-
Kotaku East
A Bar for Power Rangers (And Those Who Love Them)
In Japan, the Power Rangers are called “Super Sentai”. For decades, they have entertained kids, especially young boys. But young boys grow up and become interested in other things. Like booze. Never fear! Former Power Ranger actor Masaru Shishido is here to save the day with cheesy memorabilia and alcohol. Phew! In Tokyo’s Tachikawa, Shishido…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 25, 2012 -
Kotaku East
This Girl’s RPG Is No Cinderella Story
Girl’s RPG Cinderellife is the newest 3DS title from Professor Layton creator Level-5. Marketed as a “girl’s RPG,” Cinderellife is the story of a plain girl coming to live in the big city for the first time. Before long, she is working in a Japanese hostess club and dreaming of finding true love amongst her…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku EastDo You Love Aliens? You Will.
Love Like Aliens is a short six-minuted animated film inspired by the work of Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama. Have a look at the film’s trailer. “In the silent film era, images were created first with music performed at the screenings and in the music video era, music was created first. What we’ve done with sonic…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku EastAll You Need is a Single Choice to Make a Novel into a Game
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been playing the fan-made visual novel, Katawa Shoujo. Like the name of the genre implies, there is a heavy emphasis on the story to the point where you’re almost reading as much as you would with a print novel. In fact on one path through Katawa Shoujo, there are…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Black Widow Killer Spawning Female Admirers
Kanae Kijima, 37, met her victims online. She picked lonely nerds. She took their money, and then, she killed them. Yet, as horrible as Kijima was, she supposedly has a group of female admirers. They’re called “Kanae girls”, and according to Japan’s Shukan Bunshun, they have been “conspicuous in the courtroom”. One Kanae girl apparently…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Lewd 3DS Game Gets Official Tissues
Senran Kagura, that large chested ninja 3DS game, is getting a sequel. That sequel is getting official tissues for an upcoming promotional event. Talk about knowing your audience. Talk about knowing your game. 3DS「閃乱カグラ Burst -紅蓮の少女達-」が8月30日に発売。「ニコニコ超会議」では，マーベラスAQLブース内に特設コーナーも [4Gamer]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Smuggling iPhones with Empty Beer Bottles Won’t Get You Drunk
It’ll get you arrested. According to Chinese news reports from late last week, an old lady was stopped while trying to bring bags of beer bottles into Mainland China via Hong Kong. As website M.I.C. Gadget pointed out, some people do bring in bags of bottles in hopes of recycling them for spare change. However,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
How To Get Old Dudes in Internet Cafes? Sexy Secretaries and Shoe Shines
Young folks go to Japanese net cafes to surf the web, play video games, read comics, and guzzle soda. Old dudes? Generally speaking, old dudes do not go to internet cafes. Old dudes, generally speaking, go to bars. Leave it to Japan’s most wildly inventive net cafe chain to figure out how to attract salarymen…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Running a Marathon Dressed as Naruto and Failing Miserably
In sports, not everyone can be winners. Some must come in second, or third place. Some must come in dead last. Some don’t even do that. Just ask Hiroshi Matsuyama. He’s the head of Japanese game developer, CyberConnect2, and to mark Naruto selling ten million video game spin-offs, Matsuyama decided to run the Paris Marathon…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku EastIn Final Fantasy VII, Soap Wasn’t Only for Cleaning. It Was for Sex.
I was 21 years old the first time I heard the word “soapland” and upon finding out exactly what one was, I reacted with confusion and disbelief. The concept just seemed too absurd to be true. But really, it shouldn’t have. After all, one of the best-selling and most renowned video games of all time…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
You Won’t Believe What’s Lurking in LG’s Logo
The logo of South Korean electronics company LG is supposed to resemble a human face. The “L” forms the nose, and the forms the face and mouth. But after seeing this GIF, all I can think of is waka waka. It sure is easy to make Pac-Man with the LG logo. All you need to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
From Steve Jobs’ Death to the Prime Minister’s Q&A, Sakura Bloom in Unlikely Places
Last night on Japanese television, Prime Minister Noda appeared in a Q&A. To his side sat a young participant in black glasses. This young man’s appearance, while certainly not striking, looked familiar to one Japanese net user, who quickly uploaded a photo showing the same man with a mic to his face. Impressed with the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 24, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The Continent of a Boring MMO… Zzzzz…
Chinese and Korean online MMO’s are a dime a dozen, and Tecent and Webzen’s latest MMO, The Continent of the Ninth, definitely feels stale. Despite the gorgeous graphics and a very simple battle system, I wasn’t taken byThe Continent of the Ninth. It is by no means a bad game; it just felt boring to…
By Eric Jou Published April 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Media Keeps Beating Up on Sony
Once upon a time, Sony ruled Japan. Those days are over. Don’t believe me? Just look at how the Japanese media keeps turning the Tokyo-based electronics maker into a punching bag. This sort of thing isn’t unique to Sony; the Japanese media was dishing the same punches to Nintendo last year. Sure, sometimes jabs are…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
How Tourists Are Encouraging Chinese Knock-Offs
There are countless markets in China that sell un-branded merchandise that appears to be blatant knock-offs, but there are certain places in every major city in China that sell knock-off and counterfeit goods right in the open. Located in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, these markets are huge tourist traps. They sell…
By Eric Jou Published April 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Own Online Property in China? The Chinese Government Will Recognize It!
Starting in May, Chinese netizens will soon be able to own and pass down online property as China launches its first virtual property notarization services. The legality of who owns online property, and what to do with online accounts if the players die or get e-divorced has long been a topic of interest in China.…
By Eric Jou Published April 23, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Key Developers Leaving Square Enix…for Social Gaming
Turnover at game companies is high. But Japanese game developers who work on big titles for big companies tend to stay put. But what happens when your company is being eclipsed? In the past few years, the Japanese mobile and social game industry has exploded. Companies like DeNa and Gree are doing great business, while…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 23, 2012