Month: September 2016

Categories
Games

Rezzing It Up

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For anyone in the west who follows the Japanese gaming scene, you’re probably well aware of the localization (and more) company 8-4, or maybe the 8-4 Play podcast, that they host on a bi-weekly basis (“a podcast about games, Japan, and Japanese games”). I’m lucky enough to call the 8-4 family good friends, and it was huge news this week to get the announcement that Mark MacDonald, the company’s Executive Director, was in the process of leaving the company (while finishing some final projects) to join Tetsuya Mizuguchi‘s Enhance Games, where he’ll be heading production and business development. Although it could be seen as a sad milestone for 8-4, I couldn’t be happier for Mark, and can’t wait to see what he’ll be helping produce with Mizuguchi at Enhance. I’m sure 8-4 will also continue to be just fine in the hands of original founders John Ricciardi and Hiroko Minamoto and the rest of the team — and we’re told that Mark will continue to show up on the 8-4 Play podcast, which is great news indeed.

Categories
Music Stores Web

Maki Nomiya’s Un Homme et Une Femme

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One of the first friends I made when I moved to Tokyo was Patrick Benny, who I had met through a Pizzicato Five mailing list (P5ML) — I met quite a few good friends that way, including W. David Marx and Jesper Larsson. We all shared a love for Shibuya-kei music, and Patrick was especially into the scene, and to this day continues to update his Tokyo’s Coolest Sound site, and still runs his Tokyo Recohan online store.

As I’ve been heavily into listening to Shibuya-kei of late (I’m listening to Fantastic Plastic Machine’s Moments compilation as I write this), I’ve also been taking a look again at Patrick’s Tokyo’s Coolest Sound, where the latest post highlights the upcoming release of a new Maki Nomiya album that celebrates the influence of French culture on Shibuya-kei. This video will give you a taste of one of the tracks (a duet between Nomiya and Crazy Ken Band’s Ken Yokoyama of “Un homme et une femme”). Very much looking forward to hearing the rest of the record.

Categories
Games Tokyo Walking

Metanet Tokyo Map

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When you visit Tokyo, it’s always nice to have a bunch of recommendations on places to check out before you get there, and my friends Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns — otherwise known as Metanet Software, creators of the fantastic N series of super platformers — have done everyone a solid by sharing a Google map of their favorite spots to hang out in, eat in, shop in, and play games in. And speaking of N, the latest iteration, N++, which was previously only available on PS4, has now just come out on Steam.

Categories
Music

Moogfest Mixes Volume 17 by Qrion

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Sapporo-based Qrion not only creates haunting music, she also has impeccable taste, and here’s more proof with her contribution to the Moogfest Mixes series, featuring artists that took part in the Moogfest 2016 festival, held back in May. You can listen to her mix, Vol. 17, on Soundcloud.

Categories
Games Web

Toco Toco on Keiichiro Toyama

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There’s a new episode of the excellent Toco Toco series out, and this time it profiles Keiichiro Toyama, creator most recently of the Gravity Rush series, but previously known for his work on the Siren horror series. As with previous episodes, it features interviews, along with visits to some of Toyama’s favorite spots in Tokyo.