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Kotaku EastSquare Enix’s Dual-Wielding Game Shooting Up a Japanese Arcade
Gunslinger Stratos is an upcoming third-person shooter for Japanese arcades. The Square Enix title features four-on-four online combat that allows players to face off against others across Japan. It is also dual wielding. Players can take their pistols and conjoin them to form new weapons. Check out gameplay in the above video. More details in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Can China’s Monster Hunter Clone Slay…Monster Hunter?
China’s Monster Hunter styled MMO, Hunter Blade, looks, plays, and feels exactly like Monster Hunter—well, almost. Despite adding some much needed gameplay elements to MH, Hunter Blade is a flawed monster hack and slash. Developed by Joy China, Hunter Blade, takes all the elements of MH and turns it into an MMO. Joy China didn’t…
By Eric Jou Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Stop Creeps From Looking Down Your Shirt Forever
This is the “Breast Line Cover”, and it’s here to block unwanted leering. Priced at ¥1,050 ($13) and available in six colors, the Breast Line Cover is for those women who want wear stylish clothing, but want to avoid embarrassing “accidental glimpses of cleavage”. The Breast Line Cover resembles a camisole, but simply affixes itself…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japanese Nintendo 3DS Pitchman Shows His Toilet Gaming
Kazunari Ninomiya, best known in the West for Letters from Iwo Jima, is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi. Ninomiya’s also a Nintendo spokesperson. And a toilet gamer. Lots of people game on the throne! (Heck, game designer Goichi Suda thinks up video games on the toilet.) Recently on Japanese television, Ninomiya admitted that…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The World’s Strongest, Thickest, and Most WTF iPhone Case
When you are shopping for iPhone cases, you probably want something durable, something strong. You probably do not want something that weighs over 4.5 pounds and could be used as a murder weapon in Clue Dubbed the “One-Inch Armored Case”, the case can possibly stop a 50-calibre bullet. Priced at ¥52,500 (US$648), the case comes…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Rumors of an iPad Mini Swirl in China
The Chinese rumor mill has hit full blast today claiming to have details about the imminent release of an iPad mini. Chinese net portal, NetEase, has a story on a rumored new mini Apple tablet. NetEase claimed that the device will be released around the third quarter of this year to “counter attack” the upcoming…
By Eric Jou Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Transgender Ninja Aerobics Does Not Require Fishnets or Thongs
In ninjutsu, the concept of “shinobi” (“stealth”) is key. So what happens when you mix it with aerobics? Fishnets and a thong, apparently. Sneaky! Exercise guru and former cabaret dancer Hibari Igano, the self-styled “World’s Toughest Transsexual” of Ninja Warrior fame, was a member of a ninja breakdancing team during the 1990s. Once again, she’s…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Even in Plastic, That’s a Big Sword
This summer, Alisa from Namco’s monster hunting game God Eater Burst is getting her own figurine. It’s not very subtle! And at ¥8,190 (US$101), the 1/7 scale figure is not exactly cheap, either. God Eater is one of the PSP’s most successful titles in Japan. The series is similar to Monster Hunter, but does offer…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku EastHow Does Nintendo Sound in Korean? Like This.
Later this month, Nintendo is releasing the Nintendo 3DS in South Korea. To mark the event, Nintendo’s South Korean branch held an online Nintendo Direct press conference. The head of Nintendo Korea, Hiroyuki Fukuda, and Nintendo Co., Ltd.’s President Satoru Iwata both put in appearances. Instead of giving their speeches in Japanese with Korean subtitles,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan’s Black Widow Killer Met Men Online. Then She Killed Them.
On the morning of August 5, 2009, Yoshiyuki Oide logged onto his blog. He posted some photos of a model tank he was working on as well as some cookies he recently got in Tokyo’s geek district, Akihabara. “To tell the truth, I’m getting married, and today, I’m going to meet her family,” Oide blogged.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 16, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Anime Mashup Heroes Phantasia is a Letdown
The PSP role-playing game Heroes Phantasia takes nine popular fantasy and sci-fi anime—Blood+, Read or Die, My-HiME, s-CRY-d, Darker Than Black, Slayers Revolution, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Rune Soldier Louie, and Sgt. Frog—and mixes them into one giant cross-over adventure. And while fans of these shows will no doubt be excited to play as their favorite…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Just Look at All That Hair. All That Plastic Hair.
Milla Maxwell from Namco Bandai role-playing game Tales of Xillia gets immortalized in plastic with this collectible figurine. Lucky her! The figure is slated for a September release in Japan. It’s priced at ¥8,190—which is US$101. Not exactly cheap! アルター「テイルズ オブ エクシリア ミラ＝マクスウェル」の彩色サンプル 【宮沢展示会2012春】 [Moeyo]
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
The PS Vita Has Seen Better Weeks. Now, It Looks Kind of Screwed.
You know things are bad when your old portable is beating your brand new one. This week, Sony’s PS Vita sold only 8,931. The PSP sold 14,804 units. The good news, I guess, is that Sony makes both handhelds. The bad? The newly released PS Vita continues to nosedive in Japan. This week it sold…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
How a Game Got Me Back Into Watching Anime
How I ended up living and working in Japan is a long and complex story, but like many, anime was a big part of it. In my highschool years, my friends and I were watching at least one 26 episode series a week by means of trading VCDs with strangers off of message boards, importing…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Japan Claims the Most Expensive One-Bedroom on Earth
Japan is expensive. The yen is strong, food is overpriced, and, unless you know how to spend smart, you can blow through insane amounts of cash. And if Japan is expensive, then Tokyo is crazy expensive. Take the Tokyo neighborhood of Minami-Azabu, which boasts what’s apparently the most expensive one bedroom apartment (Jeremy Clarkson voice)…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku EastIn This Fan-Made Brawler, You Kick Ass with Paper
While trying to learn more about all the anime characters in the PSP crossover RPG Heroes Phantasia, I became interested in Read or Die. After watching the 2001 anime, I found myself already hunting for a game from the series. But despite eleven books, a manga, and two anime series, no game has ever been…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Hey Sega, Put This Lady in Your Games
Every year, Sega holds a cattle call to select a handful of women to appear in its latest Yakuza game. This year, there’s a porn star in the running—not a Sega first. The women typically play hostesses players can chat up in night clubs. But, Sega, why not pick the number one hostess for your…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Beauty of China, Show the World Your Latest Kinect Copy
China already has a handful of Kinect inspired game machines. But that’s not going to stop it from getting more. The latest is the iGame Move, a console with the tagline “Beauty of China Show the World”. Sporting 32-bit graphics (32-bit!!), the iGame Move is a motion controlled game system and is priced at around…
Brian Ashcraft & Eric Jou Published April 13, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Crazy Person Apparently Threatened to Chop Off Writer’s Head
Noboru Aoi was not happy with Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai (“There’s No Way My Sister Is That Cute”). After learning the email address of the light novel’s writer, Tsukasa Fushimi, the 32 year-old Aoi sent email after email—over five hundred in total. In them, he threatened the writer’s life. The…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 13, 2012