Sega recently let it dribble out that individuals can purchase the system, too. The hardware is ¥140,000 (US$1,747), while each mini-game costs ¥10,000 ($125). A ¥10 coin box is a ¥25,000 ($312) option for, I guess, those who want to charge family members for toilet use.

So, does this mean Sega is back in the home console business?

Toylets [Twitter via Engadget日本版]

None of the info seems new, and it's (mostly) in Japanese, but you should be able to follow along even if you don't understand the lingo and enjoy the slick trailer.

Metal Gear Solid: HD Edition goes on sale this June in Japan.

METAL GEAR SOLID HD EDITION (PS Vita) PV [YouTube]

Whenever there is a colorful youth movement in Japan (and there always is), some Westerners look at the images that filter through, shrugging them off with a "Boy, Japan is so weird" and not realizing that much of Japan is doing the same with a, "Boy, Tokyo is so weird." The Japanese media adores covering these trends, because they make for good television. Then, out of each trend, a mini-celebrity often emerges, occasionally appearing on variety shows for a brief period to explain the nitty-gritty about the trend.

In the above image, the girl with white skin and aqua hair said, "Yeah, it looks like an ultra-Westernized Japanese person." The phrase she used is "seiyou kabure" (西洋かぶれ). Looking the girl, with her white face paint, and her desire to be "ultra-Westernized", it would be easy to simply say that this girl wants to be "white". You could say that, but you would be wrong.

As previously mentioned, before World War II, the term was used for shallow and elitist intellectuals. After the war, the meaning changed, and it was used to refer to those who admired European history and European culture—people like anime creators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. You wouldn't say that either of these men wishes that they were white—that's utter nonsense. It's like saying any foreigner who is interested in Japanese culture (from history and food to anime and video games) wishes he was Japanese—likewise, nonsense.

Online in Japan, people were quick to point out that this girl's use of "seiyou kabure" is incorrect. "This isn't seiyou kabure, it's Blade Runner kabure," wrote one. Neither the hair color nor the skin color is natural. They owe more to Japanese anime and manga, than the West. The look is pure fantasy. It's so far removed from Western culture that using the term "seiyou kagure" strips the phrase of all meaning. This is artifice. It's style.

This "shiro nuri" (white painting) trend really started making a splash last spring and summer in Japan. This latest news report is a bit late to the party. If you go back and look at the earliest kids doing "shiro nuri", it has an element of horror—like they're influenced by zombie films or, even, the Joker's make-up.

In Japan, however, white face paint does not traditionally denote the West. Some Japanese women painted their faces well before the country was forcibly opened to the outside world. Thus, simply equating white face with, you know, white people is incorrect and a gross oversimplication.

But why would young people want to dress like this? Online in Japan, speculation is harsh, focusing on how this is something only unattractive girls do. I disagree. As one girl who was interviewed said, it's fun—and it probably is. Dressing like this not only gets you attention, but it can land you on television. What's more, there is a period in Japan's people's lives—usually their late teens or early twenties—in which they can reinvent themselves before settling into adulthood and "normalcy". There is a dress-up element to it, and young Japanese enter a new subculture for a brief period of time, before leaving it forever.

This girl's desire to be "seiyou kabure" is less a reflection of the West and more of an evolution of Gothic Lolita fashion. While the style certainly has Western influences, Gothic Lolita dress looks more out of place in the West and more at home in Tokyo neighborhoods like Harajuku. Japan is brilliant at taking styles and trends from around the world, cross pollinating them with a domestic aesthetic and creating something entirely different. Gothic Lolita has become quintessentially Japanese, and this trend is its latest incarnation.

If you wonder what regular Japanese people think when they see extreme outfits like this, check out the commenter's expression in the above picture—or any of the commenters in the above gallery. Even though the reactions tend to be either shock or amusement, one of the best things about Japan is how much freedom people have. Kids can dress in crazy outfits. The result isn't a desire to be "white", but a desire to be young, free, and different.

Throwing more fuel on the Call of Duty: Black Ops II fire, here are a couple new screenshots apparently from the upcoming game.

Last month's leaked art images showed the gun-toting "quadcopter" that appeared in internet videos and on the game's website. The quadcopter also appeared in these latest screens, courtesy of Japanese site Doope.

Previously, Kotaku ran what is rumored to be Black Ops II's poster and cracked the morse code on the Call of Duty website.

Details on the rumored Black Ops sequel are scant, but supposedly, the still unconfirmed game is set in the future.

「Call of Duty」新作のスクリーンショットが流出、やはり近未来設定で確定か [Doope]

Throwing more fuel on the Call of Duty: Black Ops II fire, here are a couple new screenshots apparently from the upcoming game.

Last month's leaked art images showed the gun-toting "quadcopter" that appeared in internet videos and on the game's website. The quadcopter also appeared in these latest screens, courtesy of Japanese site Doope.

Previously, Kotaku ran what is rumored to be Black Ops II's poster and cracked the morse code on the Call of Duty website.

Details on the rumored Black Ops sequel are scant, but supposedly, the still unconfirmed game is set in the future.

「Call of Duty」新作のスクリーンショットが流出、やはり近未来設定で確定か [Doope]

While the iPhone is assembled in China, there is considerable demand for the product in the Mainland. This has led to the birth of smugglers bringing the iPhone back into the country.

According to recent Chinese news reports, the girl was dressed in a school uniform, but did not carry her school bag as she crossed through Sha Tau Kok Control Point—the immigration between Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Immigration officials noticed that the girl seemed nervous and pulled her aside. They discovered 30 iPhones sewed into her skirt. This wasn't the girl's ideas, but her mother's.

A smuggler told the girl's mother that it's possible to earn around US$2.60 for each phone smuggled into China. The mother decided to have her kids bring in the phones to make this extra money.

Increasingly, more and more young students are being caught smuggling iPhones back into China through the Sha Tau Kok Control Point. In March, one schoolgirl was caught with iPhones taped her legs and lower back.

母亲竟唆使12岁女儿走私手机/12岁学童绑藏走私手机30部入境 [NDDaily/Guangzhou Daily via M.I.C. Gadget]

Late last week, cosplay event Cosgallery!4 kicked off in Tokyo. It was an event for cosplayers and cosplay fans. Increasingly there are more and more of these types of get togethers. And like many other cosplay events, the cosplayers themselves operate booths and sell their cosplay ROMs and DVDs—while in costume.

The cosplayers were also available for photo shoots.

At Cosgallery!4, there were a whole host of cosplayers on hand, including Motiusagi. Kotaku interviewed her earlier this year.

コスプレイヤー同人作品即売会「Cosgallery!4」　-サークルの様子-", -コスプレ彼女　その1-, -コスプレ彼女　その3-, -コスプレ彼女　その4-,
-コスプレ彼女　その5- [アサガヲBlog]

This is some sort of Chinese drink container, featuring a phony Pikachu, a straw, and an invitation to have a really good time. So, you do that—have a good time!

同桌的早点 [TT.Mop via はちま起稿]

Sci-fi anime Macross debuted in 1982 as The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, which was reworked as part of the hodgepodge known as Robotech for the West.

This variable fighter is on display in Tokyo through May 6, and these photos come courtesy of sister site Kotaku Japan. Click here for more details about the event.

［マクロス超時空展覧会］ ド迫力の「1/1 VF-25F バルキリー」であなたもキラッ☆ってしてみよう！ [Kotaku Japan]
［マクロス超時空展覧会］みんなが俺の翼だ！ 「ランカ」「シェリル」「ミンメイ」を等身大フィギュアで再現 [Kotaku Japan]