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Kotaku East
For the Next Few Months, Nintendo’s Schedule Looks Kinda Like This
Get out those calendars! Today, Nintendo provided a list of upcoming titles it will release the rest of this month—and beyond. This isn’t a full list by any means, and many of these games (and release windows) are already known. But here they are all together in one place. •Japan 3DS Nintendo 3DS XL –…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 25, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Vita’s Samurai and Dragons is Free-to-Play (…For About an Hour a Day)
More and more these days, companies are making games with a free-to-play model—focusing on micro-transactions to finance the game. While these have been popular for various PC-based MMORPGs, the Vita gained its own free-to-play MMO with the release of Samurai and Dragons earlier this year. But is this curious mix of a dungeon crawler and…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Can’t Wait For Phantasy Star Online 2? Here’s How to Play the Japanese Version.
Phantasy Star Online was a trail blazer of a game, bringing the MMORPG experience to home consoles for the first time. Starting on the Dreamcast, it later had releases on the Xbox, GameCube and PC. Less than a month ago, its sequel Phantasy Star Online 2 was released as a free-to-play MMORPG on PCs. It…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku EastSee the Vita’s Free-to-Play Dungeon Crawler in Action
Earlier this year the Vita got its first free-to-play MMO title in the form of Samurai and Dragons. While the game had a rocky launch that required it to be taken offline for the better part of a month, it is now online and running strong. Samurai and Dragons presents a strange mix of gameplay.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku EastYou Cannot Escape Internet Infamy. Not Even in Japan.
Andy Warhol once said that in the future, everyone would be famous for fifteen minutes. Little did Warhol know we’d spend five minutes discussing if these empheral celebs actually look like their online pics and another five talking about all the stupid crap they said online before they got famous. Over the years, Dakota Rose…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
In the Persona Fighting Game, You Cannot Battle This Old Lady
Retailer Sofmap’s online site contained the below image for its Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena listing. Notice anything, internet detectives? That’s right, Miss Marple. So does that mean amateur sleuth Miss Marple is joining Atlus’ Persona 4 fighting game, to show those young, fancy JRPG characters the true meaning of an Agatha Christie…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Hello Kitty Dolls of Your Dreams
One of the ways Hello Kitty stays relevant is to turn itself into a feline billboard to promote other things. Recently, that’s meant the birth of an array of interesting Kitty-chan collaborations—like a Hello Kitty X Ringu tie-up that was used to promote the horror series’ latest spin-off. Artist Joseph Senior goes one step further—and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Company Running Diablo III in China Accidentally Outs Itself
Earlier this month the official Chinese webpage for Diablo III went online, it created speculation that the game would be operated in China by long time Blizzard collaborator NetEase; however, NetEase and Blizzard have declined to officially announce it. Over the weekend, a series of micro-blog posts suddenly went up on NetEase’s official Sina Weibo…
By Eric Jou Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Why Is Louis CK Touching this Manga? Why Won’t He Stop?
On a recent episode of Louie, Louis CK was in a bookstore and, as internet eagle eyes noted, the comedian kept his finger on the Japanese manga Yotsuba the ENTIRE TIME (well, not the entire time, but still!). What could this mean? Louis CK reads manga confirmed? Or a kwinky-dink? Let’s go with kwinky-dink in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Hi-Definition JRPG Looks…Yeah
Ungh. Yes, I know this game uses a hand-drawn style, and, yes, I know there’s only a few seconds of gameplay, but damn. Jump to the 1:40 mark to see what I’m talking about. Revealed earlier this year, Tokitowa combines JRPG elements with, wait for it, third-person shooter play (think action RPG). Parts of the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
A Sneak Preview at…Booth Babes
China Joy, the country’s biggest game convention, is right around the corner. And that means there will be games, gamers, and booth companions. Chinese game company Uuzu Games might make casual games, but its attitude towards its China Joy showgirls is anything but casual. Uuzu is already running photos of its booth companions to get…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
We Weren’t Fighting, Claims Kid, We Were Copying a Video Game
Recently, a 14 year-old junior high school student in Hyogo, Japan was arrested after a one-minute YouTube video, showing him punch and kick a 12 year-old grade school student, appeared online. The 12 year-old, however, said he was a willing participant in the video—though, he did add that he was hurt during the spat. The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku EastDebut Trailer for One Piece Role-Playing Game
Have a look at the first trailer for One Piece: Romance Dawn ~The Daybreak of Adventure~, the upcoming One Piece role-playing game. The game will be out on the PSP this December in Japan. Have a look.
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Check Out Taipei’s Underground Video Game “District”
Many of my expatriate friends call Taiwan “China-lite”, and to me, that really makes sense. Taiwan, unlike the Chinese mainland, is run by a democratically elected government, it doesn’t censor its internets like the mainland does, and most importantly for a gamer like myself, you can legally buy video game consoles. In Taipei, the capital…
By Eric Jou Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The MMORPG that Won’t Kill You or Eat Up Your Time (Hopefully!)
Not everyone in Japan likes massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Generally speaking, most people like Dragon Quest. So what happens when you turn Dragon Quest into a MMORPG? Square Enix has made Dragon Quest X into an online game that you don’t need to play everyday—this is, an MMORPG that will fit into the rhythm…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Jackie Chan Allegedly Missed Being In Aurora Theater
Sometimes when something tragic happens in the United States, Chinese media (including Taiwan and Hong Kong) will jump at the chance to somehow relate it to something happening in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Despite the gravity and the horror of what happened last Friday in Colorado, the Chinese media have done it again, this…
By Eric Jou Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Beijing Flooding is Surreal and Awful
The images are unreal, and the devastation is tragic. China’s capital Beijing was hit with the heaviest rain in sixty years. According to official reports, sixty thousand people were evacuated from their homes. Sadly, 37 people lost their lives. The photos taken during the flooding reveal a city underwater: cars and restaurants underwater; commuters on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWhen a PC Game Gets Confused with a Military Aircraft Controversy
Today, the 12 MV-22 Osprey aircraft arrived in the Japanese city of Iwakuni, where it was met with protests. People in Japan believe that the aircraft is not safe, pointing to recent Osprey crashes in both Florida and Morocco. As AP points out, the U.S. military contends that the aircraft has solid safety records and…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Is the Nintendo 3DS XL I Want: The Transparent One.
There are various 3DS XL colors to choose from. There are even more colors for the smaller, original 3DS model. None of them are the color I want. I want the Nintendo 3DS with no color. I want the clear one. Above is a transparent 3DS XL Nintendo recently showed off in a Q&A on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012 -
Kotaku EastStudio Ghibli’s Next Film is about Japan’s Most Famous Fighter Plane (and the Guy who Designed It)
Wonder what legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli are up to? According to animator director and illustrator Osamu Kobayashi, Miyazaki is working on a feature on the World War II dogfighter, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, and its designer, Dr. Jiro Hirokoshi. As far as iconic Japanese fighter planes, they don’t come more iconic…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 23, 2012