Over the past two weeks in Russia, six kids have committed suicide. They apparently came from good homes. They did well in school. So why did they kill themselves? Child psychologist Olga Makhovskaya thinks she knows: Japanese anime. “Of course anime by itself cannot be the cause of teenage suicides,” said Makhovskaya. “But it is…
At its heart, Gravity Rush is a steam-punk superhero adventure. Of course, Kat isn’t exactly the ideal heroine, despite her obviously pure intentions. Perhaps she just needs to take a moment and look up the term “collateral damage.” Gravity Rush was released on Feb. 9, 2012 in Japan on the PlayStation Vita. EU and NA…
Earlier this week, my mother-in-law visited our place to give my boys and me some Valentine’s Day chocolate. When she was leaving with my father-in-law, she slipped and fell. She broke her back. My mother-in-law is now in the hospital and will be for a good bit to come. She also suffered from internal bleeding.…
With Tekken Unlimited Tag Tournament 2 (temp title), Tekken Tag 2 is coming to Japanese arcades. Besides tag team, it also allows players to play one character vs. one character—which defeats the purpose of tag, no? Here is the game’s trailer, unveiled earlier today at the AOU arcade show in Chiba, Japan. Be sure to…
Today, AOU (All Nippon Amusement Machine Operators’ Union) kicked off its annual show AOU Expo in Chiba, Japan. Kotaku East’s Richard Eisenbeis and Toshi Nakamura were on hand to check out the day’s festivities. Here’s a look at what they saw. The show featured new games, such as a Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus…
I wonder how Sir Isaac Newton would feel if he were to play a game inspired by his own legend where real-world gravity physics have been crafted into an interactive playground. Well, if that game were Gravity Rush, I’m sure he’d be amazed—and not just by the existence of a glowing interactive box in his…
With The Last Story getting its European release next week, let’s take a few minutes to talk about its action-packed battle system. Fighting With a Tilt of the Stick The Last Story has no dedicated attack button. Rather, after running into range of a target, all you have to do is push the thumbstick in…
Apple’s iPads are disappearing from Chinese stores shelves. The reason is that a Chinese company called Proview is contesting the use of the iPad moniker. Proview originally trademarked the term “iPad” for a computer. This is Proview’s iPad. It looks nothing like Apple’s. That doesn’t matter. Proview’s iPad is short for “Internet Personal Access Device”.…
Whether it’s a Japanese video game or a comic convention, he’s bound to pop up. He even appeared on fan-made Valentine’s Day chocolate. He is the Yaranaika Guy, and he’s keen to know if you’d like to screw. So, would you? The Yaranaika Guy is manga character Takakazu Abe from 1987 gay manga Kuso Miso…
Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am EST. For more info about Kotaku East click here
With the release of New Love Plus in Japan on Valentine’s day, Konami introduced a creative new game system that utilizes the 3DS’s built-in camera. Players can now take and edit photos using the editing tool included with the game so that the game characters can move in, behind, and actually interact with the photo…
On Feb. 29, THQ Japan ceases its publishing operations in Japan—as previously rumored. GameImpressWatch]
My eight-year-old son, Mini-Bash, apparently has a head full of teeth. His adult teeth are coming in funny, which means to make room for them, he’ll need to have some pulled—and probably braces. I had to get braces. My teeth as a little kid were all kinds of crooked. I really, really hated going to…
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is apparently flying off store shelves in Japan. Gamers can beef up their Final Fantasy music game experience with some pricey DLC. Sister site Kotaku Japan put the game through its downloadable content paces. As Kotaku Japan pointed out, this is the first DLC for the Nintendo 3DS. The DLC is accessed…
Nintendo is expected to show a consolidated loss for 2011. Thanks to the doom and gloom climate, its stock recently dipped below the ¥10,000 (US$127) per share mark for the first time in over 7 years. The cause of this overall loss can be attributed in part to the poor sales performance of the 3DS.…
Photographer and pin-up model Julie Watai, whom Kotaku has featured before, is releasing a magazine version of her Hardware Girls photos. The photos feature girls with old game consoles, arcade circuit boards, PC parts, and other various electronics. You know, hardware. Osaka-born Watai is not only a big nerd and popular pin-up model, she’s a…
Ace Attorney (read Kotaku‘s review) will be screened at the AM2 anime and manga convention this June in Anaheim, California. More details here. [CVG]
Some of you are nerds. That’s fine. Some of you are not. Likewise—fine. But for the geeky male readers out there, not all members of the opposite sex are going to be down with your peculiarities. According to Japanese site Sugoren, here are nine ways that Japanese women can instantly spot “creepy” otaku. Sugoren also…
On March 11, a devastating earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan. In its wake, the country’s Northeast was ravaged. Buildings and lives were destroyed and lost. Photographer Satoru Niwa documented the days following the disaster in late March 2011. Some of the photos show the extent of the quake and ensuing tsunami’s destruction. The resulting images,…
Mode
Follow us
