VERACITY IN GAMING
VERACITY IN GAMING
Amber V
Novice Editor-in-Chief since October 2023.
She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.
Tokyo Shibuya ward’s cryptic video yelling at foreigners to “STAY AWAY”!” for Halloween causes more harm than good
With nothing but noble intentions, Tokyo's Shibuya ward posted a video regarding Halloween celebrations that has caused a lot of confusion and even offense with its botched translations.
I didn’t set out to be an animation director at first – “Your Name” director Makoto Shinkai reveals that audiences are what shaped him into who he is
In a recent interview, animated film director Makoto Shinkai talks about how audiences shaped him into who he is a creator and the ways his work has changed over time.
Japanese man arrested for stalking woman through Final Fantasy XIV and social media
In a rare, video game-related arrest, a Japanese man (38) was arrested for stalking and persistently messaging a woman (28) through Final Fantasy XIV and social media.
Japanese game dev shares frustration about harmful “ironic” negative reviews on Steam
A Japanese indie game developer speaks out about the issue of Steam users leaving negative reviews "ironically," causing harm to developers.
Japanese supported employment company has disabled users work as animators for major titles, causing controversy
A supported employment business for disabled persons in Kyoto, Japan has started taking animation production orders, allowing its users to do animation work for popular TV animations. The news has caused mixed reactions among the public, including doubts of exploitation.
Nintendo’s new Super Mario Bros. Wonder short clip proves that Bowser is based
Nintendo's new promotional short for Super Mario Bros. Wonder, featuring Bowser and Princess Peach has caused waves in the fandom due to its unexpected but wholesome twist.
As use of hexagrams becomes taboo in popular media in Japan, artists search for alternatives. What is the reason behind the censorship?
Use of the hexagram has come to be mostly forbidden in Japanese media such as manga and anime. This likely has to do with the symbol's association with the Star of David, the symbol of the Jewish religion and identity.
Even Japanese gamers notice Arma 3 gameplay being used as fake Gaza conflict footage
A video posted on October 10, described as depicting an Israeli soldier shooting down a Hamas aircraft, has been circulating significantly on X/Twitter, but the Japanese gaming community has taken notice of the fact that the video is actually gameplay footage from the poplar simulation game Arma 3.
Japanese otaku-targeted dating app’s bizarre AI image advertising leads to 3x – 7x increase in female users
The Japanese otaku-targeted dating app Otakoi, which had previously gone viral for their advertising using jarring AI generated images, has recently reported a dramatic increase in female members of their platform.
Sega Japan analyzes overwhelming popularity of Sonic IP in the US compared to Japan, background of Sega-style marketing
In a recent interview, Shuji Utsumi, Co-COO of Sega Corporation, discussed the overwhelming popularity enjoyed by the Sonic IP in the North American market as opposed to Japan, as well as tendencies in Sega-style marketing and the influence of the blockbuster Sonic films.
Anime adaptations that earned the “wrath” of the original manga authors
In anime adaptations of manga, there have been cases where certain changes to source material brought on the anger of the original manga artists, who didn't hesitate to renounce the adaptations. Conversely, there have been cases in which changes to source material earned positive reactions from audiences.
Parent company of Cygames to delve into research and development of game generation AI
CyberAgent announced the establishment of a “Game AI Lab,” and “Animation AI Lab” through which the company will delve into research and development of generative AI technology for use in the process of game development and animation production respectively.
Touhou isn’t old: 15- to 19-year-olds make up the majority of the fandom even in 2023
According to the Touhou Project Popularity Poll for 2023, almost 40% of the Touhou fandom is aged 15 to 19 years old, which has caused some shocked reactions throughout the community.
User prompts Bing’s AI to report itself for infringing on Nintendo’s copyrights
Users have been creating all kinds of images with The Bing Image Creator that uses DALL-E 3, including images of copyrighted characters. One Japanese user decided to make a report to Nintendo about the issue, but made the Bing AI write the report.
Why devs shouldn’t take player feedback at face value – Japanese players discuss
Japanese users discuss the correct way for game devs to go about accepting player feedback and incorporating proposed solutions into their games. The topic was prompted by an episode from the development of Dying Light.
Sonic Superstars producers discuss challenges in development, release date overlapping with Mario
The producers of Sega's Sonic Superstars, Takashi Iizuka of Sega of America and Naoto Oshima of Arzest discuss challenges they were faced with throughout development.
Even in Japan, using a period when texting translates to “I’m pissed”
In the English-speaking world, using periods at the end of your sentences while texting is more than likely to create the impression that you’re either elderly, angry or a grammar snob, which is why omitting it has become more or less the norm. It turns out, a similar phenomenon exists in Japanese texting culture as well.
Severe shortage of animators and “post-Covid changes” in the anime industry as told by the director of Studio Trigger
Studio Trigger managing director, Kazuya Masumoto, speaks about recent changes in workflow and recruitment, influenced largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the field of Production Management.
Could AI replace manga artist assistants? AI startup founder shows “16-page manga completed without drawing,” sparking discussion about loss of human jobs
Japanese AI startup founder Takahiro Anno introduced his almost fully automated comic generation process, causing discussion about manga artist’s assistants/apprentices potentially being replaced by AI and other effects the use of generative AI technology may have on Japan’s comic industry.
Orwellian Japanese social media platform “Dystopia” uses AI surveillance and censoring to prevent cyberbullying
Japanese web service developer Soudanbako released the beta version of their new social media platform called Dystopia on September 24 for iOS and Android. The app uses AI to censor offensive phrases and prevent cyberbullying.
Japanese publisher hosts public panel about the massive commercial failure of their game
Japanese game publisher D3PUBLISHER hosted a panel dedicated to discussing the commercial failure of their 2023 title ED-0: Zombie Uprising on Tokyo Game Show 2023.
Pokémon: The Teal Mask DLC players too busy analyzing the authentic countryside environment to go on with the plot
The Teal Mask DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet released just recently, and is gaining a lot of attention for its environment, modeled of real-life rural Japan.