Tag: Japan
News Nintendo Reveals New Line Of Metroid Merch, And We Want It All
Cooler than Phendrana Drifts
Metroid has rarely been able to play with the Nintendo big boys as far as sales are concerned, so it's no surprise that Samus merch drops have been a fair bit rarer than those seen for Zelda and Mario. But, with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond finally here, Nintendo is changing that... in Japan, at least. Yes, a new wave of...
News The Nintendo Museum Has Finally Got Its Christmas Decs Up
Light up, Super Star
Believe it or not, the holiday season is almost upon us. Of course, many stores have been setting up the Christmas cheer for months now (this writer was seeing bedecked trees in shop windows back in October), but, as of today, the Nintendo Museum is finally following suit. As shared in a post on the museum's official X account,...
News Is The Pokémon Café's New Mega Dimension Menu Teasing Some Returning Legendaries?
Those doughnuts sure do look familiar
If you've been paying attention to the recent trailers for Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Mega Dimension DLC, you'll no doubt know that doughnuts have a pretty big role to play in the dimension-hopping — what did you expect, it's Pokémon! The Pokémon Cafe's new menu looks set to bring these sweet treats into the...
News Ongoing MicroSD Shortages Could Have A Knock-On Effect For Switch 2 Storage Availability
Maybe it's time to ask Santa for MicroSD Express cards
Storage-hungry consumers in Japan have been jumping on available stocks of super-fast MicroSD cards as an ongoing memory shortage continues across the computer industry, with no signs of getting better in the immediate future. As reported by Tom's Hardware, a spiralling issue of rising costs...
News PokéPark Kanto Includes A Major Area Those With Limited Mobility Can't Access
Don't go into the woods
As you may already be aware, PokéPark Kanto is officially opening to the public on 5th February 2026. The Pokémon-branded theme park will be a permanent fixture in Yomiuriland in Tokyo's Tama Hills, and will be divided into two core areas: Pokémon Forest and Sedge Town. The thing is, if you have limited mobility, then you...
Reminder 'Hello, Yoshi!' App Now Available For Switch And Mobile Devices
Following the release of 'Hello, Mario!' in August
Nintendo announced a new 'My Mario' campaign for parents and children in August, which included a whole range of products as well as a Mario-themed smartphone and Switch app. In an update, the Japanese firm has now announced a new Yoshi-themed app for Switch and mobile devices. Like the Mario one,...
News 'Hello, Mario!' App For Switch Updated To Version 1.0.2
A small update and a new stop-motion short
In August, Nintendo launched a new 'My Mario' campaign in Japan designed for parents and their children. This included an interactive app called Hello, Mario! for the Switch and smart devices. Although this app is a bit different to Nintendo's usual offerings, it seems it will still receive the same type...
News Sega Gives Japanese Employees "Peace Of Mind" With Another Salary Raise
Plus an increase for new-hires
Sega has announced that it is raising the salary for its full-time staff along with increasing the starting salary for new-hires over in Japan (thanks, Automaton). Starting from 1st April 2026, the base salary for full-time employees will raise by an average of around 10%. Sega is introducing a more flexible pay...
News Sony Once Again Takes A Leaf From Nintendo's Playbook In Japan
Firm announces region-locked PS5
If you've been keeping an eye on our weekly Japanese Charts, then you'll know that the Switch and Switch 2 have been consistently dominating the hardware space, with Sony's PS5 struggling to get a foothold in the region (and let's not even mention Xbox). That's not to say it hasn't done well, mind you, with the...
News 'PokéPark Kanto', The New Pokémon Theme Park, Opens Its Doors In February
Let's go, Tokyo!
Well, here's a little something to make you smile. The Pokémon Company has today shared another look at its upcoming theme park, 'PokéPark Kanto', and announced that gates will open on 5th February 2026. Tickets to this new section of Tokyo's Yomiuriland Amusement Park will open for Japanese residents on 21st November and will be...
Gallery Nintendo Updates Its 'My Mario' Product Line With Multiple New Yoshi Items, Here's A Look
Fancy a singing and talking Yoshi?
Nintendo's 'My Mario' campaign has lifted the lid on multiple Yoshi-themed announcements today, and apart from the new app, there'll also be a new singing and talking Yoshi released later this month. This fluffy Yoshi, available on 18th November 2025, is a toy that will flap its arms, sway from side to side, talk...
News Nintendo Reveals Three More Super Mario Wood Block amiibo Sets
Joining the 'My Mario' product line in Japan
When Nintendo kicked off its 'My Mario' campaign for parents and children in August, it also announced a new 'wood block' sets doubling as amiibo were on the way. It's now revealed three more wood block sets. This includes standalone three-piece sets for Yoshi, Peach and Luigi. This follows the...
News The Nintendo Museum Has Already Played Host To Over Half A Million Visitors
Admission continues via randomly selected drawings
The Nintendo Museum has been open to the public for roughly a year at this point and, thanks to the ongoing lottery system for prospective visitors, the venue has already played host to quite a few people. Announced via Nintendo's latest financial briefing, the company states that the "cumulative...
"The result of using Japanese content as machine learning data"
Japanese video game giants Bandai Namco and Square Enix have joined other companies such as the Sony-owned Aniplex, Studio Ghibli, Square Enix, Kadokawa and Shueisha in requesting that OpenAI refrain from training its Sora 2 Generative AI model on their content. The announcement was...
News Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Has Been Awarded One Of Japan's Highest Honours
Good on you!
Dragon Quest is a remarkable, enduring game series, and now its creator, Yuji Horii, has received the recognition he well and truly deserves from the Japanese government (thanks, VGC). In its Autumn decorations, the government has awarded Horii the Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class: Gold Rays with Rosette, one of the country's highest...
News New Dragon Ball Game Project To Be Revealed Early Next Year
Don't miss it
Last week, Dragon Ball fans got quite a shock when it was announced Bandai Namco would be rolling out a new update for Dragon Ball FighterZ, with an additional DLC character scheduled to follow this in Spring 2026. If this wasn't already enough excitement, the official Dragon Ball Games social media account has now confirmed a new...
News Team Ninja Founder And Industry Veteran Tomonobu Itagaki Has Passed Away
"My life has been a series of battles. I kept winning."
Team Ninja founder Tomonobu Itagaki, who was also the creator of the fighting game series Dead or Alive and revived Ninja Gaiden for a new generation, has passed away at the age of 58. A post on his Facebook page originally confirmed this, and we've now got a translation (confirmed by James...
News Sakurai Is Getting His Very Own Manga Biography
Launching in Japan next month
After Smash Bros. streams, Direct presentations and more YouTube uploads than we can count, we'd wager that you probably have a pretty good understanding of who Masahiro Sakurai is by this point. But seeing his life story told through a manga? Now that's new (thanks for the heads up, VGC). Famitsu has revealed that the...
News Nintendo Responds To Reported 'Crimson Collective' Hack With Official Statement
No sensitive data appears to have been compromised
Last week, the hacking group Crimson Collective claimed it had breached Nintendo. At the time, there was no official response from the video game giant. Now, in an update, Nintendo has shared a statement with The Sankei Shimbun, and it appears to suggest there's been no personal, development, or...
News Nintendo Is Opening Its Fourth Store In Japan This Year
Say hello to 'Nintendo Fukuoka'
Nintendo has announced that it is opening its fourth store in Japan by the end of 2025 in Fukuoka. Further details are scarce at the moment, but Nintendo says the store will be located in JR Hakata City (Amu Plaza), a large shopping mall consisting of clothing stores, furnishing retailers, restaurants, and more...
News Notorious Group 'Crimson Collective' Claims To Have Hacked Nintendo
Though its legitimacy is unproven
Nintendo is known to be extremely litigious when it comes to protecting its intellectual property, but the company may have quite the battle on its hands if recent claims are proven to be legitimate. Hacking group Crimson Collective has claimed to have breached Nintendo in what may be one of the most high-profile...
"Whether generative AI is involved or not"
Nintendo has posted a short statement denying that it has lobbied the Japanese government on the subject of generative AI. The post on X was made following a tweet by Japanese politician Satoshi Asano, who originally claimed the company had been lobbying the government on the subject of generative AI...
News The Nintendo Museum Now Has An Official Book
Available at the museum Art Gallery
If you end up taking a trip to the Nintendo Museum in Japan any time soon, you'll be able to purchase an official museum book. The 'Nintendo Museum Official Book Vol. 01' goes on sale at the museum's Art Gallery on 2nd October 2025 (that's today!) and is priced at 1,650 yen. It features an "in-depth guide to the...
Random Bandai Unleashes Palm-Sized Legend Of Zelda Weapons Collection In Japan Next Year
Is that a Lightscale Trident in your pocket?
The fantastic character designs of The Legend of Zelda series have always lent themselves very well to amiibo, toys, and all of that sweet merchandising action that we all seem to love very muchly. Big muchly! Now, Bandai Candy Toy has announced a set of ten collectible, fully-licensed Legend of Zelda...
Feature Zelda, Layton, Mega Man - 10 Games We Played At TGS 2025 Coming To Switch 1 & 2
Evil Residents, Stories of Monster Hunters, Quests for Dragons, and more!
With the release of Switch 2, fans of their handheld hybrids will be relieved to hear that, compared to last year, there were many more Nintendo games to play at the Tokyo Game Show. This time around, the massive displays put up by the likes of Capcom and Square Enix had a...
News Switch 2 Gets Its Flowers At The Japan Game Awards 2025
As if there was any doubt
Switch 2 has been a huge deal since it launched, and at last night's Japan Game Awards, the console was recognised for its monumental achievements so far. Nintendo's latest hardware took home the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 2025 ceremony. It's a long and somewhat confusing title, but the basic gist...
News Nintendo Museum Introduces "Limited-Time" Mario Bros. 40th Anniversary Ticket
"Available for approximately one year"
As part of the recent Super Mario Bros. 40th anniversary news, Nintendo revealed it would be offering a "limited-time" Nintendo Museum ticket. Instead of the regular Mii design, for the next year (between now and September 2026), Nintendo Museum guests will be able to get a special Super Mario Bros. 40th...
News SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 9 And Vol. 10 For Switch
Arriving in Japan this December
SNK has announced it's releasing ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 9 and Vol. 10 for the Nintendo Switch. It will arrive in Japan on 18th December 2025. There's no local release mentioned, but the previous collections have included English-language support. Here's what each volume will contain (via Gematsu): ACA NEOGEO...
News Genre-Bending 'Baroque YA' Collection Headed To Switch In Japan
Multiple genres in one easy-to-store package
Japanese dev outfit Sting has just announced Baroque YA, a collection of four games from the genre-spanning series, will release on Switch (in Japan only, for now) on 18th December. Originally released for the Sega Saturn all the way back in the Spice Girls-heady days of 1998, the first Baroque is a...
News Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Imprisonment 'Treasure Box' Set Revealed For Japan
Featuring all sorts of goodies
The upcoming release Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment got a little bit more time in the spotlight during the latest Direct. Apart from the title's Switch 2 box art, it's also been revealed Japan will be getting a special "Treasure Box" release featuring all sorts of goodies. This retails for 17,780 Yen and comes...
News Sunsoft Has A "Major Announcement" To Share Next Week
Sunsoft really is back
The Japanese video game company Sunsoft (known for releases like Blaster Master, Ufouria and Trip World) is teasing something big... In a brief post on social media today, it revealed plans to share some important news. There will be a "major announcement" taking place next week on 16th September 2025 (
News "Everyone Is A Director" At Nintendo, Says Former Dev, But Don't Make Excuses
Or you're outta here, pal
Motoi Okamoto, a former developer at Nintendo and now steward for the Silent Hill franchise at Konami, has taken to social media to comment on whether game directors might be considered "incompetent" if they're unable to judge new ideas without first implementing them. As covered by Automaton, Okamoto – who worked on...
News Brownie Brown's GBA Title 'Magical Vacation' Returns This Week (Japan)
Joining the 'Nintendo Classics' library tomorrow
Nintendo's Switch Online + Expansion Pack service in Japan is this week adding Brownie Brown's 2001 Game Boy Advance RPG, Magical Vacation. This Japanese exclusive will show up for the service on 4th September 2025. That's the same date as the release of Forsaken 64 on the mature N64 app locally. In...
News Nintendo Subsidiary 'Warpstar Inc.' Has Been Renamed To 'Nintendo Stars Inc.'
Will focus on expanding Nintendo movie adaptations into other mediums
Nintendo has announced that it is renaming its subsidiary company 'Warpstar Inc.' to 'Nintendo Stars Inc.' following its consolidation earlier this year. Warpstar Inc. – founded on 31st July 2001 – had previously been a joint venture between Nintendo and Hal Laboratory to...
News Hideaki Itsuno Hires 'Devil May Cry' And 'Street Fighter' Legends For New Studio
A huge blow for Capcom
From left: Bingo Morihashi, Hideaki Itsuno, and Daigo Ikeno Lightspeed Japan Studio, a subsidiary of the Tencent-owned company Lightspeed Studios, has announced a key expansion with the opening of a new office in Osaka. Under the leadership of Hideaki Itsuno – who perhaps most famously spearheaded the development of the...
News Nintendo's New 'Hello, Mario!' App Is Now Available On The Switch
A free download on the Japanese eShop
Following an announcement earlier this month, Nintendo's free Switch eShop and smart device application Hello, Mario! is now available to download. This game is designed for parents and their children and is only available in Japan right now. If you want to download the game on your Switch or Switch 2, you'll...
News Mario Kart World Announces 'Summer Vacation Skill Test' Event
Summer fun for Japan
Mario Kart World is running a Summer Vacation Skill Test event in-game later this month, but only in Japan. Announced on social media by Nintendo — and translated by OatmealDome — you'll be able to participate in 150cc races with others to try and become one of the top 100 players. The event takes place on 23rd August 2025...
News McDonald's Japan Pulls Happy Meal Pokémon Cards Early, And Fans Blame Scalpers
But will they learn from their McSteaks?
McDonald's restaurants in Japan seem to have got a little more than they bargained for over this past weekend, as a promotion between Pokémon and the company's Happy Meals had to shut down early. The reason? "Higher-than-expected sales". However, it appears there's more going on here — and, as you can...
News Nintendo's Share Price Is Now Double The Height Of The Wii Era
Huge gainz
Nintendo's share price is continuing to skyrocket following the early success of the Switch 2. According to the latest data from Google Finance, the company's share price currently sits at a staggering ¥14,355. For context, this is now double Nintendo's value at the height of the Wii era. On 31st October 2007, the markets closed with...
News SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 7 And Vol. 8 For Switch
Vol. 5 and 6 launched this week
Alongside the release of SNK's ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 5 and 6 in Japan this week, Vol. 7 and Vol. 8 have now been announced for the Switch. Both of these collections will launch on 6th November 2025 in the same location. There's no mention of a local release, but like previous collections, English-language...
Gallery Nintendo Shows Off Its New 'My Mario' Product Line
Rattles, plush and much more
Nintendo today announced a whole range of themed products as part of its new 'My Mario' campaign for parents and children. Apart from a new smartphone and Switch app as well as wooden amiibo blocks, it's also announced a bunch of other stuff. This includes products like clothing, rattles, tableware and much more! Here's...
News Nintendo Announces New 'Hello, Mario!' App For Switch And Mobile Devices
Wood Block amiibo also revealed
Nintendo has today announced it's releasing a new line of Mario-themed products, videos and even an app designed for parents and their children. The free smart device and Switch app is officially titled 'Hello, Mario!' and allows kids to interact with Mario's face. Based on the description and footage so far, it...
Mari no cart
Japan's largest speedrunning event, RTA, is set to kick off later this week on 9th August, and will see some of the speediest gamers in the biz ploughing through the likes of Cuphead, Nier: Automata and Skyrim, all in aid of Doctors Without Borders. We learnt a few months ago that Nintendo games would not be included in the lineup, and...
News Ys X: Proud Nordics Allows Switch Players To Transfer "Clear Data" To Switch 2
The game launches in Japan today
Ys X: Proud Nordics launches for the Switch 2 in Japan today, and while there's still no word about a local release, some new details have now emerged about this experience. As highlighted by RPGSite, an early review from Japanese outlet Dengeki has revealed some key details about how the Switch 2 version connects...
News Japanese Variety Show Ranks Nation's Favourite Games, Mario & Animal Crossing Miss Top Spot
Mining for data
A new survey conducted by Japanese variety show Ariyoshiiieeeee! – Oh yeah! Wanna play games at your place now? has revealed Japan's favourite video games, both overall and by age rating, and while the likes of Mario, Splatoon, Pokémon, Zelda, Animal Crossing, and Dragon Quest all make frequent appearances, none of them made the...
News Another Code Director's Gorgeous Interactive Adventure Comes To Switch 2 Next Week
Just weeks after being announced
Arc System Works, the studio most famous for Guilty Gear but who also worked on the recent Another Code: Recollection remake, is releasing Switch 2 exclusive Dear me, I was... on 31st July 2025 (thanks Gematsu!) The game was spotted on the Japanese eShop earlier today and will retail for around 850 yen. That
Round Up 10 Switch 1 & 2 Games We Played BitSummit 2025 - Here's What We Thought
So many Bits to Summit, and not enough time
BitSummit has once again come and gone, and unlike last year where it was a bit difficult to find indie developers committing to a Nintendo Switch release well before the Switch 2 was announced, we found a renewed enthusiasm for Nintendo as we pursued the two floors BitSummit took over in Kyoto’s Miyako...
News Nintendo Is Seeking Player Feedback On Game-Key Cards In Japan
How much time have you got?
Game-Key Cards, it's safe to say, haven't gone down too well with the Nintendo community. With rumours heavily indicating that the only Switch 2 cartridge currently on offer to third-party developers is the full-fat 64GB model, the vast majority of games so far have arrived on Game-Key Cards. This means that you need to...
Random It's Civil War As One Pokémon Trading Card Store Robs Another
"Underoos!"
We've had stories previously in which shops specialising in trading cards have found themselves the unfortunate victims of robberies, but this one really takes the cake. As reported by Automaton, a 35-year-old Japanese man was arrested on suspicion of robbery on 9th July 2025 and is alleged to have stolen 123 items at knifepoint worth...
News Ys X: Proud Nordics Reportedly Includes 120fps Performance Mode On Switch 2
Launching in Japan this month
The Switch 2's packing a lot more horsepower than the original system, and as a result, a lot of games and series can now ship with higher resolutions and improved performance. With this in mind, the upcoming release Ys X: Proud Nordics will apparently support up to 120fps on Nintendo's new hybrid system. This...
