Kotaku East

Xbox Live, Live In China…Sort Of

Last Friday, reports showed up that Xbox Live in China was giving out digital copies of Assassins Creed III. A few hours after that, images of other games had begun showing up on the website, games with domestic pricing. It seems that Xbox Live is now live in China. Late last year in August, it…

In This Japanese Love Hotel, There’s an Effing DDR Arcade Machine

“Love hotels” are Japan’s equivalent of the “no-tell motel”. Rooms are available by the hour, and the hotels cater to people having sex, whether that’s renting costumes, selling sex toys, or streaming adult videos. But, wait! Some people have more varied interests. They like to sing karaoke and play video games. Well, love hotels often…

Rumor: Reports In China Say Two More Foxconn Workers Jumped

Foxconn, the manufacturing arm of the Taiwanese Hon Hai Precision Industrial Co is once again caught in the center of media attention in China. Over the weekend reports appeared saying that two workers had jumped off a building at Foxconn’s Shenzhen plant. On the Friday morning the 29, photos and posts appeared on China’s twitter…

Nintendo Is Rolling Out a New AR App for Japan

Later this month, Nintendo will start selling pre-paid cards for downloadable 3DS games that come with AR cards for Issho ni Photo: Super Mario (“Photos Together with Super Mario”). It’s a new 3DS app that uses the AR cards to allow you to take snaps of and with the Mario characters. The first set, on…

The Hardest Where’s Waldo Imaginable

Okay, I’ll admit it. I haven’t found Waldo (née “Wally”) in this image. So, he might not even be in the above GIF. That shouldn’t stop you from searching. And if you do, have a look at the slightly sharper version of the above GIF down below. The animated image recently appeared on 2ch, Japan’s…

As of today, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Sony Computer Entertainment Asia are now a single unit, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia. This seems to streamline and expand PlayStation operations. [SCEI]

April Fool’s Day in Japan Brings Us a Truly Wonderful Pizza Product. Shame It’s Fake.

April Fool’s Day is definitely a thing in Japan. And here is a round-up of some, certainly not all, of the country’s internet pranks. Many of them are either game or geek related things, but not all of them. And at least one of them should be real. April Fool’s Day or not, I so…

Years Later, Mother 3 Still Lives Up to All the Hype

Over the years, there have been many games released in Japan only. Of these, a small number have gone on to become cult classics abroad—lost gems of gaming that the English-speaking world missed out on. Even now, with virtual consoles and re-releases, some of these games have never gotten an official international release (though many…

Rumor: Ex-Square Enix Developer Writes Defense of Recently Axed Boss

Yoichi Wada, Square Enix’s president, is stepping down. The news came as a surprise. Wada has been Square Enix’s only president since Square and Enix joined forces. Some are happy about this. Others are not. Online in Japan, an individual claiming to have worked, until recently, at Square Enix as a programmer wrote a post…

Maoyu Brings Real World Concepts into a Fantasy World Setting

At first glance, anime Maoyu is hardly what you would call original. There are two worlds, a human world and a demon world, at war in a fantasy setting. And as these stories go, after many adventures, the Hero sets off to have his climatic one-on-one battle with the evil Demon King. But that’s where…

Check Out This Awesome Earthbound MiiVerse Fan Art

This past week saw the release in Japan of Earthbound(Mother 2) on the Wii U’s virtual console. To celebrate, Nintendo released a special episode of Retro Game Master (GameCenter CX) and even did a three-and-a-half hour playthrough of the game with Itoi, the game’s writer and director. The one other big thing they did was…

South Korean Pro Gamer Arrested in a Drug Bust

In many Western countries, smoking marijuana is not a big deal. In South Korea, it is. Especially if you get caught. Sports Chosun and Sports Seoul (via Kotaku reader Sang Kwon) report that South Korean police arrested a professional gamer with the last name “Cha” for marijuana. The drug is illegal in South Korea. The…

A Brief History of North Korean Photoshops

Almost as much as North Korea loves missiles and marching, the rogue nation apparently loves photo manipulation software. But hey, who doesn’t? Maybe North Korea uses Photoshop. Maybe the country even paid for its copy! Or maybe the military has its own magical software to use with a super computer. It’s probably a state secret…

I Felt Yoda on My Shoulder Throughout Soul Sacrifice

I remember watching The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke was training on Dagobah. At one point, he looks over his shoulder at Yoda and asks, “Is the Dark Side stronger?” Yoda, in his ever-wise (at least until the prequels) way answered firmly, “No. Quicker. Easier. More seductive.” I kept remembering those words pretty much through…

Dragon Ball Creator Doesn’t Enjoy Inking Manga, But He Does Enjoy Crazy Poses

Akira Toriyama is returning to Dragon Ball once again with the release of the new anime movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. But apparently, all is not well with the famed series creator. In a March 24th TV program celebrating the release of the new movie, several of Toriyama’s written answers to previously selected…

Here, go ahead and watch the first thirty minutes of Game & Wario for the Wii U. Do it!

First Look at the Upcoming Game from No More Heroes Studio

At the end of January, it was announced that GungHo Online Entertainment would be acquiring Grasshopper Manufacture, developer of artistically unique games like Killer 7, the No More Heroes series, Lollipop Chainsaw, and the upcoming Killer is Dead. Now, roughly two months later, they’re working on their first game together. “The game will obviously have…

The Miiverse Is Way More Exciting Than This Presentation Room

The Wii U is a wonderful console. And its Miiverse is a hive of fun! But, according to a photo on Japanese site Game Watch Impress, Nintendo’s Miiverse presentation at the Game Developers Conference looked…sparse. Hey! There are lots of presentations at GDC. Not every one of them will be packed. Game Watch Impress did…

Explore Fukushima’s Nuclear Zone in Google’s Startling Street View

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake devastated the town of Namie in Fukushima. The surviving residents still cannot return to their homes. The area has been evacuated due to radiation. Earlier this month, Google sent a Street View car to photograph the town and surrounding area. The resulting images show that two years after the…

Tougeki, one of the biggest fighting game tournaments in the world, is being temporarily suspended due to “extenuating circumstances”. More here