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Kotaku EastA Video Game First: Urine Play Testing!
Game localizer and co-author of the newly recently released Yurei Attack! Matt Alt took one for the team and filmed himself by playing (peeing?) Sega’s toilet video game, Toylet. See the footage that dribbled out, above. Spray and Pray [AltJapan] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Relax, Snake Isn’t an Old Man in the New Metal Gear
We’ve already seen Old Snake—heck, we had a whole game with him. While the promotional artwork for Metal Gear Sold: Ground Zeroes shows a younger looking Snake (Naked Snake), the game’s debut footage seems to show an older looking one. Or does it? Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima attempted to clear up the confusion on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Disappointed by Toys, Fan Made His Own…Transformer
A gentleman surnamed Liu of Jinan, Shandong Province loves Transformers. But, he always felt that all the Transformer toys didn’t really transform or really move. So he decided to build his own. Six month and 70,000 yuan (around US$11,000) later, Liu created his own Transformer. Outfitted with hydraulics, the machine can lift itself up, transforming…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The New Final Fantasy Sounds Interesting and in Need of More Time
Square Enix has a very bad habit of showing games way too early. Its latest reveal, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, is only thirty percent finished. Meaning? It’s 70 percent unfinished. So unless Square Enix works faster than it has in the past, it could be a while before, wait for it, Lightning strikes again.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan’s Meme Monster Is Somewhat Cute and Totally Offensive
There’s a new Japanese meme in town. It’s a four-legged critter that’s hardly innocuous. Some might even call it offensive. Say hello to the crawler. In Japan, the meme character doesn’t quite have a name yet—it’s that new. In a pure visual sense, the character is cute, but this isn’t a purely visual character. It’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 5, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Arcade Game Makes You Feel Like a Dual Wielding Bad-Ass
Gunslinger Stratos is a four-versus-four third-person shooter for Japanese arcades made by Square-Enix. But it’s not just your average TPS team deathmatch arcade. It’s also a lightgun game—a dual wielding lightgun game at that. But the gimmick goes so far beyond simple dual wielding. To switch between your weapons—which range from pistols to gravity guns—you…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThere’s a New Arc System Works Game. It’s Not What You Expect.
Arc System Works is famous for fighting games like Guilty Gear and BlazBlue. This is not Guilty Gear. It’s not BlazBlue. It’s Tottemo E Mahjong for the PS Vita. No, really. Arc System Works Has A New Vita Game. It’s Moe-ized Mahjong [Siliconera] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku EastMaking Giant Mecha Is So Very Romantic
Wataru Yoshizaki is developing software that powers a giant mecha—a giant mecha that you can actually buy. In the above video, he waxes about working on the KURATAS, which is a huge mecha Kotaku previously featured (here, here, and here). In the slick video, Yoshizaki says he wants to create a society in which we…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Man Is Flabby, Heroic
At a recent body building competition in Taichung, Taiwan, muscle-bound dudes gathered and flexed. One contestant, however, wasn’t entering a body building competition, but a courage competition. Online, he’s been dubbed “flabby brother” by netizens, who applaud his determination. What this fellow lacks in muscle and coordination, he more than makes up for it in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki is not Ghibli, But it’s Pretty Darn Close
The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki is the newest film from Mamoru Hosoda, the acclaimed director of Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. In many ways, the film is reminiscent of the best Ghibli movies. It is a modern fantasy tale, filled with themes relating to family, nature, and growing up. So…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Gamer Energy Drink Gives People Erections
There are numerous companies that churn out energy drinks. Some of them even market their beverages to gamers as “fuel”. But how many video games have energy drinks designed to help you get it up after your first round of sex? 3DS game Senran Kagura Burst does, that’s for sure. Akahige Pharmacy, “Red Beard Pharmacy”,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe Virtual Idol Gaming Forgot About
Here at Kotaku East we have had a lot to say about Japan’s most popular virtual idol, Hatsune Miku. But just because she is the most popular one doesn’t mean that she is the only one. Back in 2006, Tetsuya Mizoguchi—creator of Space Channel 5, Rez, Lumines, and Child of Eden—teamed up with record producer…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
New Resident Evil Movie Is Marred By Japanese-Chinese Political Tensions
Resident Evil: Retribution might be a Hollywood movie, but it’s based on a Japanese video game. One of the places it takes place is, well, Tokyo. Yet, the actress who plays RE character Ada Wong now wants nothing to do with Japan. Ada Wong actress Bingbing Li did not show at the recent Tokyo premiere…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Heroic Father Makes iPhone Game for His Daughter
To see his four year-old daughter smile and giggle, 31 year-old Nanjing resident Fang Peng decided to create a game for his daughter to play. Realizing that all the games on his tablet and smartphone were games more geared towards adults, Fang aimed to create a game so simple that even a baby would be…
By Eric Jou Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Middle-Aged Man Dies During Marathon Gaming Session
In Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, a 48 year-old man was found dead this morning at an internet cafe. The man, whose last name was Liu, had been playing for seven hours, when he slumped over at his keyboard. He had paid for a ten-hour block. The net cafe tried unsuccessful to wake him, before calling the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Pokémon‘s Epic Yarn
Arts and crafty individual Mochillery is a master of amigurumi (あみぐるみ)—the Japanese craft of knitting plush toys from yarn. Her latest work is a set of unbelievably cute Pocket Monsters. Can you believe how cute they are? No, no you cannot. If you feel like you must have one, Mochillery will be offering these through…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Why Sina Weibo Is Better Than Twitter (Even Though They’re Pretty Much The Same…)
In 2008, Facebook was banned in China. Almost exactly a year later, Twitter was banned as well. With the removal of the two biggest social networking companies from China, many imitators tried to fill the void. No single one social network was able to completely fill the void left behind by the forced departure of…
By Eric Jou Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
JRPG Characters Grow Up, Too
This fall, Tales of Xillia 2 will be released in Japan. Familiar faces will return, but the game takes a year after the first Xillia. Thus, some characters have aged—notably, Jude Mathis. A year is a long time when you are a teen, especially a teen in a JRPG. In Tales of Xillia, Jude was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Topless Paper Lady Makes Sushi Unappetizing
Nyotaimori—the practice of eating sushi off a woman’s body—is not really a thing in Japan. That isn’t to say it doesn’t exist, but you’d probably have an easier time finding a nyotaimori place outside Japan. For example, there’s an Italian sushi chain that’s apparently happy to help you live out those dehumanizing food fantasies. According…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 3, 2012 -
Kotaku East
iPhone-Stealing Monk Sentenced to Prison
Last year, a young monk in his early 20s was arrested in the Qingpu district of Shanghai for stealing from another monk. Among the items he took, was an iPhone. According to recent reprots, this monk was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 6,000 yuan (about $946). According to court documents, the young…
By Eric Jou Published September 3, 2012