Hoping to appeal to kids without smartphones
GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons mobile game is the kind of success story that many development studios can only dream of. It's been downloaded over 18 million times in Japan alone, and generates almost $4 million of revenue every single day. The company is currently preparing a 3DS version by the name of...
Females only
The latest issue of Famitsu magazine reveals developer Arc System Works — best known for the Guilty Gear and Blazblue series of fighting games — has a new game in development for the 3DS: Stardust Amazoness. The RPG is set for release in Japan on 14th November this year. Players are thrown into Prison Planet, an asylum in which the...
Just 5,258 copies sold - a less than wonderful start
The Wonderful 101 is a truly fantastic piece of software, and one of the best Wii U games we've played this year. Sadly, the quality of product hasn't translated into sales, as the game has shifted less than 5,500 copies in its native Japan, according to Media Create's data. Platinum's Wii U...
Think of it as Bravely Default: Flying Fairy 1.5
While it's unclear when exactly it's coming, either late 2013 or 2014 for Europe and North America, Square Enix RPG Bravely Default: Flying Fairy is coming to the 3DS in the West. That's news that delighted fans of the genre that were also charmed by images and impressions of the title, though we...
"We don’t have anyone here familiar with that series"
Publisher XSEED has admitted that it won't be bringing Medabots: Dual to the west. The news follows Natsume's admission that the previous game in the series, Medabots 7, also won't be making the jump from Japan to North America and Europe. When asked about Medabots: Dual on its
Global sales to hit 18 million in 2013
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stated that his company expects to sell 5 million 3DS consoles in Japan this fiscal year, contributing to a global target of 18 million units. Speaking at a Capcom event in Tokyo, Iwata backed up his prediction by explaining that 5.5 million 3DS consoles were sold in Japan...
Holy moly...
Monster Hunter 4 arrives in Japan on 14th September, which is just over two weeks from now. There are franchise fans in PAL regions and North America that would, we suspect, offer up all-manner of sacrifices for the same deal. As it is, there's been no word on localisation, with Capcom's most recent statements declaring that the title...
Its most recent 3DS game was Fire Emblem: Awakening, just sayin'
Some European DS owners may be fans of Jam With the Band, a colourful music game published by Nintendo that incorporates performing and composing in some rather fun ways; it was never released in North America, unfortunately. Nintendo has now uploaded a teaser site for a new title...
Flick 'em up
During Level-5's Vision event today in Japan, the company behind the popular Professor Layton series announced it has a new game in development: Wonder Flick. The title will be a touch-centred RPG and is set for release on the Wii U in Japan in 2014. It will also release on other platforms such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3,...
"I think there are games that would be good for Wii U"
Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi has stated that his company is still interested in developing for the Wii U, but it wants to focus on original content — and not ports like Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. Speaking To Joystiq, Hayashi said: Of course, I think there are games that would be good...
Pikmin 3, Wonderful 101 and Wind Waker threads now available
Club Nintendo in North America and Europe has had a few neat little additions in recent weeks, with the Pikmin tote bag and keyrings, but Club Nintendo Japan may have just topped them all with the inclusion of three T-shirts based on some of the latest Wii
Steampunk shooting
We may have reported this week that the publisher of Kokuga sees "difficult crossroads" for the shoot-em-'up genre in Japan, but that hasn't deterred others from flying into the market. One upcoming release is promising to bring back a side-scrolling shooter from the 16-bit era, as Japanese developers Starfish are preparing...
"You are not able to make a living on just making shooters"
Kokuga's arrival on the 3DS eShop this Summer was certainly welcomed by shoot-em-‘up fans, especially as Hiroshi Iuchi's name was on the project. As was made clear to us in our interview with G.rev CEO Hiroyuki Maruyama, however, the market for these titles is smaller than it perhaps was...
Obon Festival boosts retail results
The latest Japanese sales figures are in, and despite the lack of any major releases the results have brought welcome boosts in software and hardware. This increase in sales is being widely attributed to the Obon Festival (known natively as "Hachigatsu Bon") in Japan, a public holiday that often improves retail...
Can our heroes gather up higher numbers?
It looks like The Wonderful 101 will be seeing an underpowered start in Japan with a limited number of copies available at launch. Siliconera is citing Japanese retail blog Sinobi, which is stating that PlatinumGames’ colourful action title will apparently ship only 30,000 copies for its 24th August...
Just horsing around
When Game Freak teased a new game that featured a franchise popular worldwide, it's safe to say that no-one really thought "that looks like a horse silhouette, so it'll be a horse racing and Solitaire mashup". Yet that's what it is and, perhaps oddly, Soliti Horse looks like a lot of fun. Already released in Japan, its odds for...
Oh dear
Earlier this year, as part of a 'SEGA Direct' segment broadcast in Japan, Satoru Iwata and Toshihiro Nagoshi introduced Yakuza 1 & 2 HD, a bundled re-release of the two PlayStation 2 games. A potential problem for this title was that it was already released in the region on PS3 in November 2012, with the very real possibility that most...
Still no news on a Western release
Natsume's Medabots series has quite the following around the world but the games rarely make it outside of Japan, which is a shame. Earlier this year, Medabots: DUAL was announced for 3DS and this adaptation will feature online play and team battles. The developer Rocket Company has now released some in-game...
Wii U hardware sales narrowly dip into four figures
It's Wednesday, which mean its Japanese charts day, unless it's Nintendo Direct day as it was last week. The news of what's hot in the Japanese game industry has one reliable truth every week; the 3DS continues to out-sell the rest. The software results see 3DS title Disney Magic Castle: My Happy...
Out of this world
European gamers have become used to slow and steady localisations of Level-5's Inazuma Eleven games, with the lengthy process meaning the region is well behind Japan; football / soccer fans in North America have unfortunately been entirely left out of the franchise. It seems a pity, especially as the main entries are typically...
