Kotaku East

The World of Pokémon Gets Dark as Hell

Don’t worry! While Aipom might look dead, this Pokémon has only been knocked out in the newly released Great Detective Pikachu. That red stuff? Ketchup. Squashed tomato or not, damn, this looks grim. Photos: Brian Ashcraft | Kotaku To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter@Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East…

Night in Ginza. Tokyo, Japan. By Walter Kim. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Today, Nintendo announced pre-registration for Miitomo, Nintendo’s upcoming smartphone app, begins on February 17. It will be released the middle of next month in eight languages (Japanese, English, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French, and Russian) and in sixteen regions around the world (the U.S., Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Luxemborg, Spain, Italy, the…

How Pikachu Has Changed Over the Years

You might know that Pikachu in the Pocket Monster anime now looks, well, like a changed Pokémon. But this isn’t the only instance of different Pikachus. Recently on 2ch, there was a thread about how characters change and one user posted the following image to show the difference between Pikachu variations. (The image, however, has…

Eight-Year-Old Boy Apologizes to Nintendo

While some might argue that it’s often Nintendo who should be saying sorry to fans (ha!), one eight-year-old boy in Japan wrote the company an apology after spilling water all over his 3DS. Japanese Twitter user Illilrecounted how the boy had put the Nintendo handheld in his bag with his thermos, but didn’t put the…

Yucky Sounding Desserts from Japan

Would you like some beef with your parfait? What about some raw tuna? Pork? From February 9, an Italian restaurant in Osaka called Del Sole is serving up parfait ice cream desserts with slices of kuro (black) wagyu. It’s part of the restaurant’s special Valentine Day’s menu. According to Entabe, the concept behind the dessert…

Damn, Nintendo Is Selling Lots of Amiibos

People sure do like buying (and collecting) Amiibos. Proof of that: In its latest sales figures, Nintendo announced it’s sold 20.50 million Amiibo figures and another 21.5 million Amiibo cards. In February 2015, Nintendo announced that it had shipped 10.5 million Amiibos worldwide. That’s an impressive number, but the current sales figures are even more…

The Great Buddha. Kamakura, Japan. By Nate. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Splatoon Characters Make for Good Virtual Idols

This weekend, the Squid Sisters from Splatoon performed live in concert at this year’s Game Party in Japan. Aren’t virtual idols great? The virtual versions of the Splatoon idols looked terrific and did a great job of getting the crowd, who are totally into it, charged up. Watch out Hatsune Miku! These inklings could make…

Yep, this is a giant (and fully playable) Famicom controller. It was on display at Game Party 2016 over the weekend in Japan, and people could co-op play Super Mario Bros. For more pics, check out Gigazine.

A Giant Attack on Titan Snow Sculpture Makes Perfect Sense

For this year’s Sapporo Snow Festival, the big centerpiece snow sculpture is Attack on Titan themed. The sculpture is still being made, and the festival won’t start until February 5 (it ends on the 11th). This is what the finished sculpture will look like. As in the past, the Japanese military and tons and tons…

Dark Souls III Comes to a Tokyo Shopping Mall

Because the only suits aren’t suits of armor. A Dark Souls III exhibit has gone up at 109 Men’s, a shopping mall for young dudes, in Tokyo’s Shibuya. Japanese websites Gamer, Game Impress Watch, and Famitsu were on hand to check out the exhibit, which features displays and art. [Photo: Famitsu] [Photo: Famitsu] [Photo: Game…

Snow in Ikebukuro Last Month. Tokyo, Japan. By Hiro Tanaka. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

Fans Bring Splatoon Weapons to the Real World

Game Party Japan 2016 played host to the Japanese National Splatoon Championship. But while that was going on at the front of the booth, it’s back side sported an awesome gallery of fan-made versions of Splatoon’s ink-based weaponry. A “.52 Gal” by Spicies A “Custom E-Liter 3K” by 19_ev An “Inkstrike” by Spicies An “Inkzooka”…

The finals bracket of the Japan National Splatoon Championships is starting over on NicoNico as part of Game Party Japan 2016. The audio is in Japanese and you need a NicoNico account, but if you’re a fan of world-class ink-based combat, check it out! Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you…

Five Surprising Things about the New Pikachu

Detective Pikachu sure is different from what we’re used to. Not only does the character solve mysteries, but he also talks. There are more surprises to be had. Via the official site for upcoming 3DS game Great Detective Pikachu: The Birth of a New Duo, here are tidbits about the character that stand out: 1.…

The Official Hello Kitty Mobile Phone 

This fall, a new Hello Kitty shaped mobile phone will go on sale. Where? Japan, where else. Priced at 12,000 yen (US$100), the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled phone comes with a rather small 1.54 inch screen. However, when you close the flip phone shut, it looks like a small Hello Kitty figure. This might be…

Japan Is Getting Sake-Flavored Kit Kats

This has to be the most unusual Kit Kat flavor yet. According to NariNari, the country is getting sake Kit Kats starting February 1. There is sake powder between the chocolate and the wafers, giving the Kit Kats a delicate sake flavor. NariNari explains that the taste sensation will mix the sweetness of chocolate with…

Chaos;Child is a Murder Mystery with Delusions and Superpowers

If I were to sum up in two sentences my experience with delusion-filled murder mystery visual novel Chaos;Child, it’d be these: 1) If I’d known how incredibly long Chaos;Child was, I’d never have played it and 2) I’m so happy that I played Chaos;Child Chaos;Child is one of the games in the Science Adventure Series…

Shibuya. Tokyo, Japan. By Jon (Eigotaku). JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!