The new Nintendo 2DS is out and we got our greedy little paws on the first one we could! Mmm…we love the smell of new game systems in the morning!

It’s not foldable and it doesn’t have a 3-D screen. On the other hand, it’ll play 3DS games with no problem and it’s significantly cheaper.

But is it worth your cold, hard cash? Find out below!

• Affordability is the name of the game

Now, as you already know, the device can’t be folded up like it’s predecessors, and it doesn’t have a 3-D screen. While this may seem like a step in the wrong direction, you have to consider its pricing–only US$130. That’s about $70 dollars less than most recent 3DS XL, which is around $205 new on Amazon. Obviously, you can pick up an older, regular-sized 3DS for less than that, and used is always a less expensive option, but if you’re in the market for a new Nintendo handheld, the 2DS is going to have everything else beat in terms of price.

• A solid gaming experience

Considering the size and shape of the unfoldable 2DS, it ended up reminding us of one of those retro handhelds which only had one game, like “Game and Watch.” For those of us who remember them, this lends the new 2DS a sense of nostalgia, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Game and Watch image via Wikipedia

In general, we found device to be solid and easy to get a good grip on without it feeling awkward. It was overall more comfortable to game on than the 3DS, though it was a little heavier than we had expected. Also, as you might guess from the design, it was a bit top-heavy, but not enough to become a problem as, unlike the regular 3DS, you hold the console towards the upper screen.

• It feels like a toy

To be perfectly honest, the exterior feels much cheaper than the 3DS, making it seem more toy-like. But, you know what, it is a toy!So, for us anyway, this was a good point, and we think it’ll appeal to a lot of gamers, and definitely younger kids who don’t care about flashy exteriors and the newest tech.

• But of course, there’s still that region lock…

▼Sorry! No Japanese games for you!

Like the Nintendo 3DS before it, the new 2DS is region-locked, which, unfortunately, means that devices can only play games with the same region codes, and you can’t access online stores from different regions. Since the 2DS isn’t even available in Japan yet, it means that we couldn’t play our Japanese 3DS games in the new 2DS. What a bummer that was.

• 3-D photography? Sure, why not!

Though the new 2DS cannot display 3-D content, it can still take 3-D photos and videos as the device comes with two cameras like its predecessor. You can transfer the images to a 3DS and, sure enough, you’ll be able to view them in proper 3-D! Yeah, we’re not exactly sure why this feature was included either, but if you’d liked to check out what kind of photos it can produce, you can download our sample here . Unzip it to get an MPO file which should be viewable on a Nintendo 3DS, a 3D TV, or a 3D monitor.

• 4GB SDHC cards

The new 2DS come loaded with a 4GB SDHC card with class 4 transfer speed, which means it should be able to read/write at a minimum of 4MB per second.

Now the rumors are that the new 2DS will only be released in Europe and the Americas, and targeted at lower-income earners, but it’s entirely unclear as to whether or not this is true. However, a Japanese release date hasn’t been announced yet, so take that as you will. Since Sony’s new PlayStation Vita Slim is currently Japan only, however, we suppose it’s only fair that the balance has sort of been restored!

Overall, we found Nintendo’s new portable to be a pretty solid gaming device, especially considering its price. And if you don’t care about lugging a larger device around on account of its non-folding design, or 3-D gaming for that matter, this will probably serve you just fine. But please be sure to try before you buy!

Don’t forget to check out more unboxing images below!

Unless otherwise noted, all images by RocketNews24

▼Let’s get this started!

▼We really liked how the indented Nintendo logo turned out.

▼No problems playing any 3DS game!

▼Obviously your region and language options are limited by region.

▼And now it’s time to game!

▼Last but not least, we also have a nifty unboxing video!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xULWVaDpc-k&w=640&h=480]

[ Read in Japanese ]

On 11 March, 2011 Hiroki Takai was studying at a university in Vancouver. Instead of feeling helpless at the steadily flowing images of destruction in the media following the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, he quickly took action and gathered other Japanese students to raise money for their homeland. Thanks to the students’ efforts and the generosity of the people of Vancouver the “Japan Love Project” managed to raise CAN$320,000 (US$288,000) in aid.

Now, with the 3-year anniversary of the Great Tohoku Earthquake approaching, Takai wanted to pay the kindness of the Canadians back. As a part of the International Volunteer University Student Association (IVUSA) he asked for a team to travel to the West coast of Canada to help clean up the still-increasing driftage that is washing up on its shores. Headed by fourth-year Ritsumeikan University student Yusuke Oike, a crew of 70 students answered the call.

Oike is a member of the Ai Tsunagu Project, a part of the IVUSA that has been active at relief and rebuilding efforts in earthquake and tsunami affected areas of Japan. In this Canadian project their goal is threefold.

First, from 7 to 14 March the students aim to remove ten tons of debris from the beaches of Vancouver Island. Although ten tons sounds like a lot, it’s only a portion of the 1.5 million tons that the Ministry of the Environment has estimated to have been floating in the Pacific Ocean since 2011.

The group is working in cooperation with Karla Robison, the environmental and emergency services manager in Ucluelet who will help to process the collected debris. According to Yahoo! Japan News she said, “I’m thrilled to have so many students come to help. It’s real proof of their friendship.”

Secondly, the students also hope to recover any sentimental items that may have survived the trip to North America and return them to their owners. Perhaps something as simple as a lost trinket could help bring solace to a struggling family in Japan. Unfortunately, even with 70 volunteers it is a large job in a short time. Moreover, much of it will be done in remote parts of Vancouver Island.

The students themselves are paying for the airfare and accommodations out of pocket, but to help cover the costs of transportation in Canada they have taken to Japanese crowdfunding site Readyfor. Their goal is to raise 2,000,000 yen ($19,000) by 28 February.

As of this writing and with a little over one day left, they have received 1,323,000 yen ($12,000), but still need more to cover their work expenses. If they don’t make it at least Oike and the others will have achieved their third goal of the project and probably the most important one: to stop the memory of the 3-11 tragedy from fading out of people’s minds. Whether it’s the environmental damage on the west coast of Canada or the suffering of the displaced people on the east coast of Japan, even three years on we should remember that their pain isn’t fading away without our help in any way we can.

Source: Readyfor via Yahoo! News Japan (Japanese)
Video: YouTube – Akao Nanako

***If you’d like to donate (before the end of February) or learn more about the Ai Tsunagu Project you can go to the Readyfor? website or their Facebook page .***

http://youtu.be/WQjg_AaYYX8

Like many a baseball player in Japan, Munenori Kawasaki looks up to Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki. But Kawsasaki has been especially well known for his unflinching support of the future Hall of Famer. Even during his younger days of playing the sport in Kagoshima his style was compared to that of Ichiro.

Years later, on 21 August it would seem the stars aligned just right for Kawasaki as he found himself on the field just as Ichiro made his 4,000^th professional hit in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. But Kawasaki’s pure enthusiasm that night might have even eclipsed his hero’s milestone.

Just as Ichiro was making the transition to Major League Baseball back in 2001 as a Seattle Mariner, Kawasaki started his career as a Japanese professional. He went on to have a successful career in Japan even being called upon to join the national team for the Olympics and WBC.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Kawasaki got the call from Seattle to join their minor league team. Unfortunately, he had very little playing time with the Mariners as a teammate of Ichiro before his idol was traded to the Yankees.

Later that year, he was released from Seattle himself and got picked up by Toronto in 2013. For most of the season he played for their AAA team occasionally filling in for disabled starters. As luck would have it, Kawasaki was to start just as Ichiro and the Yankees rolled into town right when he was expected to make his 4,000^th career hit.

At the bottom of the first inning, Ichiro grounded it into left field and easily hustled it to first base as if he’d done it 4,000 times before. Then the Yankee bench cleared as the team came out to congratulate him while Kawasaki watched on applauding, just happy to be there. Ichiro then gave a modest bow to the crowd and got back to the game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUR9bYsKlMs&w=580&h=357]

While it’s a great achievement that puts Ichiro in the rarified air of Pete Rose and Ty Cobb for career hits, the real story was going on behind the scenes as Kawasaki gets his hands on the 4,000-ball.

As seen around the 01:30-mark in the video below, in a truly endearing moment Kawasaki gets the milestone ball passed to him on the way back to the mound. He wound up to make the throw but then thought better about the opportunity. He rubbed the ball with both hands for a brief moment when an umpire told him to hurry up and throw it. He gives it a final clutch with both hands and finally lets it go. Watching Kawasaki’s face light up when he finally does throw the ball is a priceless little moment.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoaNyGCZHLU&w=580&h=357]

Soon after the 4,000^th hit, Ichiro stole second which just happened to be where Kawasaki was standing. In yet another touching moment (around 2:38 – 2:48 in the video) we can see Ichiro give his fan a little fist bump action.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFoj6H_-Vm0&w=580&h=357]

Unfortunately, Kawasaki and his Blue Jays lost this game, and he still has work to do to solidify his position in Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, we’re pretty sure he went home with a smile that night.

And in a sport that’s constantly throwing us reasons to be cynical these days, it’s refreshing and encouraging to see moments of sincerity like this however momentary they are.

Source: YouTube – NBA MLB , Jpn Sporta , swim ming
Original Article by Megumi Sawai
[ Read in Japanese ]

Recently, we’ve been bringing you updates on controversial pick-up artist and dating coach Julien Blanc who has attracted anger around the world for purportedly purveying aggressive attitudes towards women. After a video was posted online of him appearing to harass women in Japan by pushing their heads towards his crotch, several campaigns were set up against him by activists in America, Australia, Britain, and Japan. These campaigns have so far been successful in helping to raise awareness of the “pick-up seminars” hosted by Blanc through his company RSD (Real Social Dynamics). Now, Blanc has broken his silence to offer an apology to those he has offended, which campaigners have rejected for its seemingly disingenuous nature.

In the interview for CNN , the 25-year-old Blanc began by initially offering “an apology to anybody I’ve offended in any way”. He went on to say that “My intentions were never bad. I agree it was a horrible attempt at humor and, unfortunately, a lot of it just got put out of context”.

The interviewer, Chris Cuomo , followed up with a question we’d all like an answer to: “If you want this (apology) to be meaningful for you in any way, you’d better own this stuff that you’re doing… you’ve apologized because you got caught or because you feel sorry?” to which Blanc responded: “I feel horrible, I mean, I’m not going to be happy to feel like I’m the most hated man in the world. I’m overwhelmed by the way people are responding.”

When questioned about an infamous tweet sent from Blanc’s twitter account referring to a chart used to help victims of domestic violence identify patterns of abuse as a “checklist,” Blanc had this to said: “This here is not something that I teach, either… this is so far in the opposite direction of what I teach that I stupidly thought mocking it would be funny.”

Jen Li , the campaigner behind the #TakeDownJulienBlanc hashtag and the original petition on change.org , has tweeted a response to the video:

Lmao @ CNN this is an AWESOME interview. NO SLACK!!! cnn.com/video/data/2.0…

—
Aggresive Asian (@JennLi123) November 17, 2014

Chris Cuomo also tweeted his opinion of Blanc following the interview, calling him “a successful purveyor of problematic behavior.”

.@ michael91141804 #JulienBlanc is 25. Not 15. He is not "some kid". He is a successful purveyor of problematic behavior

—
Chris Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) November 17, 2014

You can watch the interview on CNN.com or via this YouTube clip:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPT5dFHK3wo&w=560&h=315]

At the end of the interview, Blanc hinted at his plans to continue his lectures, stating: “I’ll definitely be more careful in the future… I’m also re-evaluating everything I’ve put out and everything I’m going to be putting out.”

Here’s an update on the Japanese campaign to deny Julien Blanc a visa . The campaign has exceeded its quota of signatures and, according to the campaign creator Queen Jackal, the petition was submitted to Japanese immigration on November 10. Blanc has also recently become a topic of discussion on Japanese television, as this compilation of various Japanese news programs shows:

Elsewhere across the globe, there is now a campaign to keep Julien Blanc out of Canada as well as one to keep him out of Singapore and one seeking to deny him entry to Brazil . He has reportedly backed out of plans to hold seminars in Korea this December. He has also been featured on numerous news websites around the globe including The Independent and Time.com .

Source: CNN.com , Buzzfeed
Images: screenshots via CNN.com

The heartwarming, true story about a disaster-stricken man being reunited with his long lost Harley Davidson has made the rounds on the Internet and tugged at the heartstrings of Japanese Internet users in particular.

“They’ve started writing the movie already,” posted one enthusiastic reader on the Topsy.com comments section.

Man loses three family members and nearly all of his possessions in a horrific earthquake and tsunami and spends over a year in temporary housing before hearing one day that someone found his treasured motorcycle 4,000 miles across the ocean, reasonably intact considering the beating it took at the hands of the Pacific Ocean?  We may have something here, Mr. DeMille.

Of course, it gets better. Harley Davidson has agreed to ship the bike back to Japan and cover the bill for restoring the two-wheeler to its past glory.

“Well played, Harley,” user zigneko commented on Topsy. “What a cool thing to do! That’s what you have to do to promote your brand. To everyone else: don’t go throwing your stuff in the ocean hoping to recreate this story!”

There has been an outpouring of respect and admiration for Harley Davidson’s promise, with some readers pointing to it as an example of “the American way.”

One went so far as to say that this kind of generosity is not possible in Japan. Reader short_context wrote: “This is why Harley is so great. Japanese “monozukuri” companies that assemble by the numbers couldn’t do this.”

Any way you slice it, it’s a great story and certainly not the last of its type as objects large and small make their way around the post-March 11 world . . .

Sources: Topsy.com , NHK , MSNBC.com , vehiclepassion.com