• Kotaku East

  Udon or Soba? Fight!

  In Japan, you are either an udon person or a soba person. You cannot be both! This is serious Beatles-Stones kinda stuff. Well, not that serious. And people do like both, but most of my friends and family seem to prefer one to the other. Both udon and soba, of course, are noodles. However, udon…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Bootleg Chinese Arcades Sure Can Make Popular Video Games Boring

  The original Plants versus Zombies is a classic in China. Even before the Chinese version came out, the game was a success. My girlfriend, who is Chinese, had a PvZ phase. During that time, she would playPvZ everywhere she went— be it on my smartphone, tablet or on the PC at home. One time a…

  By Eric Jou Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Meet China’s Real-Life Blow-Up Doll. She’s Totally Fake.

  For the past few months, 17 year-old student Wang Jia Yun has been tearing the internet up in both China and South Korea. In China, she was quickly given a nickname: “chong qi wa wa” (充气娃娃 )or “inflatable doll”. Like so many of the young internet idols emerging out of China (ditto for the West),…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Report: Another Foxconn Employee Gives iPhone 5 Release Info

  This year, a new iPhone looks set to hit. The big question now is when it will be released: this summer or this fall. Late last month, a Japanese TV crew filmed an interview with a Foxconn recruiter, who said the phone would be out this June. South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper begs to differ.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  No, Mom, I’m Not Talking to Strange Men Online

  Life as a net idol is tough! If your old lady isn’t bursting down the door when you are chatting with your online fans, she wanders in when you’ve got your shirt off—which is apparently what this awkward photo depicts. Many young women are holding court on “live” video chats sites on Japan’s Nico Nico…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Report: Sony Is Firing a Whole Bunch of People [Update]

  Today, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Sony is axing 6 percent of its global workforce—approximately 10,000 individuals—by the end of the year. Half the cuts will supposedly come from Sony’s chemical and LCD businesses. The paper also added that Sony is asking the seven executive directors who served through the last fiscal year to return…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Hands On with the Official Akira Bike

  There are other customized Akira bikes, sure. But there is only one that has been officially recognized by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo. This is it. As previously posted, this US$121,000, custom-built bike raced across Japan for charity. Its final destination was a Katsuhiro Otomo exhibit, which was also for charity. Sister site checked out the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 9, 2012
• Uncategorized

  The Soundtrack to (Some of) the Peter Molydeux Game Jam

  Artist Bill Kiley, who we last saw putting Robocop in charge of a bunch of kittens, was recently up to his elbows in music, crafting soundtracks for games in the 2012 Molyjam Over the 48 hours the event was held, he ended up writing the music for nine games; six in San Francisco, one in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  It’s OK, Electronic Arts, Stephen Fry Thinks You’re Doing OK

  In a rare and recent piece of good news for the company, publisher Electronic Arts today received a vote of confidence from none other than the single nicest man on the internet, British comedian Stephen Fry. The TV, film and documentary legend has thrown his significant online clout (the man has over 4 million Twitter…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  Rancor vs AT-ST Walker: Who Would Win?

  Well, according to the brushwork of artist Benjamin Carre, it’s the Rancor with a KO. Oh, don’t look so shocked. If you can bring an AT-ST down with logs and rope-swinging wookies, you can certainly bring one down with a beast that exists only to eat and destroy things. Monsters [DeviantArt, via Super Punch]

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  Some Guy Built a 1:1 Replica Halo Shotgun (Out of LEGO)

  Last year, Nick Jensen built a 1:1 Halo sniper rifle out of LEGO that was so incredible the mind still boggles as to how he got the job done. It didn’t just look like the game’s gun, it worked like one too, with bolts, ejecting magazines, the works. Nick is now back with another weapon…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  The Very Best In Cosplay: Anna Fischer

  Well, cosplay fans, this is it. The end of a months-long look at the very best cosplay artists on planet. In that time we’ve looked at men and women, photographers and models, props builders and those who can combine the lot. All good things must come to an end, though, and next week Fancy Pants…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  This Game Looks Like Awesome 80s Sci-Fi Come to Life

  One of the best things about 80’s sci-fi were the vector graphics and user interfaces so many film and TV artists thought we’d be using in the future Seen all over the place (here’s Running Man’s intro as an example, or Escape From New York’s), they’ve sadly faded into obscurity as the world (and movies)…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  Master Chief’s Uncomfortable Day on a High Fashion Photo Shoot

  The March 2012 issue of Hong Kong’s Baccarat Magazine features a fashion spread by photographer Olaf Mueller that features a pretty young model, a giant inflatable version of the girl robot from Wall-E and Master Chief, star of the Halo series. It is not cosplay, and it is not a joke. It is fashion, people.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2012
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  Man Booted Out of PAX For Dropping His Pants

  It’s not just young ladies in revealing outfits who were being asked to leave PAX over the weekend. Grown men in their underpants were being shown the door as well. According to a video posted on Destructoid, and supported by subsequent interviews, comedian Keith Apicary – aka Nathan Barnatt, aka the world’s greatest Nintendo dancer…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012
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  Would You Prefer Fan-Made DLC Instead?

  While official DLC is growing increasingly ridiculous in the way it fragments a video game, it would be wrong to write off the entire concept just because some publishers want to fuck you over for money. Take fan-made content, for example! A group of European fans of adorable football sim Inazuma Eleven 2 have put…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012
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  Apple Thought This Game was About Pedobear, Might be “a Recruiting Tool for Paedophiles”

  Given the fact Apple is notoriously oblivious to so much other wrong-doing on its App Store, it’s always amusing when the company stumbles upon something it actually thinks is important and needs fixing, only to quickly find it does not. Case in point: iOS tower defence game Childhood’s End, which despite Apple originally clearing for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012
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  Team Fortress 2 Guns Make the Jump From Game to Reality

  Zander Brandt, a man who is able to reach into video games and pull their weapons out into the real world, works his magic on Team Fortress 2 once more with this pair of amazing gun replicas. Pictured is the Scattergun and Pistol from Valve’s first-person hat simulator, which somehow manage to get not just…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012
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  Epic is Working on a Game Just for the PC

  Well, here’s something that hasn’t happened for a very long time: Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Tournament and Gears of Wars series, is working on a PC exclusive. Not a PC port of something else, a game built from the ground up with the PC in mind, and Epic’s “current plans are to keep…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2012