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Here Are Some Beatmania Figures
This September, what are you doing? Game company Konami is releasing two Beatmania IIDX figures. So there. Umegiri Iroha chocolate & Hinazuki Lilina strawberry are both getting 1/8 scale PVC figurines that are priced at ¥9,870 (US$108). These look familiar, you say? Good eye! The big difference is that these are alternative color editions. Perfect…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2010 -
Curvy Onechanbara Actress Comes to New Yakuza Game
Remember the feature film version of D3’s bikini-wearing cowgirl hack-and-slash game Onechanbara? No, not the first one. The sequel, Onechanbara The Movie VORTEx. The ample star of the second Onechanbara film, Yuu Tejima, will be bring her assets to the upcoming Yakuza PSP game, Yakuza: New Chapter Black Panther See? Model Anne Nakamura will also…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2010 -
Snorlax Makes A Great Dress
This isn’t a cosplay per se. It is a Snorlax dress. Different! Over on website Deviant Art, ~bethanyagogo made this Snorlax pocket monster dress because her friend had a Pokémon-themed party. “I made the dress out of fabric from two XXXL t-shirts [one in dark teal and one in tan],” she writes. “I screenprinted eyes…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2010 -
Final Fantasy XIII Gets Dirt Cheap For A Lucky Few
When role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII went on sale in Japan in December 2009, it was priced at ¥9,240 (US$101). Now, one retailer is offering the game for a discount. A huge one. This flier shows a new copy of the game priced at ¥500 ($5.48). That’s about what lunch at McDonalds costs! This is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 10, 2010 -
Two Year Anniversary Of Akihabara Killings
June 8, 2008 was a dark day in Japan. A temp worker drove a rented truck into a group of pedestrians in Tokyo’s geek mecca, Akihabara. He got out and began randomly stabbing bystanders. Seven were left dead, 10 injured. This week, a memorial to mark the terrible event was set up at the intersection…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Drummer Dead At 40 :(
To: Totilo From: Bashcraft RE: Exclusive Day Note Preview Hands-On Was never a big Stereophonics fan, but still, it’s depressing when people check out when they’re still young. The group’s former drummer, Stuart Cable, recently passed away. He was 40 years old. What you missed last night E3 2010 Preview: These Are the Big RPGs,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Finally, Dogs Can Cosplay As Mario, Too
And Luigi. And Peach. Not that they couldn’t before! Etsy shop Young Urban Puppy has just make things easier with these Nintendo-themed dog outfits. Spectacular. There is also a Game Boy outfit for your dog. Look! There it is. No, really. Yes! You can dress your dog as a Game Boy. If anyone ever asks…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
What Is Your Favorite Square Enix Series?
A recent pol asked 3,000 people that same question in Japan. But before we get to that, let me ask you this: What’s your favorite Square Enix franchise? Here are the results to said poll: 10. Valkyrie Profile series 2.7 percent 9. Front Mission series 2.8 percent 8. Kingdom Hearts series 2.9 percent 7. Itadaki…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
The Most Pirated Nintendo DS Games Are…
You know it. I know. People pirate Nintendo DS games. It’s so bad that Nintendo is spearheading a lawsuit to stop piracy. Yet piracy continues. According to Japan’s Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association, the top title for illegal downloads is Pokémon Platinum with 2,071,006 transfers worth ¥9.5 billion (US$103 million). Following close behind is Pokémon Diamond…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Foxconn Ditches Suicide Compensation, Looks To Relocation
This year, Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory has been hit with a rash of suicides. The company has taken measures to prevent jumpers. Now, it looks set to take the greatest preventive measure of all. It is revoking the payout it had been offering to families of the deceased. This year, there have been 12 attempted suicides…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Soccer RPG Getting Animated Feature Film
Last winter, Level-5 puzzle franchise Professor Layton got its own animated feature film, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. This winter? The Fukuoka-based game company will be releasing a movie version in Japan based on its soccer role-playing game series Inazuma Eleven. The title already has its own animated program on television. That series back…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
That Mortal Kombat Trailer? Jeri Ryan Explains
Actress Jeri Ryan of Star Trek: Voyage fame appears as Sonya Blade in a Mortal Kombat trailer dubbed “Mortal Kombat: Rebirth” that popped up online. Is it a game trailer? A movie trailer? Tell us, Jeri, tell us! “Okay, so… Mortal Kombat,” she tweets. “It’s not a game trailer. Actually was made for the director…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Into the Abyss For This Figure
Character Tear Grants from Namco’s PlayStation 2 role-playing game Tales of the Abyss is getting a new figurine. This is it. The suggested retail price is ¥8,190 (US$90), and the figure will be released this August. Tales of the Abyss was released on the PS2 in 2005 in Japan and the following year in the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
It’s Easy To Make Pikachu Terrifying
As seen on はちま起稿
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 9, 2010 -
Reviews
Snoopy Flying Ace Review: Dog Fights
Everyone’s favorite canine aviator, Snoopy, takes to the skies to shoot machine guns, rockets and a whole host of weapons at small children (and the Red Baron!) in airplanes. This is war with the gang from Peanuts. This isn’t the first Snoopy fighter pilot game. Developer Smart Bomb Interactive released Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Stress Dream Number 1 and 2
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Shit, the Day’s Over Already??? E3 is around the corner. And I’m starting to feel the heat. So hot. Oh yes. Last night’s stress dream: I went to LA without my computer. :/ The night before that? My re-entry permit to Japan was not valid, causing me to lose my…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
North America Getting New DSi XL Color
This July a new DSi XL color will be making its way to the US. That color is “Midnight Blue”. The new DSi XL color will join its bronze and burgundy brethren on American store shelves. Earlier this month, Nintendo revealed three new DSi XL colors for Japan: Yellow, Blue and Green. Midnight Blue appears…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Let’s Quietly Judge How Gran Turismo’s Creator Drives
Kazunori Yamauchi doesn’t just make racing games. He races cars, too. In this clip, Yamauchi is behind the wheel of a Lexus IS-F race car, doing a complete lap at the 24-hour Nurburgring circuit. The vehicle is in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5. Call this research No crashes, engine noises, European track. Watching this video…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010 -
Yakuza Gets A Plastic Model Car
And it’s covered in stickers. Because Japanese gangsters just love stickers? In Japan, cars covered in anime and video game stickers are called “itasha” (literally “painmobile”). Itasha, like this Ferrari, are favored by hardcore otaku. Sega’s crime franchise Yakuza (known as Ryu Ga Gotoku in Japan) takes players into the underworld of Japanese organized crime.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 8, 2010
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