The Chair You Can Wear on Your Head

Many offices in Japan have helmets in case of natural disasters. But helmets might be stored in inconvenient locations. That’s why some Japanese designers have created a new helmet that can be kept in an easy to find spot: Under your butt. Dubbed “Mamoris” (“mamoru” or 守る means “to protect” in Japanese), this emergency helmet…

In Another World, Japan Got the PS4 First

It was bad enough that Japan has to wait an extra 3 months for Sony’s newest console, then the Japanese PS4 release commercial just had to rub salt into the wound. But had things gone a little differently, that ad would have shown Japanese gamers celebrating while the rest of the world waited. In an…

One of Korea’s Most Talented Game Artists Leaving NCsoft

After eight years, illustrator Hyung-Tae Kim is leaving NCsoft. Earlier today, Kim confirmed the departure on his blog. Known for his work on the Magna Carta series (and more recently, Blade & Soul), Kim is perhaps the most well-known Korean game illustrator in the West. Korean fans might have felt something was up when Kim’s…

Counting Down New Year’s Eve with Hardcore Japanese Gamers

New Year’s is the biggest holiday of the year in Japan. But don’t tell that to these folks. They’ve got arcade games to play. On a recent episode of Monitoring (an observation TV show that, um, monitors folks), footage of various places, such as a laundromat, on New Year’s Eve were shown. The purpose was…

In Japan, the Cycle of Dependency Has Gone Viral

Japan’s latest internet meme is going in circles. What started out as an anti-drug poster image depicting the dangers of drugs and the cycle of chemical dependency quickly turned into a fiasco of strangeness and hilarity with a slightly cynical undertone. The original poster is as follows (With translations added below): ①The Vicious Cycle of…

Meet the Most Humble Man in China

Billionaire Guangbiao Chen is not one to brag about his many accomplishments. Why do that when his business card can do it for him? Chen, who once sold “Good Person Guangbiao Chen” canned air in China, recently claimed he wanted to buy The New York Times. Think there’s enough space on his business card for…

New 3DS App Will Make a Manga Artist Out of You

Well, it probably won’t, but it couldn’t hurt. This is Comic Koubou (コミック工房 Comic Workshop), a new 3DS download-only app for easy manga creation. It’s obviously not as high-end as software like Manga Studio or Clip Studio Paint, and you probably won’t see a lot of published manga artists releasing pieces they drew on their…

Japanese Kids Show Host “Loves Cock,” Apparently

This has to be one of the most unfortunate uses of the English language on Japanese television. Ever. Morning show Miburi TV is a children’s dance program hosted by choreographer Sasuga Minami, who teaches new moves to children and wears a peculiar outfit with some very choice lingo. “Miburi” (身振り) means “gesture” in Japanese. The…

If you don’t get Dave Collinson’s joke, start singing (and counting)….

White PS Vitas Available In US

The gorgeous white PlayStation Vita, previously only available as a standalone unit in Japan, has very quietly turned up for sale online in the US. No press releases from Sony, no announcement, nothing. The unit has been available in the US before, as part of the Assassin’s Creed Liberation pack, but this is the first…

Nice Day For A White Wedding

Lukas Esch is an artist at OnePixelBrush, a studio we’ve featuredrecently on Fine Art for their work on games like BioShock Infinite and Ryse. You can see more of Lukas’ work at his personal site and CGHub page To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can…

The Dreamcast Wasn’t The First Time Sega Quit A Hardware Business

The day Sega stopped making video game hardware was a sad one, but it’s worth remembering that, like former rivals Nintendo, video game hardware wasn’t the only thing Sega had ever made. Sega’s history is likewise littered with other stuff, from slot machines to photobooths, but one of the coolest has got to be the…

Xbox One Updates Will Make Important Stuff Easier To Find

While Microsoft generally lies low at CES, Xbox’s Marc Whitten had a little chatwith tech site Engadget, speaking about the kinds of things we can expect in the Xbox One’s first major update. “The feedback we’ve gotten is pretty valid; some of the social stuff is hidden or harder to use than it was on…

Skyrim Coming To Xbox One, PS4? [UPDATE]

That’s what Bethesda’s official site for the game says, at least, with listings for the next-gen platforms now displayed alongside those of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC editions of the fifth Elder Scrolls game. At time of writing the listing was still there; whether it’s a mistake or an inadvertent early reveal, who knows.…

What Is This, A Press Release Or Bad Fanfiction?

Gigabyte has unveiled a new gaming PC at this year’s CES. The Aorus X7. It’s an impressive machine, but we’re not here for the specs. We’re actually here for the laptop’s accompanying press. Which is wonderful. I’m not sure whether the stuff you’re about to see is the result of a language barrier (Gigabyte is…

Snacktaku Special Report: Coca-Cola Life Surely Tastes Like Something

While vacationing in Buenos Aires, Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo sampled Coca-Cola Life, a special green-canned version of America’s favorite sugar water developed specifically for Argentina and Chile. How does it taste? Not a clue. Stephen was so grateful the beverage inside the can was not green, he neglected to tell us how it tastes. This…

Luke Hates Funko’s Game Of Thrones Vinyl Figures

Excitedly I pasted this picture of Funko’s Game of Thrones vinyl figures into our site chat, eager to share what I thought was absolutely adorable with my fellow editors. “Yuck” said Luke Plunkett, breaking my heart. It’s not only the cute factor that draws me to these vinyl figures, which go on sale at retail…