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September 16, 2024
 

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Held annually in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom is the world's largest gaming convention, meaning it attracts attendees and exhibitors from near and far.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Traveling to Germany is ‘worth the cost’ for Japan’s indie studios
"Nothing beats seeing players' faces as they play our game in person, and getting to ask them directly about their experience, both positive and negative.”
LIFE / Digital
With Black Myth: Wukong, China is now a force to reckon with in AAA games
Can China’s first AAA gaming hit bear the weight of the cultural baggage it’s being burdened with?
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Bigger than ever, BitSummit’s indie spirit wears thin
As the indie game show grows, the question looms as to whether its current trajectory continues to be true to its original spirit.
Gamers can play Assassin's Creed Shadows as either female assassin Naoe or Yasuke, a Black samurai.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 25, 2024
Assassin's Creed makers defend 'creative liberties' in Black samurai row
UbiSoft, the game's maker, said its Assassin's Creed games aren't meant to be perceived as factual representations of history or historical characters.
While MyDearest's games are understably digital, employees also joke that sometimes they known coworkers only by their avatars used during meetings.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jun 21, 2024
Action drives VR, but Japan prizes anonymity and plot
By Samantha Low
A far cry from origins as a tech novelty, Japan's virtual reality industry is currently valued at $3.9 billion (about ¥615 billion).
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) will star as the protagonist in an upcoming adaptation of the Like a Dragon game franchise directed by Masaharu Take (left).
LIFE / Digital
Jun 6, 2024
When will a Japan-made game have a breakout TV adaptation?
By Owen Ziegler
There are far too many gems in the Japanese gaming world for there not to be even one capable of translating to success as a TV series.
Yasuke, a historical Black samurai, will star in the newly announced Assassin's Creed Shadows — a choice that has riled some critics online.
LIFE / Digital
May 25, 2024
Gaming's latest culture war targets Yasuke, Japan's Black samurai
By Owen Ziegler
For a vocal minority of gamers, a Black protagonist of a game set in feudal Japan was a call to war.
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 19, 2024
Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'
By Samantha Low
“Most people think of just the cutscenes," SungWon Cho says, "but you end up voicing everything — the sounds a character makes when fighting, like battle cries, for example."
Since the original 2010 release, visual novel series Danganronpa has spawned eight mainline games (and several other titles) for a total 5 million copies sold worldwide.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Apr 6, 2024
Are visual novels ready for a great leap forward?
By Samantha Low
Where reaction time and manual reflexes are in other genres, visual novels prize critical thinking and the ability to interpret characters’ motivations.
Gamers of a certain age immediately recoil in pain when the name "Aerith" is mentioned — this is why the character's death still means so much today.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 29, 2024
With one death, Final Fantasy VII changed the game
By Zachary Small
With one shocking act, Final Fantasy VII rethought the social contract of games where players are largely free from consequences.

Japan jumps to No. 2, from sixth place, in Best Countries index
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Japan has experienced a postpandemic travel boom, with tourists pouring back in after restrictions closed the country’s borders to travelers.
South Korea is facing deepfake porn crisis
Activists hold up symbolic eye masks during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug. 30.
North Korean missiles rain down on Ukraine despite sanctions
Part of the tail section of a North Korean Hwasong-11 short-range ballistic missile in Kyiv earlier this year.
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa urged to retire after latest concussion
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa passes against the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday.
Japan tries to reclaim its clout as a global tech leader
The construction site of the Rapidus chip factory in Chitose, in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The Rapidus chip factory in Chitose is a collaboration with IBM and backed by billions of dollars in government funding.
Chris Broad's new bar puts cocktails first, YouTube second
A self-proclaimed lover of great cocktails, YouTuber Chris Broad says his new Shibuya watering hole is more a place to get yourself a solid drink than it is anything related to his social media career.
Tokyo’s top fashion showcase pushes rising stars to the world stage
A model displays a creation by Japanese designer Norio Surikabe during a runway show on Sept. 6 for the latest edition of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo.
New mouse models can boost Japan's drug development: National Cancer Center
Hiroyuki Mano, director of the National Cancer Center Japan's (NCC) research institute, explains on Wednesday the use of mice bearing patients' cancer tissues to screen drug candidates for their efficacy.
Tokyo Comedy Bar supersizes laughs with 11-night festival
Since opening in 2022 in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo Comedy Bar has hosted comedy workshops, roast battles, open mics and international guests.
Scientists win Ig Nobel for discovering anal breathing in mammals
Takanori Takebe (behind the lectern) speaks after his team of researchers and he were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy
Sasakawa works for a sustainable blue economy

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