Okay, yes. It's only April. I know. But damn, the boxart for the upcoming Tokyo Jungle is glorious.

Be sure to check out Kotaku's previous Tokyo Jungle coverage.

The American ambassador to China has usually been an enigmatic figure to the Chinese people. Sure John Huntsman "speaks" Chinese (he really does just not often in public), and has Chinese daughters, he remained a mystery to the Chinese public during his tenure as ambassador. Gary Locke on the other hand, has captivated the attention of the Chinese internet by doing pretty much the most mundane things.

Recently Locke was seen in Hainan province, a resort island in the south of China, for the Boao Forum, a yearly meeting of leaders and academics to talk about the most pressing issues in Asia. Lucky for Locke, the attention given to him by netizens had nothing to do with anything he said or did at the forum but instead of what he didn't do.

A reporter for Guangdong's Southern Television, found out through an aide of Mr. Locke's that he was not staying at the ritzy hotel that accompanied the convention center. Shocked by the fact that Mr. Locke was not residing the in same hotel as most of the Chinese leaders were, the reporter dug deeper to find out what the deal was. The aide revealed that Ambassador Locke could not afford to stay at the convention center because US government regulations state that government employees are only allowed to stay in hotels within budget, Locke's budget in China being $177US a night. The hotel at the convention center costs 2645 RMB a night, that's $419 USD!

In awe by the frugality of the US ambassador, the reporter went out to verify that Ambassador Locke was indeed staying at a cheaper hotel. She then posted the information on her weibo account (Chinese micro-blog). Almost instantly her post has garnered over 16,000 official reposts and over 2000 comments.

The majority of the comments were rather in awe that the Chinese American Locke is so frugal. Many commenters lamented the fact that Chinese officials spent too much money, while some started spouting anti-American rhetoric on how Americans owe China vast amounts of money.

This isn't the first time that Locke has captured the attention of Chinese netizens. When Locke was on his way to become the ambassador, Chinese netizens caught a picture of Locke at an airport buying his own Starbucks in Seattle.

So far Locke has done nothing wrong in the eyes of Chinese netizens aside from being America's ambassador to China. Let's hope Mr. Locke stays squeaky clean throughout his duration in Beijing.

Gary Locke in the Limelight again [The Shanghaiist]

Last month, an article appeared in Japanese newspaper Nikkei. In it, Nikkei stated that Nintendo was targeting Asia. Moreover, the paper gave a specific example of this tactic—namely that Nintendo was launching the 3DS in South Korea on April 28.

Nintendo aggressively refuted the article, releasing a statement that the article "isn't anything our company is possibly announcing, nor is it anything this company is confirming. What Nikkei wrote is based on speculation."

That's some pretty good speculation there, Nikkei! Because Nintendo's South Korean branch just announced that the 3DS is launching there on April 28.

Much to the dismay of Korean gamers, the portable will be region-locked to South Korea (it's region-locked in other territories, too). Korean actress Gong Hyo-jin will be appearing in the ad campaign, and the handheld will be available in three colors: Cobalt blue, Misty Pink and Cosmo Black. Launch titles will include Super Mario 3D Land, Tekken 3D Prime Edition, and fashion game Countrywide Model Audition Superstar 2.

Last month's Nikkei article also stated that Nintendo is about to launch the 3DS in China. Speculation!

Nintendo 3DS [Nintendo of Korea]

Jongsu Chang contributed to this report

Tomb-sweeping is usually a very somber affair, usually. Now in a surge to promote eco-friendly "burials" and body disposals, China has gamified the tradition.

Due to growing concerns about property ownership (you can only own land for 70 years in China) to the cost of funeral plots, China has been urging its people to conduct eco friendly burials. Pushing these land saving methods of burials through sea, tree, and floral burials for its deceased China has created a cultural problem, no graves or tombs to "sweep".

Traditionally the tomb-sweeping holiday is a ritual used to appease and show respect to deceased ancestors and loved ones. Families would get together to visit grave sites with food and wine. They would sweep and clean the grave marker, burn some incense offer a quick prayer and burn some paper money or tokens. There has even been burning tokens of paper BMW's and paper iPads to show respect.

The idea is that the burning of the paper token in this world means that those in the afterlife will have extra "ghost money" or a ghost iPad. However because of the recent push towards sea, tree and flower burials, there may not be a grave marker or a tomb site to sweep at all.

Luckily, ingenious Chinese leaders and Hong Kong businessmen have come out with a new solution. They invented E-tomb-sweeping, which as been around since 2006. The process of e-tomb-sweeping is simple; mourners can set up an online memorial and pay their respects online by burning virtual incense and pouring virtual tea.

One big government sponsored online cemetery is HeavenCemetery.com which was founded in 2009. For the basic features they offer completely free service. Users can post a few pictures of the deceased and write as many words as they see fit. If the user decides to upload more pictures, or even audio and visual, it will start costing money. According to Heaven Cemetery's website, each memorial comes with a personalized URL, and can be either public or private.

Despite it's solemn nature, some folks have been having a little "fun", making memorials for passed celebrities and such. A quick glance over many of the public memorials and you can find one for people such as Steve Jobs and Whitney Houston.

The current trend of online tomb-sweeping taking off in cities across China becoming a convenient way for Chinese working faraway from home to pay their respects without having to travel. Last year, a Shanghai based company called "Eternal Home" set up China and arguably the world's first 3D online cemetery.

Waheaven[Heaven Cemetery Chinese Homepage]

Online gaming addiction is a serious thing, and in China where they limit gaming time and access, it's no laughing matter. But what happens when you're addicted to gaming but you don't have the money? Tecent recently reported a disturbing trend happening to China's "Second Generation Farmers (农二代)" and their addiction to online gaming.

"Second generation farmers" (SGF) are the children of current farmers and migrant workers in China who hail from the countryside. Often times many of these SGF will work in the cities as migrant workers, working on everything from factory work to restaurant help. One of the problems nowadays is that the children born during the 80s and 90s lack discipline—some SGF are unmotivated. Some even drop out of school and runaway from their villages.

Motivated by a desire to make easy money, many of these SGF head into the city, but because they are uneducated, they turn to a life of prostitution.

While prostitution has bought considerable income to some, sometimes they might even make 3000 RMB ($476 US) a month, the frequency of "pick-ups" and an addiction to online games, has made this occupation taxing upon the body.

The following translated excerpt, which have been reorganized for flow, comes from Tecent's QQ games channel; the original reporting comes from Southern Rural (南方农村报).

Xiao Guan's Story

At around 7 PM, just outside of Baiyun District Guangzhou China, an alarm sound rings out from a shabby rental apartment. 20-year-old Xiao Guan gets out of bed to get ready for work.

"This is around the time I get up daily," he said.

After he washes up and gets dressed in his work uniform—a black vest, pants, and a white jacket—he checks himself out in the mirror.

Xiao Guan looks handsome, well dressed, and is about a 180cm tall. From the outside, he looks normal respectable, but he engages in an occupation that many despise: he is a male prostitute or as they call it in China, a "duck". After dropping out of school and heading into the city to find work, Xiao Guan began working as a "duck". He says he never considered working as duck or doing something else; instead, it seems that life just arranged for him to do what he does.

Xiao Guan came to Guangzhou at the age of 13 and a half after dropping out of school. Originally too scared to find work on his own, Xiao Guan through the help of a "Sister" he was living with, found a job at a hair salon. When he turned 15 he started working inside a nightclub. When he turned 17, he began working as a gigolo.

Now 20, Xiao Guan has been working as a "duck" for about 3 years. He's been making money drinking and doing things for quite a while, but he hasn't been saving it. On top of that, the toll on his body is getting worse as he exhibits some of the bad habits such as online gaming.

Xiao Guan, says he starts off his night around 10pm, entertains clients such as bored housewives and mistresses. He makes about 500 RMB a night in tips if he only drinks with his clients, if he spends the night he can make upwards to 1500 RMB. He says if the women are ugly he will ask for more money.

Once Xiao Guan is done with his business for the night, he says he visits a net cafe to play online games until the next afternoon. Then he starts his "day" again.

农二代辍学做鸭丢掉未来 日赚3000不够玩网游[Games.QQ.com]

Xia Xiaowei is one of China's most famous "tech models". Whenever big hardware is released, the 20-something year-old Xia Xiaowei, who goes by Vivihoney in English, is there to pose with it.

Chinese tech models like Vivihoney pretty much exclusively pose with hardware, combining glossy gadget pics with pin-up photos. Vivihoney is actually signed with Tencent, which is also one of the biggest game makers in China.

Her most recent pics feature the PS Vita—quite the popular handheld in China.

可爱系宅男女神夏小薇性感掌机诱惑写真 [QQ]

Xia Xiaowei is one of China's most famous "tech models". Whenever big hardware is released, the 20-something year-old Xia Xiaowei, who goes by Vivihoney in English, is there to pose with it.

Chinese tech models like Vivihoney pretty much exclusively pose with hardware, combining glossy gadget pics with pin-up photos. Vivihoney is actually signed with Tencent, which is also one of the biggest game makers in China.

Her most recent pics feature the PS Vita—quite the popular handheld in China.

可爱系宅男女神夏小薇性感掌机诱惑写真 [QQ]

Goichi Suda, the man behind No More Heroes and Killer 7 (above), is working on a new game called Killer Is Dead. According to the upcoming issue of Famitsu, Suda is directing this assassin title. The game apparently takes its cues from both Killer 7 and No More Heroes. Killer Is Dead, however, is an original game.

The game follows a protagonist on a mission to rub out his killer.

Killer Is Dead is like a "Dark Side 007" and features James Bond style Bond Girls and sword play, much like No More Heroes, but with new twists.

Killer Is Dead is slated for a 2013 release on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

『KILLER is DEAD』角川×グラスホッパーによる第2弾タイトルが2013年リリース [ゲーム情報！ゲームのはなし]

Ever wonder what happens to the pigs in Angry Birds after they're toppled? In the game, they go "poof" into a cloud of smoke. In real life, they end up on dinner tables.

Chinese food maker Joycome is running a promotion with Angry Birds—the game is huge throughout Asia. Buy 800 grams worth of Joycome bacon and get free Angry Birds sausage.

The sausage is regular old Joycome sausage with different Angry Birds characters slapped on the packaging. And no, the pork sausage is not, like the in-game pigs, green.

Final Fantasy characters sure are stylish. Maybe it's their razor thin body types. Or the hair. But they look like models. And now, they don't only look like them, they are.

The latest issue of Japanese men's fashion mag Arena Homme Plus features Final Fantasy XIII-2 characters modeling Prada's summer collection. These are clothes for men; however, the spread features Final Fantasy female protagonist, Lightning.

But hey! Gender bending isn't a first for Final Fantasy or Japanese fashion, for that matter.

異色コラボが実現！　ライトニングら『FFXIII-2』のキャラがプラダの2012年春夏メンズコレクションのモデルに [Famitsu]