Kotaku East Archives - Page 337 of 501

You Don’t Want To Get In This Chinese Swimming Pool

No, really. You do not. This isn’t just a swimming pool in Sichuan province, it’s a sea of people. Website Beijing Cream points out that crowded Chinese swimming pools are famous (infamous?), and if you’d like to see more, there are numerous photos online. This particular video was recently uploaded to Chinese video site Youku,…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 30, 2013

Kotaku East

Life-Sized Mario Can Be Yours for Nearly $3,000

It’sa him, Mario! Witha you, person who just spent almost three grand. As New Launches points out, this 150 cm (4.9 ft) Mario statue is available on Amazon Japan. It was launched a few years back and is priced at 285,000 yen, which is around US$2,900. This seems like something designed for retail displays—or people…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 30, 2013

Kotaku East

After a Bad Experience, Former Konami Employee Had To Fight Depression

In an interview with the Asahi News, one of Japan’s largest newspapers, a forty-something year-old man recalled his time at Konami and an alleged unfortunate experience which led to bouts of severe depression. Asahi reports that the man worked at Konami in game development. However, in late 2010, apparently the man’s boss abruptly told him…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 30, 2013

Kotaku East

There’s a Macross Game on the Oculus Rift

When I was a kid, I had a poster of an F-14 Tomcat hanging on my wall. It was my favorite airplane. Then I watched Robotech and saw my favorite plane transform into a giant robot as well. I dreamed about flying one. Now, two decades later, Oculus Rift has helped me get as close…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 30, 2013

Kotaku East

How a Japanese Radish Became an Internet Hero

Last fall, a most unusual radish was unearthed in Japan. The vegetable walked—no, raced—from that farm and into our hearts. The result was TV appearances, a calendar, toys, and even a photo book. Behold the world’s most successful radish. If you are not familiar with daikon radish, they are rather large and look like this:…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 30, 2013

Kotaku East

Mid-Summer Cosplay Was Wonderful This Weekend in Japan

At its heart, Wonder Festival is an event in Japan for toy models and sculptures. But wherever there are nerds, there are people dressing up! Here’s a look at some of the standout cosplay from this weekend’s Wonder Festival. Many of these outfits (such as the Kamen Rider Wizard and the Raiden outfits, above) look…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

A Most Unusual Pokemon Peripheral for the 3DS

This is Pokemon Tretta Lab for Nintendo 3DS. The app is a free download, but the hardware costs 3,800 yen (around $38). In Japan, there are coin-operated Pokemon games that use chipped plastic pucks. Players put the pucks on a mat on the machine, and the mat “reads” the pucks. So, for example, if you…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

And Now, Here’s Gintama’s Sakata Gintoki Beating The Crap Out Of Goku

Also featuring: many other popular anime and manga characters beating the crap out of each other, courtesy of J-Stars Victory VS, the upcoming PS3/Vita crossover fighting game that’s just received a nice gameplay trailer. Sadly, there’s no word on a Western release.

By András Neltz Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

Geeks, Games, and Extremely Bored Booth Companions at China Joy 2013

For the last 11 years, the yearly China Digital Entertainment Expo has been “entertaining” China and the world’s gamers. Commonly known as China Joy, the show is usually known more for its booth companions—in fact, this year’s China Joy was more about the gamers and geeks taking photos of young women. Over 200,000 people attended…

By Eric Jou Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

Japanese University Makes Special “Forever Alone” Dining Tables

One of Japan’s most prestigious institutions, Kyoto University, has installed new lunchroom seats for students who don’t want others to watch them while they eat. Alone. The seats are called “bocchi seki”　(ぼっち席), with “bocchi” meaning “alone” in Japanese. According to Asahi News, Kyoto University first installed the “lonely seats” last spring at its engineering school…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

Man Opens Nazi Cafe, Baffled that It Pisses People Off

Who would have thought that a cafe packed with Nazi memorabilia would make people incredibly angry? Henry Mulyana, that’s who. Back in 2011, the Indonesian businessman opened SoldatenKaffee (“Soldier’s Cafe”), a restaurant filled with Nazi emblazoned decor. After the English-language media recently discovered his cafe, Mulyana received death threats and temporarily closed the establishment. According…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

For Some Reason, Lightning Returns Has Boob Jiggling

One of the best things about Final Fantasy heroines is that, generally speaking, they’ve tended to be strong females and haven’t really relied on fan service. Until now, that is. At a recent Q&A session with Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII‘s developers, the following question was asked: “Is it true that Lightning went from a…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 29, 2013

Kotaku East

One Piece‘s Creator Still Sidelined Amid Concerns

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, skipped the deadline for several issues of his popular manga earlier this spring due to illness. It seems he is still recovering. According to the latest issue of Shonen Jump, One Piece will once again be missing an issue. Originally, Oda was hospitalized in May for a tonsil…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Let’s Spend Some Hands-On Time with Dragon’s Crown

While the release of Dragon’s Crown in North America is still a few weeks away, Vanillaware’s newest title hit Japanese shelves yesterday—a copy of which has already found a new home in my PlayStation 3. So click the video above and let’s sit down together and look at Dragon’s Crown‘s single player and online multiplayer…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Giant Mobile Battle Suits Overrun Hong Kong

Starting this week, if you head down to Hong Kong’s Time Square Shopping Center, you’ll see more than chic retailers. You’ll see giant mecha. The “Gundam Docks at Hong Kong” exhibit kicked off on July 26 and will run until the beginning of September. In front of the Time Square Shopping Center, you can see…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Valvrave Mixes an Over-the-Top Premise with Real World Consequences

Back in the middle of the spring anime season, I called Valvrave: The Liberator one of the five anime you should be watching. Now that all the episodes have aired, I can understand that it may not be for everyone; but for me, it was one of the most crazy and utterly enjoyable anime of…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Why I am Reluctantly Okay With Cutting the Sex Out Of Visual Novels

Late last month, If My Heart Had Wings, a winner of several visual novel related awards, was released in the United States. This English version of the game has all the sex scenes removed and numerous scenes and lines of dialogue edited to fit a “T for Teen” rating. And while I stand by what…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Penis-Powered Game Gets Oculus Rift Support

Custom Maid 3D, the erotic computer game with a cock controller, is grinding out a historic update: Oculus Rift support. VR gaming with things people put their penises in will never be the same! Thanks to a new beta patch, now players can enjoy virtual reality head-mounted gaming as they enjoy controlling the game with…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Game Creator Keiji Inafune Appears in a Dating Game

Sweet Fuse, the dating game with game designer Keiji Inafune (Dead Rising, Mega Man), will be out on the PSP this August in North America. In the game, you are Inafune’s niece (no, you don’t date him). Along with seven sexy bachelors, you must save the fame game creator from being held hostage. As Siliconera…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2013

Kotaku East

Unexpected Chaos Makes Japanese TV Fun

Westerners often say Japanese TV is “odd.” It’s not, really—even less so once you understand what people are actually saying. That doesn’t mean that peculiar or unexpected things don’t sometimes happen. The Japanese word “hapuningu” (ハプニング) uses the English loan word “happening” to refer to unexpected events. It could be the TV producers who don’t…

By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2013