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'Yakuza 6' makes Tokyo's red-light district virtually real
I'm a relatively late fan of Sega's famed Yakuza franchise. It was the 2015 prequel, Yakuza 0 on the PS4, that got me hooked: It was the series' first title to be localized in Chinese, which helped me understand its rich storyline on the humble beginnings of series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu and his strangely charming acquaintance, Goro Majima. What also fascinated me about these open-world games was how most of the world was based on Tokyo's Kabukicho and Osaka's Dotonbori, often with incredible attention to detail.
This Japanese VR arcade put me inside 'Mario Kart'
Back when Bandai Namco opened its first VR arcade in Tokyo last April, I was keen to check out its various HTC Vive-powered VR games. My first ride there would have been Gundam VR: Daiba Assault, just so I could get a taste of what it's like hitching a ride on a Gundam's hand. The problem was by the time I got to the city the following month, this pop-up store already had a three-month waiting list, and I never got around to visiting before it closed in October. Luckily, as of last Friday, VR Zone is back in new form. Not only is it now the world's largest VR arcade, but it's also moved to Shinjuku, a more accessible downtown area in Tokyo. And this time, it's staying for two years. More importantly, the arcade has added some widely anticipated games that may sound familiar to you -- namely, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Dragon Ball VR: Master the Kamehameha and Evangelion VR: The Soul Seat. As a bonus, Gundam VR has also been brought over from the previous site.
Report: Apple set to relocate its Tokyo headquarters
Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is all set for a planned move with its Tokyo headquarters. The company will relocate its Tokyo, Japan-based offices from the ward of Shinjuku to the slightly trendier neighborhood of Roppongi Hills. The building Apple is moving to also contains offices for Goldman Sachs and Barclays, as well as an art museum, apartments, a hotel and a private club. Bloomberg also says that rent in Tokyo has been dropping since around 2008, and the lower prices make it a great time for Apple to make this move. Apple's spokesman in Tokyo declined to comment on the move, but sources there say the company's current lease will be done in June, so the move should be all complete by then.
Muteki Mario sake bar offers a different powerup
Gadling's Jeremy Kressmann just happened to be out drinking in Shinjuku, where he happened upon, of all things, a Mario-themed sake bar. "Muteki Mario" ("Invincible Mario") features Mario figurines and decorations, and even playable Mario series games in the bar. Jeremy faced off in some Mario Kart Wii during his visit. Oh, also they have booze.We found just two tiny pictures of Muteki Mario that do absolutely nothing to show off any Marioness present, though a Pac-Man and ghost are just visible behind the bar. We also found a street map, in case you happen to be near Shinjuku Station, a nerd, and thirsty.
Rumor: Mystery XBLA game is Lode Runner
Our man, Godfree, over at Gamertag Radio sent us another tip about our would be mystery XBLA game. Shake the magic 8 ball with us ... "signs point to Lode Runner." Check out this detective work on IloveXBLA.com: "No joke, I'm fairly certain I figured it out. Let's look at the trail of tips. Ross Erickson says that Lode Runner in very good hands, which would dictate hands that want to put it on Xbox Live Arcade (since he wants the game). Luke Smith thinks it might be Bomberman On this GamerScore blog post they dropped a hint that Peter Moore said "what happens in Shinjuku stays in Shinjuku." Later on this GamerTag Radio thread Microsoft's John Porcaro dropped a hint that "what happens in Montana stays in Montana". Ok, so with the current hints down how did I make the connection. Here's my timeline. I originally thought the game must be Bomberman, so I was looking for links between Shinjuku, Montana and Hudson Entertainment the creators of Bomberman. Score! Hudson Soft moved to Shinjuku in 1985 shortly before releasing Bomberman. While on the page I noticed Hudson Software also released Lode Runner for NES, and remembered they are currently doing a DS version. Lode Runner was originally published by Broderbund, who operate out of MONTANA. According to Game Dev Map there are no current game developers operating in Montana. I don't think it can get any clearer than that. Case closed in my opinion, next week's release is Lode Runner!" Nice work. We couldn't agree more. Lode Runner is definitely a major franchise worthy of the hype that we've generated seen in the last week. What do you think? Did these guys nail it, or is it something else? [Thanks, Godfree]
Getting lost in Tokyo's media immersion pods [update 1]
New York Times reporter Virginia Heffernan writes about her experience in a Shinjuku "media immersion pod," where an unlimited, nine-hour supply of comics, television programming, porn, movies, and (of course) video games are available for just $10. We were typing really fast, so we'll run that by you again, more slowly: ALL YOU CAN EAT MEDIA BUFFET: $10! Wow. And to think we paid $100 per night during our TGS visit for a hotel that had none of those amenities. (The pods actually look like office cubicles, not futuristic techno-wombs like the photo at right, just to be clear.) Too bad an establishment like this would never survive in NYC. Within a week of opening, nutjobs, drug addicts, drunkards, and thieves would completely wreck the place. We're looking forward to experiencing some of this media bliss at this year's Tokyo Games Show, where readers can expect blog posts to be filed from such a pod, if they'll admit Gaijin. [Image credit: www.technovelgy.com] [Update 1: made it clear that the photograph that accompanies this post is not a picture of the pods the NYT writes about.]
