Kotaku East

More 2014 Resolutions From Japanese Game Developers

2013 was a great year for gaming. After what was accomplished this year, let’s see what Japanese game developers hope to do in 2014. We’ve seen a sample of what some Japanese game developers have in mind when looking towards the year to come. Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu, however, asked 100 developers in their…

Battlefield 4 ‘Illegal’ in China, But It Wasn’t For Sale There Anyway

To the surprise of no one, China’s Ministry of Culture has formally banned Battlefield 4—though “condemned” may be a more accurate term considering the game never was formally for sale there. Anyway, the game is henceforth “illegal,” according to reports from the country. China.com, one of the country’s oldest and largest online news sites, reported…

Deep Down’s Next-Gen Living Treasure Chests Look Terrifying

Deep Down will be a free-to-play online RPG for the PS4. It will have knights and disturbing HD mimics. I think I liked them more when they were just sprites or silly 3D models, ugh The lovely creatures debuted in the latest trailer for Capcom’s RPG, dubbed the “Prologue trailer.” Take a look: Fight scenes…

The Five Best Anime of 2013

Over this past year, I’ve shown you my picks for the anime you should be watching for the spring, summer, and fall seasons. You’ve even had the chance to weigh in on your favorites. So without further ado, here are Kotaku‘s picks for the best anime of 2013. But first, the ground rules (which I…

Japan’s Newest Island Looks Like Snoopy

South of Japan, a new island is currently in the process of forming a very familiar character. Roughly 177 miles from the Japanese mainland lie the Bonin Islands. There, at this very moment, an active volcano is in the process of rather violently creating a new island. Originating very close to Nishi-no-shima (西之島, Western Island),…

The Year in Kotaku East

Here at Kotaku East, we’re all about stories. Whether it’s amazing, cool, weird, or hilarously stupid, if our Eastern friends have a story to share, we make sure to tell you all about it. And this year certainly had more than enough tales of all four types. What follows is just a small sample of…

See What These Japanese Game Developers Resolve for 2014

As 2013 draws to an end, we look forward to 2014. And with a new year, comes new resolutions – even for game developers. Japanese gaming magazine, Weekly Famitsu, asked 100 game developers what their key phrases resolutions for 2014 were. Take a look at what some of them had to say. Daisuke Ishiwatari –…

That Lightning Returns Aerith Costume Wasn’t Meant for Everyone

One of the highlights of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is all the costumes you can play around with. Aside from the costumes included in the game and the DLC costumes, Square Enix also has a limited Aerith from Final Fantasy VII costume and weapons. Well, it was supposed to be limited. The Aerith costume…

Kingdom Hearts Director Addresses the Remaining HD Remake Left to Do

With Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD Remix out and II.5 HD Remix on the way next year, there’s nothing left to re-tell as we prepare for the eventual release of Kingdom Hearts III. Oh wait, yes there is. The HD collections of the Kingdom Hearts saga currently cover every previously released console game in the series…

Check Out the Most Amazing Warship Models You’ll Ever See

Holy cow… Models are awesome. The more detailed the better. Still, there is a limit to how detailed you can make things depending on the scale. When it comes to battleships, usually the largest scale models you’ll find on sale are 1/350 scale. If you want bigger, well you’re kind of out of luck –…

Our 25 Most Popular Stories of the Year, According to You

Bit of a busy year for Kotaku. The next generation arrived! There are new games! New studios! And the community didn’t sit by idly, either, producing many examples of amazing fanart, fascinating articles, and more than enough silly videos. Picking favorites is nigh-impossible—luckily, I have numbers What follows are, in descending order, the twenty-five articles…

Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is Just Like I.5 HD Remix, In a Good Way

Much like the previous HD upgrade collection, Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD Remix, Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix takes 3 previous Kingdom Hearts games and gives them an HD bump-up. Square Enix had a playable demo available at this year’s Jump Festa 2014, and Kotaku East was there to experience some HD goodness. There were two…

The Best Japan-Only Games of 2013

Japanese games can be quite at odds with their Western counterparts. They can be strange. They can be sexy. They can be horrific and brutal. They can also be pretty much similar to what we’re used to, crafted, of course, with love and great care. This year, it was no different. Here are, in no…

WoW Hacker Group Mastermind Sentenced To Two Years In Chinese Prison

Late last week, in Zhejiang province’s Songyang county court, ten men were sentenced to prison terms of up to two years. These men didn’t commit super heinous crimes, but they did commit a terrible one: they were found guilty of hacking and defrauding over 10,000 World of WarCraft accounts. The sentence hearing and the results…

Eric’s Top 5 (Chinese) Games of 2013

The year is coming to an end, and lists seem to be the thing to do right now—so I’m jumping on the bandwagon. Unlike the rest of the Kotaku crew, I’m relegated to a part of the world where mainstream games and the like aren’t released. Traditional gaming platforms such as consoles are a gray…

Freedom Wars Makes You Work Off a Million-Year Sentence

I’ve been quite curious about Freedom Wars ever since I completely misjudged what sort of game it would be. So when I discovered that Sony had a playable demo booth set up at this year’s Jump Festa, I had to try it out. For the demo, I was treated to a tutorial video explaining the…

Sony is hiring developers for “人喰いの大鷲トリコ”—which is the Japanese title for The Last Guardian Interestingly, the job listing says it’s forPlayStation 3 game development …

Look at Awesome Japanese Toys from Jump Festa. Look at Them!

Every year, Japanese publisher, Shueisha, hosts Jump Festa – a convention celebrating its most popular publication, Shonen Jump as a thank you to fans and to give people a little taste of things to come in terms of games, anime, and other assorted media. Also on display (and for sale) are some pretty awesome toys…

Mario Kart 8 Drove Me Up The Walls… In a Good Way

The original Mario Kart on the Super Nintendo was a game that quite literally ended friendships back in the day. Now, over two decades later, the latest addition to the series, Mario Kart 8 is headed for the Wii U next spring, and I got a chance for a little hands-on time at this year’s…

Richard’s Top 10 Games of 2013

When it comes to a list like this, it’s important to know why I enjoy gaming. Frankly, it’s the same reason I enjoy books, movies, TV, and anime: I love a well-told story. And though some of the games here may not be the pinnacle of gameplay, you’re bound to get an awesome story, if…