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Kotaku EastNow You Can Have a $250 Alarm Clock
Because that’s exactly what the world needs, another alarm clock! I wake up to my iPhone, so I guess Sony figured PS Vita owners would want the same. But do they really need to get Trophies for that? Besides a variety of skins, there’s “Mezamashi Doumei” or “Alarm Clock League”. It’s built on the concept…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Let the World’s Best Street Fighter Player Teach You about…Life
Daigo Umehara is the Guinness World Record holder as “the most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter,” and became world famous in 2004 with his amazing comeback victory at the EVO 2004 Street Fighter Tournament. In his new book, “勝ち続ける意志力” (The Will to Keep Winning), Daigo describes his upbringing and experiences as a…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan Turning KFCs Into Fancy Schmancy Bars
For decades, KFC has been a Japanese fast food staple. Whether it’s Christmas dinner or baseball superstitions, Japan is enamored with The Colonel. And the country is about to get a really fancy one. A new KFC is opening in Tokyo’s Shimo-Kitazawa. It’s aimed at late night customers in their 20s and 30s, and it…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Cosplay Isn’t Simply Dressing as Video Game Characters
Or as anime characters. Or manga characters. Or movie characters. It’s simply “costume play”, and Japanese photographer Yuji Susaki explores that in this series of photos, “Cosplay: Made in Japan”. Susaki is perhaps more known for his fashion pics, celeb portraits, or artistic nudes. For this cosplay series, Susaki roped in well-known Japanese cosplayers like…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Drink Gundam Coffee, Eat Gundam Churros, Buy Gundam Things
Today, Tokyo is getting its second Gundam cafe. This one is in Odaiba, near the Fuji TV building. Out front, there’s an enormous one-to-one scale Gundam—you know, if you can’t find the cafe. Inside, you can guzzle Gundam coffee and munch on Gundam snacks. There is also a Gundam “theme park”, Gundam Front, with attractions,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWhat Can We Expect from a Made in China Iron Man?
China makes, well, everything. And, as recently revealed, the next Iron Man flick is going to be made with a Chinese co-partner. The movie will be shot in China and contain “Chinese elements”—like things the Chinese government wishes to promote? Iron Man 3 Trailer: Made in China [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Watch as This Crappy Comic Disappear from Your Very Eyes
Akihiro Hino, boss of game maker Level-5, is responsible for Gundam Age. And Gundam Age is a bit crap, so everyone hates it. Want to see just how unpopular it is? CoroCoro Comic is a Japanese magazine filled with manga and aimed at Japanese kids. The most popular manga take up the most real estate…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Call of Duty: Elite Abandoning Japanese
The much ballyhooed Call of Duty: Elite online service will not be available in Japan. Square Enix, Call of Duty‘s publisher in Japan, revealed that a Japanese version isn’t happening due to localization issues. According to Square Enix, the game’s original publisher, Activision, worked hard to get localized versions of Elite released in different territories.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Roll Your Monkey Ball All Over This Lady
This isn’t your father’s Monkey Ball. Actually, maybe it is. For a limited time, Sega is offering “Adult Map” download codes for those who purchase Super Monkey Ball: Tokumori Asobi-ta! for the PS Vita. In it, you can roll all over bikini model Yukie Kawamura. In some parts, the model’s breasts protrude from the map…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Pixar’s WALL-E Is Now Working at a Chinese Restaurant
Nothing quite says a home cooked meal like a droid cooked one. If you ever find yourself in Harbin, China, head over to “Summer Sky Ocean Robot”, a restaurant staffed with robot waiters and robot cooks. We don’t serve their kind here? No, they serve you! According to reports out of Asia, the restaurant has…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 19, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Korean Star Was So Addicted to Video Games, She Damaged Her Thumb
South Korea’s Jang Na-ra is known throughout Asia as a singer and an actress. Add something else to her resume: compulsive gamer. On a recent Korean talk show, Jang revealed that she fell in love with hanafuda—a Japanese card that should be familiar to all Nintendo fans. Whether it was playing with her brother or…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Even Giant Gundam Like the Shopping Mall
C’mon, everybody likes the mall. I like it. You like it. And that person over there likes it. Even giant mecha like it! The latest life-sized Gundam was completed in front of a shopping mall in Tokyo’s Odaiba. Besides the typical array of mall stuff, this shopping hub will also have a new theme park…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku EastAkira Creator Working on Bottled Water Ads
Most bottle water ads are boring—ditto for in Japan. But thankfully Japanese animation studio 4°C rolled up its sleeves and created this anime commercial for Volvic bottled water. The commercial also features character designs by Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of Akira Studio 4°C Produces Volvic Mineral Water TV Ad [ANN]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Tekken Is Getting Its Own Korean TV Show
Good at Tekken Tag Tournament 2? Want to be on TV? South Korea is getting a new gaming program dubbed Tekken Busters in which features players facing off in The King of Iron Fist Tournament. Hopefuls must live in South Korea, must have their own Tekken arcade game card, and must have three players in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku EastBehold a Hamburger Stacked with a Thousand Pieces of Bacon
Burger King Japan is going bonkers with bacon. For a mere ¥100 (US$1.24), you can, as sister site Gawker pointed out, add 15 slices of bacon to your Whopper. But why stop at 15? Japanese website RocketNews sure didn’t. It added 1,050 strips of bacon to a whopper. Over one thousand! In bacon math, that’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku EastNothing Says Innocence Lost Like a Teddy Bear on Rubble
Mercenary Ops is an upcoming third person shooter from Chinese developer Yingpei Games. The game was developed on Unreal 3, it’s for the PC, and it’s multiplayer. As website PCGamer pointed out, the game appears to have been created with Western gamers in mind. Chinese developed games are still somewhat of a rarity in the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Real-Life Anime Lady Animates You!
Overdosing on Photoshop isn’t only big in Asia. Kids in the West are running wild with it too in an effort to look like a real-life anime characters. As previously posted, this seems to be the new thing, looking drawn-to-life, complete with a heart-shaped face, tiny head, enormous eyes, and long limbs. There are already…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Brand New PS Vita Game Announced. It’s Called Soul Sacrifice.
Leaked scans from the upcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu reveal a brand new game for the PS Vita. It’s called Soul Sacrifice The game features a wizard protagonist, who wields mind power and a sword. The Famitsu spread shows game concept art of a wizard with a pockmarked face, a large dragon, as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012 -
Kotaku East
“Digital Recorder” in Sony Speak Is Covering People in Lights
Nasne, Sony’s upcoming HDD and digital tuner, gets a promotional video that, well, doesn’t quite show off the hardware. Or make sense. At all. Instead, it has kids and adults covered in lights, making hearts and stars. M’kay! 「nasne（ナスネ）™」 イメージビデオ [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2012