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Kotaku East
“Kirb” Your Enthusiasm With These 6 Classic Kirby Games In One
It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since Kirby first appeared on the Nintendo Gameboy. I still remember the first time I saw that cute pink (Well, sort of cream-colored with black outlines on the Gameboy) innocent-looking little marshmallow suck a bird down his gullet and swallow it whole. Since then, the Kirby series…
By Toshi Nakamura Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Broken Telephone Pole? No Biggie, We’ve Got Tape.
In the city of Guilin, China’s state-own telecommunication company, China Telecom, has a novel way to fix a snapped telephone pole: tape. According to reports out of China, city bureaucrats and China Telecom could not agree over how much should be spent to fix the pole. As a temporary measure, China Telecom wrapped the broken…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastFrom Teeny Game Machines to Plastic Monsters, Have a Look at The Tokyo Toy Show!
The International Tokyo Toy Show roars through, well, Tokyo this week. Sister site Kotaku Japan got a sneak peek at some of what visitors can expect—whether that be miniature game machine capsule toys, Ultraman transformers, Monster Hunter toys, Nanoblock, or even cosplay outfits—and more. There was also a successful StickBomb Guinness Book World Record attempt,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
See How the Amazing Final Fantasy Tech Demo Stands Up to Pre-Rendered Graphics
Square Enix, the folks behind Final Fantasy, are working on a new game engine. And hot damn, it looks fantastic Recently, Square Enix showed a real time demo of the tech in action. In the above gallery, you can see how a pre-rendered version stacks up with a real-time version. This shows just how stunning…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastHow Nintendo Created a Sex Symbol
Dressed in smart business attire and glasses, she takes her seat behind a desk. She’s here to explain a turn-based strategy game. Yet, online forums are buzzing in Japan that she is “way too erotic”. She is Cepko Culd, Japanese gaming’s newest sex symbol. With Culdcept for 3DS, Nintendo is bringing Omiya Soft’s classic fantasy…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Hacker? Cracker? Who Cares, She’s Only 11!
A sixth grader from Osaka is in protective juvenille custody after accessing an online game site with somebody else’s password. The 11 year-old Osaka girl is accused of violating Japan’s Unauthorized Computer Access Law after figuring out the name, birthday, and password of a 12 year-old middle school girl in Yamanashi Prefecture. The game in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Duped Shopper Gets HDD Filled with Stupid Glue and Other Worthless Crap
The box said Samsung. The HDD casing said Samsung. Inside, it said rip-off. Via China’s largest online retail platform Taobao, a shopper bought what he thought was a 160GB Samsung hard disk for 220 yuan (US$35). It was anything but a HDD. Inside the casing, there was a USB flash drive and bolts—bolts that were…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Nintendo Isn’t Making a New 3DS. It’s Making a New Handheld Generation.
Remember all those rumors about a 3DS redesign? According to Nintendo, the company isn’t concentrating on a tweaked 3DS. Instead, it’s working on what will probably be a totally new handheld. Earlier this month, respected Japanese newspaper the Nikkei ran a story, which stated that Nintendo was going to reveal a new 3DS at E3.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Stalk a Japanese Game Developer
Platinum Games, the folks behind Bayonetta and that new Metal Gear Rising game, have a web cam turned on its studio, which offers a peek behind the curtain. As of posting, the camera is facing an Anarchy Reigns poster, so you might want to check back later. You know, after they move the camera. Platinum…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Difference Between Boys and Girls, as Explained by TV Programs
As a thirty-something year-old man in a Dragon Ball Z kame shirt with two young sons currently watching Dragon Ball Z Kai, I gotta say that this comparison is not only incorrect, but also absurd. 7 Years Old [loldaddy]
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWatch Two Scared Girls Play a Horror Game for Six Minutes
Those Fatal Frame games sure are frightening. Don’t believe me? Check out this six minute clip of the new Wii remake of Fatal Frame II, known as Fatal Frame: Deep Crimson Butterfly. The clip is in Japanese, but the language of scary is universal. The game is out in Japan and Europe this month. It…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Wrong About Japan’s Coolness
A recent issue of the Japanese edition of Newsweek poses this question: Is Cool Japan going cold? The cover reads “Cool Japan Is Running Out of Steam” (息切れクールジャパン). The article centers on “Cool Japan”, which was adopted by the Japanese government and trade organizations that hoped to tap into the country’s soft power status. Cool…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 13, 2012 -
Kotaku EastHere’s Why Japanese Gaming Is Not Dead
At the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising uttered the following: “Man, Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished.” I hope Inafune was watching E3 this year. It’s true that over the past half-decade Japanese and Western gaming markets have gone in different directions.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
In Korea, People Are So Pissed about Diablo III Server Woes, They Might Sue Blizzard
While many Korean gamers might be excited about Diablo III, Korean net cafe owners aren’t exactly thrilled. Sure, the game is a big boost to the country’s net cafe industry. That is, when it can get online. Website Daily Game reports the PC bang (net cafe) owners could file a class action lawsuit with Blizzard…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Rip-Off the Art of Others, Get Axed
Artist Sou Miyata was probably best known for his work on Muv-Luv, the PC game turned manga and anime. That is until this week. After this week, he’ll be known as the artist who got axed after being accused of tracing the work of others. To promote the upcoming Muv-Luv summer anime, which is dubbed…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Insensitive Jerkwad Connects Stabbings with Japanese Geek Culture
This Sunday, two individuals tragically lost their lives in a senseless attack. And yesterday, a well-known Japanese journalist tried to connect the stabbings to otaku (geek) culture. Well, that didn’t take long. On TV Asahi’s Super J Channel, freelance journalist Akihiro Otani said, “The location where the stabbing happened is close to a known otaku…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Tokyo Jungle‘s Twisted Take on the Lion King
Playing the story mode of Tokyo Jungle, I took control of a lot of different animals: deer, cats, and dogs, just to name a few. I helped a lonely Pomeranian survive in this new human-less world and played both sides of a war between Beagles and Pit Bulls. One mission even had me as a…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 12, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Summer, Nintendo Is Cutting Bonus Pay
More and more Japanese companies are feeling the pinch—Nintendo included. After posting its first annual loss in donkey’s yonks, the Kyoto-based game company is reducing its employee summer bonuses by 20 percent. #firstworldproblems Last year, full-time Nintendo staff got the average of approximately 4.4 months worth of their salary as summer bonus. This year, it’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012