Tag: Japan - Page 16
Japanese Charts New Pokémon Snap's Off To A Good Start, But Resident Evil Village Is A Major Threat
Monster Hunter Rise settles for second
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the two weeks spanning 26th April - 9th May, revealing that New Pokémon Snap has had a great start to life in Nintendo's home country. In the ten of those 14 days that Snap was available, the game managed to shift a total of 194,385 copies to top this...
News Cave's DoDonPachi Is Coming To Switch, But It's Not The One You Want
Another 'feature phone' port for Japan
Cave's DoDonPachi series really pushed the 'bullet hell' shmup style back in the '90s, and the company has kept the franchise going over the years with sequels and ports – including the 2002 arcade release DoDonPachi Blissful Death, known as DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou in Japan. The good news is that the Switch is...
News Momotaro Dentetsu Surpasses Three Million Sales On Switch, Yet It's Still Exclusive To Japan
Global launch when?
Anyone who follows our regular Japanese chart updates will likely remember Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!, Konami's super-popular train simulator exclusively available on Switch. The game was hoovering up sales like crazy for months, fending off the competition to remain in first place for eleven consecutive...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of April 2021 (Japan)
Monsters and pocket monsters reign supreme
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, this time covering April 2021. Monster Hunter Rise remains the country's biggest eShop game for a second consecutive month, with New Pokémon Snap earning a second-place spot despite only launching on the last day of the month...
News Japanese Board Game Company Oink Games Wants To Put Their Games On Switch
Step aside, Clubhouse Games
If you're a board game aficionado, you might have the work of Oink Games on your radar. Their compact, stylish game boxes are much more fun to pull out at a party than a massive Monopoly box, and much easier to learn, too. And now, they're hoping to bring those board games to Switch, with a Kickstarter goal of just...
News Rune Factory 5 Live Stream To Share New Info Ahead Of Next Week's Japanese Release
Now we just need a western release date
If you've been holding out for Rune Factory 5, the good news is it's arriving at some point here in the west this year. And for anyone in Japan, it's actually out next week on the Nintendo Switch. While we've already seen some of the combat and gameplay (above), later this week, on 15th May, there'll be a...
Who's your favourite?
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has taken Nintendo's laid-back life-sim franchise to incredible new heights, not only smashing sales records but also introducing more players to its welcoming world than ever before. With the game recently celebrating its first anniversary, Japanese publication
Video Footage Of Sonic's Long Lost Kart Racing Game Has Resurfaced Online
A "Sonic Cafe" exclusive from 2005
Believe it or not, but long before Team Sonic Racing there were other kart racing Sonic the Hedgehog video games. One of the earlier entries you might not have heard about before is Sonic Kart 3DX (move aside, Sonic Drift). This was another portable outing, but it was a 200
News It Took This Nintendo Fan Over 20 Years To Complete Their Famicom Collection
Snow Bros. acquired!
The Japanese YouTuber Somari has finally completed the Nintendo Famicom collection, and it only took 20 years. According to Kotaku, they started the collection (which is similar but different to the NES library of games) in December 2000 with the 1986 release Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble, and most recently acquired the...
News Level-5 Announces Layton’s Mystery Journey 'Plus' Version For Switch
Launches in Japan this July
It seems Level-5 isn't done with Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires' Conspiracy - Deluxe Edition just yet. In a new announcement on social media, it's revealed it will be launching a slightly enhanced 'Plus' version - allowing players to swap the game's original voice actors with the TV anime Layton...
Video Now Is The Best Time To Release Mother 3
Or tomorrow. We ain't picky.
Zion is angry, and we don't blame him. There's been a lot of news about Mother 3 lately — well, by "a lot" we mean "two", but that's a lot for a game that came out 15 years ago — and that means it's a great time to re-release it. See, we just want to play Mother 3. It's been near the top
News Nintendo Will Reportedly Ramp Up Switch Output To 30 Million This Fiscal Year
Nikkei is expecting a "higher-end" Switch model as well
A new report from the Japanese publication Nikkei suggests Nintendo will ramp up the production of the Switch to 30 million units this fiscal year (ending 31st March 2022), in an attempt to capitalise on the "stay-at-home demand" for the hybrid system. According to people "with direct...
News This Incredibly Cute 'Pokémon Grassy Gardening' Collection Combines Pokémon And Horticulture
It's Venusaursome
If you think Grass-type Pokémon are underrated, or you've been trying to grow your green thumb over the pandemic, then you will most likely be the target audience for the new Pokémon Grassy Gardening collection. They have pot-plant plushies: A Squirtle watering can, and a small vase tended to by Pikachu and Bulbasaur:...
News Hori Is Releasing An Exercise Mat For Ring Fit Adventure
Update: Available for pre-order now
Exercise, whether you're a fan of it or not, is arguably more important than ever after the year we've had, and to help encourage everyone, peripheral manufacturer Hori is releasing a special cushioned mat for the Nintendo Switch title Ring Fit Adventure. Yes, if you've been getting by with a regular yoga mat,...
News The New Pokémon Sword And Shield TCG Expansion Arrives In Japan Next Month
Introducing Eevee Heroes
The Pokémon Company has lifted the lid on its sixth Pokémon Sword and Shield expansion for the official Japanese version of the Trading Card Game. It'll arrive next month on 28th May. The next series is "focused around" Eevee and its many evolutions, according to Serebii.net. It's titled Eevee Heroes - with "over a dozen...
News The Famicase Art Exhibition Is Back
Check out the class of 2021!
Every year, around this time, the My Famicase Exhibition is released upon the world, showcasing hundreds of fan-made designs for the Famicom cartridge. Each one has been dreamed up, designed, and submitted by (usually) an artist, along with a description of what the game would be — but the catch is that none of these...
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Rise Loses Out On Top Spot For The First Time Since Launch
As it nears 2 million physical copies sold
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 25th April, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise has fallen from first place for the first time since its launch last month. Rise's sales are understandably continuing to drop slightly week-on-week, with this week's 86,258 estimated physical...
News Tomy Is Releasing A Yamper Pokémon Plush With A Joltik Stuck To Its Butt
Sorry, its "hindquarters"
Japanese toy and merchandise company Takara Tomy has revealed a new Pokémon plush in the form of a Yamper with a Joltik attached to it. The Joltik even vibrates Yamper when you pull it back. It's got fans wondering where such an idea came from, and it seems it's actually based on information from Pokémon Sword and...
News English Famicom Detective Club Trailer Drops Ahead Of The May Release
It's been more than 30 years since their initial launch
Fair warning: don't watch this trailer if you want to play Famicom Detective Club blind, as it does reveal some of the story! The story of Famicom Detective Club is a wild one: released only in Japan over thirty years ago, the series is popular enough in Japan that Nintendo wanted to add Ayumi...
Anniversary The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask Is Now 21 Years Old In Japan
You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask today turns 21 years old in Japan. Although it's not quite as significant as last year's 20th anniversary, in some countries Link and Skull Kid would now be old enough to have a drink. The game first arrived in Japan in the year 2000 and despite being one of the...
News Nintendo Switch Is Now The Sixth Best-Selling Video Game System In Japan
Expected to overtake lifetime PSP and PS2 sales this year
The Nintendo Switch is now officially the sixth best-selling video game system of all time in Japan, according to sales data provided by Famitsu (via Video Games Charts). It's apparently sold 19,410,000 units within this region - meaning it's surpassed the Famicom lifetime sales in Japan...
News Super Nintendo World Forced To Close Just One Month After Opening
Update: USJ makes it official
Update (Fri 23rd Apr, 2021 14:45 BST): As suspected, the park's closure has now been made official by Universal Studios Japan. The company has shared a statement addressing the news, noting that its parks will be closed from this Sunday, 25th April until the requirements of Osaka's state of emergency have lifted...
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Rise Stays Top For A Fourth Consecutive Week
Switch takes nine of top ten
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 18th April, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise is still comfortably leading the pack. While sales are naturally slowing down week-on-week, the game shifted another estimated 110,050 physical copies to stay ahead of the competition. Just like last week,...
News The Spirit Of The Game Boy Printer Lives On Thanks To Fujifilm And Your Nintendo Switch
Print your memories
The Game Boy turned 32 yesterday, and if you're old enough to have enjoyed that particular handheld back in the day you might recall the Game Boy Printer, one of the wackiest accessories ever produced for a games console. The battery-powered thermal printer connected to your Game Boy and allowed you to print off images taken...
Random Who Is Kinopio-Kun, And Why Is He In The Background Of So Many Nintendo Games?
Mario is dead, long live Kinopio-Kun
We love Toads here at Nintendo Life. And how could you not? He's a great friend, an adequate butler, and an acceptable Mario Kart choice. In Japan, he's also the mascot of Nintendo's LINE account — a social media platform that's super popular over there. You may recognise this green guy from that
News Super Potato, Japan's Legendary Game Store, Opens Its Very Own International eBay Shop
And so, our bank accounts were no more
25 Super Famicoms? A fairly normal sight at Super Potato One of the world's most famous video game stores, Japan's Super Potato, has finally opened up for international business thanks to its new, worldwide eBay account. It might seem pretty strange seeing a shop be described as 'legendary', but for gamers...
News There's Going To Be A Travelling Pokémon Fossil Museum In Japan
Life, uh... finds a way
Hold on to your butts, because palaeontology is about to get wacky. The Pokémon Company just announced a tour around Japan showing off the skeletons of real Pokémon, and how they compare to prehistoric animals, like dinosaurs, sea creatures, and weird lil reptiles. The fact that Pikachu is dressed like Dr Alan Grant is not...
News Konami Has Trademarked 'Castlevania' And 'Metal Gear Rising' In Japan
(Well, it's Akumajou Dracula, technically)
It's fair to say that Konami isn't the force it once was in the world of video games. Not so long ago it was competing with the likes of Capcom, Sega and Nintendo at the top of the market, but these days it is more content pushing out moderately successful titles like Super Bomberman R and less profitable...
Anniversary Mother 3 For Game Boy Advance Is Now 15 Years Old
Please localise it, Nintendo
Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé has acknowledged the 2006 Japan-only Game Boy Advance exclusive Mother 3 a few times over the past week, and today just so happens to be the third entry's 15th anniversary. Yes, it's now been 15 long years since this cult classic RPG arrived in Japan. Although...
News Restored Images Show Nintendo's Headquarters As They Existed In 1970
Including a look at its Hanafuda factory
Nintendo's Hanafuda playing cards were printed on large sheets before being cut into individual cards First founded way back in 1889, Nintendo has now been around for 131 years. The company has unsurprisingly gone through a number of major changes in that time, and a newly-restored set of photographs have...
News Sega Reportedly Launching A New Pokémon Arcade Game
'Pokémon Cologalina'
It's time for our latest episode of 'why must Japan get all the cool things?', as Sega looks to be launching a new arcade game based on the Pokémon franchise. According to Arcade Heroes, Sega has unveiled 'Pokémon Cologalina', a new medal game which will have cabinets set up in arcades across Japan. If you're unaware, medal...
Random Updated Diddy Kong Render (With Fur) Spotted On Nintendo's Japanese Website
Looking good, Diddy
We've heard pretty much nothing from the Donkey Kong crew since the re-release of Tropical Freeze on the Switch in 2018, but today we've potentially got some exciting news for all of you Kong fans around the globe. Well, maybe... According to eagle-eyed DK enthusiast and Twitter user BlueCatBanjo73, Nintendo has updated the
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Rise Leads In Another Dominant Week For Nintendo
Switch takes all top ten games
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 11th April, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise is still doing the business. The game sold another estimated 194,327 physical copies this week, comfortably leading the way in a top ten made up exclusively of Switch games. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s...
News After 20 Years, This Amazing Famicom Collection Is Finally Complete
1053 games, fully boxed with instructions
The Famicom was Nintendo's first smash-hit home system and spawned the NES in the west. The shared library of these systems is immense, especially by standards of the period – in Japan alone, over 1000 games were released for the console. "How long would it take someone to collect all of those games,...
Anniversary The Animal Crossing Series Is Now 20 Years Old
And we're still paying off our loans...
While Animal Crossing still feels like a relatively new Nintendo franchise, today actually marks its 20th anniversary. Yes, the series started out in Japan on 14th April 2001 as a Nintendo 64 title. While Dōbutsu no Mori (otherwise known as Animal Forest) was never released in its original form here in the...
News Lawson Will Offer New Pokémon Snap Photo Printing Services In Japan
Gotta print 'em all
If you were around during the Nintendo 64 era, you might remember special Snap Station kiosks in-store allowing you to print out your photos in Pokémon Snap. It was quite a novelty at the time. To make the upcoming Switch release New Pokémon Snap just a little bit more nostalgic, Lawson (a local convenience store chain in...
News Good Job! Is The Next Nintendo Switch Online Trial In Japan
Good job, Nintendo
If you've not had the chance to try out the Nintendo published title Good Job! yet, soon you might be in luck. Nintendo has announced the game will be offered to Switch Online subscribers in Japan and will be playable from 19th April to 25th April. These trials are typically offered in Japan first, so something will hopefully be...
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Rise Stays Top In A Nintendo-Dominated Top Ten
Almost 1.6 million physical copies sold in two weeks
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 4th April, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise is still comfortably leading the pack. The game sold another estimated 277,604 physical copies this week, bringing its two-week total to just under 1.6 million in Japan alone. Of course,...
News No More Heroes III Broadcast Shows New Footage And A Trilogy Box Set For Japan
Update: Get up to speed with "The Garden of Sylvia"
Update (Thu 8th Apr, 2021): The stream has been broadcast and you can check out the full archived video if you like, or watch some brand new game footage — plus a suitably Suda-style recap for No More Heroes newbies courtesy of character Sylvia Christel — via its own YouTube video. We're unable...
Video Here's An Extended Look At The Miitopia Port For Nintendo Switch
Update: English clip released
Update [Thu 8th Apr, 2021 00:30 BST]: Nintendo has finally released a translated version of this video. Here it is! Original article [Thu 25th Mar, 2021 02:00 GMT]: To remind fans Miitopia for Switch is a thing, Nintendo's Japanese YouTube channel has released a brand new video that runs for more than five minutes...
News There Are Five New Poké Lids In Kyoto
Finally, Totodile is where he belongs: the sewer
You're either here because you remember our last post about Poké Lids, and you want to see more, or you're here because you saw the headline and thought, "what the hell are Poké Lids?" Well, the latter is about to become the former, because these are Poké Lids: Poké Lids are a collaboration...
More artificial scarcity
On March 29, 2021, Bandai Candy — in partnership with Nintendo and 7-Eleven — released a collection of seven Animal Crossing figurines. Branded 'Atsumare: Dōbutsu no Mori - Tomodachi Dōru' (loosely, Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Doll Friends), the figurines can only be purchased at Nintendo Tokyo and, more...
75% fewer visitors will be allowed to enter
Super Nintendo World isn't off to the best of starts, as Universal Studios Japan announces a new visitor limit across all of its themed lands just weeks after Nintendo's area gets up and running (thanks, Kotaku). The Osaka Prefecture, where USJ is located, today posted a new single-day record of new...
News Square Enix Is Shutting Down Its Dragon Quest Card Game This July
Service will be "terminated"
Square Enix has announced it will be shutting down its free-to-play card game Dragon Quest Rivals Ace on 5th July. This will apply to all platforms, including the Nintendo Switch. As of this week, players will no longer be able to purchase Gems in-game. "Thank you for using "Dragon Quest Rivals Ace" . The service of...
Japanese Charts Huge Debut For Monster Hunter Rise Sends Switch Sales Through The Roof
1.3 million physical sales in three days
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 28th March, revealing that Monster Hunter Rise has had a – ahem – monstrous launch in Nintendo's home region. The game sold a whopping 1,302,132 physical copies in its opening weekend, dominating the charts and leading the pack by a...
News Japan Voted On Final Fantasy's Best Games And Characters - Do You Agree With The Ranking?
Which is your favourite?
Final Fantasy is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, building up a hugely dedicated army of fans over the years since first launching back in the '80s. With so many games to choose from – and with so many players having their own favourite titles – there are few series that lend themselves to a...
News Super Nintendo World's Mario Kart Ride Was Built In A Game Engine, Allowing Future Patches
New characters can be added "overnight"
You know that future we all dreamt of as kids where we hoped to one day live inside a giant video game? Well, it looks like we're one step closer to that becoming a reality. As you may already know, Japan's brand new Super Nintendo World theme park – which finally opened this month after several...
Japanese Charts Mario's Still On Top As Nintendo's Dominance Continues
Switch and Switch Lite see week-on-week boost
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 21st March, revealing that Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is still leading the pack. With another estimated 37,396 physical copies sold, Mario's latest adventure managed to fend off Square Enix's new release, Densha de GO!! Hashirou...
News Unrailed! Is Getting A Free Nintendo Switch Online Trial In Japan Next Week
No news on a North American or European trial at this time
Game trials are easily one of the Nintendo Switch Online's biggest draws. Unlike demos – which only represent a fraction of the game – Nintendo's scheme allow you to play the entire game for free over a set period of time. We last saw it with Dead Cells in January, and now, Japan'
Games? Gone. Merch? Gone. Mario?
Nintendo has confirmed that a set of special Mario 35th-anniversary products currently available at its Tokyo store will be pulled from sale on 31st March. An awful lot has already been said about Mario's upcoming doomsday (31st March is looking set to be a pretty miserable day for Nintendo's famous plumber), but...