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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.
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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?
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

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