The listing for this AliExpress product says “Pikachued”, and that’s exactly how I feel after looking at it. Japanese site Hachima Kikou doesn’t think this is official merch (it certainly doesn’t appear like one!), but for what it apparently lacks in licensing, it makes up for in OMG and WTF. The plushie is a caterpillar-type…
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…
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…
When you think of Pokémon, you probably don’t think of sunscreen. Well, maybe you do. I know I don’t! Yet, Shiseido is rolling out Pocket Monster emblazoned Anessa sunscreen in its native Japan as well as in mainland China and Hong Kong. The concept seems to be that the Pokémon sunblock protects wearers as they…
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,…
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…
Koei Tecmo’s popular Dynasty Warriors series is getting a live-action cinematic version. It looks wild. Called Dynasty Warriors, the movie will be directed by Hong Kong director Roy Chow Hin-Yeung (Nightfall) and will star Louis Koo, Wang Kai, Tony Yang, and Gulnezer Bextiyar. Variety reports that the movie has a cameo from ex-Super Junior member…
It’s that time again! Time for large, expensive statues that cost lots of money. This time, we have two of them: a life-sized Rei Ayanami, and a human-sized Evangelion Unit-01. As Nico Nico News reports, the Rei, which features the character in her plugsuit, is priced at 1,815,000 yen ($16,665). The official website notes the…
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…
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,…
The amount of Pokémon branding in Japan is intense. And with the arrival of these fishing lures, it seems the pocket monsters can be slapped on just about anything. As Go Nintendo points out, Japanese fishing equipment company Duo has teamed up with The Pokémon Company for made-in-Japan Pikachu and Kygore-themed lures. One is a…
Are you a big Attack on Titan fan? Like a really big one? Well, enjoy this enormous version of the popular manga. Kodansha is releasing a huge compilation of the first and second instalments of Attack on Titan. (Full disclosure: Kodansha International originally published my first two books.) The 96-page jumbo manga measures over 3…
When Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town was released last month in Japan, fans complained of long load times, bugs, and glitches. Producer Dai Takemura addressed these issues on the game’s official blog and offers his apology. On Twitter in Japan, the game was being described as “load hell”, with numerous load screens, some…
Merchandising! Square Enix loves to do it. And with lots of people wearing masks in Japan, the Tokyo-based game maker saw an opportunity. Update March 3 – 11:40am: As one Kotaku reader points out, these masks are also available through the North American website. As Famitsu reports, pre-orders for Final Fantasy XIV masks kicked off…
Today in Japan, Nintendo released a new system update for the Wii U. The last firmware, 5.5.3, was released in early September 2018. Nintendo of America detailed the previous update as fixing the following: Improvements to system stability and usability Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance…
This year marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. To celebrate, artist Pikousa reposted an excellent Majora’s Mask she sculpted. Out of all the Zelda games, Pikousa’s husband, photographer Kyon, likes The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask best. For his birthday last year, she sculpted it entirely out of clay. It was then…
A resident of Saitama, Japan is in police custody after sending death threats to Square Enix. A suspect named Toshiyuki Kan sent thirty-seven of them to the game maker last November. Sadly, this isn’t a first for Square Enix. A 25-year-old man was arrested in spring 2019 for threatening to kill Square Enix employees. “I…
Even before the age of covid-19, sickness masks were widely worn in Japan, especially during hay fever season. But now that people wear them every day, throughout the day, it seems as though there’s a notion as to what’s good and bad mask manners. This week on Asashi TV’s Morning Show (via Afternoon News), there…
Today on Twitter, producer Masaaki Yamagiwa announced that he is leaving Sony’s Tokyo-based Japan Studio. He is not leaving the game industry, however. “I’m leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment at the end of this month,” he wrote. “I’m going to continue working hard on creating games. Many thanks to everyone!” While at Sony, Yamagiwa produced Bloodborne,…
Today, Nintendo announced in Japan that it was ending repair service for the 3DS and 3DS XL. The reason is that it’s become difficult to obtain the necessary parts. The original Nintendo 3DS launched in February 2011 in Japan, and the larger Nintendo 3DS XL (called “LL” in Japan) followed in July 2012. This announcement…
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