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Brian Ashcraft

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Brian Ashcraft
Brian Ashcraft is a senior contributing editor at Kotaku and has been writing about video games for The Japan Times since 2007. He is also the author of two books, "Arcade Mania!" and "Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential." A graduate of Cornell University, Ashcraft has called Osaka home for over a decade.
For Brian Ashcraft's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jun 6, 2012
E3: The one that got away from Japan
This week, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) roars through Los Angeles. Game companies from North America, Europe and Japan flock to the Convention Center downtown to show off their latest wares. E3 is the world's leading video-game show, populated with multimillion-dollar games, big-name game developers, and Hollywood celebrities.
LIFE / Digital
May 30, 2012
Video-game characters time-travel to the Edo Period
When most people in the know look at Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, they picture them in action in the video games that made them famous. But not Jed Henry. Instead, the 28 year-old American artist imagines how these game characters would have looked if they were around in the days of Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) from the Edo Period (1603-1867).
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
May 2, 2012
Japan's gamers are starting to shoot 'em up
It's a long running stereotype: Japanese gamers like role-playing games (RPGs), and Western gamers prefer first-person shooters (FPS). That doesn't mean hardcore FPS players don't exist in Japan. They do.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Apr 4, 2012
Could video-game consoles disappear into the cloud forever?
A new PlayStation. A new Xbox. A new Wii. The last one is definitely happening with the upcoming Wii U and the others are no doubt being prepped for high-profile "reveals." But what about a future with no consoles? None at all.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 7, 2012
For fans, 'Metal Gear' without Kojima involved is 'game over'
Gamers know it: Every time Hideo Kojima finishes one of his "Metal Gear" stealth video games, he attempts to wash his hands of the wildly successful franchise and says, "That's it. I'm done."
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Feb 1, 2012
Despite first loss in 30 years, Nintendo is still a contender
Late last month, Nintendo signaled that for the first time in more than 30 years it was posting an annual loss — of $845 million — something that until recently had seemed virtually impossible.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 4, 2012
A look back at the best games of 2011
It's that time of year again: Time to look back at all the games that were released in 2011 and sort out the best of the best. Which games won over gamers and stood out from the pack?
LIFE / Digital
Dec 21, 2011
Going loco for the PS Vita
On Dec. 17, the PlayStation Vita, Sony's followup to its PSP gaming handheld, went on sale in Japan, and across the country gamers lined up to get their hands on one. Is it a worthy successor to the PSP? In two words: Oh yes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 7, 2011
Nintendo makes it through rough seas with flagship titles
For decades, Nintendo was known for its Mario games and Zelda games. Then something happened: Nintendo, which had long catered to traditional gamers, found a new audience that was not interested in Mario and didn't care much for Link. Nintendo began making games for old people and non-gamers. Its longtime fans felt shunned.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 2, 2011
Preorders keep that 'I-can't-wait-to-play' energy alive
Nov. 11, 2006, was one of the most stressful nights of my gaming life. That was the date the PlayStation 3 launched in Japan — and it was hell.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Oct 5, 2011
Why do Japanese developers keep us waiting?
The problem with Japanese video games is that they take too damn long to make.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 21, 2011
Despite dire predictions, this year's TGS was huge
Horrible natural disasters. Blackouts. Enduring hardships. This spring, as Japan was pulling itself out of earthquake and tsunami rubble, few thought there was going to be a Tokyo Game Show. Few thought about TGS at all.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 16, 2011
Expect tons of surprises at Tokyo Game Show
For gamers, this weekend will feel like Christmas. Tokyo Game Show (TGS), Japan's biggest gaming event, began Thursday at Chiba's Makuhari Messe convention center and will continue through Sept. 18 (on Saturday and Sunday it will be open to the public). More than 140 exhibitors are on hand, off-site parties have already begun to go late into the night and — most importantly — there are tons of new video games.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 16, 2011
The 10 video games you must see at this year's exhibition
Whenever huge games or new kinds of hardware go on sale, fans line up to be the first to make their purchase, sometimes even waiting overnight. Lining up has become a time-honored tradition in gaming culture. However, at Tokyo Game Show, time is precious. Here are 10 games that are sure to be worth the wait:
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 7, 2011
With the rise of smartphones, Nintendo faces a grim future
There was a time when Nintendo could do no wrong, when everything the Kyoto-based game maker touched turned to gold. That time is over — and has been for some time. However, that doesn't mean you should count them out.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Aug 3, 2011
Top game designers going social
They're some of the biggest names in Japanese gaming. And they've developed some of the country's biggest games. Guys like Keiji Inafune of "Mega Man" fame, Yuji Naka ("Sonic the Hedgehog") and Goichi Suda ("No More Heroes"). But last week in Shibuya, Tokyo, they talked about how they're planning to work on smaller social games — games they hope will go big.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011
Video games now have the same U.S. protection as books and films
Video games feature violence. Not all of them, of course, but violence is prevalent — just as it is in movies and on television. Now, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on June 27, violent video games are protected under the same freedom of speech that Hollywood enjoys.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 15, 2011
Nintendo et al roll out the big guns at E3
The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is gaming's main event. It's when the industry's heavyweights face off with new games and new hardware. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (which doesn't traditionally participate in the Tokyo Game Show) all go head to head. This year's E3, in Los Angeles, provided its fair share of fireworks. Duds, too.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jun 1, 2011
Sony's horrible year is not over yet
This was supposed to be Sony's year. PlayStation 3 sales were on the uptick and, back in January, the Tokyo-based electronics giant introduced its upcoming game handheld, currently codenamed Next Generation Portable or NGP. Then disaster struck, not once but several times. For Sony, 2011 is really starting to suck.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
May 4, 2011
The quake hits Nintendo while hackers shake Sony
For much of March, regular television advertising was all but replaced by public service announcements. Understandable really: Who wants to be the official sponsor of the biggest tragedy to hit Japan since the war? But what if you had just rolled out a new product and wanted to promote it?
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Yen swings stir talk that Japan is in the FX market once again
An electronic screen in Tokyo displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and the graph showing its recent swings, on Thursday.
Harajuku strives to reclaim its former glory — and surpass it
Laforet Harajuku, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last year, has been a witness to the district's evolution over the years.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Japan's May 1 intervention may have cost ¥3.66 trillion, BOJ data suggests
An electronic screen displays a graph showing Japanese yen exchange rates surging against the dollar amid signs of intervention by authorities, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

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[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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