Kotaku East

How Nintendo Makes Its Games Appear Cheaper in Japan

It looks like Nintendo is doing funny stuff on its official website with price listings to make its games look cheaper. Via Hachima, here is the official Nintendo Japanese site: Okay, so as people are pointing out online in Japan, Nintendo is listing the “tax not included” prices for its games. In Japanese, “tax not…

In Japan, a Thousand People Just Lined Up at Starbucks

Yes. That’s right. Starbucks. After not having one for years, Tottori Prefecture finally got its first Starbucks this past Saturday. Across Japan, there are Starbucks all over the freaking place. But Tottori Prefecture was the final frontier for the American coffee chain. There are now Starbucks in every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures. Yay, globalism.…

Tecmo Koei renewed the trademark for Ni-Oh!, a game that was first announced back in 2005 and that still hasn’t been released. Ni-Oh! is based on an Akira Kurosawa script and running very, very late.

Track: Linda Linda | Artist: The Blue Hearts | Album: The Blue Hearts Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment

The Worst Japanese Sales Week In a Long Time

Oh boy. The most recent video game sales numbers in Japan are not good. In fact, they’re bad. Very bad. As blog Hokanko points out, the most recent Media Create sales figures—which date from May 11 to May 17—are the worst since 2001. This period was the week that followed Golden Week, a string of…

Japanese Love Hotel Is Like Disneyland Meets Having Sex

Well, aren’t all Japanese love hotels like that? No, actually. They’re not. Even in Japan, the Sky Paradise Rakuen is most unusual. Think the Jungle Cruise or the Pirates of the Caribbean ride plus people screwing. Located in Oita Prefecture, Sky Paradise Rakuen was recently featured on Japanese television show Ariyoshi Hiroiki no Dare Toku!?…

The Up All Night Stream Plays Sword Art Online: Lost Song [All Done]

The second arc of Sword Art Online wasn’t exactly my favorite, but that doesn’t mean I’d pass up the chance to strap on my fairy wings and explore this (not so) online world. So why don’t you join me? Update: Livestream over, check out the full livestream below! Part 1 Watch live video from BiggestinJapan…

The Tokyo Ghoul Stage Play Cast All Dressed Up

These days, many popular anime and games get live action-stage play adaptations—including Tokyo Ghoul. And let me say, the cast doesn’t look half-bad in costume. Yuki Ogoe — Ken Kaneki Aya Tabata — Touka Kirishima Shogo Suzuki — Nishiki Nishio Shuto Miyazaki — Hideyoshi Nagachika Yuri Hamada — Rize Kamishiro Mitsu Murata — Uta Tomokazu…

Pokémon Pearl Was a Little Different in Taiwan

As gamers, we all have shared experiences. When I say certain game titles, say, Pokémon Pearl, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Right? Not exactly. According to Twitter user and Taiwan native @Taiwanjin, “Reminiscing on Pokémon Pearl with a Japanese friend didn’t quite jive, because for some reason, things in the the Taiwanese version…

Hong Kong, 1966. By Josh Delp’s Grandfather. 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!

Inside Tokyo’s Infamous Suicide Train Station

Japan has a high suicide rate. It’s one of the highest in the world. And one Tokyo train station, a known suicide spot, is doing what it can to stop people from taking their lives. If you are feeling depressed or ever contemplate taking your own life, please talk to someone, whether that’s friends, family…

Godzilla Stomps Out New Features on the PS4 [Updated]

The King of Monsters latest game is getting a much needed upgrade from his original Japanese release. See what’s evolved in the new trailer for the Godzilla’s game PS4 version. Godzilla the game was released last year in Japan on the PS3. The game, while looking to be a wet dream for Godzilla fans, was…

Capcom, That’s Not How Memes Work

There’s a lot of dumb luck and good timing need for things to go viral online. But the most important thing is that the memes should come from the internet. I know that. You probably do, too. But Capcom? Geeeeeeez… Yesterday, the Dragon Dogma Online Twitter account released an image of in-game orcs, writing that…

The Difficulty of Making Manga Turned into a Feature Film

Bakuman, the manga about making manga is getting a live-action movie adaptation. Check out the trailer (with English subtitles). As seems to be the ever increasing trend of live-action adaptations of popular manga/anime, the next upcoming movie is Bakuman, based on the manga of the same name by the authors of Death Note, Tsugumi Ohba…

The 8GB Wii U Is No More in Japan

The Wii U Basic Set set is no more in Japan, Nintendo announced today. The Nintendo.co.jp page states that the 8GB Wii U is “slated to go out of production shortly” (近日生産終了予定). The 32GB model will continued to be sold, and Nintendo is introducing a white 32GB version in Japan starting in June. This has…

Smash Bros. Creator Gets Bummed Out by Japan’s Game Museum

Taking time off from his insanely busy workload, Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai visited Japan’s Video Game Museum. He was in for a letdown. In his latest column in Weekly Famitsu, Sakurai talked about going to the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park on one of his holidays. “Inside [the park], there is a ‘Game Museum’…

Kiss People Through Plastic This Weekend in Tokyo

Got plans for Saturday? If you’re in Tokyo, maybe you can go kiss strangers through acrylic plastic. This isn’t a thing…yet. But the “acrylic kiss” (アクリルキス or “akuriru kisu”) has been featured on Japanese TV. In this article’s top image, you can see comedian Yuki Himura from the comedy duo Bananaman acrylic kissing pop singer…

The cat game Kotaku cannot stop playing is getting an illustrated reference book in Japan. It looks to be as cute as the game itself.

Japan Is Getting a Noodle and Rice Burger

I sure hope you like carbs! Lotteria, no stranger to odd burger stunts (here, here, here, andhere), is releasing a hamburger that consists of white rice, lettuce, ramen noodles, and spicy tofu. Oh, and buns. Nico News reports that the burger, which comes with soup, is priced at 720 yen (US$6) goes on sale this…

To Make Anime Eyes More Terrifying, Add Avocados

I’ve never really thought about this. But, it seems if you Photoshop in avocados into anime characters’ eyes, the result is most unsettling. Via Otaku News is Natsuki from Uta no Prince-sama, an anime which started out as a visual novel for the PSP. And thanks to Twitter user Ishima Tsu, here he is with…