Kotaku East

Tokyo Looks Animated in These Amazing Photos

This is the work of Masashi Wakui. He takes pictures of Tokyo and makes them look like they’re background stills from the coolest anime you’ve never seen. As pointed out by Spoon & Tamago, Wakui digitally manipulates his work to give it this unique and beautiful sheen that’s dubbed the “Masashi Wakui Look” online in…

How about some tasteful Splatoon merchandise? Inside Games reports that in Japan, a extremely limited number of Splatoon-themed Karatsu ware small dishes and Arita ware plates are going on sale, each priced at 2,500 yen (US$21) and 1,200 yen (US$10), respectively. Photos: SplatoonJP

Shit Blows Up at This Cosplay Event 

Who needs CG when you can blow things up for real? Japanese Cosplay site Cosnavi introduces an upcoming “blast photography” event that is limited to a hundred participants and lots and lots of explosions. According to IT Media, this time the event will take place on March 19 and March 20 at Mt. Iwafune in…

Taxis in Gion. Kyoto, Japan. By Joon (shot on 35mm). 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!

Even Dragon Ball‘s Creator Isn’t Always Thrilled with Dragon Ball

When Dragon Ball is great, it’s friggin’ amazing. When it’s not, Dragon Ball is anything but. Take heart. If you aren’t happy, chances are its creator Akira Toriyama isn’t either. AsYahoo News! Japan points out, a 30th Anniversary Dragon Ball Super History Book is getting released in Japan. It features extensive Toriyama interviews and Dragon…

Japan’s Getting Four Different Street Fighter V Limited Edition PS4s

Commemorating the game’s release in Japan, Sony’s announced a quartet of Street Fighter V-branded, limited edition PS4 consoles. Priced at 37,480 yen ($320) plus tax, each PS4 comes with an engraved HDD bay cover. The first of the two Glacier White ones is a simple logo design—the PS4 Street Fighter V Edition: Next is the…

VR Could Change the Way You Watch Fighting Games

Don’t think of how VR headsets could change the way esport games are played, but rather, imagine how they could change they’re viewed—in particular, fighting games. Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono explains how. In an interview in the latest Weekly Famitsu, Capcom’s Yoshinori Ono and Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada briefly touched on this topic. “For fighting game competitions,…

The Massive World of Steins;Gate, Explained 

If you are into visual novels at all, you’ve probably already played Steins;Gate (and if you haven’t, you should). But Steins;Gate is only one in a series of games tied together by their excellent sci-fi tales—and improper semicolon use. But if I’m going to try to explain the Science Adventure series, I’m going to need…

Last Week, Microsoft Reportedly Sold 99 Xbox Ones in Japan

In a nation of 127 million people, last week only ninety-nine of them wanted to buy an Xbox One. Ouch. Double digits! In comparison, according to data tracking company Media Create (via 4Gamer), here’s how the other console sales looked for the week from January 11 to January 17: 1. New Nintendo 3DS XL: 30,172…

Gotokuji Shrine. Tokyo, Japan. By Noah (Arkboy). 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!

How Not To Complete Your Dragon Ball Cosplay 

Let’s be honest. All you actually need are an orange Turtle School gi and some spiky hair to complete your Dragon Ball cosplay. You do not need a mini-segway, hoverboard, whatever. According to ETToday, a man in a Dragon Ball costume was spotted riding a Flying Nimbusthrough the Taipei streets. In the above photo, he…

If you are curious about (some of) the PS4 games Japan is getting this year, this PlayStation clip is a good primer. It features some cool music courtesy of Tofubeats.

These Bare-Assed Birds Would Be Great in a Shooter

As far as I know, there isn’t a class-based multiplayer shooter with bare-assed birds like these. But dammit, there should be. Japanese Twitter user Takio-chan, who now works as a CG graphic designer, recently uploaded these character models, which were done while in vocational school. [Image: Takio-chan] [Image: Takio-chan] [Image: Takio-chan] No wonder they’ve been…

Snow Covered Sprawl. Tokyo, Japan. By Jerome Senaillat 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!

If you were wondering were Tri-Force heroes fits in the official Zelda timeline, rest easy! Nintendo has updated the official chronology. It takes place several years after The Legend of Zelda: A Between Worlds. Noted! You can see more details on the chronology here and here

Explaining the Biggest News in Japan: a Boy Band Apology

This is Smap. Sorry, SMAP. Last night, the pop stars appeared on television to apologize, garnering massive television ratings, and resulting in a comment from the Prime Minister of Japan. This is a very big deal. How big of a deal? As you can see, the live apology broadcast does seem to have caused Twitter…

How One of Japan’s Biggest Games Was Created

In Japan, games don’t get much bigger than the Dragon Quest franchise. Recently, series creator Yuji Horii uploaded some of the first game’s original design documents, providing an inside peek at its birth. [Photo: Yuji Horii] According to Horii, first the stages were drawn out on paper. Then, the positions of in-game characters were drawn…

Interested in how Japan saved American fashion? Read this interview with one of my favorite Japan writers W. David Marx or, better yet, check out his book Ametora on the subject!

All the Characters in the New JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Game

The newest JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure 3D fighting game has exactly what fans of the long running anime and manga are looking for: being able to play as a ton of the series’ heroes and villains—53 to be exact. Part I: Phantom Blood Jonathan Joestar, Will A Zeppeli, Robert E. O. Speedwagon, Dio Brando Part II:…

Umbrellas. Kyoto, Japan. By Mike Kowalek 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!