Tag: Japan - Page 17
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of June 2021 (Japan)
Game Builder Garage prevents a Mario number one
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles on the eShop in Japan, this time covering June 2021. The list sees two new entries at the top, with Game Builder Garage managing to keep Mario Golf: Super Rush from a debut digital number one. Innersloth's Among Us completes the top...
News New Poké Lid Alert: It's Vulpix's Time To Shine
They're pretty grate
We only found out about the Poké Lid project a few months ago, but we've fallen deeply in love with the Pokémon-themed manhole covers all the same. These manhole covers are new takes on a traditional art in Japan: representing the beauty of the Japanese countryside in an otherwise very practical piece of round metal. The...
Japanese Charts Mario Golf: Super Rush Stays Top For A Second Week As Switch Dominates
Double eagle
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 4th July, revealing that Mario Golf: Super Rush has managed to stay top of the pile for a second consecutive week. The game sold another estimated 31,685 physical copies this week, helping it to stay ahead of Game Builder Garage which is still performing nicely in second...
Random Slime Biscuits Celebrate Dragon Quest In Crunchy Style
Mmm, delicious slime
Japan has quite a few regional delicacies — Tokyo Banana, for example — and it's traditional to buy beautifully-wrapped boxes of these tasty treats to take home to family and friends as souvenirs. In Fukuoka, one of these delicacies is Niwaka Senpei, a thin, crunchy biscuit with eyes on it and a little slit for your nose,...
News Level-5 Is Hiring For A New RPG Project
It's likely to be a mobile game
The creators of Professor Layton, Yo-Kai Watch, Ni No Kuni, and Fantasy Life are recruiting for a new RPG that's in development. The fact that Level-5 describe the project as "brand new" means that it won't be a continuation of any of those series, and the artwork above appears to show some concept art for the RPG,...
Random An Official Animal Crossing Stamp Rally Is Opening At A Japanese Aquarium
Fishing competitions and AC swag for the summer event
Next up in our ongoing series of 'Japan gets all the best stuff', a Japanese aquarium is hosting an official (and totally real-life) Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer event partially based on Blathers' in-game Museum Day Stamp Rally.
News Tamagotchi's Next Trick? It's Becoming A Smartwatch
You'll never escape your virtual pet now!
We discussed Tamagotchi's impact 5 years ago, when the virtual pet brand turned 20. Now, with the 25th anniversary upon us, Bandai is producing another new Tamagotchi-related product: a smartwatch. The 'Tamagotchi Smart' has a colour touchscreen and includes a microphone, so you can talk and touch your...
News Nintendo Has Started A New 'Ask The Developer' Interview Series
Volume one focuses on Game Builder Garage
During Satoru Iwata's time as Nintendo president, he had a special series known as "Iwata Asks" - where he spoke to people like Shigeru Miyamoto and EarthBound's creator Shigesato Itoi about the company's hardware, series and games. His book 'Ask Iwata' was recently localised and now Nintendo has started a...
News Nintendo Bosses Reveal Their Favourite Games At The Latest Shareholder Q&A
Lots of Famicom Disk System love
When it comes to Nintendo shareholder Q&As you generally get a mixture of very dry queries about sales performance or exchange rates, the rare juicy question and an occasional left field, bat crap question which has you wondering how these people got in the building in the first place. The latest shareholder...
Japanese Charts Mario Golf: Super Rush Claims Top Spot In Its Launch Week
Hole-in-one
New first-party Switch games routinely deliver strong debut sales in recent times, thanks to the popularity of the system and the never-ending demand for fresh first-party efforts; Mario Golf: Super Rush is no different, claiming top spot in its Japanese chart debut having also done the same in the UK. In its first week - according to...
News Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
NSO improvements and more serious topics, too
Nintendo has published the transcript of its latest shareholder Q&A, part of the company's 81st Annual General Meeting which took place on yesterday, Tuesday 29th June, 2021. While the official English translation is yet to be published on Nintendo's Japanese website, that hasn't stopped people like...
News All Aboard! The Nintendo Switch Is Getting A Train Controller In Japan
Choo choo!
We've seen racing wheels for car simulators, and joysticks for flight simulators, but did you know you can also get controllers for train simulators? Over in Japan, there's a new controller coming out that will allow Switch owners and train enthusiasts to take their train simulations to the next level. The device is compatible with...
Japanese Charts Game Builder Garage Stays Top As Nintendo Takes Entire Top Ten
100,000 physical copies sold in two weeks
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 20th June, revealing that Game Builder Garage has managed to stay on top in its second week on sale. The game sold another estimated 31,487 physical copies this week, meaning it's now sold more than 100,000 units at retail in Japan. It leads a...
News You Can Download Japan's Pokémon Unite Switch Network Test And Play Right Now
Try it out before the full release next month
Ahead of the launch of Pokémon Unite, The Pokémon Company and Tencent have rolled out a public network test in Japan. It means you can actually download and play this new free-to-play title from the Japanese eShop right now. Of course, you'll need to have created an eShop account for this region in...
News Nintendo Tokyo Pop-Up Stores Are Getting NES-Themed Gashapon, And They're Impossibly Cute
We need the "Controller Button Collection"
Japan gets all the best stuff; we know this, you know this, everyone knows this. It's just one of those things that you have to accept in life, like the fact that dropped toast will always land butter-side down or that you're guaranteed to unwittingly wear white on bolognaise night. The latest...
Japanese Charts Game Builder Garage Beats Final Fantasy VII And Ratchet & Clank To Number One
Not a bad start, eh?
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 13th June, revealing that Game Builder Garage has gone straight in at number one in its debut week. The game – which was treated to a physical edition in both Japan and North America, don't forget – managed to sell an estimated 71,241 copies at retail to keep...
Round Up The Switch Games Revealed During Nintendo Japan's E3 2021 Direct
Trailers inside
When it comes to Direct presentations, Nintendo has a habit of slightly changing the broadcast depending on the region. Japan normally gets some different announcements and at the company's E3 Direct, it was no different. While we've already covered at least one of these titles in a standalone post, we've now rounded up the rest of...
Gallery KK Slider Would Be Proud Of This Animal Crossing 7-CD Music Collection
Celebrate AC's 20th anniversary in style
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Animal Crossing franchise, Nintendo is releasing a lovely boxset which contains the soundtrack for Animal Crossing: New Horizons along with some other goodies. In this bundle you will get seven CDs. Four of these have all the
News Super Nintendo World In Japan Has Officially Reopened
Let's-a go!
It might seem like yesterday, but back in April, Universal Studios Japan was forced to close its doors due to the pandemic - just a month after opening Super Nintendo World. We're now in June, and the park has been reopened since then. It has actually been open to the public since the beginning of the month and is now operating at a...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of May 2021 (Japan)
Monster Hunter still leads the pack
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, this time covering May 2021. Monster Hunter Rise tops the list once again, making it the most-downloaded game on the Japanese eShop for three months in a row. Rune Factory 5 jumps into second place in its opening month, after launching on...
News Shin Megami Tensei V Release Date Seemingly Leaked Ahead Of Nintendo's E3 Direct
Is an official announcement finally happening?
The Japanese website of the upcoming Switch release Shin Megami Tensei V has apparently been updated by accident. As a result, it seems we now know the release date of this anticipated title. Persona Central reports It's arriving later this year on 11th November. While the game has already been...
News Pikachu Is Now On The Menu At McDonald's Restaurants In Japan
That's one way to celebrate 25 years
If you love Pikachu, then you would probably love the latest promotion announced for McDonald's restaurants in Japan. As of next week, the fast-food giant will be offering "limited-time" Pikachu-themed sweets and Happy Meal Toys. According to 4Gamer (via Nintendo Enthusiast), there'll be a "Fruits-chu" trio of...
Japanese Charts Miitopia Tops The Table As Switch Hardware Sales Hit 20 Million
Switch takes eight of top ten
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 30th May, revealing that Miitopia has managed to grab that elusive number one at the second time of asking The quirky, Mii-based RPG lost out to Rune Factory 5 in its debut week last week, but has now managed to jump up a place thanks to a decent second...
News A Life-Size Slowpoke Plush Launches This Year, But It'll Cost You
Please send us one
It's time to move aside, Absolutely Ridable Lapras, because a new super-sized Poké plush is (very slowly) rolling into town. Japan's Pokémon Center is finally giving us the product we deserve by launching this incredible, life-sized Slowpoke later this year. It's 150cm long (so around 5 feet), 65cm tall, and 75cm wide, but most...
News Nintendo Switch Has Now Sold More Than 20 Million Units In Japan
Animal Crossing leads the software charts
The success of the Switch continues, as Nintendo surpasses 20 million sales of the console in its home country of Japan alone. As reported by Famitsu, the system's sales total ticked over the 20 million sales mark earlier today, 2nd June. The console initially launched on 3rd March 2017, meaning it has...
News Nintendo Is Turning One Of Its Old Facilities Into A "Nintendo Gallery"
It should be ready by 2024
Nintendo has announced its Uji Ogura Plant and the land surrounding the building is being transformed into a new gallery to showcase the company's development history and philosophy. The gallery will be tentatively known as the "Nintendo Gallery" and renovations are expected to be completed within Nintendo's 2023 fiscal...
Feature More Than Just Pokémon - Japan’s Secret World Of Game Boy Color
Hidden handheld happiness
The Game Boy Color was the immensely popular home of a wide range of handheld classics, from multi-million sellers such as Pokémon Gold and Silver and Link’s Awakening DX to the now painfully expensive Metal Gear Solid, not to mention the non-Color original Game Boy library it played, too
News Sonic's Limited-Edition 'Birthday Pack' Is Returning For His 30th Anniversary
We've only been waiting 20 years
If you were about when Sonic the Hedgehog celebrated his 10th anniversary, you might remember how Sega released a limited-edition bundle containing a copy of Sonic Adventure 2 and a special 'Birthday Pack' featuring a 10th-anniversary coin, booklet and a gold Sonic music CD soundtrack. For
Japanese Charts Rune Factory 5 Beats Miitopia To Number One
Switch hardware sales near 20 million
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 23rd May, revealing that Miitopia has lost out on its chance to grab a first-place debut. Instead, that particular honour goes to Marvelous' Rune Factory 5 which sold 102,853 physical copies this week compared to Miitopia's 72,725. Angelique...
Random Japanese Café Introduces Limited-Time Only Ace Attorney-Themed Menu
Object-YUM
When it comes to Ace Attorney and food, what comes first to most people's minds is the series' slightly strange localisation of common Japanese foodstuffs into American dishes, like Maya's love for ramen being translated as "burgers". But we're not here to split hairs noodles about whether or not a burger is a type of sushi — we're here...
Guide Where To Buy The Adorable All-Star Collection Animal Crossing Plushies
International shipping available!
Just when you thought you couldn't get enough of Animal Crossing, along comes this set of adorable plushies. San-ei Boeki's latest additions to the Animal Crossing All-Star Collection are launching in April 2022 and you can pre-order them right now. The range includes many favourites from the series: some are...
Japanese Charts Famicom Detective Club Earns Top Ten Debut In Another Strong Week For Switch
Monster Hunter leads the way for Nintendo
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 16th May, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise is this week's best-selling Switch title. The game has managed to maintain its second-place finish this week while its nearest competitors see a slight shuffle; New Pokémon Snap drops to third as...
Random "Nintendo-kon" Trends In Japan As Two Nintendo Ad Stars Get Hitched
Love and #NintendoMarriage
We are gathered here today for our daily dose of wholesome Nintendo content. Japanese Twitter was all abuzz yesterday as a celebrity bride and groom began a life of matrimonial bliss and "Nintendo-kon" started trending. What does it all mean? How is this related to Nintendo? Is this a new Joy-Con controller or console or...
News Dungeon-Crawling RPG 'Demon Gaze EXTRA' Announced For Nintendo Switch
Previously a PS Vita exclusive
Demon Gaze EXTRA, an enhanced version of the original Demon Gaze for the PS Vita, is coming to Switch, it has been revealed by publisher Kadokawa Games. Original developer Experience will still be involved, but will be collaborating with Cattle Call this time around. A PS4 version is also being released alongside the...
News Adorable Zelda Korok Merch Has Just Launched In Japan, And We Need It All Right Now
"Yahaha! You'll never get me"
You know how Japan gets all the cool stuff? Yeah, well it's only gone and happened again. A new range of Legend of Zelda series Korok merchandise has launched at Nintendo Tokyo (although the store is actually closed due to Covid-19 at the moment) and the official Japanese online store. Everything is adorable, some of...
News Fire Emblem: Genealogy Of The Holy War Is Joining Japan's NSO Super Famicom Library
Experience the fourth game in the series
Japan has once again got some slightly different offerings for its Switch Online SNES and NES library this month. All up, two of the five games are different. While Japan's service is also getting Caveman Ninja (Joe & Mac), Magical Drop II, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, in the place of
Japanese Charts New Pokémon Snap's Off To A Good Start, But Resident Evil Village Is A Major Threat
Monster Hunter Rise settles for second
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the two weeks spanning 26th April - 9th May, revealing that New Pokémon Snap has had a great start to life in Nintendo's home country. In the ten of those 14 days that Snap was available, the game managed to shift a total of 194,385 copies to top this...
News Cave's DoDonPachi Is Coming To Switch, But It's Not The One You Want
Another 'feature phone' port for Japan
Cave's DoDonPachi series really pushed the 'bullet hell' shmup style back in the '90s, and the company has kept the franchise going over the years with sequels and ports – including the 2002 arcade release DoDonPachi Blissful Death, known as DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou in Japan. The good news is that the Switch is...
News Momotaro Dentetsu Surpasses Three Million Sales On Switch, Yet It's Still Exclusive To Japan
Global launch when?
Anyone who follows our regular Japanese chart updates will likely remember Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!, Konami's super-popular train simulator exclusively available on Switch. The game was hoovering up sales like crazy for months, fending off the competition to remain in first place for eleven consecutive...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of April 2021 (Japan)
Monsters and pocket monsters reign supreme
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, this time covering April 2021. Monster Hunter Rise remains the country's biggest eShop game for a second consecutive month, with New Pokémon Snap earning a second-place spot despite only launching on the last day of the month...
News Japanese Board Game Company Oink Games Wants To Put Their Games On Switch
Step aside, Clubhouse Games
If you're a board game aficionado, you might have the work of Oink Games on your radar. Their compact, stylish game boxes are much more fun to pull out at a party than a massive Monopoly box, and much easier to learn, too. And now, they're hoping to bring those board games to Switch, with a Kickstarter goal of just...
News Rune Factory 5 Live Stream To Share New Info Ahead Of Next Week's Japanese Release
Now we just need a western release date
If you've been holding out for Rune Factory 5, the good news is it's arriving at some point here in the west this year. And for anyone in Japan, it's actually out next week on the Nintendo Switch. While we've already seen some of the combat and gameplay (above), later this week, on 15th May, there'll be a...
Who's your favourite?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken Nintendo's laid-back life-sim franchise to incredible new heights, not only smashing sales records but also introducing more players to its welcoming world than ever before. With the game recently celebrating its first anniversary, Japanese publication
Video Footage Of Sonic's Long Lost Kart Racing Game Has Resurfaced Online
A "Sonic Cafe" exclusive from 2005
Believe it or not, but long before Team Sonic Racing there were other kart racing Sonic the Hedgehog video games. One of the earlier entries you might not have heard about before is Sonic Kart 3DX (move aside, Sonic Drift). This was another portable outing, but it was a 200
News It Took This Nintendo Fan Over 20 Years To Complete Their Famicom Collection
Snow Bros. acquired!
The Japanese YouTuber Somari has finally completed the Nintendo Famicom collection, and it only took 20 years. According to Kotaku, they started the collection (which is similar but different to the NES library of games) in December 2000 with the 1986 release Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble, and most recently acquired the...
News Level-5 Announces Layton’s Mystery Journey 'Plus' Version For Switch
Launches in Japan this July
It seems Level-5 isn't done with Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition just yet. In a new announcement on social media, it's revealed it will be launching a slightly enhanced 'Plus' version - allowing players to swap the game's original voice actors with the TV anime Layton...
Video Now Is The Best Time To Release Mother 3
Or tomorrow. We ain't picky.
Zion is angry, and we don't blame him. There's been a lot of news about Mother 3 lately — well, by "a lot" we mean "two", but that's a lot for a game that came out 15 years ago — and that means it's a great time to re-release it. See, we just want to play Mother 3. It's been near the top
News Nintendo Will Reportedly Ramp Up Switch Output To 30 Million This Fiscal Year
Nikkei is expecting a "higher-end" Switch model as well
A new report from the Japanese publication Nikkei suggests Nintendo will ramp up the production of the Switch to 30 million units this fiscal year (ending 31st March 2022), in an attempt to capitalise on the "stay-at-home demand" for the hybrid system. According to people "with direct...
News This Incredibly Cute 'Pokémon Grassy Gardening' Collection Combines Pokémon And Horticulture
It's Venusaursome
If you think Grass-type Pokémon are underrated, or you've been trying to grow your green thumb over the pandemic, then you will most likely be the target audience for the new Pokémon Grassy Gardening collection. They have pot-plant plushies: A Squirtle watering can, and a small vase tended to by Pikachu and Bulbasaur:...
News Hori Is Releasing An Exercise Mat For Ring Fit Adventure
Update: Available for pre-order now
Exercise, whether you're a fan of it or not, is arguably more important than ever after the year we've had, and to help encourage everyone, peripheral manufacturer Hori is releasing a special cushioned mat for the Nintendo Switch title Ring Fit Adventure. Yes, if you've been getting by with a regular yoga mat,...