Japan News, Japan Features - Page 15 of 27

We're not sure what

Game Freak director Junichi Masuda has brushed off a fan question about a sequel to Pokémon Black & White with a hint to watch out this Sunday. Asked at a public Q&A for information on a follow-up to Black and White — likely the inevitable Pokémon Grey — Masuda said: I can't answer that yet. Well, I can say to...

Tracks of his tears

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is released in Japan tomorrow, combining rhythm action with — you guessed it — Final Fantasy. Long-time series composer Nobuo Uematsu just played the game for the first time, and it certainly seemed to strike a chord (sorry) with the legendary musician. Uematsu tweeted: I played Theatrhythm Final...

It's up to you

The Fire Emblem series is probably best known for its "when it's gone, it's gone" approach to units: if they die in battle, they're gone for ever. That's not the case in every Fire Emblem game though: Japan-only DS remake Fire Emblem: Hero of Light and Shadow let you turn this feature on or off, and that option returns in...

Stealing Theatrhythm's thunder

After Nintendo's announcement last year that DLC would arrive on 3DS, it looked like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy — due for release in Japan on 16th Feburary — would be the first title with paid extra content on the handheld. Not to be upstaged, Nintendo has jumped ahead and released three small download packs for a...

Sweet dreams

Kirby's Dream Land is one of the best-selling Virtual Console games on 3DS, so it's no surprise Nintendo is preparing 1995 follow-up Kirby's Dream Land 2 for Japan's eShop next week. The portable platformer heads to Japan's store on 15th February, and will hopefully bound its way over to Europe and North America before too long. In the...

Nearly 4 million served

Nintendo's Christmas trio of top titles continues to sell in Japan into January, with Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land and Monster Hunter 3 G still topping the country's sales charts. Between them the games have sold 3.94 million copies in Japan, an incredible figure as the most recent hardware sales put the machine at 3.6m units in Japan. We're guessing there's either..

Neo Geo support continues

Japan is getting three more Wii Virtual Console games this month. The scale is clearly tipped in the favour of the Neo Geo once more, as it will see yet another two games. If only we'd see some more Neo Geo games in the West. Japan's full list for this month is as follows: Super Famicom Kunio-Kun no Dodge Ball Dayo Zenin Shuugo! — Essentially the SNES version of Super..

Cute, though

Japanese developer Genius Sonority — best known for its work on various Pokémon spin-offs over the years — has revealed its next title, due out in the Japanese eShop next week. Called Denpa Ningen RPG — or Electric Wave Person RPG, believe it or not — is an augmented reality RPG where you use the 3DS's cameras to reveal hidden...

Trials underway in Japan

The DS, in its various forms, has not only been the biggest selling handheld console of all time, but has also played a role beyond that of a simple gaming machine. As we reported last year, Art Academy has helped students with their creative skills, while there are plenty of educational software options available. Reports in Japan are now suggesting that the role of the DS..

OK?

NES pugilist title Punch-Out!! is the next game coming to Japan's 3DS Virtual Console. Due next week for 500 Yen, it's the third NES game to join the service but the first that wasn't released to 3DS Ambassadors: both Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda are available to buy in Japan. Looks like hopes for a 3D Classics: Punch-Out!! just...

Sad times

Nintendo senior managing director Nobuo Nagai has died aged 66 after a battle with stomach cancer. Nagai joined Nintendo in 1967, becoming a director in 2000 before moving up to managing director, eventually becoming senior managing director and representative director in 2004. Among Nintendo's board of directors, Nagai had worked at...

Getting better all the time

3DS action RPG Code of Princess — from the same team behind SEGA Saturn stunner Guardian Heroes — is set to get online multiplayer, according to 7net (via Andriasang). The site states up to four players — two fewer than on Saturn — can engage in the battle mode, with cooperative quests on offer for those who like to team up to throw down. There'll also be free..

In Japan at least

Kid Icarus: Uprising will be bundled with an arm-saving display stand for the 3DS. The folding stand sits on a desk and cradles the console itself while you use the stylus and face buttons to control Pit. Uprising supports the Circle Pad Pro for left-handed players but don't worry if you're not planning to pick up the peripheral...

A Happy New Year for Nintendo

In recent weeks Nintendo has been enjoying significant 3DS sales worldwide, making the most of the Holiday period. In Japan, the 3DS set a new console sales record for December, based on records that began in 1997. Although the festive period has now passed, it appears that sales of the handheld are continuing to do...

For Japan, so far

The hype is starting to build for Resident Evil: Revelations, not surprising as it's the first major release of the year on 3DS. With that in mind, it seems that Capcom is ready to go the extra mile to give fans of the series all of the content they need to get them excited. According to Andriasang, Capcom has announced a rather attractive 'Navigation and Art' book — or strategy..

Blazing a trail

Nintendo 3DS sold more consoles in Japan during December than any other machine on record. Enterbrain (via Andriasang, naturally) has been tracking console sales since 1997. Nintendo sold 1,492,931 3DS systems between 28th November and 25th December, beating any other console in Enterbrain's books. Last week it was revealed that 3DS...

Outselling the rest

Nintendo 3DS has achieved the 2011 chart double in Japan by topping the hardware and software charts for the year. Statistics from Enterbrain (via Andriasang) show 3DS shifted 4,135,739 units since its February launch, twice as many as the second place — and now seven years old — PSP with 1,960,177 sales. Wii didn't make it past the million mark, sat on 937,451. The news..

What did they make of Nintendo?

Japanese website 4Gamer (via Andriasang) recently asked a huge selection of Japanese developers about their best moments of 2011, and what they look forward to in the coming year. Predictably the 3DS featured heavily, with Platinum Games producer Atsushi Inaba calling the console "a revolution in...

Ringing in the new year

Nintendo of Japan continues to deliver the goods, with three more games slated for release on the Wii Virtual Console this month. Will we see any release in the west at all? The full list for Japan this month is as follows: Famicom Ganbare Goemon 2 — The second game in the classic series (not counting its arcade origins), this was still before any of the titles made it out..