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Japanese Parents Hit With Up To $1,300 Cell Phone Bill For Free-To-Play Games, Government Steps In

Japanese Parents Hit With Up To $1,300 Cell Phone Bill For Free-To-Play Games, Government Steps In

Anyone who has spent time sitting in a Tokyo train knows that the Japanese love their cell phones. From junior high school students to elderly women, it seems that just about everyone is texting, surfing the net or, of course, playing games.

Needless to say, the mobile gaming market is a multi-million dollar operation in Japan and these days most of the profit is made by charging users for special in-game items or features used in free-to-play games, a business model known as ‘Freemium.’

However, the Freemuium model has recently come under criticism in Japan after a flood of complaints from parents saying that their children unknowingly ran bills of up to as much as ￥100,000—nearly $1,300 US—in in-game payments.

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Need a Last Minute Christmas Present? How About a “Whale Sword”?

Need a Last Minute Christmas Present? How About a “Whale Sword”?

On Yahoo Shopping, a site famous for its oodles of unique merchandise, an ornamental sword is attracting a lot of attention. It’s called the “Whale Sword” and it’s a model of a style of ornamental sword used in the pre-war days, with a blade close to a meter long. Who wouldn’t want that in their stocking?

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Dragon Quest’s Slime Now Available As Meat Bun, Grants 1 XP

Dragon Quest’s Slime Now Available As Meat Bun, Grants 1 XP

Recently, customers of Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart have been finding themselves in random encounters with slime, Dragon Quest’s monster mascot.

Hoewever, while it’s usually the slimes that attack novice adventures, Family Mart is offering customers the chance to bite back with their new, limited-time slime-shaped nikuman (steamed meat bun), which became available for purchase at stores nation-wide on November 29. Read More

Sega’s Newest Urine-Controlled Console ToiLETS Set For November Release, Demo Out Now In Select Bathrooms

Sega’s Newest Urine-Controlled Console ToiLETS Set For November Release, Demo Out Now In Select Bathrooms

On Novemeber 21, Sega Japan will finally provide relief to the fanboys who have been holding it in for years with the official release of their new game console ToiLETS. Read More

A Day in the Life of a Cosplay Photo Buff

A Day in the Life of a Cosplay Photo Buff

I slung my camera over my shoulder, ready to invade the world of cosplay for the first time at this year’s summer Comic Market 80 at Tokyo Big Sight.

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Local Officials Take Away Game Consoles Given to Children at Disaster-Affected Area

During a visit to a shelter in the disaster-struck city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture last month, leader of popular Japanese male idol group SMAP Masahiro Nakai passed out handheld game systems to children to help make their the shelter life a little more bearable.

However, this act of charity was soon surrounded in controversy as it was recently revealed that local officials were taking away the game consoles from some of the children. Read More

Pikachu Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation, Evolves

Pikachu Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation, Evolves

Pikachu, the mascot character for the popular game Pokémon, is adored by people from Japan and the world over. Countless fans have shared their love of the little mouse by posting their own Pikachu artwork to sites across the ‘net.

Recently, one concerned fan has envisioned what may be happening to the Pikachu inhabiting the grass around the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant:

Tepuchu

Cesium Monster
Height: ??? m
Weight: ??? kg

Humans not equipped with Full Armor that approach Tepuchu die immediately.

Pokémarts across the country will soon offer ‘Radiation Stones’ for those unable to bring their Pikachu to Fukushima for evolution via direct exposure.

China Develops Automated Semen Collector…For Science!

China Develops Automated Semen Collector…For Science!

A video showing a Chinese-developed ‘automated semen collector’ has surfaced on YouTube.

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Sony’s Patapon 3 Trial Replaces Patapon With Half-Naked Japanese Man

Sony’s Patapon 3 Trial Replaces Patapon With Half-Naked Japanese Man

Patapon 3, the long-awaited third installment in the PSP’s rhythmic tribal god simulator, is set to be released on April 12, 2011 in North America and April 28, 2011 in Japan.

To commemorate the release of the game, Sony has released a browser-based trial version of the game. However instead of the Patapon warriors, this version stars the eccentric Japanese comedian 江頭2:50 (Egashira niji gojuppun), often refered to as Ega-chan by fans.

Your goal? Send Ega-chan into FEVER! Read More

3DS: Finally! Proven Technique to Enlarge Your Mario Fast!

Undoubtedly, the most anticipated feature of the Nintendo 3DS is…well, the stereoscopic 3D! No longer oppressed by plastic glasses, the common man is now free to enjoy three-dimensional vision with his naked eye.

Yet, while the 3D may be the main appeal of Nintendo’s new handheld, there is another feature we think should stoke your fire: the Augmented Reality (AR) function. The 3DS includes six specially designed paper cards, five of which bear well-known Nintendo characters. Thanks to the rear-facing cameras and a bit of magic, viewing one of these cards through your 3DS screen causes the respective character to appear in 3D space. Read More

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