You’ve already had a taste of the fake, one-of-a-kind game cartridges on display at Japanese indie Meteor. Now have a look at the event itself. As previously posted, the goal of the exhibition is simple: artists submit a cartridge for a fake Famicom game. It can be whatever they want, basically, meaning some can be…
Prior to the 2002 World Cup, hallucinogenic mushrooms were legal in Japan. They were sold in little vending machines at love hotels across Japan and funky little shops. Then, worrying about an influx of soccer hooligans, mushrooms were outlawed. These days, there are quasi-legal herbs. And some are being sold in vending machines and even…
Upcoming Kinect-based game Crimson Dragon has a release date for Japan: It will hit Xbox Live Arcade on June 13. Crimson Dragon is basically Panzer Dragoon minus a letter or so. Don’t believe me? Watch this Kinect専用STG「Crimson Dragon」の配信日が6月13日に決定 [4Gamer]
Surprise! While earlier reports appeared to confirm that the famed pirate manga (and anime) was getting an officially approved One Piece theme park, that doesn’t appear to be the case. One Piece‘s publisher told Japanese site RocketNews that it has not formally approved the theme park, which now appears to be a theme park made…
Everyone’s favorite supreme ultimate fist college student Lei Fang is back for Dead or Alive 5 The latest issue of Japanese game mag Famitsu has images of Lei Fang and the outfits she’ll be wearing while fighting—in style. Have a gander in the above gallery. Dead or Alive 5 will be out this September. DOA5…
There’s a crime wave in Japan. The victims are famous and beloved, but helpless and unable to fend for themselves. They’re being violated and damaged. It begs the questions: If they are so beloved, why is this happening? This week, another Japanese statue of a famed anime character was defaced: Namihei Isono, the father of…
Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here
Let’s face it. With movies ranging from 28 Days Later to Pirates of the Caribbean and TV shows like The Walking Dead, it’s quite clear the world has itself a case of zombie-mania. In the realm of gaming, the Japanese have contributed to this as much as anywhere else with game series like Resident Evil,…
Well, the 3DS keeps thumping right along. As of May 20, it’s passed the six million sold milestone (6,017,206 to be exact) since going on sale in Japan. Congrats! [Famitsu]
With the illegalization of complete gacha being made, multiple social game companies have already either made changes to their applications or simply made new ones. The question is, are those modifications any better than what we had previously. The problem with complete gacha was that it required the consumer to obtain the entire in-game item…
Well, not just your displeasure—the entire world’s. In Tokyo’s geek district Akihabara, adult novelty toy maker Tamatoys is selling “schoolgirl urine scent” and “schoolgirl armpit scent”. Previously, Tamatoys sold bottled schoolgirl smell. It also sold striped underpants for cross-dressing men. These latest products claim to be the “real scent of girl”, created by a “scent…
Last week Kotaku brought you word of The Legend of Alfur, a Japanese-made first person shooter, developed by a small indy game studio using the Unreal Engine. With Japanese-made FPS titles being something of a rarity—especially compared to how many are developed in the West—this seemed the perfect game to check out in more detail.…
Over the years, sticker picture (“purikura” or “print club” in Japanese) machines in arcades have offered an array of features. They’ve removed blemishes for perfect skin and have even sported virtual hair extensions. But one trend hasn’t gone away: big eyes. And it hasn’t gotten better. It’s gotten worse During the mid-1990s, Atlus (with some…
Especially when it’s the Queen’s Gate version of Tekken 5 character Lili Rochefort Queen’s Gate was originally a Lost Worlds style “combat picture book game” and has been published in Japan for the last couple of years. In three words, it’s pure fan service. Queen’s Gate features only female characters and has showcased the likes…
Yesterday, much of Asia and parts of North America witnessed a solar eclipse. The result was beautiful. However, add in some welding masks and some little kids, and the result was adorable Check out the above gallery, with pics of miniature eclipse gazers from across Japan. 溶接面で金環日食を楽しむ人々 [Naver via RocketNews]
Zombies. They are everywhere, and Japanese games are no exception. However, while in the West a shotgun blast to the head seems to be the most efficient way of killing them, the Japanese have instead found the “natural enemy” of the walking dead: schoolgirls. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in Suda51’s upcoming title, Lollipop…
Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Twilight Land, the latest entry in the Atelier role-playing games, shows off its gameplay in this new clip. So. Whaddaya think? Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Twilight Land is out this June in Japan on the PlayStation 3. In case you missed it, here’s the game’s opening.
Last week, entertainer and filmmaker Beat Takeshi came under fire due to comments he made on Japanese television about gay marriage. When shown footage of people celebrating President Obama’s support of gay marriage, Takeshi said, “Obama supports gay marriage. You would support a marriage to an animal eventually, then.” Everyone is entitled to his or…
Over the weekend, a new photo surfaced of what’s supposedly the Wii U controller. It looked, well, different. But how different? This is not perfect, but here is a GIF that shows just how the controller has apparently changed between summer 2011 and this spring. The photo showed a new square button on the left…
After over a decade in Japan, this week I got a letter from the Japanese government. It said that the alien registration card (外国人登録証明書), or informally “gaijin card”, was vanishing. Starting this summer, the credit card sized i.d. will be replaced. This is a card I’ve had since I’ve been in Japan, and one that…
Mode
Follow us
