Ahh Japan, how we envy you so.  First they have the best Club Nintendo has to offer, now they are getting their 3rd version of the PS3.  Originally getting the standard black and a fancy silver model, residences of Japan will be able to buy this exclusive Yakuza 3 PS3 this February.  The system will be 80GB and will come with a copy of Yakuza 3 all for the price of ¥45980 (USD$490).  So if you want one, check out Play Asia as they are generally the best option for imports.

Snow Domo-Kuns from around the world. Merry Christmas Eve!

Cosmo Liquid, famous Japanese toy sculptor/artist has taken the “fight figure” bask to its basics with his new minimalist toy, Mr. Punch Ball. These were display and available at the BEAMS TOKYO CULTuART shop opening party in November. I really like the black one with the alternating matte/ gloss finishes. Good stuff and a must for people who are both Japanese designer toy collectors and bowlers.

It was just recently that I really became a fan of the cray-zay world of tiki mugs.  There is most certainly an aesthetic correlation between the designs of these comedically exagerated Polynesian idols and those of the designer Japanese vinyl toys that I dig so much.  Plus, I do enjoy the occasional drink.

As it turns out, Munkitiki, the incredible designer tikiware website, is run by Polyester Cowboy from the kaiju/ Japanese vinyl messageboard Skullbrain.  As a result, the stock of Munkitiki is not only heavily influenced by the design aesthetic of designer vinyl, but also is up to the quality/ artistic standards of said scene.

Check out Munkitiki here and buy me some stuff.

Below you will see the Japanese trailer for Terminator 4, we should be getting the official release soon but it’s always fun to watch what we are not supposed to see ahead of time. So even though this is directed by Charlie’s Angels own McG, there still could be some good to come out of this. Hey, I liked T3 so I’ll probably enjoy this one.

Trailer courtesy of Traileraddict

Direct Youtube Link

I find this bizarre slice of TMNT anime from 1996 to be oddly awesome.  I will have to investigate further.  From what I have figured out thus far, this is the intro to part 1 of a 2 part Japanese OVA.

Check out the TMNT wiki entry here and scroll down to the “anime” section for a bit more info.

How awesome is this guy?  He looks like a 9″ tall maroon sharpei monster!  To top things off, he has light up eyes.  He’s made by a Japanese company called CCP.

Chip Kidd, author of “Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan” will be signing and discussing his work @ Chicago Comics, this Tuesday, Nov. 18th from 6-8 p.m.

Chicago Comics

3244 N. Clark Street

Chicago, Il 60657

chicagocomics.com

At least I think it’s a watch….This creation comes from Tokyoflash, a awesome Japan watch store.  This model is the Rogue and just screams “I’m nerdier than you will ever be for wearing this!”  Visit their site to see the rest of their current models, and also be sure to check out their watch museum to see what has been previously created.  Prices aren’t too bad considering these babies have to be imported, and heck some are on sale and down right cheap.  So what better holiday present to a geek than a watch that’ll keep them busy just trying to read the time?

Tokyoflash’s Website

Ooooh Man, This video never fails to crack me up.

Hilarity points on a scale of  1-10:

-Japanese man and chimp wearing matching overalls and helmets = 8

-Chimp jumping off Segway before it hits bushes = 10

-Man running alongside chimp on Segway = 7 1/2

via Japan Probe

Direct Youtube Link

Well in a way at least. It has been revealed that Viewtiful Joe will be a playable character in the upcoming Japanese fighting game Tatsunoko vs Capcom. TvsC will be another venture into the VS Capcom series that gave us the fantastic Marvel vs Capcom 2. For those not familiar Tatsunoko is an anime company that brought G-Force, Speed Racer, Bible Stories and many others over to the states back in the day. As of right now TvsC is only scheduled to be released in Japan for the Wii but there have been strong rumors from the start that Capcom USA will be looking to bring it over here. Being the 2D fighter fan that I am, I really hope that this game will come over to the US, if not we still get the fantastic Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter II HD Remix later this year to satisfy our 2D fighting needs.

Direct Youtube Link

Real Head has just released what look like the Japanese Kaiju vinyl relatives of Gregory Spines! These Hone Borgs look extra spooky because they are cast in white vinyl and given a black paint for super skeletal goodness. Buy them for me @ Rotofugi here

Capcom has announced today the following add-ons for Mega Man 9 which will be available for all systems throughout the week. Unfortunately I still have not beaten this game, god damn Wily and not having any energy tanks.

Hard Mode – Dubbed Hero Mode in Japan, this mode enables you to play the entire game on an increased difficulty level with alternate enemy distribution and spawning points. Hard Mode is not compatible with Rankings or Challenges Modes.

Expert Mode – Dubbed Super Hero Mode Japan, this mode represents the apex of Mega Man 9 difficulty settings and is not for the novice Mega Man 9 player. This mode triples the level of difficulty from the default Mega Man 9 game. Expert Mode is not compatible with Rankings or Challenges Modes.

Special Time Attack Stage – This DLC gives you an additional stage for Time Attack Mode, complete with an all new level and Robot Master Boss, “Fake Man.” Similar in difficulty to the Willy Stages, players will have a fun time tackling this time sensitive competitive stage. Special Time Attack Stage is not compatible with Challenge Mode.

Oh and here is a video of someone beating Mega Man 9 without getting killed. Warning Spoilers for the end of the games

Direct Youtube Link

Well, it was bound to happen sooner than later. Namco has released images of Vader fighting Yoda, hyping up their release as DLC for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Yoda will now be available for download on PS3, while Vader will be available on the Xbox. Currently there is no date established for the content to be available in the US but Japan will have the oppurtunity to download these characters stating on October 23, so I assume the US date wont be far behind that. Pricing points established for each character is about $5.99 for the PS3 download and 400 Microsoft points for the Xbox.

Images courtesy of Kotaku

So last week was a huge week for Nintendo as they held their annual fall press conference announcing big things that will appeal to the casual gamer along with the Nintendo fanboy.  The biggest announcement coming out of the conference was the release of the Nintendo DSi.  This new DS redesign will provide the customer with a bigger screen, better sound, camera functionality and it removed the GBA slot in favor of a SD card slot.  One camera is on the outside of the handheld which is used for just what you would think, taking pictures and sharing them with friends.  While the 2nd camera is on the hinge on the inside, which would be used for upcoming games more than likely.  The downside of the new DSi, is that the battery life is a little shorter than the current DS lite (2-5hrs depending on the brightness level) that is on the market.  Also if you have Guitar Hero for the DS, the accessory needed to play the game will not work on the DSi due to not having a GBA slot to plug into.  Other than that the DSi will be a great new handheld if you don’t already have a DS lite. The DSi will be released in Japan later this year, but will not hit America till the next holiday season.

Outside of that big news, Nintedo had also announced that our Wii storage probelms are over (well for now).  Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that coming in Spring of 2009, we will finally be able to begin downloading WiiWare and Virtual Console titles to a SD card.  The storage issue has been very problamatic to many people who download a majority of the Virtual Console games.

And finally, Nintendo announced that they will be releasing a new Punch Out game next year for the Wii.  No details on how it will play, but it looks just like the SNES version of gameplay and doesn’t seem to be straying from what we have come to love about that franchise.

Direct Youtube Link