Brian Ashcraft

Japan Has a Thunderbirds Cafe, and It’s Freakin’ Amazing

Retro British TV lives on in Tokyo. Iconic program Thunderbirds has its own official cafe, which serves up salute and Thunderbirds fandom. The food doesn’t exactly look spectacular, but the inside of the restaurant definitely does. Inside, there are rare items from the show as well as replica Thunderbird vehicles on display. Episodes are on…

What’s Better than Giant Bugs? Giant Live Action Bugs!

B-movie director Minoru Kawasaki, known for masterpieces like Executive Koala, directed a live action commercial to promote Earth Defense Force 3: Portable for the PS Vita. It stars pin-up model Risa Yoshiki, and you can watch it above. 地球防衛軍3 PORTABLE THE COMMERCIAL [SonyJp@YouTube] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the…

The Guns, The Hair, and the Dudes of Resident Evil

Resident Evil is wall-to-wall memorable characters. Fans haven’t only fallen in love with the female protagonists. They also adore the men of Resident Evil And why wouldn’t they? The guys are cool, decked in nice threads with rad hair. And then there’s the swank paramilitary gear, too. Fancy! Last week, Kotaku took a look at…

The Folks Behind Duke Nukem Forever Want Your Money for a “New” Game

For years, 3D Realms toiled on Duke Nukem Forever. After the game languished, another studio (Gearbox Software) came in and finished it. Now, 3D Realms is working on a new game. A game it’s been working on for a while—and it wants your money to finish it. The game is Earth No More, a first-person…

The Latest Bravely Default Trailer Flies Out

Upcoming 3DS role-playing game Bravely Default: Flying Fairy has a goofy title. The game, however, looks just fine. As previously posted, Bravely Default will feature a job system similar to Final Fantasy V. So if you like FFV, you’ll probably like this! Bravely Default will be out this October in Japan. 「ブレイブリーデフォルト」～覚醒篇～ [SquareEnix@YouTube] Kotaku East…

Who Is Bowser Jr.’s Mother? (And Other Burning Mario Questions Answered)

While Nintendo honcho Satoru Iwata already confirmed to Kotaku that Mario doesn’t have a last name, the company’s resident genius, Shigeru Miyamoto, has a crack at other burning questions. Like why Mario and Peach play tennis and race go-karts with Bowser. Like seriously, what’s up with that? In an interview with GameInformer, Mario’s creator dishes…

Final Fantasy XIII‘s Lightning Reborn in a Skyrim Mod

Of course, Skyrim mods are not new—neither is using Skyrim mods to recreate Final Fantasy characters. That doesn’t mean we are totally jaded and impossible to impress. Japanese bulletin board 2ch unearthed a couple screens that apparently show Final Fantasy XIII character Lightning recreated with a “recent” Skyrim mod. Online in Japan, people are saying…

From Chun-Li to Assassin’s Creed, The Fancy Outfits We Unfortunately Missed

If you are planning to visit the Tokyo Game Show next year, be aware that different folks often cosplay on each public day. Meaning? Meaning you should go to both days! Kotaku previously showed the guys and gals who donned colorful costumes on the first day. However, since we were running on fumes by Sunday,…

Yep, It’s Time To Visit a Tokyo Toy Store

What’s better than Japanese toys? Japanese toy stores. And one of the best Japanese toy stores is Kiddyland. Recently, Danny Choo of otaku site DannyChoo.com checked out the renovated Kiddyland flagship store in Harajuku. If you are into this kind of stuff, just imagine how much money you’d go through… More pics over at Danny’s…

Disgaea is headed to Japanese smartphones as a card-based social game.

If You Haven’t Seen this Trailer Yet, You Are Already Dead

Here’s the latest trailer for Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2. The game is slated for the PS3, the Xbox 360, and Wii U. It’ll be out in Japan by the end of this year. 真・北斗無双 [YouTube] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from…

Hey Foreigners, You’re a Party Joke in Japan!

Back in 2008, Japanese costume company, JiG Paradise, raised eyebrows with its “Hello Gaijin-san Party Joke”. Now in 2012, that product has gotten slightly revised. The term “gaijin” (外人) is a shortened form of the official term (by “official”, I mean the term that’s used in government documents and on the evening news) “gaikokujin” (外国人).…

Sony’s Headset Prototype Sure Gets Relaxing Music

At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Kotaku checked out Sony’s new prototype headset. This latest trailer shows a bit of how the headsets mixes real world and video footage. If you missed our Prototype-SR impressions, check them out right here HMZ没入快感研究所「実験内容」 [Sony@YouTube] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest…

“Hopeless” Foxconn Workers Are Making the iPhone 5

Riots have broken out at the Foxconn factory where the iPhone 5 is being assembled. Production was suspended. Reports are that late last Sunday night, approximately 2,000 workers became enraged and began to trash the Foxconn Taiyuan campus. The incident was sparked by a security guard allegedly beating two workers. Photos show the wake of…

There’s a New Nintendo 3DS XL Color in Japan

Japan is getting a new 3DS XL color: “Blue x Black”. It will join the other available 3DS XL colors in Japan (Red x Black, Silver x Black, White, and Pink x White). Priced similarly at ¥18,900, it will go on sale October 11 in Japan. Update: Well, new for Japan—where I live. This was…

Dragon Ball Exhaustion, Fancy Outfits, and More Excitement from Tokyo Game Show’s Last Day

Well, this year’s Tokyo Game Show has drawn to a close. It was a busy show, but it was great to cover it with most of Kotaku East (save for the lovely Eric Jou, who was in Macau, eating heart attacks). Bummer that more of Kotaku couldn’t have been here, either, but whaddayagonnado. This year,…

I’m Sold on the Wii U GamePad’s Multiplayer

While at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, I got my first hands on with the Wii U. Other Kotaku editors have used the Wii U plenty, but since I didn’t go to E3, this was my first. Prior to picking it up for the first time, I really didn’t have high expectations for it—nor did…

Nintendo has confirmed to Eurogamer that the Wii U will be region locked. Surprised?

Luffy Appeared in Dragon Ball Before One Piece Launched? Not Sure…

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is a huge fan of Akira Toriyama, best known for creating Dragon Ball and designing Dragon Quest‘s characters. Oda really digs Toriyama’s work, but was the One Piece character Luffy inspired by Dragon Ball? A Chinese net user uploaded a panel from what’s supposedly an old Dragon Ball manga. In…

The Most Amazing Counter-Strike Kills I’ve Ever Seen

Over the weekend, the Asia E-Sports Cup was held at the Tokyo Game Show. Local Japanese team myRevenge (formerly UNiTED) faced off against the largely Singaporean team Asking Questions. Noppo has been playing competitive Counter-Strike for a while now and is one of the best players in Japan—and the world. The above clip is from…