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Steven Simonitch

Writer / Translator

Though a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Steven currently resides in Nagano, Japan, where he is known by the old lady at the supermarket as "the white guy who always buys 2 packs of natto." Having finished a 2 year stint teaching English with the JET program, Steven now spends his days writing silly things about Japan while vainly insisting to his parents that he's a "journalist" working for an established "newspaper."

Aside from writing banal stories about hot Asian women and cheeseburgers, Steven is also working with dojin circle Creative Freaks to localize their fitness app/ Japanese dating sim series, Burn your fat with me!! (known as Nensho! in Japan).

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Posted by Steven (Page 5)

【TGS 2012】 Where Have All the Chinese Gone?

Over 200 companies from 19 countries are said to be operating booths at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, but visitors to the four-day long event may notice that one major world power turned out to be a no-show.

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【TGS 2012】 WeMade Entertainment Impressions: Farmville-Meets-Final Fantasy App “Hero Square,” Mobile MMO “Arc Sphere” and Social Game Clones for All!

Social and mobile games are enjoying a strong presence at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, with social game giants GREE and gloops occupying some of the largest exhibit spaces in the venue.

But it’s not just Japanese companies throwing their weight around on the mobile floorspace: Korean online game developer WeMade Entertainment, known in Asia for their popular MMO series The Legend of Mir, is showing six new Japanese-language titles for iOS and Android devices to build anticipation for their full-scale entrance into the Japanese mobile game market later this year.

Bored of the repetitive tap-based social card games, I decided to spend some time with WeMade to see if the Korean developer was bringing anything new to the table.

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【TGS 2012】Cosplay and Booth Babe Photo Round-Up, Day 1

If you haven’t gotten the memo, RocketNews24 is at Tokyo Game Show this year and we’ve been busy taking lots of photos of pretty girls in colorful outfits.

With the first day over, we’ve decided to unload a batch of our favorite cosplay and babe booth photos for your viewing pleasure. We’ll be back tomorrow and Saturday with camera in hand, and who knows, we may even write about games at some point too!

Check the photos after the jump!

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【TGS 2012】 Brain Kiss or: How I Neuro-Cheated on my Wife at Tokyo Game Show

Now don’t get me wrong. I love my wife and wouldn’t trade her for anyone in the world. But my brain is telling me that I just met the girl of my dreams at today’s Tokyo Game Show, and how can you argue with your own brain?

She’s a booth girl at Brain Kiss, a “neuro-diagnosis” app for iOS that tests the compatibility of two people by analyzing their brainwaves.

All you need to do is put on a special brainwave-reading headset developed by NeuroSky and stare deep into the eyes of the person in front of you for 15 seconds. Brain Wave then presents you with your results, divided into five different “levels of affection.”

It sounds like a fun little app, but be careful who you use it with: if you’re like me, love may be staring your straight in the face.

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Some of you internet aficionados may have heard the story of the 22-year-old Japanese man who cooked his own genitals and served them at a dinner party back in May, giving new meaning to the term “self serve.”

It was reported that after the event, local police refused to launch an investigation as nothing had been done that was against the law. However, on September 18, it was revealed that the case had been sent to the Tokyo Public Prosecutors office on suspicion of “public display of offensive sexual materials.”

But they were displayed in private to a group of paying customers… Do we really live in a society where a man cannot freely cut off and saute his own genitals and feed them to the public without risking prosecution!?

For the sake of humanity: yes please.

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We Catch a Glimpse of the Elusive “Shadow Fuji”

Back in August, group of our most daring reporters ventured out of Tokyo and into the wilderness to climb Mt. Fuji. Last week, weshared their report of the top 3 meal of Mt. Fuji , but it turns out there was another noteworthy occurrence that day.

At around 6 pm, just as the sun began to set, our heroes gathered their spirits and began the long hike down from the peak of the mountain. As they surveyed the sea of clouds that spread out before them one last time, one of our reporters noticed a dark triangle off in the distance.

The sun setting behind the mountain on one side; a triangular shadow cast over a canopy of clouds on the other side; our reporters were witnessing the fabled “Shadow Fuji!”

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Star Wars Location Spotting in Tunisia: Mos Espa Slave Quarters

Awhile back, we traveled to the desert planet Tatooine from the Star Wars universe—well, the set of it, at least. Scenes from several of the Star Wars movies were filmed on location in Tunisia and many of the sets and landscapes seen in the movie, such as the port city of Mos Espa and Luke Skywalker’s house, can still be visited today.

This time we’d like to share our travel report of Ksar Hadada, one of three traditional fortified granaries scattered about southern Tunisia that were used in the filming of the Slave Quarters Row of Mos Espa in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

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Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

One fun way to see what anime or game series are currently popular with kids and otaku in Japan is to visit an arcade and take a look at the prizes up for grabs in the crane machines, or UFO catchers, as they’re often called in Japanese.

Unlike North America, arcade culture is still going strong in Japan and UFO catchers are one of the main attractions. Always found on the first floor of arcades, these machines are stocked with the latest limited-edition figurines and plushies of popular characters, many of which can only be acquired as UFO catcher prizes (or on Amazon at obscene prices).

Japanese toy company Banpresto has announced their newest lineup of CRANEKING arcade-exclusive prizes, available this October. Check what toys are hot on the Japanese arcade scene below!

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Japan is known for being one of the cleanest countries in the world, surely a point of pride for many Japanese people. But is it enough to pull a knife on someone for littering?

Last month, Tokyo police arrested a 60-year-old man for threatening a female high school student with a knife after they threw their trash on the ground of a public park.

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Biohazard Teaser Site Hints at an Ambiguous “New Terror” Coming September 14

There’s a lot of cool stuff going on for Resident Evil fans recently. You’ve got the S.T.A.R.S. restaurant in Tokyo, the Resident Evil attraction at Universal Studios Japan, Resident Evil: Retribution movie coming to the big screen this September and of course the OH MY GOD ZOMBIE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!!

…sorry, what we were saying is: and of course, the October 2 release of Resident Evil 6, which will undoubtedly be less scary than the zombie attack　text adventure above, if more recent titles are anything to judge by.

But hey, Capcom hasn’t lost it yet! Just check out their new teaser webpage, titled “Biohazard Hisotry.”

But be sure to turn the volume down and scroll down slowly, otherwise you might GAHHH HEADCRAB RIGHT ABOVE YOU!!!

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On August 31, Greenpeace uncovered a study backed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) involving feeding genetically modified (GM) rice to children in Hunan province, China.

Chinese officials in Hunan immediately denied that the study had taken place but a few days later, a representative from Tufts University in the United States confirmed that they had indeed tested a new strain of GM rice on Chinese children in rural areas of Hunan.

Whoops! Looks like someone’s a tattletale.

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Our Top 3 Meals of Mt. Fuji! (Because It’s Not All About the Climb)

Every year, thousands of climbers make the trek up Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan and symbol of the country. Three of our wilderness-loving editors joined their ranks last month, persevering through bad weather, poor physical condition and light injury until they reached the peak.

If there was one thing that kept them from giving up it was the mountain huts lining the trail leading up to the summit. Here our adventurers were able to rest their weary legs and enjoy a hearty meal to refuel their stomachs and spirits.

“There was a surprising amount of variety and almost everything we ate was delicious,” writes one of our reporters.

It seems mountain cuisine is also one of the perks of climbing Fuji—but what’s on the menu? Check below for our trailblazing trio’s report on the food of Mt. Fuji!

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The fast food experience in Japan is much different that it is in America.

In Japan, step into any fast food restaurant and you are treated with the kind of service you see in commercials. Polite and attentive staff work in seemingly perfect unison to get customers their meal as quickly as possible, all while maintaining a smile on their face.

In America, the reality isn’t so golden. Fast food staff are often uninspired and lack enthusiasm and, perhaps as one reason for that, the customers can be loud, obtrusive and sometimes even violent.

At least, this is the image people are getting from two YouTube videos that have been making the rounds in the Japanese net since this weekend.

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Square Enix Reveals Final Fantasy Dating Game, is Elaborate Prank

A lot of people were holding out for some exciting news during Final Fantasy’s 25 Anniversary event in Japan yesterday; perhaps some information on Final Fantasy Versus XIII or a Final Fantasy VII remake.

What they got instead was an elaborate 12-minute demonstration of Tokimeki Final Fantasy: Suzaku Magic Institution Peristylium ~ Oh no! I’m in Love With the Crystal’s Divine Guardian ~, an otome dating game set in the world of Final Fantasy Type-0.

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Duckbill Dog Muzzles, “Cat Shells” and Other Strange Designer Pet Goods From Japan

Japanese designer pet supplies maker OPPO aims to create products that “offer a lifestyle where humans and pets can coexist naturally as animals.”

While they don’t offer any explanation of what that actually means, a product lineup featuring items like “quack,” a duckbill-shaped muzzle, and “CatShell,” a shell…for cats, suggests what they’re really saying is: “here’s more ways for you to spend money on things your pet doesn’t need.

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Germans Invent Bicycle With no Pedals, Offers “Ergonomic Ride Between Running and Biking”

Since the invention of chain-driven transmission in the 1890s, the bicycle really hasn’t undergone any major structural changes.

And what could you possibly want to change? You’ve got two wheels for movement, handlebars for direction, a seat to hold your body weight and pedals to…

“Wait, pedals?”, thought the Germans. We don’t need no stinkin’ pedals.

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SmartHan Rice Tubes Offer Japanese New Way to Snack! Is This the End of Onigiri?

Tired of stuffing rice balls in your bag only to have them get squished and smear sticky rice all over your important work documents?

Takara Tomy Arts is here to answer your plea with SmartHan (han means “rice”), a revolutionary new way to enjoy your favorite rice dish from home while on the go!

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