Brian Ashcraft

Watch how Pokémon Scramble U uses NFC toys. Do it!

How Blizzard Made One StarCraft Fan’s Wish Come True

This is Benjamin. He has a kidney disease called nephropathy, and he really wanted to see a professional StarCraft II e-sports match in South Korea. Blizzard, through the Make A Wish Foundation, made that happen. Benjamin and two friends were able to go to South Korea, play against his favorite SCII team, Prime, and attend…

More Phantom Pain Images Surface. They’re Kind of Dark and Murky.

Moby Dick Studios boss “Joakim Mogren” appeared on GTTV tonight to show off some new Phantom Pain images. He was covered in bandages. Sure, The Phanton Pain has to be Metal Gear related. “Joakim” is an anagram of “Kojima”, Metal Gear’s creator. Oh, and as the new images show the Fox Engine, which is the…

These are the Arcades That Japan Forgot

Welcome to where time came to a standstill. And then, it collapsed in on itself. “Haikyo” (廃墟) is Japanese for “ruins”. Across the country, there are deserted buildings for intrepid urban exploreration. Make no mistake: this is trespassing and even dangerous. These buildings are sealed off for good reason. Haikyo photos typically depict abandoned houses,…

The Korean Game Rating board approved Dungeon & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara for PS3. How mysterious! [T/Y Cat Mario!]

Those Scannable Pokémon Wii U Figures Finally Revealed!

Today, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company unveiled the upcoming near field communication toys for Pokémon Scramble U. Phew, finally! The set includes Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Torchic, Piplup, Lucario, Victini, and one special (or secret) Pokémon. According to The Pokémon Company, this is the “first set”. The official release indicates that there will be more NFC Pocket…

Korea’s Best Cosplayers Take on StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Cosplay collective Spiral Cats brought their talents to the recent StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm launch in South Korea. Back when Blizzard’s Diablo III launched in South Korea, Spiral Cats was also on hand at the event, showing off its latest cosplay creations. “I believe that we can project our love for the character…

Square Enix experimented with Final Fantasy Type-0 running on an HDTV. No plans for a release, though! [NovaCrystallis]

Your Guide to Japanese Capsule Hotels

Maybe you are going to Japan. Maybe you’re not, but one day, you hope to. There is an array of options—from fancy hotels and traditional inns to more budget-priced lodging. Or, perhaps, you just missed the last train. You could always stay at a capsule hotel. Capsule hotels debuted in 1979 in Osaka with the…

Kid Racks Up US$2,500 Debt While Playing an Online Game

A mother got shafted with a whopper credit card bill after her son racked up charges playing an online game, Asahi News reported earlier today. The teen pestered his mom to let him play an online game (Asahi doesn’t specify which). The junior high student and his mom made an agreement that he’d only play…

So, Mega Man Online Has Been Cancelled

Last fall, Kotaku reported that Rockman Online (aka Mega Man Online) seemed like it was dead. Today, we learned that the PC game has, indeed, been canned. The game’s official blog hadn’t been updated since March 2012, leaving many to wonder about the game’s status. Then, last September, the game’s lead artist, Kang Dong Hwa,…

Like music? Live in Tokyo? Unity is teaming up with Hifana for an event next Monday.

This BlazBlue Cosplay Will Knock Your Teeth Out

BlazBlue is a great fighting game. It’s not only fun to play, but it’s also filled with cool characters. Know what that means? Yep! It means there’s an active BlazBlue fandom, which manifests itself in cool cosplay. Let’s have a look at some—certainly, not all—of the best BlazBlue cosplay the internet has to offer. If…

Why One DSi Community Is Upset at Nintendo Right Now

So Nintendo is bringing Flipnote Studio to the 3DS. This latest iteration will allow users to create 3D flipnotes and is called, wait for it, Flipnote Studio 3D. But what does this mean for users of the plain old Flipnote Studio? From the sound of it, they’re screwed. In Japan, Nintendo offered two interesting services…

Okay, This Bread Really Looks Like Vaginas

The bread is pink. That’s the color of cherry blossoms, and thus, spring in Japan. And the wrapper says the snack is “shaped like cherry blossoms.” Seems innocuous enough, right? But take off the wrapper. Because, as pointed out online in Japan, this doesn’t look like cherry blossoms. It does look like vaginas. This post…

First Look at Drakengard 3

Square Enix is readying a new Drakengard game. Dubbed Drakengard 3 (Drag-On Dragoon 3 or ドラッグオンドラグーン3 in Japanese), the action role-playing game follows the adventures of Zero (ゼロ) and her younger sister named “One” (“Wan” or ワン). Zero, who sports an artificial left hand, has a flower that sprouts from her right eye. Her special…

Hard Gay Is Very Good at Drawing

Remember Hard Gay? The hardly gay Japanese comedian who dresses in leather, plays up stereotypes, and yells, “Fooohhh!” The last we saw of Hard Gay, whose real name is Masaki Sumitani, was at a Halo 4 event in Japan during fall 2012. Sumitani hit it big in Japan way back in 2005 and has kind…

The New Wii U Pokémon Game Has Toys, Kind of Like Skylanders

The Skylanders video games set off a merchandizing bonanza thanks to its toys that were outfitted with near field communication. The upcoming Pocket Monsters game for the Wii U looks set to do the same thing. According to a leaked CoroCoro Comic magazine scan, the upcoming Pokémon Scramble U for Wii U will use NFC…

Awesome Man Makes Teeny-Tiny Star Wars Ships

San Jose-based artist David Canavese must be some sort of Jedi. Make that, a paper Jedi. He can take paper products of varying thickness, whether they’re typing paper or index cards, and add some white glue to create super small Star Wars ships. Oh, did I say Canavese doesn’t use tweezers or magnification? Well, he…

Apollo Justice Is Coming to Ace Attorney 5, But in Bandages

Apollo Justice starred in his own Ace Attorney game, which was the fourth Ace Attorney game in the series, after Phoenix Wright was disbarred. Even though Phoenix Wright is back for the forthcoming 3DS title Ace Attorney 5, Apollo Justice is once again returning to the series. Though, he looks worse for wear. A lot…