Tag: Japan - Page 9
Random Elected Official In Japan Is Looking To Legally Preserve Games
And keep them playable for generations to come
A newly elected official in Japan has announced his intention to implement a legal framework to preserve games and keep them in a playable state. As reported by Automaton, Ken Akamatsu recently won a seat on Japan's House of Counsellors and is due to take office on July 26th. In a statement on Twitter...
News Level-5 Is Ready To Share News On The Inazuma Eleven Switch Game Soon
After multiple delays
It's been a while since we've had any new information on the next entry in Level-5's hugely popular Inazuma Eleven series. This soccer-based video game series debuted on the DS in 2008 and has spawned numerous spin-offs, including an anime and manga series. But Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes — the upcoming Switch game...
Reminder Custom Robo And Its Sequel Are Out Now For Switch Online (Japan)
The west gets Pokémon Puzzle League
Update [Fri 15th Jul, 2022 05:00 BST]: Custom Robo and Custom Robo V2 are now available for the Switch Online Expansion Pack service in Japan. See below to find out how to access these games. Original article [Fri 8th Jul, 2022 02:45 BST]: When the N64 library was originally announced for the Switch Online...
News SuperDeluxe Announces Reprint Of 'Sol Cresta' Physical And Collector's Edition For Japan
Includes figures, soundtrack, and a tiny arcade cabinet
[Update: Thu 14th Jul, 2022 19:30 BST] Correction: The Collector's Edition and Physical Edition of Sol Cresta were previously sold in the West through Limited Run Games, and have since sold out. These two new releases allow players to purchase the two versions again through LRG's newly-formed...
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Maintains A Comfortable Lead
Another strong week for Capcom
The latest Japanese charts are in and it's another strong week for Capcom's Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Set, with the pack leading the charge again with an impressive 44,071 units sold. Although this is a sharp drop from the 104,315 units sold during its launch week, this is still a solid figure for the latest entry...
News Nintendo Formally Acknowledges Same-Sex Marriage, Despite Japanese Law
Enabling employees to "fully realize their talents"
Update: It has been highlighted that this particular addition to Nintendo's CSR first appeared when it was updated last year, and is therefore not a new addition to the document. We apologise for the error. Bearing in mind we haven't previously reported on it, we've decided to keep the story live...
News DS Cult Favourite 'Touch Detective' To Get "Funghi Case Files" Collection On Switch In Japan
Hopes for a translation?
You'd be forgiven for never having heard of the Touch Detective games before (although some of you will no doubt know it, since you clicked on the title and all). The original game was released in Japan on DS in 2006, and made it to Europe and America shortly after. It's a point-and-click detective adventure — and there...
News Sega's Old Arcades Are Flourishing Under New Owners, Sort Of
Genda Inc. reports 3 billion+ yen profit
Cast your minds back, dear readers, to the start of the year. We reported that Sega would sadly be leaving the arcade market, selling the remaining 14.9% of its Sega Entertainment division to Genda Inc with the division being subsequently rebranded as 'Genda GiGO Entertainment'. Now, it looks like the arcade...
News Don't Use Your Switch In Temperatures Exceeding 35C, Warns Nintendo
Everybody, chill!
Japan, like many regions at the moment, is working its way through a merciless ongoing heatwave. Just last week, the capital of Tokyo experienced daily temperatures exceeding 95 degrees Fahrenheit (about 35 Celsius), and although temperatures have dipped slightly this week, the region is still sweltering in unusually extreme heat...
News Nintendo Might Finally Be Racing Ahead With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Wave 2 DLC
Japan 7-Eleven advert appears to have provided a hint
We're now in July, and there's still no sign of the second Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC wave, so what's going on? Although Nintendo hasn't provided an update about when this next wave will be delivered, it seems fans have been able to work out some sort of time frame for this next DLC release. As...
Gallery Here's A Look At Custom Robo 1 & 2 For The Switch Online Expansion Pack
Out in Japan next week
Nintendo yesterday announced it would be adding Pokémon Puzzle League to the Switch Online Expansion Pack service on 15th July. Over in Japan, however, the same service will be receiving the action role playing games Custom Robo and Custom Robo V2 developed by Noise. These games have never been released here in the west, so...
Random This Fan-Made Mini TV With A Built-In Super NES Is Totally Adorable
Bite-sized classic gaming with a TV to match
One of our favourite console peripherals is the Joytech GameCube screen, a little attachable screen for the little box-shaped console that turned it into a portable console of sorts. Lots of mods for other consoles have been inspired by this little add-on, but today, we have something extra dinky that...
Japanese Charts Sunbreak Helps Monster Hunter Climb To The Top
Base game and expansion set sell monster numbers
We've got the latest Japanese charts, courtesy of Gematsu, and it's a corker of a week for the newly released Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak DLC! The pack containing the main game and the expansion has comfortably taken the top spot in the charts with an almighty 104,315 units sold, beating out...
News Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series DLC Set Lets Klonoa Wear A Giant Pac-Man Head
Plus other Bandai Namco hats!
Tomorrow, the wait to travel through dreams is finally over. Bandai Namco's Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series launches on the Switch after a near-14-year wait for the cabbit's (cat rabbit? We won't stop trying to figure this out) return. And it looks like we're getting some lovely, nostalgic DLC which harkens back to...
News The DioField Chronicle Launches Worldwide This September, Pre-Orders Live
Update: Western release is confirmed
Update [Wed 6th Jul, 2022 17:35 BST]: Square Enix has now confirmed that The DioField Chronicle will be launching in the west on the same day as it is in Japan, 22nd September. The publisher has also opened up pre-orders for physical copies of the game on its website. The standard Switch version will cost...
News Nintendo Sets Switch Trailers To Private, But It's "Most Likely Nothing"
Former Nintendo employee chimes in
A Nintendo fan on the Famicom Boards has discovered the Switch OLED reveal trailers for North America and Japan were recently set to private on the company's official YouTube channels. It's seemingly been enough to fuel a new round of "Switch Pro" rumours - with some anticipating...or at least hoping for a big...
News Nintendo Supply Chain Disruptions See Switch Sales Fall By 33% In Japan
Procuring parts has been a struggle
Nintendo is reportedly experiencing supply chain disruptions in Japan again. According to a new report from Nikkei, the company is currently experiencing a "frustrating" sales slowdown - shifting 33% fewer units in April - June compared to a year ago. Famitsu data reveals Switch unit sales totaled around 840,000...
News Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher Coming To Nintendo Switch In 2022
Update: Western release confirmed
Update [Sat 2nd Jul, 2022 07:00 BST]: Following on from the Japanese Nintendo Direct Mini announcement earlier this week, Bandai Namco has now confirmed a western release at this year's Anime Expo. It will be a Switch eShop digital release here in the west. Above is the trailer. Original [Wed 29th Jun, 2022 06:45...
News Bandai Namco Forms New Studio With Pokémon Developer ILCA
Will deliver "high-quality content" including Ace Combat
The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl developer ILCA is working on the next entry in the long-running Ace Combat series, and as part of this, it's established a new company with Bandai Namco known as Bandai Namco Aces. It's headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Bandai Namco owns...
News Nintendo Launches Subscription Service For Switch Repairs In Japan
Covers up to six repairs per year
It's no secret that the Switch - or more specifically the Switch's Joy-Con controllers - have been subject to a number of faults of the years. Perhaps most infamously known for the dreaded drift, the Joy-Con controllers have been a source of pain for gamers the world over, with many opting for the much more reliable...
Japanese Charts Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Takes The Top Spot
Animal Crossing: New Horizon also returns to the top ten
The latest Japanese charts are in thanks to Gematsu and there's been a few changes to the line-up this week. First up of course, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes has comfortably taken the top spot with a healthy 97,538 units sold, with Nintendo Switch Sports scoring silver at 19,255 units...
Random You Can Eat The Real Kirby Car Cake At The Kirby Café
Consume the consumer
The Kirby Café has just announced its summer menu, which consists of a ton of peach-themed meals and the iconic Kirby car cake from Kirby and the Forgotten Land. There's even a cute little story to go along with the new foods: Summer is returning to the Kirby Cafe. Thinking of the warmer months, Chef Kawasaki has created a...
News Here's A Brand New Look At The 'Legend Of Mana' Anime Releasing This Year
The Teardrop Crystal is coming soon
The upcoming Legend of Mana anime — Legend of Mana: The Teardrop Crystal — has received a brand new trailer earlier today (Thanks Comicbook and GoNintendo!). Produced by Graphinica (Chain Chronicle ~Light of Haecc
News Strategy RPG 'The DioField Chronicle' To Get Dedicated Livestream In July
Fielding out info
Square Enix has re-embraced the strategy RPG genre as of late following Triangle Strategy and the recent Tactics Ogre leak. And the developer has another game in the genre coming out later this year — The DioField Chronicle. Japanese website Gamer reports that The DioField Chronicle will be getting its own livestream on
News Edia Crowdfunding Cosmic Fantasy Collection For Nintendo Switch
Campaign goal has already been met
Edia - the developer behind the recent Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection - has launched a crowdfunding campaign on the website Makuake for a special double-pack Nintendo Switch release. It's asking for 3 million yen (around $22,285 USD) to release Cosmic Fantasy: Adventure Boy Yuu and Cosmic Fantasy 2:...
News Sega Announces Sonic Collab With Hololive VTuber Star Inugami Korone
She's also doing VO for Sonic 2 movie's Japanese dub
As part of Sonic's 31st anniversary this week, Sega held Sonic Station livestream celebrating the launch of Sonic Origins. During the broadcast, Sega also announced a year-long collaboration with the Hololive Virtual YouTuber (and Sonic fan) Inugami Korone - titled “Sonikoro 2022". She's now...
Japanese Charts Demon Slayer Retains Top Spot As Pokémon Re-Enters Top Ten
Mario Strikers also sees a significant drop in sales
We've got the latest Japanese charts (thanks, Gematsu) and there are a few minor changes of note. First up, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles retains the top spot this week with 20,964 units sold, but Nintendo Switch Sports and Mario Strikers: Battle League have swapped...
News Falcom Shares Concept Art For Next Ys Game, Partially Inspired By Soulslikes
Prepare to sail
Nihon Falcom's longest-running series, Ys, celebrated its 35th anniversary yesterday, and fans of red-headed adventurer Adol are eagerly awaiting his next big journey — probably with a shipwreck or two in his wake. And in this week's issue of Famitsu, Falcom president Toshiro Kondo has shared some pretty gorgeous-looking key art...
News Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series Demo Is Now Available In Japan
Update: Now available locally!
Update: This demo for Klonoa's latest release has now been made available on the Switch eShop here in the west. Enjoy! Original article: Klonoa returns next month in Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series, a collection of the two mainline Klonoa console games, and to prepare eager fans for the return of the Dream...
News Never-Before-Seen Famicom Port Of Taito Arcade Game 'The Fairyland Story' Discovered
A fairytale of game preservation
Forest of Illusion, Hard4Games, and Gaming Alexandria have uncovered a pretty huge find in the world of retro arcade ports. Once upon a time, Taito's 1985 arcade predecessor to Bubble Bobble — The Fairyland Story — was due to get a Famicom port back in 1986. This version of the game was only ever spotted in
News Treasure Is Apparently Working On A "Highly Requested" Title
What has the iconic Japanese developer got planned?
Treasure — the famous Japanese developer known for titles like Gunstar Heroes, Sin and Punishment and Ikaruga — has just celebrated its 30th anniversary this week. Yes, although we haven't seen a new game from the company since 2014, it's still alive and well. Apparently, it's even got plans...
News Disco Elysium To Be Released In Japanese On Nintendo Switch Later This Year
With Spike Chunsoft as publisher
It's quite the task to localise a game. It's even more of a task to localise a narrative game. But a game like Disco Elysium, which contains around 1.2 million words, many of them complex political, psychological, and fictional concepts, it's probably near-impossible. Nevertheless, it has been done. Developer ZA/UM...
Japanese Charts Mario Strikers Is Pipped At The Post By Demon Slayer
Nintendo Switch Sports slips to third
This week's Japanese charts (as reported by Famitsu) have seen a bit of a shake-up! We thought that maybe the newly released Mario Strikers: Battle League would score the number one spot, but it's been sliced away by the Switch port of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles. In the week of 6th...
News The Switch Has Now Sold Over 25 Million Units In Japan
And Animal Crossing is still the best-selling game
In just over five years since it launched, the Switch has now sold 25 million units in Japan according to Famitsu. Just last month, the hybrid console overtook the 3DS to become the third best-selling console of all time in the country, and now it's smashed another milestone target. Shared on...
Random This Cosy Rowlet Armchair Is The Perfect Cuddling Seat
A place to Roost
We've likely said that Pokémon gets the best merchandise before, but today, we want to hammer home that point a little bit more. Japanese company Cellutane has revealed a brand new Pokémon chair based on the Grass-type starter from generation 7, Rowlet. The armchair features all of the adorable owl Pokémon's key features, from...
News Nintendo Switch Dominates The Month Of May In Japan
Is anyone surprised?
We've got the full sales data for the month of May in Japan and it was another strong performance for the Nintendo Switch, surprising absolutely no one. Nintendo Switch Sports took the top spot in terms of game sales, shifting almost 420,000 units after its launch on April 29th. This performance puts the game just behind its...
News Metal Max Xeno: Reborn Sequel Has Been Cancelled
Lost in the Wild West
Metal Max Xeno: Reborn has finally reached us in the West. The RPG series has never been a huge hit outside of Japan, and this latest entry changed up the formula by making it a more open-world adventure. Developer Kadokawa Games has been working on a direct sequel called Metal Max: Wild West, first announced in 2019 (as Metal...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Sports Continues To Lead The Charge
Another strong week for the Switch
Nintendo Switch Sports is still the king of the Japanese charts this week. The sports simulation game racked up another 28,259 sales in the week of 30th May to 5th June. It's fast approaching 500,000! But it faced some stiff competition from a brand new release this week. MAGES' visual novel, The Quintessential...
News Hidekazu Yukawa, Former Managing Director Of Sega, Has Passed Away
The face of the Dreamcast in Japan
Hidekazu Yukawa, former managing director of SEGA at the time of the Dreamcast's release and dubbed by fans as 'Mr. Sega', has passed away, it has been revealed. Famitsu shared the news that Yukawa, 78, passed due to complications from pneumonia last June. His family chose to keep this news private until today...
Video Mario Strikers: Battle League Scores Another Overview Trailer Ahead Of Next Week's Kick-Off
The match begins June 10th
Mario Strikers: Battle League is out next week, and ahead of its release on the Switch, Nintendo has uploaded a new trailer. This is another lengthy overview - going through character moves, stats and upgrade customisation. The catch is that it's all in Japanese. Nintendo may localise this 7-minute clip in the near...
Japanese Charts The Nintendo Switch Continues To Dominate The Top Ten
Led by Nintendo Switch Sports and Kirby
Getting comfy? Our weekly Japanese charts update certainly is. For the second week in a row, it's an all-Switch Top Ten with Nintendo Switch Sports still comfortably at the top of the charts during the week of 23rd May - 29th May. It's going to be a sticker, this one, and Switch Sports now surpassed the...
News Kirby's 30th Anniversary Music Festival Will Be Getting Two Performances
Update: Say happy birthday, twice!
Update [Thu 2nd June, 2022 09:30 BST] Well it seems like everyone wants a piece of Kirby's 30th birthday celebrations! HAL Laboratory shared an update on Twitter today that will please many Kirby fans who are desperate to attend the show in person. A second daytime performance, which will open at 11am JST and...
Random Nintendo's Mario Strikers Email Typo Accidentally Creates Rocket League Rival
Battle League Deluxe
We all make typos from time to time — this writer should definitely know that! But when a big company makes one, it can be a source of confusion or a source of amusement. And in a rare instance, Nintendo (specifically the Japanese branch of the company) made a slight mistake that brought a smile to many people's faces. Last...
Soapbox Help, I Can't Stop Buying Japanese Games I Don't Understand And Will Never Play
Nintendo sixty-moarrr
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've got on their minds. Today, Gavin ponders why he's spending time and money importing Nintendo curios from the East that he's not even sure he'll play... It all started with Morita Shogi 64. If you're...
The game is apparently 70% done
Japanese gaming outlet Famitsu recently sat down with four of the developers behind upcoming RPG, Trinity Trigger — which was leaked earlier this week for a Japan release later this year. They spoke about their goals in creating a "traditional RPG" in the vein of Bravely Default, Octopath Traveler, and
Random Pokémon Sweet Store In Japan Announces Adorable Pikachu Waffles
A Sweet Kiss of sugar
So there are various reasons we at Nintendo Life would like to go to Japan. One of the biggest is all the fancy video game-themed cafés dotted around Tokyo. Capcom, Square Enix — Dragon Quest even gets its own — there are tons of places to eat and drink that are inspired by your favourite video games, from eating moogle...
Japanese Charts An All-Switch Top Ten Is Led By Nintendo Switch Sports
A swathe of Switch games!
The weekly Japanese charts are painting a familiar picture week-on-week. In a week dominated by Switch game sales, Nintendo Switch Sports is once again sitting at the top of the pile, selling another 35,088 units in the week of 16th May to 22nd May. All ten games in the top ten are Nintendo Switch releases this week, which...
News New Action RPG Trinity Trigger Scores A Nintendo Switch Demo, Out Now (Japan)
A new game by Xenoblade, Mana and Pokémon alumni
Following on from the accidental leak earlier this week, a demo for the new action RPG Trinity Trigger has now been released on the Nintendo Switch eShop in Japan. Although it's mostly in Japanese, you can still get an idea of how it plays. This new game published by FuRyu and developed by Three...
News Masahiro Sakurai Recently Had A Meeting With HAL Laboratory
New game when?
Although Masahiro Sakurai is now done with Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems like he may not be slowing down any time soon. In a bit of an update on social media, the director of Nintendo's all-star Smash Bros. series revealed how he recently had an online meeting with his former employer, HAL Laboratory. He had no need to necessarily...
News 'Sonic Speed Q&A' Airing Next Month In Japan, Ask Sonic Anything
What questions have you got for the blue blur?
It's a busy year for Sonic the Hedgehog, but somehow the blue blur still has time to take questions from his loyal fanbase. In fact, between 25th May and 2nd June, Sega Japan will be taking questions on his behalf (via social media) - allowing fans to ask the VTuber version of him anything they want for...