Tag: Japan - Page 13
News Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Is The Best-Selling Game In Japan In 2022
Switch is also the top-selling hardware
Famitsu has released its annual sales charts for 2022, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet — unsurprisingly — has topped the year's sales, selling an incredible 4,338,931 units since its release in November (thanks, Nintendo Everything!). If you've been following the headlines and the weekly Japanese...
News Pokémon Cards Targeted In Series Of Trading Card Store Burglaries In Tokyo
Damages estimated at "tens of millions of yen"
A number of burglaries at trading card stores have been reported in Tokyo, Japan, as a result of the rising popularity and value of Pokémon cards. Since last summer, Japan Times reports that damages from these burglaries are estimated to be around tens of millions of yen. According to an investigative...
News PokéDoko Teases Special "World Premiere" Video To Celebrate 1,000+ Pokémon
Airing on the Japanese variety show later this week
The Pokémon series has come a long way and as of the ninth generation (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet), there are now more than 1,000 Pokémon. As part of this milestone, the Japanese variety show PokéDoko apparently has a special "world premiere" video scheduled to air during its upcoming episode...
News Story Of Seasons, Rune Factory Producer Developing Brand New Action RPG For Switch
'Rear Sekai' will launch 2023 in Japan
Publisher Bushiroad has revealed a brand new action RPG, coming to Switch in Japan in 2023, with Story of Seasons and Rune Factory producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto developing the game. Reported by Nintendo Everything (via Famitsu) the new game is titled Rear Sekai, and was teased at the Bushiroad New Year Grand...
PSA A New Limited-Time Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Tera Raid Battle Is Now Available
Update: Hydreigon and Dragapult available until 8th January
Update [Fri 6th Jan, 2023 11:45 GMT]: Get your best Pokémon ready, as the limited-time Hydreigon and Dragapult Tera Raid event has now begun. Pokémon Scarlet players will be able to encounter Hydreigon, while Violet players will have a higher chance of encountering Dragapult in four and...
News Fire Emblem Engage Gets A Nine Minute Overview Trailer
Take a look
Nintendo's marketing campaign for Fire Emblem Engage is now well and truly underway. Following previews going live, it's now released a brand new overview trailer that runs for close to nine minutes. One catch is it's only been uploaded to Nintendo's YouTube channels in Japan, so you'll have to watch the whole thing in Japanese. It...
PSA A Free Sonic Frontiers Demo Is Now Available On The eShop
Update: Available in America and Europe
Update #2 [Fri 6th Jan, 2023 01:25 GMT]: This same demo is now available on the Switch eShop in America and Europe. Sonic Frontiers is also currently on sale in select locations. Update [Sun 18th Dec, 2022 04:30 GMT]: Sonic Frontiers game director Morio Kishimoto has announced on social media this same demo...
Random New Super Mario Bros. Wii Arcade Game Music Has Been Uploaded Online
Let's-a dance!
If you cast your minds back to 2016, you might remember that we did a little piece looking at the rather mythical New Super Mario Bros. Wii Coin World arcade game, created via a special collaboration between Nintendo and Capcom and released in Japan in 2011. <related ids="63003"> Well, assets from the game were recently made...
News Xenoblade Chronicles Dev Monolith Soft Provides Employee Headcount Update
A numbers game
The Japanese developer Monolith Soft has been growing in size year after year. In a previous update - dating back to 2021, the company revealed its employee headcount had jumped from 261 (in December 2020) to 272. As highlighted by Twitter user and gaming enthusiast Stealth, the latest update for 2022 is slightly different - with new...
Gallery Monolith Soft Shows Off Stunning Artwork From Annual "In-House Illustration Contest"
Feast your eyes on these amazing creations
Monolith Soft has just had another successful year with the release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It also provided assistance with the development of Splatoon 3. To wrap up 2022, it's held its regular "in-house illustration contest" where graduates can let their creativity run wild. According to a rough...
News Taito Corporation Preparing For 70th Anniversary Celebrations In 2023
One of the oldest game companies still in operation
The famous video game developer Taito Corporation - known for legendary arcade hits like Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble - will celebrate its 70th anniversary on 24th August 2023. To prepare for this epic milestone, the company has already kicked things off by opening a commemorative website and a...
Feature Why Is Splatoon So Popular In Japan?
Nintendo is squids in
It happened almost overnight. One day in May 2015, Splatoon merch appeared everywhere in Japan. Baby inklings dangled from kids’ backpacks. Squid-girl stickers adorned pencil cases. Convenience stores advertised raffles for figurines, coffee cups, and Splatoon-branded bags. This explosion of Splat-swag was perhaps more of a...
News Square Enix Teases Plans For Dragon Quest X In 2023
How about a local release?
One game many Dragon Quest fans here in the west would love to see released on the Switch locally is Dragon Quest X. While there's been no mention about a possible localisation, there does seem to be an end-of-year update about the existing version, exclusive to Japan. During an interview with Famitsu (via Siliconera),...
News Here Are Japan's Top 30 Best-Selling Switch eShop Games For 2022
Unsurprisingly, Splatoon and Pokémon dominate
Nintendo has shared its annual Switch eShop sales rankings for Japan earlier today, and if you've been keeping an eye on the news over the last 12 months, then there will be no surprises here. Splatoon 3 is 2022's best-selling game on the eShop, which shouldn't be a shock given that it broke records in...
News Yuji Naka Has Now Been Formally Indicted Over Insider Trading Offenses
Developer was previously arrested twice
Update [Wed 28th Dec, 2022 12:15 GMT]: Following on from the arrests of Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka and former Square Enix employee Taisuke Sazaki, the two have now been formally indicted over alleged insider trading offenses. As reported by NHK (thanks, VGC), the two were charged for conducting insider...
News Japan Poll Reveals Nation's Favourite Pokémon In New Gen Scarlet & Violet
Fairy/Steel type Tinkaton takes out the top spot
With more than 1,000 Pokémon in existence nowadays, it's probably hard for a lot of trainers to narrow down a list of their favourites. Japan made it a little bit easier recently with a poll exclusively focused on the new releases Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. In the top 10, there were old favourites...
Feature Remembering The Newest Nintendo IP You'd Forgotten All About
We've been expecting you, Buddy Mission BOND
Did you know that every year Nintendo publishes at least one new IP? It’s true, they haven’t missed a year since 1983, the year the Famicom launched in Japan. [Editor's note. Except for 2022, it seems. You were on a roll, Nintendo!] In 2020 we had Good Job!, Astral Chain in 2019, Sushi Striker in...
News N64 Classic Yoshi's Story Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary Today
What's your favourite memory of it?
The Nintendo 64 era was loaded with plenty of exciting first-party releases, but one that you might not always consider when reflecting on this generation is Yoshi's Story. This delightful side-scrolling platfomer was first released in Japan in 1997 and today marks a special milestone. Yes, believe it or not, but...
News Pokémon And Mario Will Headline Upcoming 'No Limit Parade' At Universal Studios Japan
Let's-a float
Parades are rapidly becoming a mainstay of theme park culture. What once began as a chance to see Mickey Mouse and a bloke with a trumpet walk along a street has since turned into a huge attraction of intricate floats, dance routines and *shivers* audience participation. Now, Universal Studios Japan is getting in on the hype and it's...
News A New Limited-Time Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Distribution Event Has Begun (Japan)
Grab a Ground Tera Type Gyarados
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have already hosted a number of distribution events, but this latest one is a bit different. As part of Jump Festa 2023 this weekend, The Pokémon Company is distributing a special Ground Tera Type Gyarados. Unfortunately, the catch here is you'll need to actually be located in Japan to...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet's Lechonk, Pawmi And Smoliv Plushies Are Coming To Japan
Gotta hug 'em all
There were a few things that we could say for certain about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet prior to their release: the games would be a commercial success, Nintendo would push tie-ins wherever it could (hi Splatoon fans!) and at some point, we would be 100% guaranteed a Smoliv plushie. Well, now the latter of these has also come true,...
News Strategy RPG Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord Arrives In The West Spring 2023
Update: Fang and friends return
Update [Tue 13th Dec, 2022 19:30 GMT]: Idea Factory International has announced that Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord is coming to the west next year! The upcoming strategy RPG, and the newest entry in the Fairy Fencer F series, reunites fans with protagonist Fang after he meets two muses called Glace and Fleur. The...
Japanese Charts Pokémon And Nintendo Continue To Dominate
There's just no stopping them
We've got the latest Japanese charts for you and it's another strong week for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, with the latest generation bringing in another 310,235 sales, contributing to a running total of 3,424,806. This puts it just behind Splatoon 3's current total of 3,446,339, though it's probably safe to say that...
News Splatoon 3 Is Yahoo! Japan's Most Searched Video Game Of 2022
Pokémon Legends: Arceus was runner-up
We've already heard a lot about the success of Splatoon 3 in Japan this year, and now it's taken out another award. The third entry in the popular team-based squid shooter has officially been crowned the top searched game in the Yahoo! Japan Search Awards. Yes, it's a thing. Yahoo! Japan shared multiple...
News Nintendo's Official Magazine For Winter 2022 Gets English Digital Release
Featuring exclusive Deep Cut interview
We saw the cover of this season's Nintendo Magazine a few weeks back now - a gorgeous 3D render of a Splatoon 3 Inkling and Smallfry - but with the content only available in Japanese, we had to be content with just looking at the pictures. Fortunately, a digital copy of the mag is now available in English,...
Japanese Charts Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Are Gaining On Splatoon 3's Total Sales
Another half a million in the bag
The latest Japanese Charts data is here and it's another strong week for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, with the duo achieving another 577,279 sales over the course of the week to put them at a total of 3,114,571. Splatoon 3, meanwhile, added another 39,322 sales to make up a total of 3,407,477. What this means is...
Japanese Charts Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Dominate With Over 2.5 Million Units Sold
What a performance!
We have the latest Japanese Charts data and, as expected, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have absolutely demolished the competition, selling an astonishing 2,537,292 units in the duos first week of sale. This milestone was more than enough to knock Splatoon 3 off the top spot, but Nintendo's shooter still pulled in some respectable...
Feature Poké Ball Onigiri: A Review - Which Poké Ball Tastes Best?
Made with real Pokémon!*
Pokémon – both the games and the anime – have always featured food prominently. Moomoo milk, sodapops, slowpoke tails, and more recently curry mixes and sandwiches – there’s no end to the edible and drinkable in the Pokéworld. We’ve even covered Pokéfood before on Nintendo Life, both reviewing Japan-exclusive...
Video Here's An Extended Look At Fire Emblem Engage For Nintendo Switch
Update: English trailer now available
Update [Wed 23rd Nov, 2022 13:30 GMT]: Previously available in Japanese only, Nintendo has now published the new five minute trailer for Fire Emblem Engage in English, titled 'Engaging With Emblems'. The trailer gives us a little more information on how the series' returning characters will play a part in...
News Surprise! Hamster Is Bringing The Hardest Tetris Series To Switch eShop Next Week
Tetris: The Grand Master joins Arcade Archives
If you think you've played all the Tetris games, think again! The Japan-only 1998 title Tetris: The Grand Master will be receiving a Switch eShop release next week on December 1st. Hamster Corp will be adding this Arika title to its well-known Arcade Archive series, so there's a good chance there'll be...
News Japanese Switch Bundle Containing Nintendo Switch Sports Tees Up For December Release
'Tis the season to be golfing
A new Nintendo Switch bundle is heading out for retail in Japan next month, combining the console and a digital copy of Nintendo Switch Sports. Right in time for the addition of the hotly-anticipated golf mode to the game, the bundle will be swinging for shelves from 16th December for ¥37,980 (around £226). On top...
News Team Ninja Denies Ninja Gaiden & Dead Or Alive Reboot Rumours
Update: Excitement over
Update [Tue 22nd Nov, 2022 16:15 GMT]: Having heard of the reports surrounding potential reboots for Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja has stepped forward to say that there are no such plans as of yet. Speaking to VGC, the studio's creative director, Tom Lee, made clear that last weekend's keynote presentation at...
Random Super Nintendo World Japan Gets Festive Makeover For The Holiday Season
Let's-a Snow
At this point, we were pretty sure that there was nothing which Universal Studios Japan could do to make us want to go to Super Nintendo World more. Alas, the park is now full decorated with a festive makeover and we have once again been proved wrong. As shared by Chris in a recent TDR Explorer video, the Nintendo theme park has been...
News Sprigatito Is Pokémon Scarlet And Violet's Most Popular Starter, According To Famitsu Survey
First Grass
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has released worldwide today, with many getting their hands on the game for the first time and being immediately faced with that franchise-old question: which starter will you pick? We asked you lovely lot this very same question of the Generation IX starters back when they were first revealed (the results of...
Japanese Charts Tactics Ogre Debuts Strong, Outselling God Of War: Ragnarok
Tactical advantage
The latest Japanese Charts data is in and there are a lot of new entries this week, albeit made up of multiple SKUs for just three games: Tactics Ogre: Reborn, Sonic Frontiers, and God of War: Ragnarok. Aside from Splatoon 3 (we're almost certain at this point that the only games to knock it off the top spot will be Scarlet an
News Level-5's Mech RPG Megaton Musashi Is Going Free-To-Play On Switch This December
Update: A slight delay for the Japan exclusive
Update #2 [Wed 16th Nov, 2022 05:15 GMT]: Level-5 has delayed the game's release by a week. Instead of launching on December 1st in Japan, it'll now arrive on December 8th. It's all timed in with the release of the anime's second season (via Gematsu). Update [Sun 18th Sep, 2022 02:45 BST]: Level-5 has...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Get A Five-Minute Overview Trailer
Update: Now available in English
Update [Tue 15th Nov, 2022 14:30 GMT]: Well, it has been a few weeks coming but the five-minute overview trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is now available in English. We have subbed it in for the Japanese original, and you can watch it above to check out all of the gameplay footage before the games release on...
News Nintendo Switch Sports Ad Tees Up Golf For November Release Date
Confirmed for Japan
We have known that golf was going to be swinging its way onto Nintendo Switch Sports at some point soon for a while now (ever since it was delayed to the holiday season in September's Nintendo Direct, to be precise), what we didn't know was exactly when it would be arriving. According to a new Japanese advert for the game (found...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Overtakes Zelda In Famitsu's Most-Wanted Games List
I choose you!
The latest most-wanted games list has been published in Famitsu, measuring the most hotly-anticipated titles according to the Japanese site's readership. The most recent edition (using votes cast between 27th October and 1st November) saw a new frontrunner as Pokémon Scarlet and Violet overtook the consistent podium-topper The Legend...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Join The 3D Video Game Billboard Trend In Japan
Which starter will you pick?
As part of the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet next week, The Pokémon Company is doing all sorts of advertising. One of the more eye-catching ones - located outside Shinjuku Station in Japan - is a 3D billboard of the new starter Pokémon Sprigatito (grass), Fuecoco (fire) and Quaxly (water). Here it is in...
Random After 25 Years, Ash Ketchum Is Now The Very Best, Like No One Ever Was
Pokémon protagonist finally becomes world champion
Well folks, it finally happened. After 25 years, the protagonist of the Pokémon TV series, Ash Ketchum, has finally achieved his dream of becoming a Pokémon World Champion. Since the very beginning of the series back in 1997, our lovable trainer has tried countless times to become the very best,...
Random Doug Bowser Takes A Trip To Nintendo's Kyoto Headquarters
"Good to be back"
Nintendo of America's president Doug Bowser appears to be catching up with his bosses over at the main headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. He recently shared a shot of the office in a post on social media and followed up with photos of the new Osaka store, which is now open. The Osaka store opened in the Daimaru Umeda building today...
Japanese Charts Harvestella Blooms Into Second Place In A Huge Week For OLED Sales
Queen of the crop
After last week saw almost every game in the Japanese charts being a new release, things looks to have settled down a little more in this week's software sales. It should come as no surprise that Splatoon 3 continues to ink its name at the top spot, but this week also sees the charting debuts of Harvestella and Doraemon Story of...
News Animal Crossing: New Horizons Becomes Japan's Best-Selling Game Of All Time
Nintendo consoles take up 19 of the top 20
You might have heard of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That cute little life sim which came out at the prime time of the global pandemic had us all picking weeds, catching fish and paying bills (extortionately priced, we might add) when we weren't able to be outside picking weeds, catching fish or payi-...
News Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Pre-Orders Are Already Breaking Records In Japan
"This game is going to be a monster"
We're just weeks out from the global release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Nintendo Switch. If you've been wondering about the interest in the lead-up - here's a small sample of data from a local chain of video game stores in Japan's Niigata prefecture. As highlighted by the Twitter account @Pierre485,...
News Pokémon Dev Job Listing References R&D For Next-Generation Hardware
What is Creatures Inc. up to?
It seems the Pokémon developer Creatures could already looking toward the future of the long-running series. A new job listing at the Japanese company for a 3DCG modeler references "research and development for other next-generation hardware". The same application also mentions the use of Unity and Unreal Engine for...
Japanese Charts Bayonetta 3 Debuts In Second As PlayStation 5 Outsells Switch
Like witchcraft
It's been a busy week in the latest Japanese charts from Famitsu! And while the top spot remains unchallenged — with Splatoon 3 still clinging on firmly — nearly every other game in this week's software chart is a new release. The big new game for Switch owners in the week of 24th to 30th October was Bayonetta 3. PlatinumGames'...
News Sega Wants To Know What Mini Console Fans Would Like To See Next
Mega Drive Mini 2 customers asked in new survey
Mini video game consoles might not be quite as popular with publishers as they were a number of years ago, but one company that's still a fan of this idea is Sega. As you might have heard, it's just released its second Mega Drive Mini / Genesis in limited stock around the world. If you are interested...
News Square Enix Releases Second Official Trailer For Octopath Traveler II
A new RPG adventure begins February 2023
Perhaps one of the more surprising announcements in the recent September Direct was the reveal of Octopath Traveler II - a follow-up to Square Enix's successful HD-2D role-playing game from 2018. If you are eager to see more, you're in luck - with Square Enix today releasing an extended five-minute look at...
News The First Review For Square Enix's Farming RPG Harvestella Is Now In
Reaping and sowing
Update [Fri 4th Nov, 2022 14:35]: Reviews for Harvestella should be dropping from today, but we're still working on the NL verdict here. So we'll be just a few more days while we finish off the game and polish up our thoughts. Keep checking back here until our review sprouts! <related ids="140446" label="Further Reading">...
