Brian Ashcraft

Sake Brewery Teams Up With Japanese Burger Chain For Alcohol-Free Milkshake

Dassai, one of Japan’s most famous brands, is joining forces with Mos Burger, Japan’s best burger chain, for a non-alcoholic milkshake. As Asahi Shuzo, the makers of Dassai, point out, this is the first time Mos Burger has ever collaborated with a sake brewer. It’s based on the fast-food chain’s vanilla shake, but with a…

Track: All Things Must Pass (2020 Mix / Audio) | Artist: George Harrison | Album: All Things Must Pass 

How One Retailer Is Fighting PS5 Scalpers

In South Korea, game retailer Gamewoori has a banner that reads, “Pre-Order Now” next to images of the PS5. The PS5 launched there on November 12, but like everywhere supplies are tight and hopeful customers still have to reserve consoles from future shipments. Some individuals, however, are trying to flip their PS5 pre-orders by selling…

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is in development for Steam. The game was originally released on PS3 and Xbox 360. According to Sawaki Takeyasu, the game’s director, the Steam version will have both English and Japanese subtitles and audio options. The release date is still TBA.

Monster Hunter Movie Producers Apologize After Backlash In China

As Kotaku recently reported, a racist line of dialogue in the Monster Hunter movie led to thousands of negative online reviews in China, review bombing of the game on Steam, and calls to ban the film. The movie’s producers have now apologized. In the film, a soldier yells to another soldier: “What are my knees?…

Track: Blade Runner Blue | Artist: Vangelis | Album: Blade Runner OST 

Japan’s Super Nintendo World Looks Amazing, Sure, But Also Kind Of Small

Yes, we can all probably agree that the upcoming Super Nintendo World looks incredible. On the inside, it’s amazing, but on the outside, it looks somewhat small. This is something that we’ve previously heard. When Bloomberg’s Kurumi Mori checked out the park in a press previewlate last month, she did say, “I do want to…

New Code Geass TV Anime Announced

A new Code Geass anime has been announced. Titled Code Geass: Z of the Recapture, the series is the follow-up to the 2019 film Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection Code Geass first aired on TV in Japan from October 2006 to July 2007 and was followed by a sequel series the following year. Feature…

Track: Hakushunmu | Artist: My Hair Is Bad | Album: Life

Sadly, Atelier Ryza 2 Won’t Get A PlayStation 5 Upgrade In South Korea

Originally announced for the PlayStation 4, Atelier Ryza 2 is also coming to the PlayStation 5 via a free update. In South Korea, as of writing, it’s not. According to the game’s South Korean publisher Digital Touch (via tipster Sang), the company does not have the publishing rights to the PlayStation 5 version. Rather, Digital…

Ditto Makes For An Excellent Pokémon Sofa

When you see that purple amorphous Pokémon blob, don’t you just want to sit on it? Good news, now you can! Ditto (aka Metamon in Japan) has been transformed into a sofa, which makes sense because it can transform into anything. The sofa looks very soft. The Ditto cover can be removed and put in…

The Monster Hunter Movie Was Inspired By A Metal Gear Solid Collab

When the first trailer for the live-action Monster Hunter movie debut, some fans might have been surprised by the soldiers and military hardware. For director Paul W.S. Anderson, this was not out of left field. It was, he said, organic. During a recent Sony Pictures chat, filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson was asked why Milla Jovovich’s…

Track: If Not for You (Alternate Take – Audio) | Artist: Bob Dylan | Album: If Not for You (Alternate Take – Audio) (single)

Final Fantasy XIV producer Naoki Yoshida discusses his career in a thirty-minute YouTube documentary. It’s an interesting look into what makes Yoshida tick as he speaks in-depth about his work and the future of games. 

Silent Hill and Gravity Rush Creator Keiichiro Toyama Has Left Sony

Keiichiro Toyama first made a name for himself, writing and directing the first Silent Hill while at Konami. In 1999, he joined Sony’s Japan Studio, and today he’s announced that he has left to form his own studio. While at Japan Studio, Toyama was creative force, creating both Siren and Gravity Rush. Stylistically, the games…

Track: If We Make It Through December (Cover) | Artist: Phoebe Bridgers | Album: If We Make It Through December (single)

In Japan, There’s A Chiropractor For Gamers

If you play video games for a long stretch at a time, it’s probably taken a toll on your body. In Japan, there’s now “gaming chiropractic” to help iron out those aches and stiff joints. Bauhutte, which makes gaming chairs and beds, has teamed up with a chiropractic clinic in Hyogo, Japan for a handful…

Hooray! Shoot ‘em-up developer Cave, famous for its bullet hell games, has returned to Japanese arcades, bringing more maniac shooting with DoDonPachi True Death Exa Label. Check out the game’s debut trailer.

Japan’s Newest Life-Sized Gundam Officially Unveiled

The time has come. The wait is over. Japan’s latest one-to-one Gundam is finally finished. As previously reported, this latest giant Gundam has gone up near Yokohama’s Chinatown in the Yamashita Futo harbor in a special area that will be called The Gundam Factory Yokohama. What makes this particular 59-foot Gundam interesting is the degree…

Track: Bad Friend (End of the World Remix) | Artist: Rina Sawayama | Album: Bad Friend