The Spooky, Yet Beautiful Lava Caves of Mt. Fuji

Anime blogger Danny Choo recently checked out the lava caves of Mt. Fuji, including the Fugaku Fuketsu (wind cave), which is cold year round and was previously used as a natural refrigerator, and the Narusawa Ice Cave, which looks to be even colder. The caves were created by lava, and there are about 80 caves…

These Totoro Cream Puffs Are Cute Enough to Eat. Literally.

Discovered at Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory in Tokyo, these Totoro cream puffs look like something out of a Ghibli movie. They also look like something I want to gobble up. The cream puffs are available in a variety of flavors, such as chocolate cream, custard, and whipped cream. There are also seasonal varieties, like strawberry…

DMC: Devil May Cry Features A Not-So-Sexy Version Of A Famous Demon

The DMC: Devil May Cry trailer from E3 showed a hack-and-slash action game set in a dark world where demons/devils control society through media and products. In the game, the main character, Dante, joins forces with an Anonymous-like group called The Order to fight against the demonic rulers. Anyone who played the demo, got to…

From Japanese Gaming Hero to…Disney Tour Guide

For decades, Takahashi Meijin was one of the most iconic faces of Japanese gaming. Not only did he star in his own games, he also was able to fire 16 shots per second in shooting game Star Soldier. But back in spring 2011, he decided to hang up his controller and call it a day.…

Official Nintendo USB Memory Ain’t Cheap

So Nintendo is releasing an official USB memory drive for the Wii so players can enjoy Dragon Quest X. It’s…not cheap. If you order the 16GB flash drive directly from Nintendo, it will set you back ¥3,150 or US$40. For comparison’s sake, you can get 16GB memory via Amazon Japan for about ¥1,000 or $13…

Hopefully, Double The Content Will Make This Game Better, Rather Than Just Longer, Than Its Predecessor

Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage 2 was announced at E3 with little more than a trailer and fan speculation. Now, Tecmo Koei has released new information on the sequel to Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage. Announced in Japan under the title, Shin Hokuto Musou (“Shin” (真) meaning “true” or “pure”) Ken’s…

Dragon Quest X to Get New Stuff Each Week

Dragon Quest X is getting weekly updates with new quests and story segments—which should keep players busy! That’s not all—ten weeks after release, there will be a massive update with new systems and gameplay elements. [Siliconera]

Salty Watermelon Pepsi Isn’t as Bad as You Think

Like clockwork, Pepsi Japan releases a new crazy flavor every summer. In the past, there’s been Ice Cucumber (blergh) and Shiso (not bad!). And this year, the flavor is “Salty Watermelon”. Let’s give it a whirl. As previously posted, watermelon is very much a summer food in Japan, where people are known to sprinkle some…

Some of the Worst Pikachu Drawings on the Internet

There are many talented artists online. You see some of the stuff on DeviantArt, and you go, “Wow, there are many talented artists online.” But what about the untalented ones? Over on Japanese forum 2ch, a thread popped up in which people showed off their awful Pokémon drawings—drawings they knew were terrible. Many of them…

Meet Nintendo’s Hardware Ladies

For nearly a decade now, Nintendo has made a very focused effort to makeover how Japan views video games. To do that, Nintendo’s needed help from the country’s most famous females. With the DS, Nintendo changed the stereotypical notion that video games were toys or for guys. It wasn’t just the games that had non-gamer…

How Warcraft Was Almost a Warhammer Game (and how That Saved WoW)

Ever since the first Warcraft game was released in 1994, fans of the series have been saying, some with kinder words than others, that the series feels similar to Games Workshop’s Warhammer universe. It’s a sentiment that only intensified after the release of World of Warcraft, ushering in millions of new fans to Blizzard’s games…

So, Minecraft Might Actually be Able to Teach us Some Serious Stuff

Those who already know all about Minecraft, stick with this past the intro, because even if you agree with the theories put forward or not, it’s still an interesting new way to look at the game. Put together by PBS, it examines how the game can serve as a model for what happens when we…

A Game About Debauchery, Wine, Loose Women and Space Bombs

I’m not really sure exactly what upcoming indie action/adventure game Descension is all about, especially after such a vague trailer. But when it opens with the question: “What does it take to ruin what started as a luxurious cruise of debauchery, wine, and loose women? How about falling out of the sky, sitting in a…

When Professionals Get Their Hands on Valve’s Film-Maker, Good Things Happen

It’s not that the current offerings have been terrible, far from it, but ever since Valve released the Source Film-maker there’s been the quiet expectation that it would really start to shine once professional animators, and not just dedicated fans, got hold of it. Well, here’s what it looks like when a professional gets their…

OK, That Halo 4 Console Doesn’t Look as Bad as I Thought

Let’s be honest: most people’s reaction to the upcoming Halo 4 Xbox 360 console was probably somewhere between “oh” and “oh God my eyes”. Which may explain why some new pictures of the console have turned up on Halo’s official site looking, well, a lot better. It’s all down to that transparent effect. Not really…

A Guy’s Mother Previews 2012’s Biggest Video Games

You’ve probably got a very idea of what to expect from 2012’s biggest games. You see the trailers, you see the gameplay and you figure, yeah, I can get into this. But could your mother? GamesBeat writer Mike Minotti sat down with his mum and showed her some big trailers for some big games, like…

Darksiders II Environmental Concept Art

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Darksiders II Screenshots

Mario’s First Kart Was, Well, a Little Crap

I’m guessing this is an advertisement of some sort for NES Open Tournament Golf or, as it was known in Japan, Mario Open Golf, a Nintendo Entertainment/Famicom golf game first released in 1991 One of the earliest attempts by Nintendo to shoehorn its platforming characters into a console sports game, it’s perhaps notable these days…

The Inside Story of the Making of Warcraft, Part 1

Luke’s Note: I’m handing the reins over tonight to Patrick Wyatt, a games development legend and former Blizzard executive who has played a big role in the success of games like StarCraft, Diablo and Guild Wars. This is the first part of his insider’s story of the making of Warcraft, which he knows a thing…