Tag: Japan - Page 19
News Take A Peek Inside Japan's Pikachu-Filled Pokémon Train
'Pokémon With You'
We're used to seeing Japan get all the cool stuff - like adorable Kirby Cafes and amazing Pokémon stores - but sometimes even the country's public transport gets in on the action. The video above, shared by Japan's national rail service, shows off the '
News Animal Crossing's Former Co-Director Isao Moro Is Now Teaching Children How To Program
Life after Nintendo
For a lot of individuals, being employed by Nintendo and helping create a series like Animal Crossing would probably be a dream job that they would want to keep doing for as long as possible. Not everyone at the company necessarily sees out the remainder of their working years there, though. Isao Moro is one of these people who...
News CoroCoro Comic Teases Animal Crossing: New Horizons "Scoop"
Something significant?
It's crazy to think just how close we are to the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch and still don't know all that much about the game. We've seen a number of screenshots and the Nintendo Treehouse presentation at E3 last year showed off a small portion of the game, but other than that, we haven't...
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 Switch Takes Nine Of Japan's Top Ten Best-Selling Games Of 2019
Here's the full list
With 2019 well and truly out of the way, it's time to look back at the best-selling games of the year in Nintendo's home country of Japan. The following list comes from Famitsu's estimated sales tracking data. As you can see, Pokémon Sword and Shield romped home to victory with a whopping 2,988,134 estimated sales. The games...
News Konami Is Developing A Switch-Exclusive Monster-Battling Strategy Game
Update: And here's what it looks like in action
Update: The demo for Soloman Program is available in Japan, so footage has started appearing online: Original Story [Mon 13th Jan, 2020 14:30 GMT]: Konami was once the toast of the video gaming world thanks to franchises like Gradius, Contra, Metal Gear, Castlevania and Ganbare Goemon, but in...
News Switch Sales Rose By 29% In Japan In 2019, PS4 Sales Dropped By 29%
Pokémon Sword and Shield sell nearly 3m copies
If you follow our regular Japanese chart updates, you'll probably already be aware that the Nintendo Switch had a fantastic 2019 in its home country. The console was consistently on top in terms of both hardware and software, and we can now start to analyse its performance in comparison to previous...
News Bandai Namco Could Be Reviving The Japan-Only GameCube Exclusive Mr. Driller: Drill Land
Will we finally see a localisation?
Towards the end of last year, Bandai Namco filed trademarks in Japan for multiple classic titles including the puzzler Mr. Driller. Now, in the latest update, the video game publisher and developer has gone and trademarked Mr. Driller Drill Land in Europe. As explained by Gematsu, Drill Land is the name of a Mr...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Is Still Killing It, Takes All Top Ten Positions
Pokémon takes first for 9th week
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 6th - 12th January, revealing that Nintendo has once again managed to snag all top ten positions. Pokémon Sword and Shield are still sitting comfortably at number one, making this the ninth consecutive week in a row the two titles have held the position. It was a...
News Joker Costume Spotted On The Back Of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore Box Art
Update: Nintendo makes it official
Update 2 - Wed 15th Jan, 2020 05:00 GMT: Nintendo's Japanese social media accounts and YouTube channel have now confirmed this as well. Above is a trailer showcasing the many costumes and features in the game. Here's the costume list, courtesy of Gematsu: New Costumes: “Rebellious Joker” (from Persona 5) for...
News Universal Creative CCO Says Super Nintendo World Is A "Living Video Game"
"You become one of the characters"
Yesterday, Nintendo and Universal Studios Japan revealed a new music video titled 'We Are Born To Play' for the upcoming Japanese theme park, Super Nintendo World. In the same trailer, we also got a brief glimpse of the wristband and app that will apparently "redefine" theme parks. A Universal press release
News Super Nintendo World News Is Imminent, Says Universal Japan
Update: It's a music video
Update - Tue 14th Jan, 2020 03:30 GMT: USJ has revealed a new promotional trailer for the park in the form of the music video 'We Are Born To Play' by Galantis ft. Charli XCX. The video has been shared on the official Nintendo YouTube channels in both Japan and North America and shows off the Switch, and the Super Mario...
News Switch Online Users In Japan Will Soon Be Able To Play Fire Emblem Warriors For Free
Promo starts next week
Remember that Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker promotion Nintendo ran last year that was exclusive to Switch Online subscribers? In case you forgot, it allowed users of the service to play the game for free for a 10-day period. Well now, a new game for this very same program has been
Japanese Charts Pokémon Sword And Shield Scores Eighth Consecutive Week At Number One
Hits 3 million physical sales
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 30th December - 5th January, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield is still at number one as we enter the new year. Pokémon's latest entry has held top spot ever since it launched in mid-November, comfortably holding off the competition each week. The two titles have...
Gallery Unboxing Samurai Shodown's Japanese Limited Edition
To call it "awesome" is an understatement
There's not long to wait for Samurai Shodown's Switch release in the west, but if you're willing to pay a little more over the odds and like getting limited edition junk, then you might want to invest in the Japanese version – known as Samurai Spirits – which comes with full English language support (it...
News Here's Your First Teaser Of The New Pokémon Movie Starring Ash And Pikachu
Introducing Pokémon Coco
It's been quite a big week for the Pokémon series. The Pokémon Direct revealed Pokémon Sword and Shield would be getting an expansion pass and 200 old monsters, and we also found out the original
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 Nintendo's Old HQ Is Being Turned Into A Hotel
Complete with a bar gym and spa!
One of the most famous buildings in Nintendo's long history is to be converted into a hotel, it has been confirmed. The ‘Kabuyama Project’ will turn the ‘Yamauchi Nintendo’ headquarters – a Kyoto building which has become something of a mecca for Nintendo fans visiting Japan – into a 20-room hotel...
"I feel like a lot of people are getting worried"
Bayonetta has been in the headlines a lot recently. At the end of last year, PlatinumGames' founder Hideki Kamiya was asked when fans could expect to hear more about the next entry, Bayonetta 3. He responded by saying "development's going really well" but didn't offer any extra insight. Now, in the
News Level-5 Realises Fans Don't Like Delays, But Does It To Make Its Games Better
The president wants to "properly build up titles"
The developer and publisher behind series like Inazuma Eleven, Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch had a relatively busy year in 2019 – announcing and localising a bunch of games while experiencing some troublesome delays at the same time. In the late
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Grabs All Top Ten Positions Over Christmas
Pokémon gets Christmas number one
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 23rd - 29th December (a little later than usual), revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield managed to stay at number one over the Christmas period. The two titles sold an estimated 243,476 physical copies over the period mentioned above and are showing absolutely no...
News Top Japanese Developers Vote For Their Favourite Games Of 2019
From the horse's mouth
We've already shared our very own 2019 Game of the Year choice, and you lovely lot have done the same in our Nintendo Life reader GotY poll, but what about the super talented folk who actually make the blessed things? Well, thankfully a recent Famitsu feature has gathered the thoughts of those very people, with a total of 132...
News Nintendo Tokyo Store "Sorry To Keep Customers" Waiting In Line For So Long
Playing the waiting game
Last month, Nintendo opened the doors of its official Tokyo Store in Japan. The company says there are around 1,000 items on sale, and half of them are reportedly exclusive to this particular venue. You can get t-shirts, phone cases, backpacks, plushies based on a number of iconic video game series and much more. Of course,...
News New Labo VR Mini-Game Arrives On Switch News Channel In Japan
Fortune fun
If you've been looking for a reason to dust off your Labo headset, Nintendo has just released its 15th free mini-game for Labo VR Kit on the Japanese Switch News Channel. This new game titled Omikuji – which translates to "Fortune" – requires players to shake the Joy-Con and then draw a fortune with the A or R button. Here are the...
News Nintendo Fans In Japan Select Fire Emblem: Three Houses As Their Favourite Switch Title Of 2019
Dragon Quest takes out second and third
Fire Emblem: Three Houses certainly hasn't gone unnoticed since it was released in July. Earlier this month at the Game Awards, it was awarded the 'best strategy' game of 2019 and at the same event, it won the Players Voice award – beating various other games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, EA's
Japanese Charts Pokémon Stays In First Place For The Sixth Week, As Switch Sales Increase
The biggest week of the year for the hybrid system
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 16th December - 22nd December and once again Pokémon Sword and Shield have placed at the very top. This makes this the sixth week in a row Game Freak's latest entries in the long-running series have been first. Apart from this, Luigi's Mansion 3 has...
News Christmas Comes Early With ESP Ra.De. Psi's Limited Edition Package For Switch
We've been really good, honest
Christmas might be just around the corner but we've been deemed good enough to open one of our presents early – and it's the swanky limited edition package for Cave's legendary shooter ESP Ra.De., which launched in Japan on Switch and PS4 on December 19th. A collaborative effort between emulation masters M2 and the...
News Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto Honoured By His Hometown In Japan
One of four citizens recognised
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is a living legend and an individual responsible for many of the most famous video game series of all time. He currently acts as a 'Creative Fellow' at the Japanese company and passes his ideas and knowledge onto the next generation of video game designers. Now, Miyamoto has been...
News Dangen Entertainment CEO Steps Down After Harassment Allegations Surface
Update: Statement released by the new CEO
Update - Fri 20th Dec, 2019 04:00 GMT: Dangen Entertainment's new CEO Dan Stern has published a new statement on the company's website, explaining how Dangen plans to resolve its developer issues and move forward. Below is Stern's entire statement: As part of the transition following our statement on...
News Bandai Reveals New Galar Pokémon Toys
Joining the original starter set
Ash and Go from the new Pokémon anime A few weeks ago we were treated to our first look at the new set of Pokémon Sword and Shield plush toys headed to Japan - including the adorable Wooloo, of course - and now even more little goodies have been revealed. Bandai has shared a first look at its upcoming Pokémon...
News Fatal Fury's Mai Is Receiving Her Very Own "All Ages" Birthday Pop-Up Shop In Japan
Everyone is welcome
Remember last month when Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai said the all-star fighting game was for "good boys and girls of many different ages" when he explained why Mai Shiranui from SNK's Fatal Fury and King of Fighters
Japanese Charts Pokémon Sword And Shield Still Dominate As Switch Takes Nine Of Top Ten
OG Switch model surpasses 10 million sales
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 9th - 15th December, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield has managed to fend off the competition for another week at the top. The two titles sold an estimated 231,578 physical copies this week, which is actually higher than last week's total. Elsewhere,...
News Japan's Pokémon Cafe Is Getting Creative With Its Sword And Shield Menu Options
Wish we could eat 'em all
We're always jealous of the stores, restaurants, and pretty much everything else available to Nintendo fans in Japan, and today's no different. The country's Pokémon Cafes are getting new Sword and Shield-themed menu items, both of which are set to be available from 18th January 2020 for a limited time. The chefs are...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Games Take All Top Ten Spots, Pokémon Leads The Charge
Holy moly...
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 2nd - 8th December, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield is once again sitting right at the very top of the charts. The two titles sold an estimated 201,838 physical copies this week, pushing the lifetime total up to an impressive 2.22 million. Pokémon wasn't the only success for...
Video Check Out Nintendo's Japanese 'Indie World' Presentation
Celebrating Nindies
Update Wed 11th Dec, 2019 02:54 GMT: Here's the full presentation a bit earlier than expected. The following games are on show: Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, What the Golf, Eastward, PHOGS, SYNAPTIC DRIVE, Killer Queen Black, Ori and the Blind Forest, To The Moon, Coffee Talk, Fight Crab, Graveyard Keeper, ABZU, Crystal Clash,...
News Nintendo Has Been Taking On An Increased Number Of Graduates In Japan
Figures rise year-on-year
In Japan, Nintendo offers a number of graduate employment schemes for those looking to get a foot in the door. As anyone just coming out of the education system will tell you, any opportunity like this is hugely welcome, and Nintendo has been increasing its number of recruits year-on-year for a while now. The company has...
News Nintendo Switch Has Now Outsold The Mighty PlayStation 3 In Japan
Switching it up
It's fair to say that the PlayStation 3 was pretty popular in its heyday in Japan, with many JRPGs and other games catering to the Japanese audience. During its lifetime it went on to sell approximately 10.25 million which is a tough act for any console to beat these days in the land of the rising sun. Now, the Wii U had no chance...
Japanese Charts Pokémon Sword And Shield Break 2 Million Sales, Switch Sales Rise
Huge sales numbers for a third week in a row
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 25th November - 1st December, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield is showing no signs of slowing down. The two games have now sold an estimated two million physical copies in Japan alone, racing ahead of games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild and...
News Sony Music Is Publishing A Special 30th Anniversary Mother Vinyl Set
Now that's the sound of Christmas
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of MOTHER - the first game in Nintendo's popular RPG series and known as EarthBound Beginnings in the west - Sony Music Direct is releasing a MOTHER Original Soundtrack on Christmas Day in Japan. The soundtrack is a UK recording by Keiichi Suzuki's Moonriders. This double album set...
News Pokémon's Team Rocket Is Back With Its Best Intro Yet
Blasting off, again
The latest Pokémon anime series is somewhat nostalgic for veteran fans, as it heavily features the Kanto region – and that means Ash and company get the chance to become reacquainted with some familiar faces from the past. That includes Jesse and James of Team Rocket fame, who, after a break in the past series, have returned...
News Nintendo Applies For Five Poké Ball Plus Patents In Japan
Gotta file some more
The Poké Ball Plus arrived as an accessory alongside the release of the Pokémon Let's Go games last year. It was created to enhance the overall experience of catching 'em all – by allowing players to take their pocket monsters with them on the go, and could also be used as a single-handed controller in both entries. In...
News Old Japanese Magazine Reveals "New" Details About Nintendo's Axed Project, EarthBound 64
Step back in time
Nintendo's cancelled project EarthBound 64 – also known as Mother 3 – began its life in the mid-'90s as an N64 title, and was eventually released as a Game Boy Advance game in 2006. Although the Nintendo 64 title never saw the light of day, there's still a lot of interest in this axed project. In June this year, new footage of...
Please understand
Ring Fit Adventure - Nintendo's latest attempt to get gamers off the sofa and into shape by gamifying your exercise regimen - has been on shelves for nearly a month-and-a-half now and it seems to have gone down very well indeed with Switch gamers. That's certainly the case in Japan where it has released a statement on its website...
News Capcom Still Has At Least One Unannounced Surprise Up Its Sleeve In 2019
But what could it be?
Capcom's going to be attending Jump Festa 2020, which runs from December 21st to the 22nd at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. The company has already confirmed that it will be showing off Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection (available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC) and PS4 title Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, but it has...
News Fantasy Zone Is The Latest Sega Ages Game To Hit Japan
Better than ever
This week, Sega released the shoot 'em up Fantasy Zone on the Japanese Switch eShop. So, if you don't feel like waiting ages for the local release, you can grab it right now. The Sega Ages version of the game comes with a 'Coin Stock' assist feature to help less experienced players, extra bosses from the Sega Mark III version,...
News Pokémon Sword And Shield Outsell Let's Go Pikachu And Eevee In Just 10 Days (Japan)
Just... wow
A little while ago, we shared our regular Japanese chart update, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield have now amassed a whopping 1,740,084 estimated physical sales in their first nine days on sale. Amazingly, this total is already higher than the lifetime physical sales of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
Japanese Charts Pokémon Sword And Shield Is Still Flying Off Shelves As Switch Dominates
Tremendous opening sales
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 18th - 24th November, revealing that Pokémon Sword and Shield is still dominating sales in the country. The two titles sold an estimated 1.3 million copies in their opening week, becoming the fastest-selling Switch game in Japan. This week was naturally much lower than that,...
News Pokémon's New Anime Series Just Got Region Locked On YouTube
It was accidentally shared to users outside of Japan
Alongside the launch of Sword and Shield recently was the release of the new anime series (once again) starring Ash and Pikachu as they explore the world of Pokémon. When the first episode premiered earlier this month, The Pokémon Company also released it on the official YouTube channel in...
News Glorious Scans Of A Forgotten 1992 F-Zero Novel Have Surfaced Online
Pages and pages of lovely artwork
If you've missed F-Zero as much as we have for the last 15 years-or-so, then wow do we have a great find for you today. The images you see before you are reportedly from an F-Zero novel which was released back in February 1992. They were shared online by Twitter user @step70s earlier this year (you'll have to...
Feature We Paid A Visit To Nintendo TOKYO On Opening Day, And Here's What We Found
Let's-a-go check out some amazing merch!
Nintendo TOKYO officially opened in the renovated Shibuya Parco in Tokyo last week, and despite it being both rainy and the coldest day of the year, that didn't stop Nintendo fans from lining up by the thousands to get in. The store officially opened up at 10:00, but you first had to line up to get a...
