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Kotaku East
Rip-Off the Art of Others, Get Axed
Artist Sou Miyata was probably best known for his work on Muv-Luv, the PC game turned manga and anime. That is until this week. After this week, he’ll be known as the artist who got axed after being accused of tracing the work of others. To promote the upcoming Muv-Luv summer anime, which is dubbed…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Insensitive Jerkwad Connects Stabbings with Japanese Geek Culture
This Sunday, two individuals tragically lost their lives in a senseless attack. And yesterday, a well-known Japanese journalist tried to connect the stabbings to otaku (geek) culture. Well, that didn’t take long. On TV Asahi’s Super J Channel, freelance journalist Akihiro Otani said, “The location where the stabbing happened is close to a known otaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Summer, Nintendo Is Cutting Bonus Pay
More and more Japanese companies are feeling the pinch—Nintendo included. After posting its first annual loss in donkey’s yonks, the Kyoto-based game company is reducing its employee summer bonuses by 20 percent. #firstworldproblems Last year, full-time Nintendo staff got the average of approximately 4.4 months worth of their salary as summer bonus. This year, it’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
If You’re Going To Dress Like Diablo III, Do It Like This Please
When Diablo III launched in South Korea, the country’s most famous cosplay collective, Spiral Cats, was on hand. Spiral Cats’ member Tasha pulled off a wonderful Demon Hunter—a character she revisits in this photo set. “I believe that we can project our love for the character that we cosplay through our pictures,” Tasha previously told…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
How Many Fists Fit in Pikachu’s Mouth? Japanese Children Find Out.
Poor Pikachu. The character shows up for a Pokémon “quiz rally”, and a bunch of Japanese kids stuff their fists into his mouth. The nerve! The official (and current) Pikachu costume worn at events features the character with an open mouth, presumably so the wearer can see out and not so children can stuff their…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Pikmin 3 Won’t Have Online, Because, Um, Because…
Just when you think Nintendo finally gets the internet, the Kyoto-based game maker does stuff like this. In a recent interview with website IGN, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the upcoming Pikmin 3, a launch title on the Wii U, will not have online. Because? According to Miyamoto: You have to be very careful…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Inside This Girly Bodysuit, There’s a Lady
“Dollers”, as they are called in English, are traditionally men. They are men who wear full bodysuits, frilly dresses, and anime heads. But Miina is no dude. Miina is a female, but just don’t call her a doller. “I think that the dollers dress up as dolls by as an extension of cosplay and I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Curious? You Can Blow $10,000 on this In-Game Clicker
Game designer Peter Molyneux is launching a series of video game experiments. The first one is called “Curiosity”, and it has players chip away at a black cube to see the “truly amazing, absolutely unique” object inside. Molyneux is even offering a US$77,000 downloadable tool to help chip away at the cube. Even though “Curiosity”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
It’s-a Me, Sexy Mario
If you thought porn star Ron Jeremy was the only sexy Mario, you are wrong. There are other Marios, sexy Marios who like to preen and pose for the camera in overalls and with mushrooms and fireballs. Hot. Say hello to this sexy Mario, who goes under the clever nickname “Sexy Mario”. All the photos…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
The Side-Scrolling Shooter I Flipped on Its Side
With DariusBurst: Second Prologue, arcade shooter DariusBurst blasts up iOS with side-scrolling shooting and a hailstorm of pew-pews. I love shooters—and I think the iOS is a viable platform for them. Yet, I’m not the world’s biggest horizontal shooter fan. I prefer vertical shooters, which is a layout that suits the iPhone. So while playing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastAvatar Facial Recognition Research Involves Lots of Head Bouncing and Suspicious Looks
So you can dress up your avatar in an array of silly costumes. You can customize your avatar’s appearance. And now, gamers are getting better control of their avatar’s facial expressions—thanks to researchers like this dude. Using a PlayStation Eye and some fancy software, a Keio University group is working on software that will allow…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Isn’t Just a Gaming PC. No, It Transforms.
There’s more than meets the eye with Asus’ latest Republic of Gamers gaming computer. Click on the “Turbo Gear” overclocking button and watch as this high end PC physically changes, revealing ten crimson fans that help the PC’s internal liquid cooling. Say hello to the Tytan. Officially dubbed the Tytan CG8890, the computer is outfitted…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Plastic Link, Just Take My Money
My wallet is open. Just, seriously, just take my money—just the ¥3,800 (US$48) necessary to buy this Legend of Zelda Link figure. Going on sale this October in Japan, this Link figure is the latest in the Figma action figure line. This Skyward Sword Link is fully poseable and comes with a Master Sword and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
One Day Metal Gear Solid Could Evolve into Metal Gear…Social
Listen up, social butterlfies. Stealth series Metal Gear might eventually contain social game elements. According to creator Hideo Kojima, social and core games will evolve together, until they converge. “I think in the future maybe Metal Gear will change in certain ways to integrate social aspects,” Kojima told website CVG. “If you look at other…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Today’s Creepy Strangers Offer the Nintendo 3DS, Not Candy
In the past, parents told children not to accept candy from strangers. They might want to add something else to that list: video game portables. Earlier this month in Hokkaido, Japan, an overweight man in his 40s or 50s called out to a grade schooler on her way home: “I’ll give you a 3DS, so…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastHow To Cover Your Co-Worker’s Computer in Porn
You’ve probably seen the clip of the young lady who played porn in a quiet library. And maybe you thought, hey, I’m an evil trickster, and I’d like to do something similar as a prank. Well evil trickster, here’s how*. Go Yoshiwara, vice-president of a Tokyo web design firm, rigged one of his employee’s computers…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
A Jumbo-Sized PS Vita with Humans in It
Sony producer Keiichiro Toyama was in Mexico City, promoting his new PS Vita game, Gravity Daze. What better way to say “big Vita” game than with a really big Vita? Cosplayers posed for pictures with fans inside the huge Vita mock-up, but were subject to the same rules of gravity we all are. Read Kotaku’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
New Persona Film Coming. It Won’t Be Dirty.
The end of Persona 4 The Animation: The Factor of Hope teases an upcoming Persona 3 feature film. The teaser appears at the end of Persona 4 The Animation. While it was done in traditional 2D animation, it did not specifically state that the picture would be live-action or an anime. It’s safe to say…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastFinal Fantasy III Has Chocobos Fit for the PSP
Have a look at the upcoming PSP version of Final Fantasy III. The game, which hit both the DS and the iOS, will allow players to play through FFIII with the game’s original music. It’s also has an “auto battle” feature that doubles the speed of the battles for automatic fighting. It’ll be out in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 11, 2012
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