Brian Ashcraft

Capcom Details What Data Was Compromised In Cyberattack

As Kotaku previously reported, Capcom was hit by a cyberattack, with a group claiming to have stolen 1TB of employee and customer data. Today, Capcom has detailed what data was compromised. In an official release, Capcom lists the leaked data it has confirmed so far, adding that “additional personal and corporate information may have been…

Voice Actor Remembers How Final Fantasy Versus XIII Was Resurrected As Final Fantasy XV

Today on Twitter, voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki recalled his time working on Final Fantasy Versus XIII and the game it eventually became, Final Fantasy XV Suzuki asked his followers if they wanted to hear some FFXV anecdotes, writing that the game’s script was actually three times as long, but it had to be trimmed down.…

The PlayStation 5 Makes For A Good Anamorphic Illusion

Earlier this year, a massive, public digital-art project called “Wave” went up on a 75-foot-high LED display in Seoul, South Korea. Now that same screen has been graced with another anamorphic illusion. With the PlayStation 5, that is. Wow! As you can see below, the enormous PlayStation 5 and DualSense controllers appear like real, three-dimensional…

Track: Heavy Seas of Love | Artist: Damon Albarn | Album: Everyday Robots

Final Fantasy VII Remake Getting Real-World Stealth Game In Tokyo

In Japan, there are what are called real-infiltration games (リアル潜入ゲーム or riaru senyuu geemu) in which players try to sneak into particular locations. These real-world games are the opposite of escape rooms, or riaru dasshutsu geemu (リアル脱出ゲーム) in Japanese. On December 9, a Final Fantasy VII Remake real-infiltration game is opening in Tokyo. Players become…

Demand For PS5 In Japan Means High Gray Market Prices

When the PlayStation 5 launched earlier today, there weren’t long lines wrapped around the stores. In Japan and internationally, Sony is limiting launch sales to online and pre-order pickups. “The COVID-19 situation makes us very nervous about putting stock into stores around the launch window,” Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told…

Track: Autumn In New York | Artist: Billie Holiday | Album: Lady in Autumn

The PlayStation 5 Reminds Players That Japan’s Buttons Have Changed

Now that the PlayStation 5 has been released, the X and the circle buttons are officially swapped for Japan. Since the original PlayStation, the action button has been the circle button, while this was reversed in the West. The X and circle buttons originally had meaning in Japan. Our colleagues at Gizmodo previously reported that…

A PlayStation 5 Event Held At An Ancient Japanese Shrine

To launch the PlayStation 5, Sony is holding a projection mapping event at Kanda Shrine in Tokyo. This makes perfect sense. Kanda Shrine is located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, near Akihabara. Because of this, worshippers can get their electronics—or even IT companies—blessed at the 1,270-year-old shrine. In fact, in 2009, after I kept losing and accidentally…

Voice actor Kenyu Horiuchi, who voices Metal Gear Solid’s Raiden in Japan, has tested positive for covid-19. The 63-year-old is asymptomatic, and thus, not showing signs of a fever or cough. Horiuchi also voiced Ivan Raidenovitch Raikov in the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Track: I Know The End | Artist: Phoebe Bridgers | Album: (Seth Meyers Live Performance)

League of Legends Pro Suspended And Fined For Hate Speech

Kim “OnFleek” Jang-gyeom, a League of Legends pro for Sandbox Gaming, has been fined and will be suspended for hate speech. Inven reports that Kim made a racist remark during a stream. As translated by Ashley Kang, a writer for ESPN Sports, Kim wrote, “The only good Chinese is a dead Chinese.” “It has been…

Another Tokyo Arcade Is Closing Due To Covid-19

This has been a bad year for Tokyo arcades. The one-two punch of the global pandemic and Japan’s travel ban has meant few customers, which has squeezed the industry’s bottom line. Landmark Tokyo arcades are shutting. Add Arcade Playland Carnival in Shinjuku to that list. Unfortunately. The arcade’s official Twitter account announced that on November…

In Japan, Sony Will Stop Servicing The Original PlayStation 4

With the PlayStation 5 launching this month, a new console era has begun. Sony is driving that point home by revealing that it will no longer service launch PS4s in Japan Via Twitter, Sony announced that on December 25, service for PS4 CUH-1000/CUH-1100 series of consoles would end in Japan, and individuals needing their consoles…

Hayao Miyazaki Asked About Anime When Picking Up Trash

Earlier this month, Japanese tabloid Flash spotted famed animator Hayao Miyazaki as he was leaving the house to pick up trash around his neighborhood. In Japan, neighborhood associations meet a few times a year with residents gathering to pick up litter and pull weeds. It’s unclear whether Miyazaki was doing this, or simply tidying up…

Go Ahead And Crawl Inside A Pokémon

This has been a rough year. What better place to seek warmth and comfort than inside a Pocket Monster? Premium Bandai is releasing what it’s calling a 絶対に出たくない (zettai ni detakunai or “I don’t want to go out”) Metapod, suggesting that folks climb in while working from home. It’s priced at 35,000 yen ($335) with…

New Attack On Titan Statues Erected In An Excellent Location

Life-sized bronze statues of Attack on Titan’s Eren, Mikasa and Armin were recently unveiled at the foot of the Oyama Dam in Oita Prefecture, Japan. The three characters gaze up at the dam, as if they were watching a Titan peer over. (There’s even a special AR app visitors to the dam can use to…

Famous Tokyo Snack Gets A Pokémon Twist

In Japanese, omiyage refers to a souvenir that’s purchased for others. Typically, these are snacks, and in Tokyo, perhaps the most famous of all is Tokyo Bananas—cream-filled cakes shaped like little bananas. Tokyo Banana has been ranked as the most popular omiyage two-years running! In the past few years, there have been a variety of…

The Switch reached 68.30 million units sold worldwide as of September 30 of this year, surpassing the Nintendo Entertainment System’s 61.91 million global sales. The NES first launched as the Famicom in 1983 in Japan, where it was finally discontinued in 2003. The Switch went on sale in March 2017. 

In Japan, Sega Just Asked 650 Employees To Retire Voluntarily

As Sega Sammy announced it’s selling off its arcade business, the Tokyo-based game company also announced that it is asking 650 employees to retire voluntarily. With covid-19 impacting business, Sega is expecting what it calls “an extraordinary loss” during the current financial year. Sega Sammy Holdings was formed after Sega and Sammy merged in 2004.…