Tag: Japan - Page 29
News Japanese Booklet Reveals Upcoming Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo
Everyone is here
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo collectors will be pleased to hear the next wave is seemingly on the horizon, with an anonymous user sharing a photo of a Japanese booklet showcasing unannounced amiibo on a Discord Channel. amiibo Alerts uploaded the photo on its Twitter account. As can be seen below, the page shows pictures of...
News Dragon Quest XI S Will Include Scenarios Not Present In PS4 And PC Versions, New Footage Shared
Japanese voice cast also revealed
The upcoming Switch version of Dragon Quest XI - Dragon Quest XI: Echoes Of An Elusive Age S, to give it its full title - will contain scenarios which weren't present in the PS4 and PC versions, Square Enix has confirmed. The news comes from a livestream hosted by the developer today, in which a small tease of...
Japanese Charts New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Knocked Off Top Spot In Its Second Week
Still secured second, though
Japanese chart figures are now in for 14th - 20th January, revealing that New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has been knocked off top spot in its second week on sale, unlike its continued dominance in the UK. The newly released Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown takes the honours this week, with the PS4 version of the game...
News Langrisser I & II Demo Will Be Released On The Japanese eShop Early Next Month
Still no sign of a western release
Last August, the Japanese publication Famitsu revealed the first two entries in the tactical role-playing series Langrisser would be receiving remakes on the Nintendo Switch. The two in one deal was due to arrive in Japan on 7th February but has since been delayed until 18th April. In place of the launch is now a...
News Level-5 Shares New Yo-Kai Watch 4 Trailer
Out this spring in Japan
After being delayed last October, the next installment in the Yo-Kai Watch video game franchise - Yo-Kai Watch 4 - arrives this spring in Japan. To help build hype, Level-5 has released a new trailer for the upcoming Switch release at World Hobby Fair 2019, currently taking place in Nagoya, Japan. The trailer stars Keita -...
News A New Line Of Smart, Customisable Pokémon Shirts Is On The Way, Orders Open Next Week
151 designs planned
Finding clothing based on your favourite video game franchises, especially ones like Pokémon, isn't always easy as an adult, especially when most designs available can be a little childish or in your face in nature. This new line of shirts could be just the thing you've been looking for, though, and orders are opening very soon...
News Here Are The Top 30 Best-Selling Nintendo eShop Games Of 2018 In Japan
Digital and retail releases
Nintendo has shared lists of the best-selling eShop games of 2018 in Japan, providing us with a good look at which games were the most popular in the gaming giant's homeland. Each of the two lists below shows the top 30 most-downloaded games from the eShop during the year 2018. The first list shows exclusively...
News Fire Emblem Premium Arrange CD Album Hits Japan In March, Soundtrack Samples Shared Online
Medleys, main themes and more
A brand new Fire Emblem album is soon to be released in Japan and soundtrack samples have been provided online for all to hear. The album is called 'Fire Emblem Premium Arrange' and has been designed to coincide with the Fire Emblem Expo event scheduled to take place in Japan later this year. The soundtrack has been...
Random Tokyo's Unofficial Mario Kart Service Really Wants You To Know It's "Unrelated To Nintendo"
Stickers solve everything
Nintendo might have won the lawsuit against Tokyo's Mari Mobility company - formerly known as MariCar - but somehow the go-kart business continues to bite back. Even though the company was required to pay 10 million yen (roughly USD$88,000) in damages last year and immediately stop wearing Mario-themed outfits, it's now...
News Smash Bros. Ultimate Has Already Outsold Smash 3DS In Japan After Just Five Weeks
It's pretty popular
You may have heard about this little game called Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, correct? Well, Japanese sales data has revealed that the game has already outsold its 3DS counterpart despite only being on sale for five weeks. At the very end of last week, new sales figures came in for the week of 31st December - 6th January,...
Two weeks of sales in one
We have a bumper edition of the Japanese charts to share with you this week, as Media Create sales for the last week of 2018 and first week of 2019 are now in. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is consistently knocking it out of the park, remaining on top spot every week in the region ever since it released just over a month ago...
News New Kirby Otamatone Instruments Are Headed To Japan, And They're Adorable
Yes please
In today's episode of 'Japan gets all the cool stuff and our jealousy is reaching ridiculous levels on a near-daily basis', these new Kirby Otamatone models are about to land in Japan. The instruments come from Cube-Works, the company which originally developed the Otamatone, joining a standard Kirby model which launched last year. These...
News Some Fans Are Calling For A Boycott Of Pokémon After Creatures Inc Shares Controversial Tweet
Visiting the Yasukuni Shrine
Creatures Inc., a Japanese development studio heavily associated with The Pokémon Company and Game Freak, has caused upset amongst fans of the Pokémon franchise in China and Korea. Best known for producing the series' trading card game and toys, and helping with the development of video games, Creatures came under...
News Disappointing 3DS Software Sales Show The Console's Slow Death In Japan
Major titles underperforming
We love the 3DS here at Nintendo Life - the handheld system is arguably up with there with Nintendo's very best in terms of its software library - but it's hard to deny that the now almost-eight-year-old machine is well and truly on the verge of dying, with recent sales dropping by a significant amount across the board...
News Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen Will Get Lovely Collector's Edition Bundles On Switch In Japan
And they're pretty pricey
Yesterday saw the shock announcement that Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is headed to Nintendo Switch this April. While western release options are still unknown at this point, it has been confirmed that Japan will receive no less than four different physical editions to choose from. First up, and the biggest set of them all,...
News Yoshi’s Crafted World Is Getting A Physical Release In Japan With Just A Download Code Inside
No cartridge, no hassle
Several hours ago, Yoshi's Crafted World was finally given a solid release date for Nintendo Switch, with the game officially launching on 29th March. If you happen to live in Japan, or if you really enjoy import fees, you'll be able to get your hands on a rather special version on that very day. Alongside the traditional...
News Bandai Namco Files Trademarks For Classic Famicom And NES Titles
A link to the NSO?
Bandai Namco might have plans for a handful of Famicom and NES games in the near future. According to Gematsu, the Japanese company recently filed trademarks for games that were originally released on Nintendo's classic hardware. These games include Battle City, Warpman, Final Lap, Family Pinball and Aratanaru Densetsu. As the...
News Future Business Shift Could See Nintendo Move Away From Home Console Development
And increase the amount of games on smartphones
Shuntaro Furukawa replaced Tatsumi Kimishima last year as Nintendo's global president. Shortly after he was appointed, Furukawa mentioned how he "grew up" with Nintendo and would respect its traditions: originality and flexibility. With this in mind, during a recent interview with Nikkei - as...
News It Is Now Illegal To Sell Unauthorised Game Keys In Japan, Save File Editors Also Banned
No more cheating
Japan has revised its Unfair Competition Prevention Act, introducing several changes which will significantly affect the modding scene and, potentially, several wider gaming circles, too. Essentially, game save editors and console-modding services are now declared illegal, with offenders potentially facing fines of up to five...
News Nintendo Participating In Virtual Reality "VRM Consortium" As An Observer
Japanese companies establishing a joint enterprise
A total of 13 Japanese companies are joining forces to establish a joint enterprise known as the "VRM Consortium" in February 2019. The aim is to develop an international virtual reality business that has a special focus on 3D avatars. Another objective of the enterprise is to advocate the file...
News New Nintendo Patent Improves Stability Of Passive Walking Apparatus
Taking stability to the next level
Siliconera has made an interesting discovery dating back to 2017. Nintendo filed a patent that reportedly improves an existing Japanese patent for a passive walking apparatus, designed to carry various objects. The original patent was filed in the US in May 2017 and was published during the month of December 2018...
News Downwell Creator Leaves Nintendo To Pursue Indie Development
"I found my passion"
Last Friday, publisher Devolver Digital confirmed Downwell would arrive on the Switch on 31st January. Now, in a bit of a surprise announcement, the creator Ojiro Fumoto has revealed he's officially left Nintendo, after being picked up by the Japanese company about a year ago. He explained the reason behind this decision in a...
Rumour Level-5 Game Delays Linked To Mass "Employee Exodus"
Tough times ahead?
Another day, another rumour. This latest one is somewhat different and arguably more believable, as it's not about a specific game series making its way across to the Nintendo Switch and the source is a Japanese media outlet rather than a random listing by a distributor or retailer. The rumour stems from the delays of Yo-Kai...
Japanese Charts Smash Bros. Ultimate Stays In Top Spot While Switch Maintains Momentum
Dragon Quest Builders 2 debuts
Japanese chart figures are now in for 17th December - 23rd December and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Switch continues to reign supreme. The new entry in the long-running Smash series maintained its top spot, with an additional 452,617 retail sales - pushing it beyond the two million sales mark domestically and...
News New Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission Trailer Shown At Jump Festa 2019
The power of cards
For a game about digital card battles, Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission looks rather dramatic based on the new six-minute trailer Bandai Namco released at Jump Festa 2019. This second official clip about the Dimps developed title runs through the basics of the game in Japanese while showcasing plenty of new footage. If you...
News Square Enix Preparing Dragon Quest XI S Surprise For 1st January
Launching in Japan next year
We last heard about Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age S in September, when the name for the title was officially confirmed at the 2018 Tokyo Game Show. At the time, the series creator Yuji Horii said the Switch version would take much longer for Square Enix to develop, but could not lock in when exactly it would...
Japanese Charts Smash Bros. Ultimate Continues To Dominate As Switch Consoles Fly Off Shelves
Fends off new PS4 releases
Japanese chart figures are now in for 10th December - 16th December, unsurprisingly revealing that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is still flying high at the very top. The game shifted another 406,617 physical copies in its second week on the market - a number which most titles could only dream of in their opening weeks -...
News Nintendo Switch Surpasses Lifetime PlayStation Vita Sales Within Japan
In less than two years
The Switch has this week reinforced its position as the top portable video game system in Japan by surpassing the local lifetime sales count of Sony's PlayStation Vita. The Vita had a significant headstart, launching in Japan in 2011, compared to Nintendo's hybrid device which released domestically last March. There's been a...
Japanese Charts Smash Bros. Ultimate Has Already Outsold Pokémon And Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
1.2 million in its opening week
Japanese chart figures are now in for 3rd December - 9th December, and you're going to want to sit down for this one. Earlier today, we shared Famitsu's early sales data reports for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which indicated that it had sold over 1.2 million physical copies at launch. Japanese gaming sales analyst...
News Smash Bros. Ultimate Sold 1.2 Million Copies In Japan During Launch Week
Highest opening week ever for a Smash game
Following the sales data estimates for the Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Famitsu has now published official sales numbers confirming the game sold exactly 1,238,358 million copies in its launch week. This figure
Early signs of super success
Based on pre-orders alone, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was already predicted to be the highest-selling Smash and Switch game on launch. Now that the latest entry in the long-running fighting series is finally available worldwide, the first sales data estimates for Japan have now been released. According to MorganStanley,...
Japanese Charts Pokémon: Let's Go Still Number One For Third Week, Switch Sales Rise Again
And a 3DS title snags second
Japanese chart figures are now in for 26th November - 2nd December, revealing that Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are still comfortably leading the charge for the third consecutive week. Although selling slightly less than last week, the two Pokémon games shifted another 94,753 copies between them...
News Koei Tecmo's Mystery Switch Tease Was For A New Horse Racing Game
False alarm
Last week, Koei Tecmo teased a new game for multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch. The website for this title featured a flame-filled background and noted how the "fated battle" would begin on 6th December. It turns out the announcement was for the next entry in the horse racing simulation series, Winning Post. This week's...
News Bandai Launches First Gen Pokémon Kids Figures To Celebrate Let's Go Pikachu And Eevee
Candy included
With Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! finally on store shelves (and in our Switch's cartridge slots) Bandai has launched a new wave of its adorable 'Pokémon Kids' figures in Japan. Often found at either Pokémon Centers, supermarkets, or convenience stores, these little toys are essentially like little finger puppet...
A never-ending cycle
As 2018 winds down, Nintendo is still busy registering trademarks like there's no tomorrow. A week after the Japanese company secured smartphone-related trademarks for Kirby's Dream Land, Art Academy and
News Koei Tecmo Is Announcing A New Nintendo Switch Game On 6th December
What could it be?
Koei Tecmo has been one of the biggest supporters of the Switch and it doesn't appear as if it will be slowing down production on the hybrid platform any time soon. Following the announcement Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet would surface on Nintendo's latest system early next year, the Japanese company is now reportedly teasing a...
Video Pretend You Are Playing Out Run On Switch With The Help Of This Overview Trailer
Now available in Japan
While we wait for Sega AGES release of Out Run on the Switch eShop here in the west, why not take a moment to watch the beautiful Japanese overview trailer that's just been released. It highlights the exotic locations within the game and the magical soundtrack. Otherwise, if you know how, you can always buy the game right now...
Japanese Charts Pokémon Let's Go Still Dominating, Fights Off Three New PS4 Titles
Poké-popular
Japanese chart figures are now in for 19th November - 25th November and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are still leading the way with an impressive second week on the market. The two games managed to generate another 162,467 sales in the region this week, adding onto last week's 661,240 tally to reach a whopping...
News Japan's My Nintendo Store Is Now Offering Free Posters, Switch Online Trials And More
We miss you Club Nintendo
While the discounts available from the European and North American My Nintendo websites are welcome, many have been left rather disgruntled at the decline of physical goods over the years. At present, those sites only offer discounts on 3DS and Wii U titles, but those old enough to remember the glory days of previous reward...
News Nintendo And Pokémon Developer Game Freak Apply For 'Miracle Twin' Trademark In Japan
What could it be?
Nintendo, alongside Pokémon development companies Creatures and Game Freak, has applied for a brand new trademark in Japan. The trademark is for 'ミラクルツイン', literally translating as 'Miracle Twin'. According to JapaneseNintendo, the trademark is hoping to cover purposes including "controllers, joysticks, chargers,...
News Out Run Races Onto The Japanese Switch eShop Later This Week
That was quick
Out Run was confirmed as the next game in the Sega AGES line last week and already it's been revealed it will arrive on the Japanese eShop later this week. Sega announced the 29th November release date via its official Twitter account. The price of the game aligns with existing releases and will set
News Pokémon: Let's Go Absolutely Smashes It In The Japanese Charts, Switch Console Sales Skyrocket
Not a bad week at all
Japanese chart figures are now in for 12th November - 18th November, unsurprisingly revealing that Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! have snagged top spot without any concern from rival games. The Switch has also seen a hugely significant boost in sales as a result. The new entries into the Pokémon franchise...
News The Eevee Tamagotchi Will Feature A New Evolution For The Popular Pokémon
Edit: Actually it won't
Edit: We've now been told by our Pokémon expert Joe Merrick that reports that this special Tamagotchi will feature an exclusive new evolution are actually incorrect: Original Story: Not so long ago, we reported on rumours that the unthinkable was about to happen - two '90s icons, Pokémon and Tamagotchi, were joining...
Random Japanese Man Named Miyamoto Arrested For Selling Modded Super Famicom Mini
No, not that one
A 39-year-old man located in Japan has been arrested by police for selling modded Super Famicom Classic Mini consoles to three individuals in online net auctions. According to a report by Asahi via Nintendo Soup, the man added a total of five games to each of the modified systems and then resold them for approximately 61,500 yen...
Only 50 up for grabs
Unless you began collecting Smash amiibo when the original Wii U and 3DS versions were released a number of years ago, the task of collecting every single one featured in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will no doubt be quite the challenge. With this in mind, there's one special storage box that could save any self-respecting Smash...
News Kadowaka Shoten Set To Release Kirby Hidden Art Scratch Book
Only in Japan, of course
Kirby has been receiving a lot of attention this year, from the return of the Kirby Café in Tokyo, to a seemingly endless flow of free DLC for Kirby Star Allies and even a special focus in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His spotlight continues to shine, although only in Japan this time. Next month, Kadokawa Shoten will be...
News Bandai Namco Brings Highschool Tank Warfare To Switch Next Year
Japan only, for now
Bandai Namco will be releasing Girls und Panzer: Dream Tank Match DX on the Switch in Japan next year. The game stems from the bizarre 2012 anime and film series about a group of high school girls who engage in tank warfare as a sport. This is an enhanced version of the PlayStation 4 title and adds new tanks and characters from...
News Dead Or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet Is Splashing Onto The Switch Early Next Year
Fun in paradise
Last time we heard about Team Ninja's Dead or Alive series, was when the developer was queried about the possibility of the sixth entry coming to the Nintendo Switch at this year's E3. It was explained how technical hurdles would need to be overcome before a release was even considered. Now, in somewhat of a surprise announcement at...
News A Mario Kart Lottery Is Headed To Japan With Chances To Win Some Amazing Prizes
We'll take the Lakitu clock
In yet another episode of 'Japan gets all the cool stuff and it's really getting unfair now', a new Mario Kart-themed lottery has been announced where fans can win some lovely household items based on the franchise. The lottery comes courtesy of Bandai, which has revealed that it will be bringing all of the lovely...
News Luigi's Mansion Scares Away The Competition To Snag Number One In The Japanese Charts
Switch sales at highest for some time
Japanese chart figures are now in for 5th November - 11th November, and the new 3DS release of Luigi's Mansion has spooked its way right to the very top. Our favourite vacuum-wielding, green hat-wearing plumber's ghostly adventure shifted 27,370 retail units in the region last week, narrowly beating Call of...
