Tag: Japan - Page 29
News The Zoids Are Back In Town On Switch This Month, In Japan At Least
There's always the import option
If you remember the Zoids craze from the ‘80s, then you might be interested to learn that a new game is releasing in Japan at the end of the month: Zoids Wild: King of Blast. If your memories don't stretch back that far, Zoids are large mecha-animals which began life as a toy line and then grew into a franchise...
News Racy Shogi Game Comes To The Switch eShop In Japan
Get tips from professionals while you play
How do you spice up your chess game so it'll stand out on the overcrowded eShop? If you're Silver Star, the company behind Oshiete Onedari Shogi (or Teach Me Japanese Chess Pretty Please, if you prefer), the answer is to add some lovely ladies in a variety of revealing costumes. Kotaku reports that this...
News Japan Got A Few Extra Games In Its February Nintendo Direct
Some additional nuggets snuck in for Japanese fans
As so often happens, it seems there were minor regional differences between the Nintendo Direct broadcasts for the east and west. Japanese fans were treated to games missing from the North American and European versions. First up is Dragon Quest Rivals, a free download first released on mobile back...
News Japanese Poll Discovers That Vast Majority Of Viewers Were Pleased With The Nintendo Direct
Were you?
Just a handful of hours ago, we had our first Nintendo Direct of 2019. You might have noticed? The reaction so far has been mostly very positive from fans talking on social media and our very own comment sections here at Nintendo Life, and now we have some cold hard statistics to truly look into its success. Japanese video sharing site...
News Yo-Kai Watch Popularity Declines Sharply Against Steady Ol' Pokémon
Yokai ain't afraid of no ghost, but indifference gives them the willies
It seems the Yo-Kai Watch bubble is bursting fast in the Land of the Rising Sun. In fact, it burst a while ago, but the game and its accompanying media and merch were so incredibly popular in Japan that residual interest keeps the whole shebang running on fumes. While the craze...
Japanese Charts New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Triple Jumps Back To Top Spot
Switch still best-selling console
Japanese chart figures are now in for 4th - 10th February, revealing that New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has reclaimed the top spot. Mario and friends managed to shift another 38,482 units at retail this week, outselling last week's number one Kingdom Hearts III which came in just behind with 35,450 sales. There...
News To All Mankind, A New Adventure Game From NIS, Is Coming To Switch
It's a Tokyo jungle out there
According to this week's Famitsu, Nippon Ichi Software is teaming up with Acquire to bring To All Mankind (or Jinrui no Minasama e to give its Japanese title) to Switch and PS4. It's in development and there's no word yet on a release date. Set in Tokyo, details are a little sketchy, but the game appears to take place...
Random Tell Us Who You Love In This Official Pokémon Poll For Valentine's Day
Winners will be revealed on 14th March
Last week, the official Play Nintendo website ran a poll to find out who fans would love to give a Valentine to on Valentine's Day. The poll featured many famous Nintendo characters such as Mario, Link and Isabelle, but in the end, Waluigi won in a landslide victory. Apparently, this wasn't a one-off, as The...
No 3DS love?
Recent 3DS title Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey has had a pretty rough launch period, with early sales showing that it is currently sitting amongst the worst-selling Mario titles ever released. In its home region of Japan, Mario & Luigi: BIS + BJJ (how do you shorten the name of this thing?!) has...
News Imagineer Issues Apology For Fitness Boxing Shortage In Japan
Recommends downloading from the eShop for an immediate workout
Remember the time when Square Enix had to apologise to fans who missed out on a physical copy of Octopath Traveler? Well, Imagineer has now had to issue a similar apology via Twitter, after stores around Japan ran out of copies of
Video Take A Tour Of PlatinumGames' Stunning Headquarters In Osaka, Japan
Gorgeous
PlatinumGames has shared a lovely new video giving fans a tour of its headquarters in Osaka, Japan. Getting the chance to have a good look around video game development studios is a rather rare treat, especially when they're as utterly glorious-looking as PlatinumGames' swanky pad of joy. The office is located in Osaka's Umeda Sky...
Japanese Charts Switch Hardware Sales Still Dominate But Kingdom Hearts 3 Takes Software Glory
Mario in third spot
Japanese chart figures are now in for 28th January - 3rd February, revealing that Kingdom Hearts III has managed to stay at number one for a second consecutive week. The game shifted another 91,019 units this week, keeping second place Resident Evil 2 safely behind it in the charts. Nintendo-published software titles take up the...
News Pokémon Sales Slump To All-Time Low In Japan, Despite Strong Worldwide Performance Of Let's Go
Gotta sell some more
Nintendo’s latest financial data has revealed Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! has now shifted around 10 million units worldwide. This places these latest entries in the series as the fifth best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch. It's quite an achievement. As rosy as it might sound for the new Pokémon...
News Nintendo Tokyo Store Opening This Fall
Expanding business
During Nintendo's latest Corporate Management Briefing, the President of the company Shuntaro Furukawa announced Nintendo would be opening a store in Tokyo this fall. Despite being the homeland of the company, Nintendo Tokyo will unbelievably be the first official Nintendo shop in Japan. It aims to be accessible to a wide range...
Rumour Nikkei Suggests Smaller And More Affordable Switch Hardware Is On The Way
As early as this year
Last October, The Wall Street Journal reported the Nintendo Switch would be receiving a makeover towards the end of 2019. The report said the new system would be “brighter, thinner and more energy-efficient” and was likely to include an improved LCD display. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, as Nintendo has been known to...
Japanese Charts Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe Sales Exceed 300,000, Kingdom Hearts 3 Takes Top Spot
Switch hardware sales return to normal
Japanese chart figures are now in for 21st - 27th January, revealing that New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has now sold more than 300,000 units in the country alone. The game shifted another 57,725 copies this week, taking its total up to 312,869 and keeping it safely within the top three positions at retail...
News Be The Talk Of The Town With These Eye-Popping Pikachu Sneakers And Sweater
Pika Choo
If you're a Pokémon fan, chances are that you have a bit of a soft spot for Pikachu. If your love for the little electric bundle of cuteness goes beyond mild adoration, though, then these new clothing options might be just your thing. Launching in Japan later this year, these new trainers and jumper (or sneakers and sweater, for our...
News Fitness Boxing Faces Stock Shortages In Japan After Players Share Weight Loss Stories Online
A sudden hit
After a very slow and steady start, Imagineer's Nintendo-published title Fitness Boxing appears to be blooming in Japan, all thanks to players sharing their weight loss stories online. Since its release in the country last month, Fitness Boxing has been slowly gathering a small handful of sales each week without making much of a dent...
News Japan's Kirby Cafe Is Being Updated With Adorable New Merch And Menu Items
Squee!
Sitting proudly on our list of must-do things in Japan is the Kirby Cafe, a restaurant dedicated to our favourite pink sphere of joy and related, yummy-looking food. Starting on 27th February, the cafe is seeing a bit of an overhaul, introducing new menu items and even some new merchandise which you can take home after you've eaten. You can...
Video Level-5 Showcases Yo-Kai Watch 4 Gameplay At World Hobby Fair Winter 2019
Looks marvellous
Exactly a week ago, Level-5 released a new trailer for its upcoming Switch game Yo-Kai Watch 4 at World Hobby Fair Winter 2019. This clip provided a glimpse of the world you'll be able to explore and the Yo-Kai you can expect to encounter in battle. If this wasn't enough to satisfy you, Level-5 has now uploaded a direct-feed...
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