Tag: Japan - Page 18
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of December 2020 (Japan)
Among Us couldn't quite claim top spot
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, this time covering December 2020. Below, you'll find a list of the 20 best-selling games on the Japanese eShop last month. Only paid downloads are included, and any games that were on sale during the period are appropriately labelled...
News Pokémon Center Reveals Official N And Zorua Figure, Pre-Orders Have Gone Live
Black and White fans, you've not been forgotten
Pokémon's 25th-anniversary celebrations are in full swing and honestly, there's seemingly no end to how much is getting announced. Without even getting into New Pokémon Snap's information blowout, merchandise is popping up everywhere. New
News Get Another Look At Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury In These New Japanese Commercials
Not long to go now
The first big release of the year for the Nintendo Switch is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury. The game is made up of two parts - the existing Wii U game, and a new add-on where Mario and Bowser Jr. team up to stop Bowser who has been tainted by a "mysterious black goop". To help build up some excitement before the game's...
News Famitsu Delivers Its Verdict On Disgaea 6: Defiance Of Destiny
Meet the cast in a new western trailer, too
Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, the sixth entry in Nippon Ichi's turn-based tactical RPG series, is scheduled to arrive in the West in 'Summer 2021' (as a Switch exclusive in this territory, no less). However, lucky Japanese gamers will get their hands on it in just one week's time when it launches on...
News Atelier Ryza 2 DLC Will Include Recipes, Dungeons And - Yes - Swimsuits
Gotta dress for the weather
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is coming to Switch this year, and publisher Koei Tecmo has revealed DLC plans for the JRPG. The game – which comes to North America this month on January 26th and Europe on January 29th – launched in Japan in December, so the first helping of DLC is already...
News Nintendo, Creatures And Game Freak Register Trademarks For "Pokémon Wonder" and "Fusion Arts"
Don't get too excited
On 27th February, Pokémon will celebrate 25 years since the release of the original Game Boy titles in Japan. In the lead up to this big event, Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and Game Freak have registered new trademarks for "Pokémon Wonder" and "Fusion Arts" in Japan. Before you start speculating, Pokémon Wonder covers "Food,...
News New Advert For Pokémon Snap To Be Shown On Japanese TV
The 15-second video shows Bouffalant, Vivillon, and Torchic
The release of New Pokémon Snap is getting closer each day, although we've still got a while to wait until we can explore the Lental region on the 30th April. This new trailer, made for Japanese TV, shows off a few seconds of footage, plus appearances from YouTuber Fuwa-chan and popular...
News Mario Merch Now Available At Universal Studios Japan
Another sneak peek of the park after COVID opening delays
A few more images from Universal Studios Japan have emerged after the Super Nintendo World theme park had its soft opening yesterday despite COVID delays, reports themeparx.com. The images show the new merchandise now available for sale at the Universal Studios gift shop, themed around Mario...
News You Can Now Buy A Special Box Of Banana-Shaped Pikachu Treats In Tokyo
Pikachew used Fruit Punch
Once again, Japan gets all the fun. Tokyo Banana, the official souvenir sweet of Tokyo city, launched a Pokémon-themed line of the curvy, banana-custard-filled cakes at the end of last year. Featuring Pikachu and Eevee in different designs, the cakes are available at Tokyo Banana shops, and will be rolled out to 7-Eleven...
News Tingle's Designer Takaya Imamura Has Parted Company With Nintendo
Also known for his work on Star Fox and F-Zero
Nintendo has created a lot of weird and wonderful characters over the years, but one of the standouts is Tingle. The recurring character, who first started out in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on the Nintendo 64, was designed by Takaya Imamura. Today, this same veteran Nintendo staffer - who was...
Anniversary Japan Celebrates 15 Years Of Super Mario Strikers
It was technically last year, in Europe and North America
Next Level Games is seemingly on a hiring spree, and it got us thinking about some of its past releases. One standout hit, in particular, is the GameCube title Super Mario Strikers (also known as Mario Smash Football). Although the game made its original debut in Europe and the US in 2005...
News "Special Edition" Gold Monster Hunter Rise amiibo Set Up For Grabs In 7-Eleven Japan Lottery
A truly "limited" run
We've seen limited edition amiibo in the past, but these Monster Hunter Rise ones just might be the rarest ones yet. 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan have unveiled this "limited" and "special edition" gold amiibo set, to celebrate the launch of Capcom's upcoming Nintendo Switch release. The catch - because there's always...
News Tokyo's Kirby Café Is Adding A Chocolate Pizza To Their Menu
And it's served on a Kirby-shaped board
The Kirby Café chain is delightfully weird. With dishes featuring the faces and general shapes of Kirby and friends, and names like "Chocolate fondant that Meta Knight sneakily takes out of his cape", it sounds like the kind of place we'd love to go to. You can even order drinks topped with a marshmallow of...
News Pikmin 3 Deluxe Is Officially The Best-Selling Entry In The Series In Japan
Beating the original game
Pikmin has never been one of Nintendo's major franchises in terms of units sold, but it's nice to know that the most recent entry – Pikmin 3 Deluxe – has found some degree of commercial success in Japan. Total physical sales of the game – which is an update of the Wii U original – in Nintendo's homeland now stand...
News Nintendo Switch Took 87% Of Japan's Console Market in 2020
And almost 50% of the software market, too
Despite all the woes of 2020, Nintendo has had a remarkable year and on the console front, made waves across the globe. Switch became the UK's best-selling console by far and it took the lead in China's market, as well as overtaking 3DS lifetime s
Japanese Charts Switch's Dominance Continues As Nintendo Smashes Software And Hardware Tables
All top ten places secured
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 10th January, revealing that Nintendo Switch has once again taken every single spot in the top ten. Momotaro Dentetsu remains on top, with current favourites Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ring Fit Adventure continuing their successful reigns at the...
News comes as Osaka declares state of emergency
There's no denying how much we're looking forward to seeing Super Nintendo World's grand opening. Having been given a full look in last month's special Nintendo Direct, it's gearing up to be something special for Nintendo fans, but those in Japan will have to wait a little bit longer. Due to open on...
News Nintendo 3DS Outsold The Entire Xbox Family - Including Series X - In Japan Last Year
Not bad for a dead console
If there's one thing that's true about the Japanese games market, it's that the nation is obsessed with handheld consoles – which is why the Switch is doing so well in that particular market, not just in terms of shifting millions of units but also in locking out 9 of the 10 best-selling games for 2020. However, another...
News Surprise, Nintendo Utterly Dominated The Japanese Video Game Market In 2020
Switch led the way in both hardware and software sales
The beginning of a new year is always a good time to take stock of what's happened in the previous 12 months, and Japanese publication Famitsu has done just that in publishing a report which sums up the state of the Japanese video game market in 2020. The headline stats show that the market...
Random Japan Gets Exclusive Pokémon Treats For Valentine's Day
When you love someone so much you want them to eat Pikachu's face
Japan always gets all the fun. They get to put their head in Gengar's mouth. They get all this super-cute Animal Crossing loungewear. Here in the UK, we're lucky if we get a localised release of a five-year old game (
Random Sleepy At Work? Put Your Head In Gengar's Gob With This New "Pokémon Sleeping Companion"
Check out that 5.5-foot tongue!
Pokémon has given us some pretty incredible consumer products in recent years, such as a Snorlax plush which is literally large enough to sleep on. The company that created that particular dream product, Premium Bandai, is back with yet another Pocket Monster-related plush that we didn't know we needed: the Gengar...
News Mario Party's Developer NDcube Is Recruiting For A New Project
What's on the way?
It's a new year and that means brand new Switch games are likely already being planned out by Nintendo's first-party devs. With this in mind, NDcube - the developer of Super Mario Party and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics - has shared a recruitment brochure for 2021, and it appears to be hiring for a new game. Here's a...
Japanese Charts Nintendo Switch Ends 2020 In Spectacular Fashion
Switch smashes the software and hardware tables
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the two weeks spanning 21st December 2020 to 3rd January 2021, revealing that Nintendo managed to round out the year in style. The entire top ten software chart was made up of Switch titles over the course of the two weeks, with Momotaro Dentetsu...
News Brian Cooper Of Respected Website Japanese Nintendo Has Passed Away
The community pays tribute
It's fair to say that we're not the only Nintendo website out there, and over the years we've been in close contact with the webmasters of what many people would deem to be 'rival' sites (that's not really the case and we like to think we've always maintained a positive relationship with other Nintendo sites). One such...
News Super Nintendo World Website Now Live, Ticket Pricing And Ride Details Confirmed
Opening next month
The official website for Super Nintendo World, the Nintendo theme park opening at Universal Studios Japan next month, is now live. With smart and colourful interactive transitions that have you flying around the park, the website provides further details on important details such as ride information and pricing. We'll start with...
News Family Office Of Former Nintendo CEO Backs Plans For Takeover Of Japan Systems
Plans in place to spend billions of yen to see management buyout completed
The Yamauchi No. 10 Family Office is supporting a management buyout of software firm Japan Systems Co., Bloomberg is reporting. While this news doesn't directly impact Nintendo, it's an interesting development which involves the legacy of one of the firm's most important...
News Bandai Namco Announces Platinum Edition Of SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays For Switch
Mecha my day
Bandai Namco will be releasing a "Platinum Edition" of SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays for Switch on 25th March in Japan. It'll be priced at 5,980 yen. As you might have already worked out, this version includes the base game along with all of the previously released downloadable content. Here's exactly what will be included,...
News Kingdom Come: Deliverance Listed For A Switch Release On Nintendo's Website
Update: Listing is a "mistake", apparently
Update 2: Warhorse's PR Manager Tobi Stolz-Zwilling has now shared the following message on Twitter, explaining how the studio is investigating how the listing appeared on Nintendo's official release schedule in the first place: "As much as I would love a #kingdomcomedeliverance version on Switch -...
Feature How Nintendo, Pokémon And Japanese Culture Shaped Global Tastes Through Pure Invention
Author and translator Matt Alt discusses his recent book
The Back to the Future movies might be best known for their seat-of-your-pants time-hopping sense of adventure, whip-smart structure and American nostalgia, but they also serve as a socio-economic lens on the time in which they were made. Marty McFly, for example, might not return to exactly...
Video Footage Of Yoshi's Ride At Super Nintendo World Surfaces Online
An adventure like no other!
The focus for Nintendo in recent weeks has been on Super Nintendo World, which will open in Japan early next year. The video game giant has already held a special Direct presentation for the park and each day more footage of it is surfacing online. In today's update, we've got a new Universal Studios Japan commercial...
Random Dust Off Your Wii U, It's Time For Some Banjo-Kazooie And Blast Corps
Update: Maybe not...
Update [Wed 30th Dec, 2020 10:00 GMT]: Nintendo has updated the release schedule on its Japanese website and sure enough it was a mistake. Sorry folks! "Banjo-Kazooie's Adventure" and "Blast Dozer" have been posted as Wii U software delivered on December 30, 2020, but they will not be delivered. We apologize for the...
News Groups Of Pikmin Have Been Spotted In The Wild At Super Nintendo World
Captain Toad and Princess Peach, too
Super Nintendo World at the moment appears to be all about Mario, but we might be seeing some other familiar faces. Visitors who were lucky enough to tour Japan's park ahead of its launch early next year have supposedly captured a group of Pikmin in the wild - located near Kinopio's Cafe. There's apparently...
Random Everyone Loves Super Nintendo World's 'Chonky' Toad
What a unit
We could have sworn that Toad had a neck, but apparently, he doesn't, and never did. It's just huge mushroom head, and round mushroom body. Yet, somehow, Super Nintendo World's mascot version of everyone's favourite Mario Kart character is even rounder than the original, and we love him, and want to squish him on his big round head...
News Level-5 Boss Teases 2021 Announcement, Says He Loves Cyberpunk 2077
New game is unlikely to come to the West
Forgive us this moment of subjective praise in a news story, but Level-5 really is one of the best studios out there. They brought us our beloved, behatted mystery-solver, Professor Layton, as well as the underrated gem that is Fantasy Life, and somehow they also managed to develop Ni No Kuni, Yo-Kai Watch,...
News Tokyo's Unofficial Mario Kart Service Loses Supreme Court Appeal
Sealing Nintendo's win
Remember that knock-off Mario Kart service operating in Tokyo? Since 2017, it's been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with Nintendo, but it looks like its days are finally numbered. In January of this year, the go-kart firm was ordered to pay the video game giant 50 million yen for violating its IP rights. It appealed this...
News Super Nintendo World: New Photos And Official Park Map Released
A closer look at the food and gift shop items
Following on from Miyamoto's Nintendo Direct tour of Super Nintendo World last week, new images – including the park's map – have now been shared online by Japanese outlet Famitsu. Let's start with that all-important map. Immediately after the park's grand entrance, it appears that you can head one...
Feature 10 Nintendo Games We'd Love To See Finally Come To The West
Nintendo games that never officially left Japan
These days there are very few first-party or Nintendo-published titles that don't get an international release, but back in the day it was common for games to remain in their Japanese homeland for months or even years, if they ever came overseas at all. No, we're not just talking about the countless...
Gallery Shigeru Miyamoto Gives Super Mario Fans A Sneak Peek Of Super Nintendo World
Full recap inside!
Super Nintendo World opens in Japan next year on 4th February. Ahead of its release, Shigeru Miyamoto gave us a 15-minute look at some sections of the park. For your convenience, we've thrown everything from this livestream into a single post. Warp Pipe Entrance + Peach's Castle: The entry point of Super Nintendo World is a Warp...
News Nintendo Announces Super Nintendo World Direct Livestream
"No game content will be featured"
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's latest broadcast is now over, so what's there to look forward to? Later today (UK time), Nintendo will be hosting a special "Super Nintendo World Direct" livestream. We will of course be hosting the whole presentation live on Nintendo Life, so keep an eye on the homepage and be sure to...
Japanese Charts Momotaro Dentetsu Fends Off Cyberpunk 2077 As Switch Sales Rise Yet Again
Animal Crossing stays in third
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 13th December, revealing that Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! is still at the top of the charts. The game (detailed here), now enjoying its fourth week at the summit, managed to fend off CD Projekt's Cyberpunk 2077 to claim number one,...
News Nintendo's Share Value On Tokyo Stock Exchange Hits Highest Level Since The Wii's Glory Days
Switch demand pushes stock to highest level since December 2007
Despite the arrival of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, demand for the Switch is higher than ever – and it has caused Nintendo's share value to jump to the highest level since December 2007 – a period when the Wii was king of the living room. Nintendo's share value rose 6.6% on...
News Nintendo Apologises After Multiple Customers Receive Faulty Consoles Out Of The Box
Error code 2162-0002 is spelling trouble
Nintendo has announced that it is aware of a fault currently plaguing new Switch systems in Japan, apologising for the inconvenience and promising to put things right. The company has said that it has received reports from multiple customers who have come across an error code '2162-0002' when setting up...
News These Are The Five Switch Online Games Japan Is Getting This Month
A similar but slightly different line-up
Nintendo, as you've probably seen by now, has announced its Switch Online line-up for the month of December. As usual, Japan gets a similar but also slightly different selection of titles to choose from. While all regions will be receiving Rare's Donkey Kong Country 3 and Jaleco's
News Playism Shares Debut Trailer For Grasshopper's Upcoming Switch Release The Silver 2425
Some of Suda51's earliest work
Last month, it was revealed a few of Grasshopper Manufacture's older games would be released on the Nintendo Switch in a two-in-one package. One is the 1999 mystery adventure visual novel The Silver Case and the other is the sequel The 25th Ward: The Silver Case. Both of these games were some of Suda51's earliest work...
Japanese Charts Animal Crossing Thwarted By Momotaro Dentetsu And Derby Stallion
But it's a great week for Switch
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 30th November - 6th December, revealing that Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! has secured top spot for a third week in a row. The railroad management game is showing no signs of slowing down, selling another 115,884 physical copies this week. It's...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of November 2020 (Japan)
Hyrule Warriors climbs to third
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, revealing the hottest eShop titles of last month. Below, you'll find a list of the 20 best-selling games on the Japanese eShop for November 2020. Only paid downloads are included, and any games that were on sale during the period are...
News Overcooked 2 Trial Coming To The Nintendo Switch Online Service In Japan
Get cooking
Nintendo is at it again, offering some extra incentives to subscribe to its online service. Members located in Japan will soon be able to download a trial of Overcooked 2 on the Nintendo Switch. This offer will be available from 7th December through to 13th December, and during this period the game will be on sale. Nintendo has...
Japanese Charts Konami's Momotaro Dentetsu Railroads Hyrule Warriors For A Second Week
Switch remains king in the Land of the Rising Sun
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the period 23rd - 29th of November, and not much has changed at the top, with the railroad-themed Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban! remaining in first place while Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is still in second. However, both...
News Japan's Mario Kart Arcades Are Being Updated To Add Infinite Green Shell Mode And Wario
This sounds bonkers
Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, the current Mario Kart game playable in Japanese arcades, will be receiving an update next week which adds a new mode and a character tweak. Produced by Bandai Namco, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX cabinets offer arcade goers a variety of gameplay modes including a single-player Grand Prix and multiplayer...
News Retail Listings Reveal Doraemon: Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021 For Nintendo Switch
Confirmed for March launch in Japan
Doraemon: Nobita’s Little Star Wars 2021, a new video game based on the upcoming movie of the same name, will launch on Switch in Japan next year, retail listings reveal. Said to be launching next March, the title is a party game that features scenes from the Doraemon: Nobita’s Little Star Wars movie remake...