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Kotaku East
The Real Weapons of Modern Warfare
Earlier this month, Astana, Kazakhstan played host to an international military equipment expo. You know, like E3, but with real guns, real tanks, and real fighter planes. So nothing like E3, then. Still, there were grenade launchers, sniper rifles, and an array of combat vehicles and aircraft—basically, a bunch of stuff you can see in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Looks Like a Japanese RPG, But It’s a First-Person Shooter (No, Really!)
Japanese games get pigeonholed: Young characters with big eyes swinging big swords. Screw swords, give them guns! Independent game developers Ayaemo Research Institute’s latest project, The Legend of Alfur, is a PC first-person shooter. There are shades of Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles, which was a third-person shooter. But make no mistake, The Legend of Alfur is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 -
Kotaku East
South Korea Set Ablaze with Fancy Diablo III Outfits
At the Diablo III launch in Seoul, the country’s most famous cosplayer collective, Spiral Cats, was on hand to help kick of the game’s Korean release. Spiral Cats donned Diablo III outfits and appeared at a stage show for the game. In the world of Korean cosplay, the group is about as big as they…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 15, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Welcome to Your Retro Gaming Dreams
Super Potato. I’ve been to the Akihabara branch a whole blot—I’ve been to the Osaka branches of this gaming retail chain even more. I’ve seen tons of Super Potato photos. I’ve taken tons more. Yet, I’ve always liked the photos Danny Choo of Culture Japan takes (they’re usually quite nice), and this batch of Super…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLet’s See What Kind of Alchemy This JRPG Opening Holds
Have a look at the latest entry in the Atelier series of Japanese role-playing games with the opening of Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Twilight Land. The game is out this June in Japan on the PlayStation 3.
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Meet The Cat Hair Girls
Whether it been interesting outfits or make up, Tokyo’s Harajuku is famous for its inventive fashion. The latest trend, according to the Japanese media? Cat ear hair. For years, “cat girls” have been popular in Japan. The trope is ubiquitous in Japanese video games, manga and anime. But now, otaku (geek) culture is melding with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Life-Sized Lupin Figure Is Over $6,000 and Looks Crappy
Professional crook Fujiko Mine has her own new Lupin anime. In it, she looks sexy and fantastic. This new life-sized Fujiko figure, though, does not. Online retailer AmiAmi lists this life-sized Fujiko’s price at ¥504,000 (US$6,300) and calls it “high quality”. I call it “overpriced garbage”. Pre-orders for the figure start this summer. It goes…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Would You Like To Pilot the Life-Sized Gundam? Virtually?
Yahoo! Japan is running an auction that will give one lucky winner the chance to virtual pilot the one-to-one scale Gundam in Tokyo’s Odaiba. Don’t get too excited just yet. You don’t actually get to sit in the cockpit. The winner will get his or her image displayed on the one-to-one scale’s virtual cockpit. Thus,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Angry Birds Pork Products, How I Wish They Came With Scrambled Eggs
China has some very interesting culinary habits some of which folks from the west will find just outright whacky. One slightly normal but definitely strange habit is the Chinese love for pork products, and in particular the ham sausage (火腿肠). Now Rovio and Chinese pork products producer, JoyCome, have partnered together to bring Angry Birds…
By Eric Jou Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastYou Don’t Have to Rip Out Your Spine for an English Translation
Because the folks at PlayStation Japan kindly posted one! Here is the Soul Sacrifice presentation in English for your listening pleasure. In it, there is game imagry, Japanese game people, and flashing lights. Who doesn’t love flashing lights?
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThis Nightmare Car Crash Looks Like a Video Game, But It’s Real and Awful
It looked like Grand Theft Auto, but it was very real—and almost very deadly. Last week, a Hyundai YF Sonata pulled out of traffic and went tearing down the street, weaving through traffic, and piling into a stopped car. Ten people were injured (the driver broke ribs, while the passenger’s vertebrae was damaged), and the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Teacher Ate SD Card after Allegedly Photographing Up a Woman’s Skirt
On May 12, a 54 year-old junior high school teacher spent the evening at anime shop, Animate, in Osaka’s geek district, Den Den Town. The teacher, Manabu Wakita, was a regular, but he wasn’t looking for DVDs or anime goods. He supposedly had something else in mind: trying to snap photos up a woman’s skirt.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
That Sure Looks Like a Final Fantasy Logo
For the Final Fantasy role-playing games, the logos are iconic. You can spot them a mile away and immediately recognize them. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII is no exception, which makes this kwinky-dink all the more noticeable. Level-5, which has developed several titles for Square Enix, is working on a new multi-platform game called Time…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Good Foreigners Doing Good and Bad Foreigners Doing Evil
It was a touching scene. A young American male sat outside of a McDonald’s in Nanjing, sharing a meal with a homeless lady. He had purchased two orders of French fries and poured water into her water bottle. A passerby snapped photos and uploaded them onto a Chinese social working site. Online, people praised the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastA Chinese Girl Group Probably Copied This Addictive Korean Music Video
Last summer, the sacchrine ditty “Bubble Pop” tore up the Korean internet. The video went viral and it stuck in everybody’s brains—more so in some people’s. Korean superstar Kim Hyun-a of pop group 4Minute (and formerly of Wonder Girls) released “Bubble Pop” on her first mini album. The video was supposed to be a radical…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastJapan’s Remote Controlled Cockroaches Will Invade Your Kitchen
RC cars? Been there, done that. Planes? Old hat! But cockroaches? *leans forward* These are “Gokiraji”, which is a wordplay on “gokiburi” (cockroaches) and “rajikon” (remote-controlled). Charge them via USB, and then they can be controlled via an infrared remote and make your skin crawl. Watch in the video as they scurry about, with LED-lit…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 11, 2012 -
Kotaku East
When DLC Runs Amok and Loses Control
In Japan, one company has embraced the DLC business model more than any other: Bandai-Namco. To anyone who has ever thought a piece of DLC was a bit pricey would be screaming in rage if the Japanese prices for Bandai-Namco DLC were to become the norm. Click through the gallery to see some of the…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published May 11, 2012