If you live in Japan (or, well, Asia), you have a rice cooker. If you don’t own one, get thee to a store and buy one. But, if you want something non-tech and have access to lots of firewood, there’s a work around. Last week, I went way into the mountains with some friends and…
In Bandai-Namco’s Idolm@ster series, you take on the role of a music producer and create and manage a group of teenage popstars. By mixing Japan’s idol and video game cultures, it is no surprise that this series has a fanatic following among Japanese otaku (geeks). But is this following deserved, or is The Idolm@ster nothing…
Last summer, Nintendo’s 3D television service “Itsu no Ma ni Terebi” launched in Japan. It featured short two-minute 3D clips that were free and exclusive to the 3DS. Today, Nintendo announced that the service is ending in Japan on June 20. The 3DS, however, will continue intermitted distribution of 3D videos for 3DS owners—a good…
Things have been better for Sony. But now, things are not good. In Tokyo trading, the company hit a 31-year low after it failed to miss forecasts. [Bloomberg]
This year, like every year, the Japanese arm of underwear maker Triumph showed off its latest concept bra. The concept bras are always stunts. They’re not intended for sale—even though, some in the Western media mistakenly think they are. The bras are always themed, and usually relevant to current news or trends. This year’s concept…
Online in Japan, the vast majority of game news first hits 2ch. And it’s not just games—so much news is shared through 2ch threads. It’s a wealth of information. It’s a wealth of rumors. Apparently, it’s also a wealth of drugs. Last December, word broke that 2ch could be covered in illicit substances. There were…
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Warriors Orochi 2, a game that brings together characters from the Dynasty Warriors series and the Samurai Warriors series to fight against hundreds of enemy soldiers in epic battlegrounds is being ported to the PSP as Warriors Orochi 2 Special. The new game, like Dynasty Warriors VS for the 3DS, will feature guest characters as…
Last fall, the Tales Studio died. Things were bleak. But chin up, Tales fans. There’s a new Tales game in the pipeline. The latest issue of Japanese magazine Jump has a teaser for the “next” Tales game. The article states, “Next Tales of…” and calls this a “next generation Tales“. There’s not much info, though.…
In geek districts like Tokyo’s Akihabara and Osaka’s Den-Den Town, maids in frilly dresses serve food and drink. Maids call their patrons “master” (ご主人様). But not all girls want to wear frilly drinks. Not all of them want to call patrons “master”. Sometimes they’d rather wear ice cream hats and hit people with plastic swords.…
Because, you’ll pass out. While you might be keen to play another Kid Icarus: Uprising, game designer Masahiro Sakurai isn’t keen to make one. “If by ‘lasting universe’ you mean to ask if there’s a sequel, the answer is no,” Sakurai flatly told IGN. “We pushed a lot into the game in order to let…
It has been over a month since Kingdom Hearts 3D was released, and with no news on Final Fantasy XIII Versus other than the standard “stay tuned,” Weekly Famitsu asked director Tetsuya Nomura in an interview if Kingdom Hearts 3 was on the horizon. His response? “I’ll leave that to everyone’s imagination.” Adding, “It might…
Optimus Prime? Lucky guy. The same goes for Spider-Man and Ultraman. All three won the Chinese lottery. Ditto for several bigheaded Pandas. It’s not that these lotto winners are shy. Rather, they’re actually worried about keeping things relatively low-key after their winnings are made public in order not to draw unwanted attention. As website China…
Coming to the PS Vita this winter from developer Marvelous AQL, Soul Sacrifice is a dark fantasy action game (with an emphasis on the “dark”), that focuses on power, and the costs to obtain it. In Soul Sacrifice, the player takes the part of a lowly servant. Imprisoned and waiting to be sacrificed by a…
It’s only May. I know. But I sincerely doubt 2012 will produce freakier 3DS box art than what this Kobito Dukan game unleashed. As odd as this is, I quite like it. Ditto for Kobito Dukan, which kicks sand in the face of stereotypical Japanese cuteness—in a delightfully freaky way. Read more about Kobito Dukan…
Many Japanese game companies have crappy looking offices. Worse yet, they’re dull. Nondescript. But as far as Japanese social gaming giant DeNA goes, these digs aren’t half bad. Heck, there are iPads on the walls. On the walls! The offices have their fair share of meeting and conference rooms, but also a chic cafe and…
From robotic vocal chords to robotic lips, Japan has made a variety of robotic body parts over the years. But one body part has always been noticeably overlooked: robot ass. Not anymore! Enter Shiri. In Japanese, “shiri” (尻) means “buttocks”, and this robot is a “buttocks humanoid that represents emotions with visual and tactual transformation…
In upcoming PS Vita game Soul Sacrifice, you stick your hand in the mouth and yank out your vertebrate, which turns into a sword. There’s more to this PlayStation Vita game (more coverage coming later today, too), but isn’t spine ripping sword-swinging all you really need to know? SOUL SACRIFICE 第１弾トレーラー [YouTube]
Last year started out well enough. It looked like it was going to be a big one for Yang Qi Han (aka Isabella Yang). She was all over the place, even appearing at the Cannes Film Festival. Then things got bad, real bad. Everything came to a head with Isabella hanging on the side of…
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