- Kotaku East
These Plastic People Are Wonderful
The Wonder Festival isn’t only about cosplay. Rather, the event is dedicated to figurines and models. So of them are production models, which are mass-produced, while other pieces are limited edition or even one-off pieces. This year’s Wonder Festival was held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. Sister site Kotaku Japan and figure site…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Swedish, Sixteen, and Stunning
Earlier this month, it was revealed that a Swedish “bishounen” (beautiful young boy) named “Yohio” will be making his debut in Japan this spring. Yohio currently plays for a Swedish visual kei band called “Seremedy”, and he became interested in Japan after getting into anime as a kid. Some of his heroes are Japanese Visual…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Meet China’s New Nerd Goddess
Over the course of the Chinese New Year, a young girl took China’s internet population by storm. Unlike other previous net celebrities, this lady didn’t do it by showing off skin, being outrageous, or destroying public goodwill towards the red cross, instead she did it through cosplay. She became famous because of a series of…
By Eric Jou Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Collection of Right-Wing Japanese Propaganda Buses
If you’ve ever spent any time in Japan, you’ve seen them: big black buses blaring right-wing propaganda. And today, you’re going to see an entire fleet of them. If Japanese itasha enthusiasts gather, Japanese right-wingers do, too. Here, it was also to mark Japan’s creation. This weekend, that’s exactly what happened. Feb. 11 is National…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Boy, Is China’s Illegal Gray Market Blatant
Looking for pc games in China? Not a problem, they’re sold everywhere. Console games and consoles? Not a problem, they’re also sold everywhere, despite the fact that video game consoles are banned in China. The sale of gaming consoles in China falls into the category of the gray market. Despite the connotations of a black…
By Eric Jou Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Mmm… Octopus Tentacles
Have a nice weekend? This Sunday, like so many Sundays before, I made dinner. I was actually somewhat nervous about our Kotaku East rollout, and I do find cooking (and drinking while cooking) relaxing. So I made one easy dish I can make fairly well: takoyaki. Takoyaki is often translated as “octopus balls” in English,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Giant Gundam? No, Tiny (and Adorable) Gundam.
Japan is famous for its giant mecha statues. But not all Gundam are huge. At this weekend’s Wonder Festival in Chiba, a little kid showed up with his father, ready to cosplay. The kid wore a homemade Gundam costume, proving once and for all that you’re never too young to dress like a giant mecha.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Wonder and the Horror of Japanese Cosplay
The Wonder Festival roared through Japan over the weekend. The biannual event is a gathering of figure collectors and makers—as well as cosplayers. Sister site Kotaku Japan was on hand to capture the cosplay festivities, which range from fantastic to frightening. Japanese websites Asagawo Blog and Gigazine were also on hand, too. You can see…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
This Isn’t a Happy Meal. McDonalds Gets Exclusive 3DS Content.
For a limited time, McDonalds in Japan will be distributing free game content for customers with Nintendo 3DS handhelds. The DLC will be exclusive to the 3DS game Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest 3 but they will also be distributing a free original game, McDonald’s Slime Ship Battle DX. There will be 4 exclusive downloadable…
By Toshitaka Tachibana Published February 13, 2012 - Kotaku East
Japanese Analysts Expect Metal Gear Solid 5 in 2014
If you’re one to believe analysts (ha!), note that Nomura Securities is forecasting that MGS5 will be out by March 2014. Apparently, Nomura doesn’t realize how long it takes Hideo Kojima to get games out the door. [Nihon Securities Journal]
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 -
Kotaku EastBig in Japan, Made in England
Music wasn’t what brought singer Emi Evans to Japan. But it’s what made her stay—and what is making her famous. With her work on Dark Souls and Nier, the British-born singer is quickly creating a name for herself. Evans is no overnight success. Hers is a long journey that began in Nottingham, England and one…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
Doom, Meet Warhammer 40k. Warhammer 40k, Meet Doom.
This was once, in a former life, an entire army of Warhammer 40K miniatures. It is now one of the greatest tributes to id’s classic Doom I’ve ever seen. There are the obvious conversions. Existing models modified and repainted to look like the bad guys from the game. But I love the extra touches. Like…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2012 -
UncategorizedGrand Theft Auto IV Mod Turns 2008 Graphics Into 2012 Graphics
Grand Theft Auto IV’s iCEnhancer series of mods and tweaks takes a Rockstar PC game that looked pretty good already and turns it into – relative to the scale and size of GTAIV – the prettiest video game on the planet. At least, if realism is your thing. And if your PC can handle it.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2012 - Reviews
Dear Esther: The Kotaku Review
Dear Esther is a terrible video game. Which would be a problem if Dear Esther was a video game. What began in 2008 as a mod for Half-Life 2 has, after years of picking up first buzz and then critical acclaim, transformed in 2012 into a full-blown commercial release, with all the updated visuals and…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
Old Republic has Action Figures too, You Know
You’ve seen the Star Wars: the Old Republic LEGO from Toy Fair, now see the Star Wars: the Old Republic action figures from Toy Fair. Don’t get too worked up; these aren’t large, premium figures, they’re your standard-sized, over-priced, small-scale Star Wars figures from Hasbro, same as you’ve probably seen stacked around toy shelves the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2012 - Uncategorized
Max Payne 3 Screens Show Two Guns are Better Than None
Here’s three news screens from the upcoming Max Payne 3. Whenever I think Max Payne, I think a trenchcoat diving in slow-motion, a gun blazing from each hand. I guess Rockstar does as well.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 12, 2012
