Kotaku East

Dragon Quest X Wii U will appear at the Tokyo Game Show as part of a stage demo.

This Game Looks Nothing Like Pokémon

Nope. Nothing like it at all. It’s totally different. No way could anyone call Little Masters a Pokémon rip-off. Just look at it. See? Totally different. Recently released on iOS, Little Masters is a game in which you caught monsters, train them, and have them fight. Know why they call the game “Little Masters”? Because…

The Time Jeremy Lin Escaped in a Hello Kitty Mask

Being super famous is difficult. Just ask Jeremy Lin! That dude is super famous—in the US and especially in Asia. This video shows how the hoopster escaped Linsanity while in Taipei: by wearing a Hello Kitty mask. Cool video, but there’s something Lin couldn’t escape: all those Nike logos! A Late Night Escape in Taipei…

Check out more footage of Demon Training (Nintendo’s new Brain Age) here. Lotsa math and floating heads.

A Game with Truly Ugly Characters Is a 3DS Hit

Kobito Dukan, those ugly troll characters, got their own 3DS game. And that game had insane box art. And the game itself looked okay, fun even as you attempt to catch those little characters and make your own field guide. But those little characters? They look like a dog’s breakfast. But as fugly as the…

Hatsune Miku Boosts Vita Sales, But She May Not Be Back For An Encore

It’s no secret that the PS Vita has been struggling. Numbers have consistently shown the portable console to be underselling its predecessor, the PSP, on an almost weekly basis. As has been pointed out in the past, the key to a hit console is to have hit games, and just as if to drive point…

The Voice of Kingdom Hearts‘ Riku Will Soon Appear in a “Nude Men” Special Issue

There’s an assumption that only women appearing in revealing magazine spreads in Japan. That’s incorrect! Hunky dudes do, too. Hunky dudes like video game voice actor Mamoru Miyano. The 29-year old has done a lot of voice work. He debuted as the voice of Riku in Kingdom Hearts, before moving on to the character of…

The history of Resident Evil in unnerving website form. Enjoy?

Release the iPhone 5 and We’ll Sue You, Warns Chinese Company

Um. Okay. Deep breath. The folks behind the Goophone i5, the Android-powered iPhone 5 clone, are threatening to sue Apple if the California-based tech giant releases the iPhone 5 and if it looks like the Goophone i5. Or something. This is probably a publicity stunt—one with a mind boggling YouTube video. The reason why Goophone…

How Halo 4 Is Now Pissing Off Rabid Japanese Fans

Master Chief is one of video gaming’s icons. Much like Mario and Sonic, the Halo series protagonist has become a video game company poster child. However, with the upcoming release of Halo 4, many Japanese gamers are not happy with how the helmeted gun-toting warrior is sounding. On August 24th, Soutaro Tojima, the audio director…

Models Sure Love Wearing Mai Shiranui’s Clothes

The iconic outfit of fighting game character Mai Shiranui has become the standard, de rigueur threads. It’s not the standard for gamers, but for models. In Asia—especially China and Taiwan—models keep popping in non-gaming related events dressed as the SNK fighting game character. So whether its car shows or book signings, Mai Shiranui continues to…

Capcom is releasing a slew of Japanese social games that feature some of its most famous characters.

The Most Graphic Banana Parfait Japan Has Ever Seen

Popular in Japan, parfait is a tasty treat. And you know what’s good in parfait? Bananas. Except in the Japanese city of Akita, where banana parfait is very, very bad. This “banana parfait” photo has gone viral in Japan. The dish was served up in front of Akita Station in Akita Prefecture. Price: ¥180. Memory?…

Is This Korean Rabbit a Rip-Off? Guess Not!

Since 1955, Miffy has delighted children. The character has also delighted graphic designers and illustrators who seem to have been influenced by Dick Bruna’s work. Take Hello Kitty (and her friends)—they look like Miffy, no? While his work is popular in Asia, Bruna has continuously voiced his dislike for Hello Kitty—the Japanese cat’s rabbit friend…

Phoenix Wright Is Back For Ace Attorney 5, But Where’s His Usual Cohort?

Phoenix Wright is coming back to the courtroom (what ever happened to Apollo?) in the upcoming Ace Attorney 5 for the 3DS, but his trusty companion, Maya, may not be with him. Screenshots released from Capcom show the defense lawyer back from his time off as a poker player and pianist to “fulfill a promise.”…

Today, remote play is coming to God of War Collection, GoW HD & GoW II HD, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus & TOKYO JUNGLE

How Video Game Roles Are Helping a Disgraced Star’s Comeback

When players enter the world of Sleeping Dogs, one of the first characters they meet is Wei Shen’s childhood friend, Jackie Ma. The voice actor who plays Ma was one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars—that is, until his private sex photos were leaked online. In 2008, superstar Edison Chen sent his laptop in for repairs.…

Japanese Game Developer Gets Brutally Frank on Twitter

Japanese people have the reputation of not saying what they mean. That’s not exactly accurate. Plenty of Japanese people are very good at saying exactly what they mean. Yet, the Japanese game industry—and the country’s corporate culture—often bent on stifling that. So people are happy to tell you how they feel in private, but worry…

Let’s Make Our Pantyhose All Nerdy!

Got your pantyhose on? Sure ya do! After Japanese nerds began covering their cars, motorcycles, and bicycles with geeky images, it was only time before they moved to stockings. “Ita” (痛) refers to “pain” in Japanese, and the cars covered in geeky stickers were originally called “ita-sha” or “painmobiles” due to the pain they inflict…

Raiden, You’d Make a Wonderful Teenage Manga Character

Japanese manga artist Hiro Mashima (Rave, Fairy Tail) was blown away by Raiden at the recent Metal Gear Solid event. So, he decided to do his take on the character—see above! The result looks younger—like a manga character should—and quite different from the way Konami’s in-house artist and character designer Yoji Shinkawa draws the character.…