Kotaku East

Is Atlus Alright? This Is Sure Worrying. [UPDATE]

Index, the parent company for Japanese game maker Atlus, just filed for what sounds like bankruptcy. The company is entering “civil rehabilitation proceedings” in order to cut off the corporate bloodletting before it becomes fatal. Geez. NeoGAF user Mandoric has a good definition of Japanese Civil Rehabilitation Law that should help you understand the legalese.…

Drag-on Dragoon 3 or, as we know it, Drakengard 3, hits the PS3 in Japan on October 31. It’ll be available in two editions: standard, and tenth anniversary box. The latter will include a bunch of goodies, including a DLC key, a novel, a remix CD, and artbooks pertaining to each of the four (including…

Japan’s Amazing Rice Paddy Art Continues to Dazzle

This is Naruto from, well, Naruto. The iconic manga and anime character has been recreated in a Japanese rice paddy. This is called “tanbo art” (田んぼアート) or “rice paddy art”. There are no dyes to create the different colors and hues. Instead, farmers used various rice strains in their tanbo canvases. Often, hundreds of villagers…

Korean Movie Trailer Accused of Copying Battlefield 3

In South Korea, the trailer for suspense flick The Terror Live is being called a Battlefield 3 rip off. According to Korean site ThisIsGame, the trailer’s music style and build up are said to be too close to the Battlefield 3 ambient score featured in the game’s trailer. Compare for yourself. What’s more, The Terror…

Yoichi Wada’s New Job at Square Enix Might Surprise You

This spring, former Square Enix honcho Yoichi Wada stepped down. Stepped down into what, you ask? Chairman of the Board. A controversial figure among Square Enix fans, Wada left his post as Square Enix’s Representative Director. At the time, Square Enix as forecasting an “extraordinary loss” in sales and Wada’s demotion was part of “a…

Korean Urban Legend Goes Viral, Makes Taxis Scary

You’ve heard it before: Person wakes up in a bathtub of ice, only to find a kidney has been harvested. It’s an urban legend that, according to Snopes, has been around since 1991. Now in South Korea, there’s a somewhat similar story that involves taxicabs. And it’s taking the internet by storm. Numerous websites and…

Perhaps, Blame Internet Pranksters for Scorning Professor Layton

Remember how 4chan voted Kim Jung-un as Time‘s Person of the Year? Well, something kind of like that might have happened in Japan—but minus Time and the communist dictator. As part of its 15th anniversary, Japanese game maker Level-5, best known for the Professor Layton series, held a poll for fans to pick their favorite…

Sushi Donuts! Yes, Sushi…Donuts!

Boy, do I love donuts! Who doesn’t? Weirdos, that’s who. And some of the best donuts are from Mister Donut. But did you know that the donut chain’s Thai branch has donuts that look like delicious sushi? Maybe you did. Mister Donut of Thailand’s “sushido” donuts aren’t exactly brand new (they’ve been offered for some…

This Yakuza Ad Is Awesome Even if You Don’t Speak Japanese

Everybody from Kotaku East is asleep right now. So I don’t have the benefit of their multilingual skills when it comes to translating this advert for the HD re-master of Sega’s first two Yakuza games. The language barrier is no real obstacle here, however. I can tell that things start off sweet and then get…

This Is How Japan Trolls Google Street View

Google Street View trolling is not new. People around the world love pulling hijinks when they see the Google Street View apparatus rolling down the street. Folks in Japan did some truly epic trolling. As IT Media points out, writers at Japanese humor site Daily Portal Zgot the drop that the Google Street View would…

Can’t Wait for Dragon’s Crown? Try its Spiritual Predecessor

In recent years, Japanese company Vanillaware has made some of the most beautiful and unique-looking games ever. But long ago, in the ancient time known as the 1990’s, before Dragon’s Crown, Muramasa: The Demon’s Blade, and Odin Sphere—before even the creation of Vanillaware itself—there was Princess Crown Princess Crown is a side-scrolling action RPG much…

Samurai Shodown Stars in a Korean Mobile Game

Huh. As tipster Sang points out, Samurai Shodown characters are now appearing in a South Korean runner game called Everyone Kal Kal Kal. “Kal” (칼) means “sword”. SNK signed off on the game, which is for iOS and Android. So there ya go! Everyone Kal Kal Kal [Official Site Thanks, Sang!] To contact the author…

The First Film of Ghost in the Shell: Arise is True to Its Roots

This past week saw the release of the first chapter of the newest iteration of the Ghost in the Shell franchise with Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain. While the changes in the character designs have caused many to worry, let me assure you, the changes are only skin deep. Ghost Pain…

18 Year-old Male Sells Kidney In China, Video Games Get Blamed.

Earlier this month, a criminal gang was arrested by Shijiazhuang police in Hebei province, China. The gang was arrested for dealing in black market organs. One of those organs supposedly belonged to a Chinese gamer. You might know the story of the Chinese boy from Anhui province who sold one of his kidneys (most of…

Why Sony Fans Are Called “Cockroaches” in Japan

Outside Japan, the perception is that all Japanese people love Sony. Sony’s a Japanese company, so everyone must support the home team, right? Eh… Some people in Japan love Sony. Other people hate it. Then some really don’t care at all. And over the years, there have been a series of nicknames for the country’s…

On June 26, Nintendo is holding a Pikmin 3 Direct for Japan. It will feature a special guest: comedian and filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto.

The Real Hairstyles of Final Fantasy

The hair. Just look at the hair! It’s magnificent. These aren’t video game characters. They’re men who would like to drink cocktails with you. Earlier this month, Japanese internet users chattered about how the latest entry in the Final Fantasy role-playing game series, Final Fantasy XV, featured a protagonist who looks like a “host”. Here…

Woman’s Breast Implant Ruptures After Four-Hour Gaming Session

Reports out of China state that woman suffered at least one ruptured breast implant after lying on her stomach for four hours and gaming. According to Chinese news reports, Xiao Ai (a pseudonym) had recently got into an iOS app called Dragon Summon and was often staying up late to play the game. Earlier this…

New College Grads Get Together To Cosplay Their Favorite Game

Summer’s here, and for Chinese college students this means two things: summer vacation and/ or graduation! To celebrate their graduation and their friendship, a group of graduating students got together to cosplay their favorite characters from the first person shooter Cross Fire This group of students, eight in number, are part of the graduating class…

Meet This Year’s “Creepy Woody”

This is Egashira 2:50. He’s a Japanese comedian, who recently got his own posable figure. And damn, it’s creepy. That’s okay, I guess, because Egashira 2:50 (who Kotaku has previously featured here and here) is pretty creepy, too! He’s also considered the “most annoying” comedian in Japan. (That, however, didn’t stop Sony from having him…