-
Kotaku East
Assassin’s Creed Dives into Final Fantasy. Here’s a First Look.
As Kotaku previously posted, Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s Assassin’s Creed outfit is coming to role-playing game Final Fantasy XIII-2 as downloadable content. Here are some screenshots that show Noel Kreiss, Final Fantasy XIII-2’s male protagonist, decked out in AC gear. Collaborations like this are neat and all, but they also seem off putting. Like, why…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku EastWhen You Devote Yourself to Chun-Li
Music has its Elvis impersonators, but video games? Video games have cosplayers, but there’s a difference in the nuance. “Cosplay” implies an element of play—as though you are going from outfit to outfit. Not this lady. This lady is Elin Kuzunoha, and while she’s cosplayed as characters from One Piece and Final Fantasy, there is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 6, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Why You Won’t See a Super Robot Wars Game Outside of Japan
This week, Dainiji Super Robot Wars Z: Saisei-hen, the latest in the Super Robot Wars series, came out for the PSP making it the 64th Super Robot Wars related game in a series that is nearly 21 years old. The Super Robot Wars series was born from the most basic mindset of any fanboy: “What…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Taiwanese Man Destroys Finger While Playing Video Games
According to a broadcast on Shenzhen satellite television, a Taiwanese man damaged the cartilage in his finger while playing mobile phone games. The man would apparently play mobile games for hours and hours on end each day, swiping and tapping his phone. As a result, his hand is now injured, and he cannot bend his…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Namco Bandai Ready to Meld Games and Anime with New “Hybrid Discs”
This week in Weekly Famitsu, Namco Bandai Games CEO, Shin Unozawa sat down to discuss the company’s 2011 performance, and some plans for the future. Despite a shaky start last year, Namco Bandai managed to pull in massive sales totaling ¥440 billion by the end of the fiscal year. Most surprising, Unozawa pointed out, were…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku EastTen Totally Insane, Totally Bloody Japanese Flicks
During the 1970s, Japan made some amazing grindhouse flicks, like School of the Holy Beast and Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom. The country’s exploitation filmmakers have been going through a Renaissance in the past decade, concentrating on outrageous splatter flicks like Tokyo Gore Police and The Machine Girl. And it does not look…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Heroines Are A Dangerous Drug: Japanese Users Spend Massive Money On Imaginary Idols
Namco Bandai’s idol simulator is taking the Japanese mobile game market by storm and burning holes in players’ pockets. The Idolmaster game series is well known among Japanese gamers for its cute virtual girls and plethora of costly DLC. Now it seems the mobile phone version of the game, Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls, (better known among…
By Toshi Nakamura Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku EastIt’s Not Just Weather, But Women’s Underwear
This week, a typhoon hit Japan. It snapped telephone poles in half. It overturned trucks. It killed people. Footage of the storm in action showed just how powerful it was. Yet, when Japanese news station TV Asahi did its report on the typhoon, it also didn’t hesitate from showing a close-up of a woman’s skirt…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 5, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Don’t Let the Chewing Gum Penis Distract You
This is singer Kaela Kimura. She’s from Tokyo. The dialects throughout Japan are different—something Kotaku has covered before. In a recent series of chewing gum commercials, Kaela speaks in the Osaka dialect, instead of her usual Tokyo dialect. Her accent is overblown, and its all for comic effect. It’s pretty funny! But goodness, forget her…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Chinese Netizens Totally Heart the American Ambassador
The American ambassador to China has usually been an enigmatic figure to the Chinese people. Sure John Huntsman “speaks” Chinese (he really does just not often in public), and has Chinese daughters, he remained a mystery to the Chinese public during his tenure as ambassador. Gary Locke on the other hand, has captivated the attention…
By Eric Jou Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
So Who Was Making Crap Up: Nintendo or a Japanese Newspaper?
Last month, an article appeared in Japanese newspaper Nikkei. In it, Nikkei stated that Nintendo was targeting Asia. Moreover, the paper gave a specific example of this tactic—namely that Nintendo was launching the 3DS in South Korea on April 28. Nintendo aggressively refuted the article, releasing a statement that the article “isn’t anything our company…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Ancient Chinese Graveyard Ritual Goes Online
Tomb-sweeping is usually a very somber affair, usually. Now in a surge to promote eco-friendly “burials” and body disposals, China has gamified the tradition. Due to growing concerns about property ownership (you can only own land for 70 years in China) to the cost of funeral plots, China has been urging its people to conduct…
By Eric Jou Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Chinese Farmers Become Gigolos To Pay for Online Gaming Addiction
Online gaming addiction is a serious thing, and in China where they limit gaming time and access, it’s no laughing matter. But what happens when you’re addicted to gaming but you don’t have the money? Tecent recently reported a disturbing trend happening to China’s “Second Generation Farmers (农二代)” and their addiction to online gaming. “Second…
By Eric Jou Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Where There’s Hardware in China, There’s This Lady
Xia Xiaowei is one of China’s most famous “tech models”. Whenever big hardware is released, the 20-something year-old Xia Xiaowei, who goes by Vivihoney in English, is there to pose with it. Chinese tech models like Vivihoney pretty much exclusively pose with hardware, combining glossy gadget pics with pin-up photos. Vivihoney is actually signed with…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
New Game Killer Is Dead Isn’t a Sequel to Cult Hit Killer7
Goichi Suda, the man behind No More Heroes and Killer 7 (above), is working on a new game called Killer Is Dead. According to the upcoming issue of Famitsu, Suda is directing this assassin title. The game apparently takes its cues from both Killer 7 and No More Heroes. Killer Is Dead, however, is an…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
China’s Angry Birds Sausage Is a Cruel Reminder
Ever wonder what happens to the pigs in Angry Birds after they’re toppled? In the game, they go “poof” into a cloud of smoke. In real life, they end up on dinner tables. Chinese food maker Joycome is running a promotion with Angry Birds—the game is huge throughout Asia. Buy 800 grams worth of Joycome…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012 -
Kotaku East
Final Fantasy Characters Are Now Modeling Italian Clothes
Final Fantasy characters sure are stylish. Maybe it’s their razor thin body types. Or the hair. But they look like models. And now, they don’t only look like them, they are. The latest issue of Japanese men’s fashion mag Arena Homme Plus features Final Fantasy XIII-2 characters modeling Prada’s summer collection. These are clothes for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 4, 2012