It's been a long year! Can you believe it? Time has flown by. Let's take this opportunity to look back at 2012, Kotaku East style.
Reporting to you live from Asia, Kotaku East is a look at games, subculture and more—much more.
Here's a smattering of the most memorable (and interesting) stories Kotaku East ran during 2012:
Report: Mass Suicide Threats at Xbox 360 Plant [UPDATE]
On Jan. 2, over 300 employees at a Foxconn plant in Wuhan, China threatened to throw themselves off a building in a mass suicide. Foxconn makes Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony products. More ?
Here's Where Gangnam Style Didn't Hit It Big
A pop sensation. Over four hundred million YouTube views. Number one on the charts in multiple countries. PSY and his tune "Gangnam Style" are a global sensation. More ?
Cracking the Vita: A Hacker Speaks
Among hackers and modders, Sony's PSP is a favorite for its hack-ability. Depending on one's knowledge, the portable console can be altered to play custom games and programs (homebrews) as well as pirated games. More ?
The Waitress Uniform That Started It All
For a generation, Anna Miller's was more than a coffee shop. For a generation, it inspired video games, anime, and countless cosplay. For a generation, it's quickly becoming a memory. More ?
The Live Action Rurouni Kenshin Movie is a Nearly Perfect Film Adaptation
Rurouni Kenshin (sometimes known by the title Samurai X) is a manga and anime series that grew to great popularity around the turn of the millennium in both Japan and America. More ?
At McDonald's in Japan, French Fries Are Causing All Sorts of Chaos
This October, McDonald's Japan has been running a special sale: all French fry sizes are ?150 per order. So ordering large sized fries, which are usually much more expensive, is now a bargain. More ?
Boy, Is China's Illegal Gray Market Blatant
Looking for PC games in China? Not a problem, they're sold everywhere. Console games and consoles? Not a problem, they're also sold everywhere, despite the fact that video game consoles are banned in China.
The sale of gaming consoles in China falls into the category of the gray market. More ?
All You Know about Ninja Is Probably "Wrong"
Those black suits. Those weapons. Martial arts. The image of the ninja is rooted more in fiction than fact. Everything you think you know is probably more "wrong" than "right". More ?
How Blade Runner Teaches Bad Japanese Table Manners
It's something I've noticed. I've noticed it in the US, and I've noticed it among Westerners who visit Japan. After breaking apart chopsticks, they begin rubbing them together. More ?
Korea Gets a Theme Park Dedicated to Toilets and the Crap that Goes in Them
Outside Seoul, the city of Suwon recently opened a public park and museum dedicated to toilets. Makes sense, as the city has been a toilet pioneer in South Korea. More ?
Living in China is Life Behind the Great Firewall
Hello Kotaku readers, my name is Eric, you've probably seen some of my articles these last couple of months. If you haven't already figured it out I live in China (the Chinese mainland) and these last 3 years haven't exactly been a picnic.
Now don't get me wrong, life in China isn't bad. More ?
Before There Was The Hunger Games, Japan Had This Brutal, Bloody Opus
Were you one of the oodles of theatergoers who packed into American cinemas to see The Hunger Games? The movie is raking in the box office cash-and it's being hailed as a smash hit. More ?
Anime Practical Joke Goes Over The Line And Incites Mass Flaming
Who here remembers Candid Camera? (Kids, ask your parents.) Whether you've heard of the actual TV show or not, the legacy of Candid Camera lives on in present day reality TV and movies. More ?
An Examination of Japanese Characters' "Whiteness"
Japanese anime, manga, and game characters sometimes have blond hair. Sometimes they have blue eyes. But, that's merely cosmetic, no? There must be some sort of analysis that cuts closer to the bone. More ?
Evangelion 3.0 is (Not) the Film You Were Expecting
Over the past few weeks, we here at Kotaku East have been taking a look at the previous Rebuild of Evangelion films as we eagerly awaited the release of the third in the series: More ?
I've Seen the Future of Virtual Reality, and It Is Terrifying
Experience the big-screen in private. That's the sales pitch for head-mounted displays. One would think that the only real areas for technological advancement would be in the screen resolution and the actual weight of the device. More ?
How Sony Is Turning into a Ghost in Japan and Around the World
For some people in Japan, Sony is already dead. The only question they have is how did Sony die, or who killed it, and how long will the spectre of Sony remain haunting Japan. More ?
I'm Confused, A Chinese Game With Iron Man And Kratos Can't Be Bad Right?
Sick of playing Chinese games that involve historical fantasy or martial arts fantasy, I set out looking for a new type of Chinese online multiplayer game to play. More ?
Why Eating Sushi Off a Naked Person Is a Bad Idea
Nyotaimori—often translated as "female body arrangement"—is the practice of eating sushi off a woman's naked body. It is not mainstream in Japan by any stretch. More ?
OK, Tensions Between China and Japan Are Getting Serious
Anti-Japan tempers continue to flare in China. Japanese stores are being vandalized and looted, and Japanese factories are being destroyed. The images emerging from China can be described as unreal-shocking, even. More ?
Why I was Pokemon's Greatest Villain
Going into Pokémon Black and White 2, I had high hopes for the game. This wasn't for the new aspects of the game like Pokéwood (Pokémon Hollywood) or even the chance to explore new areas of the world. More ?
Jackets So Badass, They'll Punch Your Teeth In
Yesterday, Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima posted a photo of himself wearing the jacket actor Ryan Gosling wore in the movie Drive. But Kojima, best known for his Metal Gear games, didn't call it a "jacket". More ?
The Day I Said Goodbye To My PS3
I purchased my glossy black partner on January 30th, 2007. Since then it has run over 50 PS3 games, a bunch of PS2 and PS1 games, and probably hundreds of Blu-ray and DVD movies. More ?
Sizing Up China's Home Video Game Console, the CT510
China's first foray into creating a mainstream video game system is a solid try in the right direction, except the system isn't a game system, it's an Online Multimedia Motion-sensing Device. More ?
The Wonderful and Seedy World of Chinese Arcades
Hot, loud, flashy, and incredibly smoky. These are some of the best ways to describe the sensation of walking into an arcade in China. And when walking in during peak hours, the lines to play the latest fighting games usually snake across cabinets. More ?
Sword Art Online Is the Smartest Anime I've Seen in Years (And It's Only Half-Done)
Sword Art Online is an anime based on a series of light novels which has just hit the midway point of its TV run. Twelve episodes in, it is the smartest anime I have seen in years-even including the recent Lupin III. More ?
If You're Going to Do a Power Rangers Parody, You Need a Porn Star
This year, a Super Sentai (aka Power Rangers) parody series called Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger launched in Japan along with the new "official" series Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. More ?
This Desktop Design for Gaming Addicts Would "Ruin" Humanity
Sometimes you settle in for some PC gaming or web surfing. And you just don't get up. You can feel your bum go numb and the chair meld into your skin. More ?
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.