Kotaku East

In Japan, Häagen-Dazs Has Unusual Flavors Even You Might Want

This month, Häagen-Dazs is releasing two special flavors in Japan to mark its 30th anniversary in the country. And, let me tell you, they look pink. But special Häagen-Dazs flavors are not new to Japan. The anniversary flavors are “Sakura” (which is Japanese for “cherry blossoms”) and “Rose” (which is English for, uh, “rose”). The…

Kpop Groups Called “Too Sexy” for South Korea

Several of Korea’s hottest musical acts are coming under fire for sexually charged performances. And they’re essentially being told, hey, knock off the sexy! In particular, the groups Girl’s Day, AOA, and Rainbow Blaxxx (a sub-unit of the group Rainbow) are being singled out by the Korean media and commenters online for being “too sexy.”…

Three Amazing Chinese Indie Games, Created in Just One Weekend

Developers from all over the world took part in the Global Game Jam in late January. Over 4000 games were made in the span of a weekend, with about 15 coming out from China through the game jam location in Shanghai. Let’s take a look at what the Chinese developers came up with. Over 30…

Middle School Flag Team Twirls it to Assassin’s Creed Liberation

Video games often have epic music. The Encounter music from Metal Gear Solid will always be burned into my mind as something that instills urgency. Music from the Assassin’s Creed series is the same, so no wonder that students from Taipei’s Dongshi Middle School used the music for their flag-twirling performance. Dongshi Middle School’s Flag…

Resident Evil Composer Admits to Being a Fraud

Mamoru Samuragoch* has been called “Japan’s Beethoven.” Even as he went deaf, Samuragoch continued to compose scores for video games like Resident Evil and Onimusha. This week, he revealed that he used a ghost composer. A gifted musician, Samuragoch had a degenerative hearing condition that left him completely deaf by age 35. However, as AFP…

A Brief History of Chinese Game Consoles

China and video games have a long and ridiculous history, but in the age of the internet, it’s a story that’s yet to be completely put together. And so, here at Kotaku, we will try to make sense of the history of consoles in China. Stay awhile, and read? One of the earliest game consoles…

The Curtain Opens on a Special Final Fantasy 3DS XL

Aw, look at that! They’re all singing. How adorable. Upcoming 3DS game Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call is the latest entry in the Final Fantasy-themed music game series. To mark its April 24 release in Japan, the game is getting a special 3DS XL. No word yet about a Western release for the game or…

Behold, Hello Kitty-Branded Martial Arts Armour

You are looking at kendo armour covered in Hello Kitty. That’s right. Kendo armour. Hello Kitty. Go figure. When you think of kendo, you think of tough people, smacking each other on the head with bamboo sticks. You don’t think of Hello Kitty. Not that people practicing kendo would actually wear this—at least, we hope…

Outbreak Company Is a Comedy for All You Otaku Out There

Outbreak Company is a love letter to otaku everywhere—and that is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness. Good – Otaku Culture as a Tool for Change Outbreak Company is a comedy about a hardcore otaku, Shinichi, who is hired by the Japanese government to promote otaku culture in a newly-discovered parallel world. The parallel…

So Far, The Best Prank of 2014

I know, I know. It’s only February. We still have months to go. But this prank is good. Damn good. And best of all? It’s from early last month, so other pranksters will have a good year to try to top it. They’ll need it. The prank appeared on Japanese television special Dokkiri Award (“dokkiri”…

Watch as Gundam Wing and Gundam SEED Duke It Out

One of my favorite features in Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost is the ability to watch replays of other players’ matches. Thus you can see some of the best players in action and then better your own play-style. Moreover, it’s a golden opportunity to see some of your dream fights; like say, Gundam Wing vs…

Darth Vader, You Can’t Eat Chinese Food with a Mask On

As many of you might already know, Chinese New Year has come and this year, 2014, is the year of the horse. To recognize and greet those who celebrate the event, some companies (and even world leaders) have created video greetings. However, all of those pale in comparison to one that comes from a galaxy…

Check Out Kirby‘s Own Take on Super Smash Bros.

The newest Kirby game, Kirby Triple Star Deluxe came out on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan earlier this month, and its story mode is only the tip of the iceberg in what it has to offer. There are tons of additions to Kirby’s classic gameplay. We’ve already looked at Kirby’s new copy abilities, but that’s…

World Class Street Fighter Player Doesn’t Have a Game Console at Home

Daigo Umehara is a Street Fighter titan. He’s one of the best, if not the best, ever to play the game. And he doesn’t have a video game console in his house. Recently, a Japanese morning show spent the day with Daigo, visiting him in his house, and going into his room. This is Daigo’s…

Nothing Says Happy Chinese New Year Like A Racist Billboard

As part of a shopping promotion, Bangkok shopping mall Central Festival unveiled billboards and ads to mark the Chinese New Year. The ad featured a white woman pulling one of her eyes. The text read, “Good to be Chinese.” Understandably, people got upset. “I thought this was a joke,” wrote one Facebook user, while another…

Microsoft’s Kinect Is Now Guarding the Korean Border

North Korea and South Korea are separated by the most heavily armed border on Earth. But rest easy, there’s a new guard on the lookout: Kinect. Self-taught South Korean programmer Jae Kwan Ko developed a Kinect-based software system to monitor the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), which separates the two countries. It was deployed at the border…

Nintendo has been a family business. After the company’s former president Hiroshi Yamauchi died last fall, he left his stake in the company to his four children. And now, Bloomberg reports, they’re looking to sell stock.

You Can Play Wii in North Korea… for Therapy

The outside world doesn’t know a whole lot about what is really going on in North Korea—how the people actually live and what they do. One thing we can prove, however, is that at least one North Korean citizen has played the Nintendo Wii. In the above photo, a North Korean woman plays Ping Pong…

Oh, Just a JPop Group Covering The Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage”

Here’s Akihabara-based idol group Dempa Gumi Inc. covering the 1994 classic “Sabotage.” Nothing more, nothing less! Courtesy of Japanator, you can listen to a short version of their cover here. Or, you can see them performing the tune in concert—something they’ve done for a while now and something that will never cease to surprise. If…

Young Chinese Woman Spun Around for Four Hours

At the recent Spring Festival Gala in China, 15 year-old Wei Caiqi served as “Time Girl” and spun around. A bunch. Days before the gala was broadcasted, it was announced in the Chinese press that Wei would spin for four hours and start spinning faster as the Chinese New Year approached. And, well, that’s what…