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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 EastThis Pikachu Caterpillar Plushie Looks Freaky
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…
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 EastOfficial Pokémon Sunscreen Coming To Asia
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…
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 EastChinaLive-Action Dynasty Warriors Movie Is Hack-And-Slash Brought To Life
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 2021 -
Kotaku EastLarge Evangelion Statues, Yours For Either $16,000 Or $27,000
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 9, 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 -
Kotaku EastJapanOfficial Pokémon-Themed…Fishing Lures
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2021 -
Kotaku EastMangaGiant Attack On Titan Manga Weighs 30 Pounds And Costs $1,400
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 4, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanStory of Seasons Producer Writes An Apology To Fans Over Bugs, Glitches, And Loading Times
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanSquare Enix Launches Official Final Fantasy XIV Masks
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 3, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanThe Wii U Gets A New System Update Two And A Half Years Later
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanHere’s An Excellent Majora’s Mask Replica
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…
By Brian Ashcraft Published March 1, 2021