- Culture
In China, McDonald’s Makes Both a White Burger and a Black Burger
You are looking at a Black and White Hamburger combo. That’s right, the hamburger wizards at McDonald’s in China figured out how to make what looks like the hamburger equivalent of the black & white cookie—but needed two burgers to do it. As website TheBeijinger points out, this isn’t just a black and white burger…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Greatest Pokémon Mystery: Where Is Ash’s Father?
If you’ve ever seen the Pocket Monsters anime series, you’ll wonder where the heck Ash’s father is. His mom, Delia Ketchum, pops up in the series. But dear old Dad? He’s nowhere to be seen. What’s more, from what I can remember, Ash’s father hasn’t really been referenced in the anime, save for a mention…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 -
UncategorizedSome Guy Remade Final Fantasy VII in LittleBigPlanet 2
Gamer Jamie Colliver poured six months of his life into recreating classic role-playing game Final Fantasy VII in LittleBigPlanet 2—including all the conversations, characters, enemies, bosses, and music. To complete the effect, Colliver used LBP2‘s Final Fantasy VII costumes, which have been available for a while You can see the entire FFVII story retold in…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
Why I Would Play the Hell Out of the New Final Fantasy Dating Sim (If it Really Existed)
Last week at the Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event here in Tokyo, some of the biggest names in Square Enix talked about the franchise. Square Enix showed off the first material related to Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn was put through its paces. Then Hajime Tabata—director of Crisis…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastSee Kenshin Return to Action in This New Fighting Game
Two-and-a-half weeks ago, popular 90’s anime Rurouni Kenshin exploded onto the Japanese cinema scene with the series’ first live-action movie. However, that was not the only Kenshin-related item to get a release that week. Sequel to last year’s Rurouni Kenshin Saisen, Rurouni Kenshin Kansei is a PSP fighting game with a roster of nearly all…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
Playing Video Games on the Train Is Both Frustrating and Wonderful
This animated gif is from the Production I.G version of manga Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san and shows just how some handheld gaming can liven up the most boring of commutes. yondemasuyo azazel san [Transethnic Japanese] Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
This Store Was Killed by Mobile Games, Says Owner
For the last few years, I have been a frequent customer at a local mom-and-pop video game store here in Japan. Today I walked in to see the shelves with empty spaces and the games majorly discounted. After 21 years of selling games, the store is going out of business. Surprised and saddened by this,…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Game Developers Arrested for “Spying” [Update]
According to reports out of Greece, two Czech citizens have been arrested for “spying”. They were caught with photos and video of a military installation and arrested in the Greek island of Lemnos and are claiming to be video game developers for Bohemia Interactive. Reports state that Greek authorities took the two into custody for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastThe Creator of Ikaruga Fires Out a New Game
As far as shooters go, they don’t get much more iconic than Ikaruga. The game’s director, Hiroshi Iuchi, is about to release a brand new shooter. It’s called Kokuga, and it’s for the 3DS. Have a look. Ikaruga Designer’s Nintendo 3DS Shoot-em-up Out This Month; Here’s A Trailer [Siliconera] Kotaku East is your slice of…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 -
Kotaku EastSony Showing Off Its Newest Head-Mounted Display
At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Sony will roll out the latest prototype for its head-mounted display. Sony worked with an outside research team on this prototype, which promises 360 degrees of freedom while enjoying movies, music, and looking goofy. Sony to show off HMZ Prototype AR HMD at TGS [NeoGAF] Kotaku East is your…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
Go Ahead, Roll This 3DS Stylus All Over Your Face!
It’s not just a 3DS stylus. It’s a beauty roller. You can use it to play 3DS games and massage your mug, because nothing says video games like rolling things on your face. This face roller uses germanium, which apparently has semi-conductive properties and is known for its healing abilities. So, supposedly, if you use…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
Like Those Resident Evil Movies? Well, Get Ready for a Monster Hunter Flick.
Paul W.S. Anderson has made a whole bunch of Resident Evil movies. And those movies have made a whole bunch of money. But Anderson doesn’t only have eyes for Capcom’s survival horror franchise. Apparently, he’s keen to bring Monster Hunter to the silver screen, too. In an interview with Cinema Today, Anderson said, “Recently, I…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Kotaku East
Meet Japan’s Boy Band Nazi
Is there anything more innocuous than Japanese boy bands? Not when one of their members dresses like a Nazi S.S. officer, tortures himself, and then has a dance battle. With himself. The actual video makes even less sense. Trust me. For his solo single “Black or White”, boy band singer Koki Tanaka, who is a…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Oh God Dinosaur Pokémon Here Come The Nightmares Again
Artist RJ Palmer certainly isn’t the first person to try their hand at drawing “realistic” Pokémon, and he won’t be the last. But for now, just now, he’s my favourite. You can see more RJ’s art at his personal site. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to wash the taste of terror out of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012 - Culture
This Isn’t Office Space. It’s Deus Ex.
Based in Montreal, concept artist Donglu Yu has worked on two of the prettiest video game properties around: Deus Ex and Assassin’s Creed. Having spent two years at Eidos, Yu moved in 2010 to Ubisoft, where she’s been working on the Assassin’s Creed series, from Brotherhood to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed III. You can see…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012 - Uncategorized
Would You Pay For An In-Game Item You Lose When You Die?
Upcoming zombie survival MMO The War Z doesn’t want to hold your hand. It wants to grab it and try and bite it off. Preferably after you’ve spent some money on it first. The game, like many others, will allow players to purchase items using real money from an in-game store. But if you’re playing…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012 -
UncategorizedThis Bizarre Video Game Takes Place Inside Someone Else’s Head
Since late last year, Hong Kong artist Alan Kwan has walked around with a small camera attached to his glasses, recording almost everything he does. Every night, when he gets home, he uploads the footage and transfers it into small “cubes”, which are dropped into Bad Trip, a “video game” he’s working on which allows…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallNintendo Let Literally Anyone (With Money) Make Famicom Games
In 1984, Nintendo released Family BASIC, a programming suite for its Famicom (NES) console. Including a swish keyboard and data recording unit, it was designed to allow consumers to, with a little teaching, program their own basic games for the system. Including a few stock titles as templates, it was sadly never released outside Japan.…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012 - CultureTotal Recall
StarCraft Was Once a Busted Pile of Crap
Blizzard isn’t just famous for its games, it’s famous for a lengthy and considered development output. It’s one of a privileged few studios in the world that can say “we’ll release the game when it’s ready”, and really mean it. The agonising wait fans have to endure for new Blizzard games is testament to this.…
by Patrick Wyatt Published September 11, 2012 -
UncategorizedDungeons & Dragons Didn’t Just Change Video Games, It Changed The World
Even if you’ve never actually played it, Dungeons & Dragons will have played some role in your gaming life. As is said in the clip above, if you’ve played Skyrim, or World of Warcraft, or any other RPG (or even game with RPG tendencies), you’re simply playing a modern interpretation of a basic set of…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012