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【TGS 2012】 How Booth Babes Made Me Feel Better About Myself, Part 1 (EX Troopers)

Steven
Sep 22, 2012
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This year’s Tokyo Game Show was the first major gaming event I’ve ever been to, and honestly, I don’t even consider myself a “gamer.”

Sure games a formative part of my childhood, but the last home console I owned was a GameCube and now my gaming activity is limited to quick bouts of Team Fortress 2. And since Valve wasn’t at the show, there weren’t really any titles I was interested in checking out from the beginning.

So I spent most of the show wandering from booth to booth with very little to no knowledge of what each game was about, eventually deciding to allocate my precious time among the numerous titles in the only way that seemed fair: visiting the booths with the cutest girls.

Interestingly enough, this strategy led me to one of the two games that gave me my most enjoyable Tokyo Game Show experiences: EX Troopers.

Japan
(EX Troopers • Tokyo Game Show • video games)

Burger King Hopes Once You Go Black, You Never Go Back with their new Kuro Burger

Master Blaster
Sep 22, 2012

Burger King is currently celebrating their 5th year in Japan. But in an already saturated fast food market the famous American chain is a little late to the game.

So, in an effort to truly stand out from the crowd, Burger King Japan has designed fast food’s first black hamburger. Dubbed the Kuro Burger (lit. Black Burger), it will go on sale for a limited time starting 28 September.

Japan
(black • Burger • Burger King • fast food • Kuro Burger • whopper)

Take Me Out to the Japanese Ball Game 【You, Me, And A Tanuki】

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Sep 22, 2012

You, Me, And a Tanuki is a weekly featured blog run by Michelle, a Californian who is currently one of only two foreigners living in Chibu, a tiny fishing village on one of the Oki islands in Japan. Check back every Saturday for a new post or read more on her website here!

No peanuts, no cracker jacks, but a whole lot of other interesting food was available at the Hiroshima Carps baseball game in Hiroshima, Japan.

Japan
(Baseball in Japan • Hiroshima Carp • Hiroshima Toyo Carp • Maeda • Sports Games in Japan • Stadium Food • You Me and a Tanuki)

【TGS 2012】 Where Have All the Chinese Gone?

Steven
Sep 22, 2012

Over 200 companies from 19 countries are said to be operating booths at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, but visitors to the four-day long event may notice that one major world power turned out to be a no-show.

China, Japan
(anti-Japan • senkaku islands • Tokyo Game Show • video games)

Tokyo School Principal: Don’t Report Bullying to the Police, Or Else!

Master Blaster
Sep 22, 2012

A student from a private integrated junior high/ high school in Tokyo filed a complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police as a victim of bullying. It was later learned that the 15 year-old high school student was allegedly advised by his principal not to go to the police on threat of not being able to enter high school.

The boy and his mother claim that he was sworn to silence as a condition of his graduating from middle school. However, as the bullying continued into high school he decided to go to the police.

Japan
(bullying • police • private school • Tokyo)

【TGS 2012】 WeMade Entertainment Impressions: Farmville-Meets-Final Fantasy App “Hero Square,” Mobile MMO “Arc Sphere” and Social Game Clones for All!

Steven
Sep 22, 2012

Social and mobile games are enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, with social game giants GREE and gloops occupying some of the largest exhibit spaces in the venue.

But it’s not just Japanese companies throwing their weight around on the mobile floorspace: Korean online game developer WeMade Entertainment, known in Asia for their popular MMO series The Legend of Mir, is showing six new Japanese-language titles for iOS and Android devices to build anticipation for their full-scale entrance into the Japanese mobile game market later this year.

Bored of the repetitive tap-based social card games, I decided to spend some time with WeMade to see if the Korean developer was bringing anything new to the table.

Japan, Korea
(Android • Arc Sphere • Hero Square • iPhone • smartphone • tablet • Tokyo Game Show • video games • WeMade)

Tokyo’s Irina Churns Out Some Amazingly Colorful Roll Cakes

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Sep 21, 2012

Bright pink polka dots, zebra print, and purple stripes are printed on these oblong objects. They look so showy and colorful, but what could they be? A handkerchief? A fancy sponge?

Believe it or not, these colorful circles are roll cakes (rolled sponge cake and cream filling), and yes, they are edible. They’re so cute and tiny we could eat a hundred of them, but the sad realization that we can’t sit around all day snacking on these beautiful pastries without gaining some junk in the trunk has got us down. At 271 yen (US $3.47) for one mini roll cake, these little guys will slim down your wallet while expanding your waist.

You can find these sweets at irina, a bakery that specializes in roll cakes. Our reporter visited irina’s Ginza store to check out these amazing little pastries.

Japan
(colorful food • Ginza • irina • Japan • Japanese candy • Japanese desserts • Japanese pastries • roll cake • Tokyo Bakery)

Why Foreign Guys in Japan Get So Many Girls

Philip Kendall
Sep 21, 2012

Let’s be honest; there are a lot of distinctly average-looking foreign guys living in Japan dating jaw-droppingly beautiful Japanese girls. We’ve all witnessed it- a woman who could play the female lead in the next James Bond movie, walking down the street with a guy who, if we searched for him in the same movie’s end credits, would more likely appear as something along the lines of “man in post office # 3”.

Were the same couple to be seen out and about in the guy’s home town, pretty much everyone would be looking from her to him, then back to her again and whispering to their friends “Wow, that guy’s punching above his weight….”

Shallow? Yes. Narrow minded? Definitely. But no matter how much we remind ourselves that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, there’s no denying the fact that human beings, flawed as we are, make a lot of decisions based on appearances. And when Johnny Average gets to date Princess Zelda (I’m a nerd, remember?), heads turn.

How do they do it?

Internet, Japan
(foreigners • relationships in japan)

【TGS 2012】 Futuristic 3D Headset Arrives, Brings the Pain and Embarrassing Red Marks

Philip Kendall
Sep 21, 2012

As a life-long gamer, I love it when new videogame-related technology arrives. And when it’s tech that looks like the virtual reality headsets of the future that were teased during my 1980s childhood, I just about lose my head out of excitement.

Sony’s newest “Personal 3D Viewer” head-mounted display, however, almost makes me wish I didn’t have a head to lose. Or a forehead, at least… Read More

Japan
(headset • pain • playtest • red mark • Sony • Tokyo Game Show • videogames)

【TGS 2012】Cosplay and Booth Babe Photo Round-Up, Day 1

Steven
Sep 21, 2012

If you haven’t gotten the memo, RocketNews24 is at Tokyo Game Show this year and we’ve been busy taking lots of photos of pretty girls in colorful outfits.

With the first day over, we’ve decided to unload a batch of our favorite cosplay and babe booth photos for your viewing pleasure. We’ll be back tomorrow and Saturday with camera in hand, and who knows, we may even write about games at some point too!

Check the photos after the jump!

Japan
(cosplay • Tokyo Game Show • video games)

【TGS 2012】 The Creepiest Game of the Show (So Far): Leg Massaging Action

Philip Kendall
Sep 20, 2012

Tokyo Game Show: home to videogames, freebies, pretty girls and people who love all of the above.

Of all the titles I saw during my visit today, smart-phone game company mobile_one’s Kaikan Ashitsubo Massage (lit. Pleasurable leg massage) definitely wins my award for “Most Borderline Creepy”. Read More

Internet, Japan
(creepy • game • legs • massage • Tokyo Game Show)

【TGS 2012】 Brain Kiss or: How I Neuro-Cheated on my Wife at Tokyo Game Show

Steven
Sep 20, 2012

Now don’t get me wrong. I love my wife and wouldn’t trade her for anyone in the world. But my brain is telling me that I just met the girl of my dreams at today’s Tokyo Game Show, and how can you argue with your own brain?

She’s a booth girl at Brain Kiss, a “neuro-diagnosis” app for iOS that tests the compatibility of two people by analyzing their brainwaves.

All you need to do is put on a special brainwave-reading headset developed by NeuroSky and stare deep into the eyes of the person in front of you for 15 seconds. Brain Wave then presents you with your results, divided into five different “levels of affection.”

It sounds like a fun little app, but be careful who you use it with: if you’re like me, love may be staring your straight in the face.

Japan
(Android • apps • Brain Kiss • iPhone • love • Tokyo Game Show • video games)

Japanese Man Faces Criminal Charges for Cooking, Serving His Own Genitals at Private Tokyo Banquet

Steven
Sep 19, 2012

Some of you internet aficionados may have heard the story of the 22-year-old Japanese man who cooked his own genitals and served them at a dinner party back in May, giving new meaning to the term “self serve.”

It was reported that after the event, local police refused to launch an investigation as nothing had been done that was against the law. However, on September 18, it was revealed that the case had been sent to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors office on suspicion of “public display of offensive sexual materials.”

But they were displayed in private to a group of paying customers… Do we really live in a society where a man cannot freely cut off and saute his own genitals and feed them to the public without risking prosecution!?

For the sake of humanity: yes please.

Japan
(food • recipe • weird)

Why 7-Eleven Quite Literally Dominates, and Why You Won’t Find One in Shikoku… Yet

Philip Kendall
Sep 18, 2012

Although it’s sometimes forgotten about, Shikoku, one of the four large islands that make up mainland Japan, is as much a part of the country as Hokkaidō in the north and Kyūshū to the south. People eat rāmen, do karaoke and play pachinko, exactly like everywhere else. Take a drive around the island and, just like every other part of the country, you’ll find literally hundreds of convenience stores. Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop, Coco Store; they’re all here.

All, that is, except 7-Eleven…. Read More

Japan
(7-Eleven • business strategy • convenience store • domination • Shikoku)

Stop! Don’t Pack Your Electric Fans Away Yet! Gravity-Defying Paper Plane Fun Awaits

Philip Kendall
Sep 17, 2012

Summer is nearly behind us. All across Japan, people are turning their air coolers down a touch, returning to sleeping with their feet under the blankets, and stopping to groan “it’s hoooot!” at co-workers a little less often.

But before you put those electric fans away, make sure you take a few minutes to put them to what is quite possibly the best use they’ll have all year: making paper planes magically float in mid-air. Read More

Internet, Japan
(fan • float • hover • paper plane • trick • YouTube)

Not Your Grandmother’s Birthday Cake, Torte Bakery in Gunma Churns Out Some Amazing Anime Cakes

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Sep 17, 2012

At Torte in Takasaki city, Gunma prefecture, anime enthusiasts and otaku alike can order their favorite anime character on a cake. Starting at 3,300 yen (US $42), Torte handcrafts strawberry whipped cream cakes topped with beautiful illustrations.

Japan
(Anime Cake • Anime Character Cake • Bake Monogatari • Gunma restaurants • Japan Cakes • Macross Frontier • Otaku Cake • Pretty Cure Cake • Uta no Prince-sama)

Avant-Garde Ramen to be Served at Tokyo Game Show, But Is Anyone Iron-Gutted Enough to Eat It?

Master Blaster
Sep 16, 2012

The Tokyo Game show always has displays and products guaranteed to shock and amaze video game fans from all over. This year they seem to be leaning more towards the shock with this gourmet experiment.

Remember when you were a kid, you and your friends would put mustard, salt, ketchup, and squished meat into a McDonald’s cup of cola and dared each other to drink it?

This seems to be the concept behind this Soy Milk Curry Ipecac Ramen.

Japan
(Complete Edipyon • curry • Dream C Club • Dream Club • ramen • soup • soy milk • Tokyo Game Show)

Men with ‘Nerdy’ Hobbies Describe Their Ideal Marriage Partner (And it’s Not Princess Zelda)

Philip Kendall
Sep 16, 2012

The word otaku is a tricky one to define. Over the years, it has slowly made its way into western culture– usually used to describe a person who is excessively fond of Japanese animation or comics— and is often listed in modern English dictionaries as something along the lines of “a person obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture”.

In its native Japan, however, the word is used far more broadly, describing a person who is fanatical about or devotes large amounts of time to something. That “something” could be anything from videogame culture to pop idols to hardcore ear-cleaning, and once a person reaches a certain level of obsession with their hobby, it’s far from unusual for them to be labelled as “otaku” by their friends and family. But whatever the object of an otaku’s affection, wade through the stacks of comic books, unplug that goliath gaming rig, put away the Train-Spotter’s Manual and you will discover a regular guy; a regular guy who sometimes thinks about deep things. Even marriage… Read More