Kotaku East Archives - Page 499 of 501

Look, It’s Persona 4 in Living Flesh

Japanese role-playing game Persona 4 is being turned into a hardcore porno. This is not the cast of that flick. Sorry! Instead, these are the folks starring in the Persona 4 stage show. Called Visualive Persona 4, the show combines movie-style special effects with a live performance. Visualive Persona 4 opens next March at the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Korean Gyms Subjected to Kinect

Microsoft Korea joins World Gym Fitness Center in the Ilsan district to promote the Kinect throughout February. Members of the gym will be able to participate in the “Dance Time with Kinect” program, held twice every Tuesday. The promotion will use Dance Central 2, and during the last week of February, there will be a…

By Chi Lee Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Japan Isn’t All Neon Lights

There’s a tired stereotype that Japan looks like Blade Runner. Sure, some parts do, but the vast majority of the country doesn’t. While most of Japan isn’t terribly exciting (not necessarily a bad thing!), it sure is pretty. This is a picture about three minutes from my house. I live in a modern and, for…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Maids Entice Young Men to Give Blood

In Japan, you expect to see maids in cute cafes, slinging coffee and rice omelets. But for two days earlier this week, they popped up in an unexpected location: a blood donation center. This winter the blood donated for transfusions is short. That’s why a center in Fukuyama decided to bring in four young maids…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Duke Nukem Forever Delayed in Japan (Sigh)

Didn’t see that coming, did you? The years-in-development Duke Nukem Forever is getting pushed back in Japan: from March 8 to March 29. [Famitsu]

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

No, Korea, Gaming Does Not Make You a Bully

What might kill video games in Korea? The ice age. Earlier this month, the South Korean government’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology announced plans for its new game shut down system. The “Cooling Off” system would restrict young people from playing for more than two hours in one day by automatically shutting down the…

By Chi Lee Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Square Enix Setting Up Shop in India

Square Enix is starting operations in India and is staffing up. If you speak Japanese and Hindi, and have an awesome hairdo, apply! (That last part is not a staff requirement—just a game character one.) [Square Enix Japan]

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Japanese Cosplayer Feels Heat For Flashing Taiwanese Police Car

While Japanese cosplayer Ushijima Ii Niku (“Good Meat”) was in Taiwan, she caused a media storm after showing up to an event in her underpants. The incident even made the evening news there. But that’s not what is pissing of the country’s police force. Ushijima posed for a photo in front of a Taipei squad…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Virtual Tour of Korea with Idols

Annyeong. Depending on the inflection, you can use this to say “Hi” or “Bye” or “I wish you well” in Korean. annyeong is also the title of a movie, which promotes Korean culture using interactive elements taken from gaming conventions. The film is a three day journey through Korea, and the main character is you,…

By Chi Lee Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

Jackets So Badass, They’ll Punch Your Teeth In

Yesterday, Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima posted a photo of himself wearing the jacket actor Ryan Gosling wore in the movie Drive. But Kojima, best known for his Metal Gear games, didn’t call it a “jacket”. No, the famed designer called the coat something else: a sukajan. Sukajan (スカジャン) are colorful jackets with embroidered designs…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

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By Brian Ashcraft Published February 15, 2012

Kotaku East

This Chocolate Isn’t Painful. It’s Sweet and Dorky.

You know “itasha”, right? It means “painmobile” and refers to cars covered in nerdy stickers. These days, everything that has been covered with nerdy imagery—from Shinto plaques to bicycles—seems to get the “ita” label in Japan. Heck, there are even “itachoco” this Valentine’s Day. I guess a literal translation would be “painful chocolate”. Check out…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

Playing With Gravity. Seven Minutes of Gravity Rush Gameplay.

Gravity Rush (Gavity Daze in Japan) is one of Sony’s most anticipated titles for the Vita in the West. The entire game is built around manipulating your own personal gravity as you adventure through a floating city in a mysterious steampunk world. We’ll be posting our hands-on impressions of the Japanese release on Kotaku East…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

A Valentine’s Day Contrast Worth a Thousand Nerds

Today, love simulator New Love Plus went on sale. Today is also Valentine’s Day. A photographer at Japanese game site 4Gamer snapped this photo, which seems to show a young couple passing by the Love Plus Akihabara launch, which is populated with dudes. Online in Japan, commenters are saying that the couple is probably wondering…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

I Didn’t Get Any Chocolate Today. Did You?

Instead, I got apple pie. Mrs. Bashcraft, my wife, made apple pie for the kids and me. This is it! Actually, this isn’t mine. While the kids got their apple pie in nice little bags, I got mine in a Ziploc bag. Apparently, we are out of nice little bags, but have tons of Ziploc…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

North Korean Clams Cooked with GASOLINE

While North Korean hamburgers look (and sound) awful, North Korean gasoline-baked clams also sound pretty friggin’ awful. They’re not, according to Japanese site RocketNews24. A Japanese traveler who recently visited the country and tried the dish said they’re actually pretty good—and don’t even taste like gasoline. While Kotaku East does not recommend playing with gasoline…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

Lowest. Score. Ever. (In Super Mario World)

Everyone’s heard about high score runs, but how about the opposite? In this video, NicoNico Douga user Haru@Yotsuba sets out to get the lowest possible score in Super Mario World on the SNES. Mario World becomes a very different game in this challenge, where killing Koopa Troopa or breaking a brick is the same as…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

Super Cars? Super Cute, Super Cool, and Super Geeky.

At this weekend’s Wonder Festival in Chiba, Japan, collectible figures and cosplayers weren’t the only thing on display. There were also super cars—and race queens. The Neon Genesis Evangelion racing team (yes, there’s an Eva racing team!) was on hand, showing of its Super GT cars and bikes. The Eva team’s “race queens”, dressing as…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

iPads Yanked only from Some Chinese Stores. Still Available in Shanghai and Beijing.

Yesterday, a report surfaced that after Apple lost a lawsuit over the term “iPad” in China, the tablet was getting pulled from the country’s shops. Via sister site Gizmodo, the news was that the Chinese Administrations of Industry and Commerce was seizing iPads. Officials at Shijiazhuang Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau, however, were confiscating the…

By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012

Kotaku East

Little Deviants Is a Game You Will Never Play in Public

Vita launch title Little Deviants is a portable game on a portable system. But some mini-games in this collection aren’t exactly suitable for your average morning commute… Little Deviants was released in Japan on Dec. 15, 2011 for the PlayStation Vita. It will be released in North American and PAL territories on Feb. 22, 2012.…

By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012