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Kotaku EastJapanManga Artist Hiro Mashima Is Teaming Up With Square Enix For A Totally New RPG
Award-winning manga artist Hiro Mashima, best known for the smash hit Fairy Tail, is joining forces with Square Enix for an entirely new fantasy role-playing game called Gate of Nightmares for iOS and Android. Check out the debut trailer below: Mashima designed the characters and the game’s overall look, while Jin Fujisawa, a Dragon Quest…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 22, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSquare Enix Launches A Photobook Service In Japan For Final Fantasy XIV
If photo books are good enough to revive your digital pics, then surely the same goes for your life in Final Fantasy XIV In Japan, Square Enix is rolling out a new service called Final Fantasy XIV Custom Order Photobook: Memories of Light. It works like Apple’s photobooks, but with in-game screenshots that customers lay…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapan’s Fraudulent Composer Returns Years Later With New Music
In 2014, it was revealed that Mamoru Samuragochi, who was called “Japan’s Beethoven,” was not actually deaf. What’s more, he also used a ghostwriter for his music. Before the news broke, the accepted story was that Samuragochi had a degenerative hearing condition that left him deaf by age 35. As I noted at the time,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanA Pokémon-Themed Fossil Exhibit Opening In Japan
In what seems like an inevitability, a touring exhibition called Pokémon Kaseki Hakubutsukan (ポケモン化石博物館) or “Pokémon Fossil Museum” will open this summer in Japan. According to the official announcement, the exhibition will let visitors observe and compare fossils from dinosaurs and other creatures as well as extinct plants with Pocket Monsters, with the idea of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapan’s Biggest Indie Game Event Will Be Held This September In-Person
BitSummit, Japan’s biggest indie game event, will be held this September in Kyoto. It will, however, not be open to international attendees, only Japan residents. Last year’s in-person event was cancelled due to covid-19 and held online. “In consideration of the coronavirus pandemic, we will be limiting the attendees to developers, publishers, media, and sponsors…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 20, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSquare Enix Denies Report The Company Is Up For Sale
After an unconfirmed report that multiple buyers were looking at acquiring Square Enix, the Tokyo-based game maker released a statement denying it. “Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix,” the statement reads. “However, this report is not based on any announcement by Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.”…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanStripper Arrested In Japan For Stripping
The Japanese media is reporting that a professional stripper has been arrested for stripping at a strip club in Tokyo. According to ANN News and Mainichi Shimbun, a 38-year-old dancer at Theater Ueno in Tokyo appeared on stage at around 12:30am sans underwear as 15 customers watched. One reported that a light was shone on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanYu-Gi-Oh! Collection Auctioned As Revenge On Cheating Husband, Apparently
Recently on Yahoo! Auctions Japan, a seller posted images of unopened Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, writing the following: “This is the first time I’ve sold something (here). I’m putting up my husband’s collection as revenge for getting cheated on.” The seller, a Chiba-based Yahoo! Auctions user with the handle “dnlay04438“, added that the cards were still unopened…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 14, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanOn-Demand Printing For New Pokémon Snap Comes To Japanese Convenience Stores
Starting April 30, Lawson convenience stores across Japan will be offering a New Pokémon Snap printing service. That way players can print out their favorite photographs As the official site (via Yahoo! News and Nintendo Life) explains, the game data needs to be transferred to a smart device or PC. Then, users access the special…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 14, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSatoru Iwata Seemed Like A Truly Good Dude
Former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made a huge impact on gaming. The exec had the rare combination of technical knowledge and business savvy. He also seemed like a really good dude. Sadly, Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015, at the age of 55. In the newly released English translation of Ask Iwata, which is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanForget CG, Japanese Drink Company Shows The Magic Of Practical Effects
Drink maker Pocari Sweat has made a number of terrific commercials over the years. This latest one, which uses a bunch of practical effects, is one of its most impressive to date In it, Sena Nakajima is walking down the hall at school, but then stops, turns around, and starts pushing her way through the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanGenshin Impact Replaces Famed Idol Group’s Iconic Signs In Akihabara
If you’ve been to Tokyo’s Akihabara in the past decade, you’ve seen the large signs for pop group AKB48 on the side of the Don Quijote building. They have now been replaced. At one time, AKB48 was the biggest-selling pop troupe in the country. You couldn’t turn on the television without being bombarded by group…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanToday, Atlus Celebrates Its Birthday
Famed role-playing game maker Atlus is celebrating a milestone. Today in 1986, the company was founded. Happy birthday Atlus! In its early years, Atlus sold karaoke equipment, before releasing its first game Puzzle Boy for the Game Boy in 1989. The company’s first arcade game, BlaZeon, followed three years later. During the 1990s, Atlus caused…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 7, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanRecord Covid-19 Cases In Osaka As Universal Studios Japan Limits Visitors
Today, Osaka posted its highest daily number of covid-19 cases: 719. This is the eighth straight day that covid-19 cases have been increasing in the prefecture. The numbers are also climbing in the surrounding areas. Online in Japan, some commenters online are worried about covid-19’s spread in Osaka, especially in regards to Universal Studios Japan…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanYu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021 Is Canceled Due To Covid-19
Konami has canceled the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021. This isn’t a first. The event was also canceled last year. Below is the announcement: Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, we will be canceling “Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2021″ to ensure health and safety of all parties involved. We apologize to everyone that was looking forward to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanOh Dear, The Sony Japan Studio Exodus Continues
Last month, Kotaku reported that yet another producer departed from the Japan Studio. And this month, we’re reporting that the exodus continues. Yesterday, Shunsuke Saito tweeted, “I’m leaving SIE Japan Studio today.” Saito was the character designer and animator for Gravity Rush 1 and 2. He was also the art director for the sequel. His…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanReport: Tokyo Olympics Proposal Included Akira And Super Mario In The Opening Ceremony
The Tokyo Olympics, it seems, will hold the opening ceremonies this July. While the finalized plans have yet to be revealed, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun has apparently acquired a 280-page scrapped proposal for the event. Included within it is an Akira-themed plan, and another that features Nintendo’s Mario. Shukan Bunshun is one of Japan’s most famous magazines…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 1, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanItalian Fashion Brand Criticized for Disrespecting Japanese Culture
If you’ve ever been to Japan (and even if you haven’t), you are probably aware that shoes are a big deal—and specifically, taking them off. The bottoms of shoes are considered dirty for obvious reasons. Because of this, walking inside while wearing shoes is certainly frowned upon. The cultural norms do not stop there. Walking…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanOnce Again, In-Person Tokyo Game Show Canceled, Event Will Be Online
Last year, the in-person Tokyo Game Show was canceled due to covid-19 concerns. In its place was an online event. This year, once again, the show will be only online. As organizers announced in an official release, this year’s theme will be Sore de mo, bokura ni wa geemu ga aru (それでも、僕らにはゲームがある) or, “We’ll always…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 30, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanMan Arrested Following Daring Pokémon Card Robbery
A 28-year-old Tokyo resident has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a trading card shop atop a six-story building to steal Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, after climbing over the side of the building with a rope. Mainichi reports that in the early morning hours last week, Kensuke Nakanishi anchored a rope to a railing on the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021