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Kotaku EastJapanEditor At Japan’s Biggest Game Publication Famitsu Arrested For Alleged Fraud
Famitsu editor Eiichi Sato was arrested for alleged fraud. According to Asahi News, Sato is accused of pulling off an impersonation ruse to collect freelance fees for articles. Sato was previously employed as an editor at Famitsu, a subsidiary of Kadokawa, and he was in charge of editing freelance articles. Famitsu, of course, is Japan’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanShin Ultraman Movie’s Release Delayed By Covid-19
Originally scheduled for “early summer” in Japan, the upcoming Shin Ultraman movie will be delayed. According to the official site, the scheduled release has been impacted by covid-19. Shin Ultraman will now get a new theatrical debut date, announced at a later time. Shin Ultraman is the latest collaboration between Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 29, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanKoei Tecmo Couldn’t Salvage The Data for Ninja Gaiden Black And Ninja Gaiden II
Last month, it was announced that the Nintendo Switch was getting a Ninja Gaiden trilogy release. But to the chagrin of some, this bundle includes Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and Sigma 2. That’s right, Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden II are not included. Announced in 2005, Ninja Gaiden Black was a reworked, harder version…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapanese Company Creates “Monster Hunter Holiday” For New Game’s Release
Whenever a massive game is released, no doubt, diehard fans wish nothing more than to take the day off. Some may suddenly find themselves coming down with a cold and the only recipe for recovery is a day of gaming. But employees at Tokyo-based VR-studio Mark-On don’t need to feign illness. Exec Jack Masaki formally…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 24, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanKonami Closes 16 Of Its Sports Clubs In Japan Due To Covid-19
In Japan, Konami doesn’t only make video games. It also has a major chain of sports clubs. Gyms have been hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Konami has had to shutter a number of its locations. Konami’s presence in sports is why the company has developed exercise games and been a major sponsor…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 24, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanJapanese City Features Slowpoke On Postal Truck And Mail Box
Slowpoke might not exactly be the image postal carriers are going for, but in Japan, the sluggishly cute Pokémon is known as Yadon, and… well, let me explain Since the character’s Japanese name sounds like “udon,” the character has been promoting the famous noodle dish in Kagawa Prefecture since 2015. If you ever visit the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 23, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanFinal Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Had A Dedicated Team of Lighting Experts
When Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was announced earlier this year, Square Enix detailed how it changed the textures and lighting, as well as added fog effects. Some changes were more subtle. During today’s Sony online event, Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase ran through the changes in the PS5 version. Most of the information was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSize Comparison For Resident Evil Village‘s Tall Vampire With Real People
Lady Dimitrescu is one tall lady—to be exact, 2.9m tall (that is, 9’6″). But what does that look like next to actual humans? Let’s find out! During today’s online PlayStation event, the character was compared with celebrity hosts Hatsune Matsushima and Kayo Satoh. Matsushima is 5’2″ tall (161cm), while Satoh is 5’6″ (172cm). Lady Dimitrescu…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 21, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanGundam Build Series Going Live-Action
Bandai and anime studio Sunrise are teaming up for a new Gundam Build series. This time, though, it’s not animated. It’s live-action. Gundam Build Fighters debuted as an anime back in 2013, and was followed by sequels, with Gunpla builders vying to win battle tournaments. According to Gundam.info, the new series is called Gundam Build…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 19, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSuper Nintendo World Finally Opens In Japan
After not one but two delays, Super Nintendo World finally opened today. As Being Kansai reports, lines started forming by 6:30 AM, with a good crowd forming within an hour. Although Osaka lifted the state of emergency earlier this month (Tokyo is currently still under one), with people congregating, waiting inside, and eating in restaurants,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanCoca-Cola Is Launching A Vending Machine Subscription Service In Japan
Like Coke? A lot? Well, according to Nikkei (via Gearoid Reidy), the drink maker is rolling out a special subscription service in Japan. For 2,700 yen ($25) a month, subscribers get one Coca-Cola from any of Japan’s 340,000 vending machines per day. That would save about 900 to 1,000 yen ($8-$10) a month on a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanTokyo Olympics Creative Boss Resigns For Derogatory Suggestion About Naomi Watanabe
Hiroshi Sasaki is resigning as creative director of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics after suggesting that comedian and fashion icon Naomi Watanabe should appear as a pig during the opening ceremony. Sasaki’s derogatory suggestion was apparently that the famed comedian and fashion model should appear as the “Olympig,” a wordplay on the word “Olympic.” “There…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanEven Square Enix Is Getting Into NFTs
Square Enix is joining the NFTs fray with one-of-a-kind digital assets for their Million Arthur franchise. Please be excited. Today, Square Enix announced that it would be joining forces with Double Jump Tokyo for the endeavor. Double Jump Tokyo was founded in 2018, and the company has been at the forefront of blockchain technology in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 17, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanFormer Pop Idol Arrested In Japan Over Fraud Allegations
Former pop star Juna Yamada has been arrested for allegedly swindling money from a man she met through a dating site. Previously, the 22-year-old Yamada was a member of idol group SKE48, which she left in January 2019. According to CBC TV, Yamada told the man that she knew how to make money through investing…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 16, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanYet Another Producer Leaves Sony’s Japan Studio
In the wake of the news that Sony’s Japan Studio is reorganizing, another producer has left the company. This time, it’s Masami Yamamoto, who made his debut as a producer on the Tenchu series. Yamamoto would go on to work on a number of titles, including Tokyo Jungle, Soul Sacrifice, and Bloodborne On Twitter, Yamamoto…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 15, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanGlitch Turns Breath of the Wild Into A First-Person Game, It Seems
Mods already make first-person views possible in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. One player, however, has apparently figured out how to do that without one. As Twitter user A.xk pointed out, the glitch can be unlocked by following these inputs: New item hold glitch ↓ camera ↓ item hold ↓ item hold cancel…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 12, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanReport: Despite Covid Emergency, Capcom Made Employees Work At Office After Cyber Attack [Update]
In early January, with Japan posting some of its highest covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for a number of prefectures, including Osaka. As part of this declaration, the government asked corporate employees to work from home or limit the number of staff in the office. According to Business Journal,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 10, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanPolitician Dressed Like The Joker Is Campaigning In Japan
Meet Yuusuke Kawai. He is running for governor of Chiba Prefecture and recently appeared on NHK to present his platform. It looks as though he wants Japan to put on a happy face. While Kawai certainly isn’t pulling off a perfect Joker cosplay, his make-up and outfit certainly look like the Joaquin Phoenix version, complete…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 10, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSuper Nintendo World Will Finally Open In Japan On March 18
After repeated delays, Super Nintendo World will open on March 18 at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. The park was originally slated for a summer 2020 opening, but in the wake of last year’s state of emergency, that was pushed back. Then, it was scheduled to open last month on February 4. However, because of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 8, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe PlayStation 2 Is Now 21 Years Old
Can you believe it? The PlayStation 2 was first released in Japan on March 4, 2000. The console was released in North America later that fall on October 26, and in Europe the following month. The PS2 would go on to be home to over 3,800 games, including some of the greatest of all time,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2021