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Kotaku East
Plants Are Taking Over Japan’s Nuclear Wasteland
It’s been well over a year since the earthquake and ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster took place. The crisis is not over, and people living near the reactors have been cleared out. They are yet to return. In their place, the plants are taking over. Japanese website GetNews is running photos that depict reality in the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Thousands Line Up To Make Your Hardware
Even though heavy rains have been hitting China’s Chengdu, that didn’t stop thousands from lining up for work at the city’s Foxconn plant. As website MIC points out, Foxconn seems to be hiring up for this summer. Those who apply need to fork over 150 yuan (US$24) and have good eyesight. Just goes to show…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan Perfects the Art of Anime Cakes
The triumphant return of Caketaku! As sister site Kotaku Japan pointed out, there is a pastry shop in Gunma Prefecture called Torte that excels in creating anime, manga, and video game themed cakes. And it’s not only your favorite character or superhero that Torte can draw on your cake, but your own face, too! That’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Yakuza 1 and Yakuza 2 Are Getting HD Versions
This is definitely a thing. More PS2 games—Yakuza 1 and 2—are getting HD versions for the PS3. The single set will be out later this year in Japan with HD graphics and tweaks like shorter load times. [ゲーム情報！ゲームのはなし]
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Giant Female Mecha Overrun the Streets of Tokyo
Not only that, the mecha have taken over a robot restaurant with the clever name “Robot Restaurant”. Wait, you say, Tokyo doesn’t already have a robot restaurant? As of tonight, it most certainly does. Tonight, Robot Restaurant opens in Shinjuku. There will be food. There will be drinks. There will be ladies in funny outfits…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku EastYes, Let’s Watch Some Dragon Quest X Gameplay
On August 2, eagerly anticipated role-playing game Dragon Quest X will be released in Japan. Until then, you can watch this gameplay clip over and over and over again. Dragon Quest X – 9 Minutes intense MMO Gameplay ドラゴンクエストX [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Naked Chinese Man Attacks Cars in a Road Rampage
Yesterday in China’s Hefei City, a man began disrupting on-coming traffic. Initially, he stripped to his skivvies and stood in front of vehicles. That escalated to him climbing on to cars, smashing windshields. According to news reports, the man’s rampage lasted less than an hour and left 20 damaged vehicles in its wake. Once the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
New Gundam Game is Fun and Free-to-Play (…For Only 30 Minutes a Day)
About three weeks back, Bandai-Namco released their first big-name, free-to-play title, Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation on the PlayStation 3. Set during the original Gundam series, this multiplayer third-person shooter reenacts some of the biggest battles in the One Year War, with six people siding with the Earth Federation and six with Zeon. But is…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
If You Die in This Anime MMORPG, You’re Dead
Sword Art Online originally debuted as a light novel series, but earlier this month, an anime version kicked off. Sword Art Online is set in 2022 when a new virtual reality MMORPG called Sword Art Online is released. Players can control their characters with their minds, and all seems to be going well until the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Tokyo Jungle Barks Up a Manga
Starting this month, PS3 exclusive Tokyo Jungle (read Kotaku‘s preview here) will be reborn in manga form in the latest issue of Champion Red, which goes on sale this week in Japan. Check out the first image above. チャンピオンRED9月号(7月19日発売)、『TOKYO JUNGLE』がRED上陸!! [Akita Shoten]
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Potential Apple Store Perverts Worry Hong Kong
You know how Apple Stores have those elaborate glass staircases? They’re elegant and stylish, sure, but in Hong Kong, they’re causing some to worry about awful pervs. See, the front of Hong Kong’s flagship Apple Store is glass and the glass staircase faces a main road—both provide possible peeping opportunities for unsavory types. The store…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Confusing Universe of MadWorld and Anarchy Reigns
Going into Anarchy Reigns, I knew two things about it. 1) It was made by Platinum Games and 2) you could play as Bayonetta in the multiplayer. And with its Western release pushed to 2013 (despite the full English game being on the Japanese disc), it seemed like a must play. As I went through…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Do These Yakuza Characters Look Like Their Real-Life Counterparts? Some, Yes.
Sega’s Yakuza series of crime games always pride themselves on top-notch voice acting and realistic faces. The games continually get some of the biggest names in Japan to lend their voices (and mugs) to the games. Today, Sega released a series of voice cast photos with their in-game counterparts. These are famous (and talented) folks,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku EastSee The Newest Beat ‘Em Up From the Creators of Bayonetta in Action
With all the hype surrounding Platinum Games’ Metal Gear title, another of their games, Anarchy Reigns, has somewhat fallen through the cracks. Anarchy Reigns is a 3D beat ’em up in the vein of God of War and Devil May Cry starring much of the cast of previous Platinum Games title MadWorld. Like most beat…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan Uses Spears and Swords To Eat Evangelion Cake. You Didn’t Know?
Looking forward for the upcoming film, Evangelion 3.0? Show your fan spirit by eating this Evangelion cake while waiting. This ¥4,000 cake (50 USD) is the third in the Evangelion cake series (third!), with each cake containing a figure of its themed character (Kaworu, in this case). The cake is covered in white chocolate with…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan’s Gay Dude Meme Turned into Porn, Minus the Gay Dudes
The “Yaranaika Guy” (“Do you wanna do it? Guy”) lives on! This The 1980s gay manga Kuso Miso Technique is getting an official adult movie remake with female actresses playing the gay dudes and sporting, ahem, rubber add-ons bits. The flick stars Reiko Sawamura as Takakazu Abe (aka the Yaranaika Guy) and Uta Kohaku as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Nice Guy Hideo Kojima Apologizes for Fake Metal Gear Solid 5 Logo
Kojima certainly didn’t have to, but tweeted, “That title logo is completely fake. Apologies to those who were looking forward to this.” In his tweet, Kojima also added something along the lines that he seemed happy that people still talk about the Metal Gear series. Well, yeah Earlier, Kotaku reported that Konami had denied the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The New Resident Evil Flick Infected this Lady, Turning Her Hideous
This is singer Mika Nakashima. In the above photo, she is not gross looking. In Resident Evil, however, she is. Funny, that. The pop star first appeared in the Resident Evil: Afterlife flick as “J Pop Girl”—the first infected person in Japan. Man, she was scary! Nakashima will be resuming her role as “J Pop…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan’s Piracy Crackdown Heats Up the Summer
Sansai Books, the Japanese publisher known for mags Game Lab and Radio Life, is in hot water. Last December, Sansai released a publication called Totally Easy to Understand DVD Copying 2012, which included a detailed how-to and ripping software. That didn’t go over well with Japan’s cyber police. At all. This week, authorities arrested four…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2012