Tag: Famitsu
News It Seems Masahiro Sakurai Will Be Ending His Famitsu Columns Very Soon
"He's been writing them since 2003"
Earlier this week, Masahiro Sakurai revealed the final DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In case you did somehow miss it - it's Sora from Square Enix's long-running Kingdom Hearts series. Sakurai's all-star brawler for Switch isn't the only thing coming to an end, either. As you might recall, his...
News Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Has Now Surpassed Four Million Sales In Japan
There's no slowing down!
This week marks yet another major milestone for the best-selling Nintendo Switch title Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. If you saw yesterday's Japanese charts, Famitsu sales data reveals the game has now surpassed four million sales in Japan. Yep, that's right! This reportedly makes Mario Kart 8 Deluxe the fourth Switch game in Japan...
News The First Review For Mario Golf: Super Rush Is Now In
Is it a hole in one?
There are a lot of Nintendo Switch games to look forward to, but one upcoming release that's just around the corner is Mario Golf: Super Rush. In fact, it's out next week! Ahead of the latest entry, the famous Japanese publication Famitsu has shared the very first review of the game. As you might already know, this outlet uses...
News Japan's 35 Best-Selling Switch Games In The First Four Years, According To Famitsu
Animal Crossing is out in front
The Nintendo Switch reached its fourth anniversary earlier this week. As of 31st December 2020, the hybrid system has shifted 79.87 million units worldwide and software sales are now at 532.34 million units. Although Nintendo has already released its top ten software sales data for the financial year 2020/21, the...
News Among Us Quickens Masahiro Sakurai's Pulse, But He's Not Sure How Long It Will Remain Popular
"It isn't a game that allows you to come up with a clear strategy when playing"
You've likely seen that outside of directing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai writes a regular column for Famitsu. Having previously shared his PlayStation 5 thoughts and calling Cyberpunk 2077 a "
News Famitsu Delivers Its Verdict On Disgaea 6: Defiance Of Destiny
Meet the cast in a new western trailer, too
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, the sixth entry in Nippon Ichi's turn-based tactical RPG series, is scheduled to arrive in the West in 'Summer 2021' (as a Switch exclusive in this territory, no less). However, lucky Japanese gamers will get their hands on it in just one week's time when it launches on...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Calls Cyberpunk 2077 A "Dream Game"
That's one way to put it
As you likely already know, Masahiro Sakurai has a regular column in Famitsu where he talks about everything and anything related to games. In the latest one, the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director took the time to reflect on CD Projekt Red's new game Cyberpunk 2077. You see, he started out playing it on PC and...
Random Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai Shares His Thoughts About The PlayStation 5
Highly recommends Astro's Playroom
Even the legendary video game director Masahiro Sakurai needs a break every once and a while, so what does he do when he's not working on new fighters and content for the Nintendo Switch title Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? He plays other games and systems on his insane gaming setup, of course. In his latest...
News Sakurai Wanted To Import Minecraft Stages Into Smash, But Gave Up Because It Was "Impossible"
At least he tried
Minecraft is all about creating and crafting things, so it's no surprise Masahiro Sakurai wanted to incorporate this in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when he was working on the Steve and Alex fighter DLC. A fan-made mod recently demonstrated how it's possible to import skins from Minecraft into the game, and it seems Sakurai had...
News Leaked Famitsu Column Suggests Sakurai Considered Rollback Netcode For Smash Bros. Ultimate
It didn't work out
Leaked excerpts of Masahiro Sakurai's weekly Famistu column have apparently revealed that during development of Smash Bros. Ultimate, the series creator and the team considered using a popular coding solution used in other fighting games to improve the online experience. According to PushDustin on Twitter, the column will discuss...
News Sega's Game Gear Micro Might Not Be The "Revolutionary" Scoop Famitsu Has Been Teasing
Update: First details about the big scoop surface
Update (Wed 3rd Jun, 2020 09:30 BST): It's believed the big Famitsu scoop is a new arcade service/platform from Sega known as 'Fog Gaming'. It will supposedly allow game centers to make money outside of regular business hours At this point, it sounds like it'll be a Japan-only thing. Sorry folks!...
News Famitsu Poll Reveals Readers' Favourite Fire Emblem Games
Top Five Emblems
The Fire Emblem series celebrated its 30th anniversary in April and in honour of the milestone Japanese gaming publication Famitsu polled its readers on their favourite games from Nintendo's celebrated strategy RPG series. Of course, Japan has received several entries in the franchise that we never got over here in the West--we...
Casual mode, 20 hour epilogue and more!
Famitsu recently had the opportunity to conduct a Q&A with Monolith Soft President Takahashi Tetsuya, and discuss topics surrounding Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. In it, they talk about what was updated, new features and details surrounding Future Connected. We've taken the time to translate...
News HAL President Shares His Thoughts On The Company's History And Future
"HAL Laboratory is a company where everyone is a creator"
In celebration of HAL Laboratory's 40th anniversary, Famitsu recently sat down with HAL Laboratory president, Kawase Shigefumi. Surrounded by familiar sights and sounds in the Kirby Café, President Kawase shared his thoughts on the history and future of the beloved game developer. First...
News Pokémon Sword And Shield Wins Famitsu Dengeki 2019 Game Of The Year
And takes out best role-playing game award
Pokémon Sword and Shield has taken out the game of the year award and best role-playing game of 2019 during a livestream award ceremony held by Famitsu and Dengeki. Apart from this, Nintendo's exercise game Ring Fit Adventure tied with Square Enix's mobile title Dragon Quest Walk for the Special Award,...
But fans must show their support for the series
In the same Weekly Famitsu interview where the Bravely Default producer Tomoya Asano apologised for End Layer not living up to fan expectations, he was asked if there were plans for a 'Bravely Third' game, once Bravely Default II
Can Bravely Default II get it right?
At last year's Game Awards, the reveal of the show for many Nintendo fans was the Switch exclusive, Bravely Default II. As much of a surprise as this was, at the time, we couldn't help but wonder why the other previously released sequel wasn't being acknowledged. Now that the 2015 3DS entry
It creates "a better flow"
For a very long time now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has been sharing a 'Pic of the Day' over on Twitter. While he's previously explained how a lot of these screens were never intended to be shown outside of the office, in his most recent Weekly Famitsu column, he revealed the idea behind it –...
News Masahiro Sakurai Says "It's A Total Blank Slate" After He Finishes Smash Bros. Ultimate's DLC
What could be next?
Masahiro Sakurai is dedicated to making Super Smash Bros. Ultimate the best fighting game it can possibly be. That's why he's working around the clock, and sometimes even risking his own health to meet certain deadlines. Although there's a "high probabilit
News The First Animal Crossing: New Horizons Review Is In, And It Might Surprise You
Japanese magazine Famitsu gives its verdict
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is days away now, and the wait is proving to be unbearable for some fans. Will this latest instalment in the long-running series live up to the incredible hype? Can it possibly top the superb New Leaf on the 3DS? Will it be the Switch's must-have title for 2020? We can't...
News Shigeru Miyamoto Approves Of People Uploading Gameplay Videos
"I think it’s good that there’s a variety of ways to enjoy things"
While streaming and uploading footage of video games online has become a common practice nowadays, not every company is necessarily thrilled about it. For example, a number of Japanese companies like Arc System Works and Atlus have released special recording and streaming...
News Miyamoto Says The Success Of The Switch Was All Thanks To The "Good Timing" Of Its Release
Gauging the mobile market
The one and only Shigeru Miyamoto has been in the headlines a few times already this week, speaking about how he's broken his habit of "upending the tea table" and how Nintendo has worked hard to escape its 'childish' reputation. Now, in the same interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu (as translated by
News Miyamoto Has Broken His Habit Of "Completely" Reworking Games Mid-Development
No more “upending the tea table”
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto currently acts as a 'Creative Fellow' at the Japanese video game giant – passing on his ideas and knowledge to the next generation of game designers. As a result, he's not quite as involved as he used to be. For example, he no longer comes in mid-development to "completely" rework...
Random Masahiro Sakurai Was So Tired He Passed Out While Bathing At The Gym
Oh dear...
For the past year now, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai has been working around the clock to develop additional DLC fighters. He puts excessive hours in the game's creation and often doesn't take breaks. He has even spoken about his health issues previously and how it has required him to rethink his work-life balance...
Only a few say they won't
One of the more memorable segments of last month's Pokémon Direct was the reveal of a mighty expansion pass for the latest entries, Pokémon Sword and Shield. Rather than a third entry or 'Ultra' version, this two-part DLC add-on will allow players to continue to their adventure within the Galar Region and uses the same...
News Hideki Kamiya Says The Development Of Bayonetta 3 Is "Progressing Smoothly"
Still on track
At this point, it seems to have become a monthly tradition to ask Hideki Kamiya how the development of Bayonetta 3 is going for Nintendo Switch. So, how is it going? In the latest issue of the Japanese publication Famitsu, the creator of the series was once again asked this same question during an interview about Platinum's recently...
News Sakurai Understands There Are Too Many Fire Emblem Reps In Smash, Says It's Time To "Move On"
"It’s something that’s already been decided"
Article updated - Sun 9th Feb, 2020 07:00 GMT: Earlier this week, in his latest Famitsu column, Masahiro Sakurai touched on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate having too many Fire Emblem characters and sword fighters. While he understands what the fanbase is
News Pokémon Sword And Shield Dethrones Diamond & Pearl In New Famitsu Sales Chart Record
The ninth week in first
Since the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield on the Nintendo Switch last November, both games have appeared at the top of the Japanese charts every single week. The latest chart data from 6th - 12th January, was no different. Pokémon took out the top spot for the ninth week in a row. If that wasn't already impressive...
News 2019 Was Nintendo's Best Year In Japan For Two Decades
76% of Japanese hardware sales were Switch last year
Japan has traditionally been a something of a stronghold for Nintendo, but the latest 2019 sales data from Famitsu shows just how dominant the company has become in its homeland. The stats – pulled together by Twitter user Oscar Lemaire – show that a staggering 76% of Japanese hardware sales...
News Sakurai Discusses "Drawing Light, Not Objects" In Final Famitsu Column of 2019
In-depth thoughts on graphic development
Masahiro Sakurai's latest Famitsu column has been released, and it happens to be his last for 2019. In the article, titled "Draw light, not objects." Sakurai discusses various graphical development techniques and thoughts. We've gone ahead and translated the article for you. Please note, this is a general...
News Sakurai Praises Death Stranding In Latest Famitsu Column
A summary of his thoughts on Kojima's latest hit
Update: The full translation is now available in the Twitter thread below: The next issue of Famitsu releases tonight, but we've already received a general summary of Masahiro Sakurai's latest column. While the Smash Bros. director's writing often focuses on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, sometimes...
News Famitsu Reveals New Details About Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
New screenshots also shared
After the troubled Wii U generation, Nintendo seemingly decided to port all of its major titles from this console across to the Switch. It started out with games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and followed on with titles such as Pokkén Tournament DX and eventually New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. One of its next releases to...
News Sakurai On Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Becoming Best-Selling Fighting Game of All Time
His thoughts on Terry's inclusion, plus more
The latest issue of Weekly Famitsu has been released, and once again we are treated to a column written by Masahiro Sakurai. This is a summary of the column, as translated by Nintendo Life. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has exceeded the lifetime sales of Street Fighter II to become the best-selling...
News Weekly Famitsu Drops The 3DS From Its Release Schedule Section
A sign of the times
One noticeable difference at this year's E3 was the absence of the 3DS. Although the five-in-one Atooi Collection was announced for the platform during the Limited Run presentation, Nintendo did not showcase any new games for its 3D device. If it wasn't already evident the handheld system has come to the end of
News Famitsu Shares New Screenshot Of The Battle System In Game Freak's Upcoming Switch RPG
Lovely stuff
Yesterday, we found out how Game Freak is attempting to create something "more exciting" than Pokémon in its upcoming Switch RPG, tentatively titled Town. Unfortunately, there's been little to no information about this new project since its
News Sega Ages Line Struggling To Appeal In Japan, Interest Overseas Better Than Expected
"Japanese sales need to be better"
Although the west has had to wait much longer for each release in the Sega Ages line on the Nintendo Switch, the demand for this retro-inspired series has been better than anticipated – with games such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Out Run and Alex Kidd in Miracle World selling particularly well in Eu
News Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Wins Famitsu Game Of The Year Award
Alongside Monster Hunter: World
If Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hasn't already received enough praise, it's now taken out Famitsu's 2018 Game of the Year Award alongside Monster Hunter: World. It's a similar situation to the previous year when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Dragon Quest XI both won. The game's creator Masahiro Sakurai...
News Famitsu Report Reveals Japan's Highest-Selling Games And Top-Selling Hardware In 2018
Nintendo dominates the competition
2018 was a big year for Nintendo, with the Switch and the system's library of the games dominating the charts for many months of the year worldwide. Famitsu has now published its own report, revealing the top 10 highest-selling video games and top-selling hardware in Japan last year. According to the estimates...
News Famitsu Teasing "Possible Revival" For A Cancelled Level-5 Game
What could it be?
The Japan-based developer and publisher Level-5 is best known by Nintendo fans for charming series like Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven and in more recent times Yo-Kai Watch. Originally established in 1998, the company is now 20-years old. In celebration of Level-5's 20th anniversary, Famitsu is teasing an interview with the...
Random NieR: Automata Game Director Explains How He Was Inspired By Ikaruga
Total respect for Treasure's shmup
In celebration of the recent re-release of Ikaruga on multiple platforms including the Switch eShop, the Japanese publication Famitsu sat down with Yoko Taro - the director of the highly praised NieR: Automata - to discuss how exactly Treasure's sublime shmup has influenced his own work over the years...
"This game is so hard to stop playing!"
Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai is a busy man, but he still makes time for a little gaming when he needs to unwind and according to his latest Famitsu column (as translated by Source Gaming), he is currently quite partial to playing a bit of Stardew Valley on Nintendo Switch after a hard day...
News Famitsu Interview Hints That Masahiro Sakurai Could Step Back From Directing Games
"It might be good to take on more of a consulting role"
Masahiro Sakurai has created some incredible games, but he's most commonly connected with the Super Smash Bros. series. Sakurai is forever hinting that he can't be in charge of Smash forever, and in a recent interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu - which is in the process of being...
News Yoshiaki Koizumi Says Non-Traditional Nintendo IPs Are Bound For Switch Next Year
Take your bets...
The Switch has had a storming first year on sale, with the likes of Zelda, Mario and Fire Emblem all contributing to a bumper 2017. Naturally, Switch owners will also be thinking about the games they'll be playing over the next 12 months, and Nintendo's Yoshiaki Koizumi wants us to expect the unexpected. In an interview with...
News Japanese Gaming Magazine Famitsu Celebrates 1500 Issues
Long live the king of game magazines!
The 14 September issue of Famitsu is one for the record books. The iconic magazine, which is the longest running gaming publication in Japan, reached its 1500th issue. Though Famitsu celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, 1500 issues is quite a big round number and also worthy of recognition. The...
News Sales Data For 2017 Reveals Nintendo Is Killing It In Japan
8 out of the 10 best-sellers are for Nintendo systems
Nintendo has always done well in Japan traditionally; even during the rather dismal Wii U years, the Japanese software and hardware sales charts were dominated by the 3DS. However, with the Switch now available the company is attacking Japanese retail on two fronts, and the latest sales data for...
News Famitsu Readers Choose Super Mario Kart as the Best Racing Game of All Time
Crosses the line ahead of all its rivals
Whenever a conversation turns to the 'best of all time' in anything, there's sure to be some feisty opinions. Now that the Famitsu Weekly readers have chosen their best racing game of all time, that's sure to get fans talking. The winner was Super Mario Kart, which saw off various rivals including...
News Famitsu Charts Show Strong Debut for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in Japan
Boosts Nintendo Switch hardware sales, too
We've been awaiting the usual Media Create Japanese chart results, but due to Golden Week in Japan the data hasn't been forthcoming as yet. As we've had requests for what information is available, we've picked up the Famitsu magazine charts from earlier in the week to tide us over. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,...
News Famitsu Will Be Holding A Special Switch Report Following Nintendo's Broadcast
An hour long, but what will it show?
Japanese publication Famitsu will be holding its own Nintendo Switch video report after Nintendo's full reveal tomorrow, it has been revealed. The broadcast - which will be around an hour long - will air on the NicoNico channel around 9 to 10PM Japanese time. This will be a few hours before the Nintendo...
News Pokémon Sun and Moon, Along With 3DS, Led 2016 Sales in Japan
Both also did well in the Holiday period
As we head into 2017 facts and figures are starting to emerge for sales over the festive period, which are always valuable in the gaming industry. As we skipped a week of Media Create results in Japan during the break, this time we're going for a bumper post with two weeks of results, along with some end of...
News Nintendo Confirms Switch Isn't Physically Backwards Compatible With 3DS And Wii U Software
In other news: water is wet
Nintendo's Switch preview gave us a massive helping of information regarding the new console - what it looks like, what control options it has and the kind of games we'll be playing - but it also left some unanswered questions. Does it have a touchscreen? Can you add more memory via SD cards? What kind of battery life...
