Did you know that Indies can't publish games in Japan unless they have a regional office there, or find a Japanese publisher?
For that reason, there are some Japan exclusive publishers, even Nintendo themselves look at Western indie eShop games, and pick chosen ones to translate them into Japanese and publishthem in Japan.
Here's a list of Nintendo published Japanese eShop games.
Nintendo
Trine 2 - Director's Cut (Frozenbyte)
The Swapper (Facepalm Games / Curve Digital)
Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation)
Tiny Thief (5Ants / Abylight Studios) *not released outside of Japan
Swords & Soldiers (Two Tribes / Ronimo)
Year Walk (Simogo / Dakko Dakko)
Swords & Soldiers II (Ronimo)
Here are the other Japan exclusive publishers and the games they picked:
ARC SYSTEM WORKS
Nano Assault NEO (Shin'en Multimedia)
Othello (ARC SYSTEM WORKS) *Japan Only
ARC STYLE : BASEBALL !! SP (ARC SYSTEM WORKS) *Japan Only
Family Tennis SP (ARC SYSTEM WORKS)
Battle Tank SP (ARC SYSTEM WORKS)
Art of Balance (Shin'en Multimedia)
It seems Shin'en and ARC SYSTEM WORKS had some kind of deal, since Shin'en has published Family Tennis SP in the West, and ARC has published 2 of Shin'en's games in Japan.
Rainy Frog
Spot the Differences! Party (Sanuk Games)
Spin the Bottle! (KnapNok Games)
EDGE (Two Tribes)
Cocoto Magic Circus 2 (Big Ben Interactive)
Toki Tori 2+ (Two Tribes)
XTYPE+ (PhobosLab)
Tengami (Nyamyam)
Tabletop Gallery (RCMADIAX)
Mutant Mudds Deluxe (Renegade Kid)
Star Sky (JMJ Interactive)
Pentapuzzle (RCMADIAX)
Ittle Dew (Ludosity)
U-EXPLORE Space Adventures (KnapNok Games / Nifflas' Games)
Nihilumbra (BeautiFun Games)
Pretty good quality lineup.
COSEN
Kung Fu Rabbit (Neko Entertainment)
Puddle (Neko Entertainment)
Wooden Sen'SeY (Neko Entertainment)
Super Toy Cars (Eclipse Games)
99Seconds (EnjoyUp Games)
Abyss (EnjoyUp Games)
Darts Up (EnjoyUp Games)
99Moves (EnjoyUp Games)
Rock 'N Racing Off Road (EnjoyUp Games)
Fullblast (EnjoyUp Games)
I don't know what to think of this publisher, and why they don't publish EnjoyUp's good games like UnEpic, Spy Chameleon, or Funk of Titans.
Beyond Interactive
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition
Tetrobot & Co. (Swing Swing Submarine)
And finally these two publishers which released their first games in Japan recently:
CrossFunction
Chariot (Frima Studio)
Runbow (13AM Games)
Pikii
BIT TRIP PRESENTS... RUNNER 2 (Choice Provisions)
The Binding of Isaas Rebirth (Nicalis)
1001 Spikes (Nicalis)
I wonder why no Japanese publisher has picked up certain gems like Scram Kitty, Shantae, Citizens of Earth, and many others.
And I'm curious about Tiny Thief, will that be Nintendo's secret eShop game for christmas?
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Topic: Japanese Indie Publishers
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