Kotaku East

China’s Board Game Magazines Are Totally Not Just About Board Games

China’s one of the few places in the world where print media is still being consumed by the masses. Part of the reason for that is the State running most (if not all) media. Because China still consumes print, I am able to show off one of China’s more interesting geek-chic publications, China’s Board Games…

Domino’s Pizza Is Giving Out Truly Bizarre Discounts in Japan

Japanese people love pizza. The three most popular delivery restaurants that duke it out for the country’s pizza pie preferences are Napoli Pizza, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s. But as of today, Domino’s might get more business thanks to an amazingly odd discount campaign. You can get 25 percent off your delivery if you have one…

14 Year-old Swallows Pencil Lead To Escape Internet Addiction Clinic

Sent to an internet addiction rehabilitation center for, well, being addicted to the internet, 14 year-old Chen Wei (a pseudonym) couldn’t take the treatment at the center. So much so that he tried to kill himself to escape. Chen Wei from Wuhan, Hubei province, was “addicted” to online multiplayer games. Not sure what to do…

Japan’s Most Talented Pro-Gamer Is Now Appearing in a Japanese Manga

As far as Street Fighter players go, they don’t get much bigger than Daigo Umehara. He has an endorsement with peripheral maker Mad Catz, and he even authored a book. But it doesn’t stop there. He recently popped up in a Japanese manga. But not just any manga! According to this Japanese blog, Umehara is…

The Japanese version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf appears to have an infinite item duplicating glitch.

Now This Is How You Do Chun-Li Cosplay

Back when Kotaku asked who pulled off the best Chun-Li cosplay, there seems to have been one glaring omission: this. *applause* The gentleman who donned this Chun-Li should have been front and center in our round-up. Did I say gentleman? Sorry, I meant hero Chun-Li Cosplay [Cheezburger via Pony Effect] Kotaku East is your slice…

Final Fantasy Games Have Never Been About Choice

Over the last week as I have spent more and more time with Bravely Default: Flying Fairy—a Final Fantasy in all but name—I have found myself thinking about the classic Final Fantasies and how they compare with the most modern non-MMO iteration, Final Fantasy XIII. When I first played FFXIII, many months before it came…

Japan’s Real Robot Lady Turned into a Small Plastic Model

HRP-4C Miim is a humanoid robot, kind of like Asimo, but cuter. Japanese researchers toiled away for years in order to bring her to life, enabling her to walk and bow. And soon, she’ll be immortalized as a collectible. According to Tomopop, next February, Miim is getting a snap together figure that is posable. It…

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is a Classic Final Fantasy in All But Name

I vividly remember watching the Nintendo press conference right before the Tokyo Game Show in 2011 where they announced Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. I remember because I could not stop laughing for a good ten minutes after I saw the nonsensical title pop across my screen. I dismissed the game based on its name alone…

The Valkyria Chronicles 3 Anime is So True to the Game, I Forgot I Wasn’t Playing it

As I’ve said before, I was a fan of the Valkyria Chronicles series from the moment I first saw its debut trailer. Not only was it beautiful but also it got me, a man who never liked strategy games growing up, to spend countless hours on them. I love the series (though VC2 has more…

This Japanese Children’s Book Will Give You Hellish Nightmares

Jigoku (地獄) is the Japanese word for hell. Jigoku is Japanese Buddhist hell, where brutal and bloody penitence is doled out. It’s also the subject of a picture book for children. The book is called A Picture Book of Jigoku, and it is a best seller—a best seller that makes some children very scared. Adults,…

Does the World Need this 3DS Product? Probably Not.

Japan’s CyberGadget is rolling out a “3DS dedicated” AR card holder. Sure, it only costs ¥500, and it can hold 120 AR cards, but I’m honestly thinking of one good reason why this product needed to be made. I’m also trying to think of the last time I used AR cards with my 3DS. CYBER・ARカードホルダー（3DS用)…

How Japan Turned the United Kingdom into a Cute Anime Girl

Italy looks like a boot. Romania looks kind of like a fish. And the United Kingdom? The country certainly has a distinctive shape—a shape that Japan turned into an anime girl. As website Japan Sugoi pointed out this week, a thread popped up on bulletin board 2ch online in Japan last fall. In it, the…

Victoria’s Secret Features an Unexpected Anime Inspiration

When you think Victoria’s Secret, you probably think lingerie. Makes sense! Because that’s exactly what the company makes and sells. You, however, do not think Japanese animation. Right now, though, you will. That’s because the famed underwear maker showed an unlikely inspiration at its recent fashion show. On November 7, Victoria’s Secret had its models…

Monsters Can Make You Sick In Monster Hunter 4

The fourth Monster Hunter game Monster Hunter 4 (okay, so it’s actually the twentieth game… They’ve got a screwy number system) will be adding a bunch of new creatures and features into the mix. Already announced is the grabbing/climbing function, the “insect controlling stick” (or as I call it, the “bug stick”), and several new…

Zynga Japan is shutting down three more of its games. Things don’t look good for the Japan branch, reports Games.com

This Is Probably The Oddest (and Most Awesome) Cosplay Trend Right Now

This week on Twitter, cosplayers have been posting photos with the following theme: “If you put cosplay outfits outside the bathroom, it looks like the character is taking a bath.” Japanese bathrooms are different from Western ones. The bath and the toilet are typically separate. The bathroom is kind of like a giant shower with…

Meet The Man Who Suited Up Iron Man In The Avengers

Iron Man is perhaps the most popular character from The Avengers in Japan. It’s not just Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as the witty, egomaniac Tony Stark, but the iconic sleek red and gold mechanical suit he dons that make the man of gold-titanium alloy that people love so much. Meet Keiji Yamaguchi. In The Avengers,…

In Japan, There’s Halo 4 with Hard Gay

Japanese comedian Hard Gay, who is hardly gay, was roped in by Microsoft Japan to promote Halo 4 at a recent event in Tokyo. While Hard Gay, whose real name is Masaki Sumitani, hit it big in Japan back in 2005, he hasn’t appeared that much on television of late, save for the occasional appearance…

These Developers Had Fun Making Animal Crossing So You Could Have Fun Playing It

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Or Tobidase Doubutsu no Mori as it’s known in Japan) is out in stores in Japan today, and as part of a two-week coverage piece, Weekly Famitsu gathered 50 questions from fans for the four developers, Director Aya Kyougoku, Director Isao Moro, Sound Director Kazumi Totaka, and Design Leader Kouji Takahashi…