Ghost in the Shell Soundtrack | Artist: Kenji Kawai Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

After Complaints, Street Fighter‘s Cammy Looks Kinda Different

When Cammy was first shown in Street Fighter V, people online in Japan were not happy with the character’s appearance. Now, they are. As website Hachima Kikou noted at the time, Cammy’s SFV character design was called “exceedingly ugly” online in Japan. Sporting more angular features, the character did appear different from her Street Fighter…

Ace Attorney 6 Was Just Announced

Well, Capcom is making a new Ace Attorney game. To be more precise, it’s making the sixth Ace Attorney in the main series. Details are scant, but according to Famitsu, the latest numbered entry will feature a new game system that enables quicker gameplay. The 3DS game will be playable at this year’s Tokyo Game…

Jimmy Kimmel Responds to YouTube Backlash

After Jimmy Kimmel’s YouTube jab backfired on Friday, the clip’s YouTube page and Kimmel’s Twitter were hit hard with criticism, anger, and insults. Tonight, the late-night host took a moment to address these comments. He might have made things worse! “This is the most disliked video we’ve ever posted to YouTube, and we’ve posted thousands…

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, As Told by Steam Reviews

Steam reviews are often quite funny! This time they might even be, dare I say, touching? Originally, The Phantom Pain’s box art read “A Hideo Kojima Game” just like the previous Metal Gear Solid titles. But suddenly, it was removed, leaving people wondering if this decision was related to the rumored weirdness at Konami. While…

Japan is getting three new PS Vita colors. On September 17, there will bethree new hues released in Japan: Aqua Blue, Neon Orange, and Glacier White. Each will be priced the same as the current PS Vita handhelds. No word yet about a Western release.