Tag: Japan - Page 15
News Shin Megami Tensei V Switch Accessories Launching In Japan This November
Play in style
Nintendo Switch accessory maker Keys Factory will be releasing some special Shin Megami Tensei V themed products. These items include a quick pouch 2,178 yen (~$19.71), a protective cover set 4,048 yen (~$36.64) and a card pod case 1,045 yen (~$9.46) that can fit two Switch games or even two 3DS game card instead. All of these...
Video Retro Gaming Prices Are Much More Reasonable In Japan
Mother, frankly, is quite affordable
If you're a sucker for a few of the classics in the gaming sphere, you'll probably know the sting of looking up some obscure little gem like Doshin the Giant and getting whiplash upon seeing the price. Rare games are just worth a lot, it's just the way it is, right? Well in Japan things are a little bit...
News New Poké Lids Highlight Gardevoir And Alolan Dugtrio
Fukuoka gets five new manhole covers
By this point, we've covered Poké Lids so much that we're genuinely hoping Nintendo might notice and send us one in the post. It's unlikely, of course, because the Japan-only decorative manhole covers are very heavy and probably quite expensive — but still. We can hope. The five newest Poké Lids were all...
News Level-5's Mech-Battle RPG Is Coming This November, Only In Japan
Mega metal mecha mayhem
We've known about Megaton Musashi, Level-5's next big project, since 2016 — when it was announced as a multimedia event spanning toys, anime, and video games. After last hearing about it in 2019, we were wondering where it had got to — but now it seems like it's almost ready to land, just not on the 3DS as was originally...
Japanese Charts NEO: The World Ends With You Gets Debut Number One, Ace Attorney Takes Third
And Zelda has to make way
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 1st August, revealing that NEO: The World Ends With You has gone in straight at number one in its debut week. The game sold an estimated 18,799 physical copies in its opening week, outselling Zelda: Skyward Sword HD which is now in its third week on the...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of July 2021 (Japan)
Zelda loses out to Monster Hunter
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles on the eShop in Japan, this time covering July 2021. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin has managed to claim victory this time around, just ahead of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD. It's worth noting that Monster Hunter launched a week...
News After Almost 30 Years, Another Iconic Sega Arcade Is Closing Down
Sega Ikebukuro Gigo shuts next month
28 years ago in July 1993, the Sega Ikebukuro Gigo opened in Tokyo. This sprawling, nine-storey amusement arcade has, over the decades, become popular with gaming-mad tourists visiting Japan and has been the site of many location tests for new arcade machines. However, this September, the Sega Ikebukuro Gigo...
News Minecraft Dungeons Is The Next Nintendo Switch Online Trial In Japan
Is the service upping its game?
Nintendo Switch Online is a service that elicits some feisty conversations online as its merits are debated. As a service it can be relatively inexpensive (especially if you utilise the family subscription), and alongside some 'free' games like Pac-Man 99 it also offers up access to full online play and cloud saves...
Japanese Charts Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Stays Top As Nintendo Dominates Top Ten
Skyward Sword hits 200k physical sales in two weeks
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 25th July, revealing that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD has stayed on top for a second week running. The game sold another 42,642 copies at retail this week, taking its total to just over 200,000 physical units sold across its...
News Nintendo's Selling Miniature Versions Of Its Iconic Nintendo Store Statues
Available starting this weekend
If you've been lucky enough to visit Nintendo's world-famous store in Tokyo (or even if you've just watched hundreds of videos of other people visiting it on YouTube instead like us), you'll no doubt have seen the four statues that proudly adorn the shop floor. Mario, Link, Isabelle and an Inkling can all be seen on...
Random The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Opening Ceremony Showcased A Ton Of Game Music
Sonic, Final Fantasy, Monster Hunter, and many more
Earlier today the opening ceremony for the belated, beleaguered Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics kicked off, and while many of us expected video games to feature in some fashion following Mario's appearance at the Rio 2016 closing ceremony, gamers were treated to a smorgasbord of VGM delights during the...
Japanese Charts Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Scores Another Debut Number One
Almost 160,000 physical sales in debut week
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 18th July, revealing that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD has gone straight to number one. In its debut week, the game shifted an estimated 159,089 copies at retail, beating this week's other successful newcomer, Crayon Shin-chan, to...
News 25 Seconds Of New EarthBound 64 Footage Emerges Online
Travel back to 1997
At the beginning of this month, someone put a corporate Nintendo CD-ROM from 1998 on sale. The winner of the online auction was a Twitter user known as Zen, who paid the equivalent of $357 USD for the item, after discovering the disc contained footage of the cancelled N64 project, EarthBound 64 - also known back then as Mother 3...
News Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's Ike Is Getting A 1/7th Scale Figure
We hope you have deep pockets
Intelligent Systems is currently hard at work creating a series of 1/7th scale figures based on characters from its popular Fire Emblem series, and the latest offering is Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn's Ike. Sculpted by Amenohi Harenohi and based on a special illustration by Senri Kita (who worked on Radiant Dawn), the...
News 'Shin Megami Tensei If' Is Being Added To Japan's NSO Super Famicom Collection
Experience the 1994 Shin Megami Tensei spin-off
Nintendo has just revealed its retro line-up for the Switch Online service here in the west. If you haven't seen, we're getting Claymates, Jelly Boy and Bombuzai for the Super Nintendo on 28th July. So what's Japan receiving? Three Super Famicom games.
News Nintendo Removing Credit Card Support From 3DS And Wii U eShop In Japan
Ends January 2022
Back in 2019, Nintendo announced 3DS and Wii U users located in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand would no longer be able to top up their eShop funds with a credit card. Japan is now a part of this - with Nintendo's customer support account on social media today confirming credit cards and prepaid cards will no longer be accepted...
Matters Of Import Fuuraiki 4 Is The Perfect Holiday For People Who Can't Go On Holiday
A write good ride
Fuuraiki 4 is a recently released “travel adventure” for the Switch (and PlayStation 4), and the latest entry in a series that debuted on the original PlayStation all the way back to 2001. The game casts you in the role of a writer travelling around the Gifu region of Japan during the summer, aiming to outperform your peers in...
Japanese Charts Monster Hunter Stories 2 Goes Top, But Debut Sales Fall Well Short Of Rise
Monster Hunter Rise's launch was almost 10x stronger
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 11th July, revealing that Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin has gone straight in at number one on its debut week. The game sold an estimated 137,676 physical copies in Japan during its first few days on sale, beating the also...
News The Pandemic Is So Bad In Japan That A Special Edition 'Pokémon GO' Pikachu Has Been Delayed
Was due for release on the 22nd July
Japan is currently struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, having recently taken the difficult decision to hold the already-delayed 2020 Olympics behind closed doors – and there's more bad news on the way (for those who like catching Pocket Monsters on their phones, at least). Pokémon GO developer...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of 2021 So Far (Japan)
Top 30 eShop games revealed
As our regular readers will be aware, Nintendo drops a list of the Japanese Switch eShop's best-selling games every month. In the latest round-up, Game Builder Garage took home the title of the most downloaded game of June, closely followed by Mario Golf: Super Rush. Now, though, Nintendo's offered up a more exciting...
Guide Where To Pre-Order The Taito EGRET II Mini
Update: All 50 games confirmed
Update: The latest issue of Famitsu has confirmed 10 of the games that will appear on the upcoming Taito Egret II: Adventure Canoe (1982) Bubble Bobble (1986) Bubble Memories (1995) Bubble Symphony (1994) Cadash (1989) Chack'n Pop (1983) Dan-Ku-Ga (unreleased update to Kaiser Knuckle, 1995) Darius Gaiden (1994) Don...
News Konami's Next Yu-Gi-Oh! Game Arrives In Japan This August
It's time to duel, again!
Update #3 [Tue 13th Jul, 2021 03:05 BST]: A Yu-Gi-Oh! Rush Duel demo is now available on the Japanese eShop. Once again, this game launches in Japan on 12th August. There's still no word on a local release. Update #2 [Sun 18th Apr, 2021 09:30 BST]: While there's still no mention of a local release, Konami has now locked...
News Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Hacker Arrested For Selling Modified Save Data
Was sold online as the "ultimate save data"
We've heard in the past about crackdowns on street sales of modded Nintendo hardware and games, but this story is slightly different. Back in April, Tokyo-based Chinese national Ichimin Sho posted an advertisement on a Japanese e-commerce site selling "ultimate save data" for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of June 2021 (Japan)
Game Builder Garage prevents a Mario number one
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles on the eShop in Japan, this time covering June 2021. The list sees two new entries at the top, with Game Builder Garage managing to keep Mario Golf: Super Rush from a debut digital number one. Innersloth's Among Us completes the top...
News New Poké Lid Alert: It's Vulpix's Time To Shine
They're pretty grate
We only found out about the Poké Lid project a few months ago, but we've fallen deeply in love with the Pokémon-themed manhole covers all the same. These manhole covers are new takes on a traditional art in Japan: representing the beauty of the Japanese countryside in an otherwise very practical piece of round metal. The...
Japanese Charts Mario Golf: Super Rush Stays Top For A Second Week As Switch Dominates
Double eagle
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 4th July, revealing that Mario Golf: Super Rush has managed to stay top of the pile for a second consecutive week. The game sold another estimated 31,685 physical copies this week, helping it to stay ahead of Game Builder Garage which is still performing nicely in second...
Random Slime Biscuits Celebrate Dragon Quest In Crunchy Style
Mmm, delicious slime
Japan has quite a few regional delicacies — Tokyo Banana, for example — and it's traditional to buy beautifully-wrapped boxes of these tasty treats to take home to family and friends as souvenirs. In Fukuoka, one of these delicacies is Niwaka Senpei, a thin, crunchy biscuit with eyes on it and a little slit for your nose,...
News Level-5 Is Hiring For A New RPG Project
It's likely to be a mobile game
The creators of Professor Layton, Yo-Kai Watch, Ni No Kuni, and Fantasy Life are recruiting for a new RPG that's in development. The fact that Level-5 describe the project as "brand new" means that it won't be a continuation of any of those series, and the artwork above appears to show some concept art for the RPG,...
Random An Official Animal Crossing Stamp Rally Is Opening At A Japanese Aquarium
Fishing competitions and AC swag for the summer event
Next up in our ongoing series of 'Japan gets all the best stuff', a Japanese aquarium is hosting an official (and totally real-life) Animal Crossing: New Horizons summer event partially based on Blathers' in-game Museum Day Stamp Rally.
News Tamagotchi's Next Trick? It's Becoming A Smartwatch
You'll never escape your virtual pet now!
We discussed Tamagotchi's impact 5 years ago, when the virtual pet brand turned 20. Now, with the 25th anniversary upon us, Bandai is producing another new Tamagotchi-related product: a smartwatch. The 'Tamagotchi Smart' has a colour touchscreen and includes a microphone, so you can talk and touch your...
News Nintendo Has Started A New 'Ask The Developer' Interview Series
Volume one focuses on Game Builder Garage
During Satoru Iwata's time as Nintendo president, he had a special series known as "Iwata Asks" - where he spoke to people like Shigeru Miyamoto and EarthBound's creator Shigesato Itoi about the company's hardware, series and games. His book 'Ask Iwata' was recently localised and now Nintendo has started a...
News Nintendo Bosses Reveal Their Favourite Games At The Latest Shareholder Q&A
Lots of Famicom Disk System love
When it comes to Nintendo shareholder Q&As you generally get a mixture of very dry queries about sales performance or exchange rates, the rare juicy question and an occasional left field, bat crap question which has you wondering how these people got in the building in the first place. The latest shareholder...
Japanese Charts Mario Golf: Super Rush Claims Top Spot In Its Launch Week
Hole-in-one
New first-party Switch games routinely deliver strong debut sales in recent times, thanks to the popularity of the system and the never-ending demand for fresh first-party efforts; Mario Golf: Super Rush is no different, claiming top spot in its Japanese chart debut having also done the same in the UK. In its first week - according to...
News Nintendo President Quizzed By Shareholders On Switch 'Pro' And Classic Mini Consoles
NSO improvements and more serious topics, too
Nintendo has published the transcript of its latest shareholder Q&A, part of the company's 81st Annual General Meeting which took place on yesterday, Tuesday 29th June, 2021. While the official English translation is yet to be published on Nintendo's Japanese website, that hasn't stopped people like...
News All Aboard! The Nintendo Switch Is Getting A Train Controller In Japan
Choo choo!
We've seen racing wheels for car simulators, and joysticks for flight simulators, but did you know you can also get controllers for train simulators? Over in Japan, there's a new controller coming out that will allow Switch owners and train enthusiasts to take their train simulations to the next level. The device is compatible with...
Japanese Charts Game Builder Garage Stays Top As Nintendo Takes Entire Top Ten
100,000 physical copies sold in two weeks
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 20th June, revealing that Game Builder Garage has managed to stay on top in its second week on sale. The game sold another estimated 31,487 physical copies this week, meaning it's now sold more than 100,000 units at retail in Japan. It leads a...
News You Can Download Japan's Pokémon Unite Switch Network Test And Play Right Now
Try it out before the full release next month
Ahead of the launch of Pokémon Unite, The Pokémon Company and Tencent have rolled out a public network test in Japan. It means you can actually download and play this new free-to-play title from the Japanese eShop right now. Of course, you'll need to have created an eShop account for this region in...
News Nintendo Tokyo Pop-Up Stores Are Getting NES-Themed Gashapon, And They're Impossibly Cute
We need the "Controller Button Collection"
Japan gets all the best stuff; we know this, you know this, everyone knows this. It's just one of those things that you have to accept in life, like the fact that dropped toast will always land butter-side down or that you're guaranteed to unwittingly wear white on bolognaise night. The latest...
Japanese Charts Game Builder Garage Beats Final Fantasy VII And Ratchet & Clank To Number One
Not a bad start, eh?
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 13th June, revealing that Game Builder Garage has gone straight in at number one in its debut week. The game – which was treated to a physical edition in both Japan and North America, don't forget – managed to sell an estimated 71,241 copies at retail to keep...
Round Up The Switch Games Revealed During Nintendo Japan's E3 2021 Direct
Trailers inside
When it comes to Direct presentations, Nintendo has a habit of slightly changing the broadcast depending on the region. Japan normally gets some different announcements and at the company's E3 Direct, it was no different. While we've already covered at least one of these titles in a standalone post, we've now rounded up the rest of...
Gallery KK Slider Would Be Proud Of This Animal Crossing 7-CD Music Collection
Celebrate AC's 20th anniversary in style
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Animal Crossing franchise, Nintendo is releasing a lovely boxset which contains the soundtrack for Animal Crossing: New Horizons along with some other goodies. In this bundle you will get seven CDs. Four of these have all the
News Super Nintendo World In Japan Has Officially Reopened
Let's-a go!
It might seem like yesterday, but back in April, Universal Studios Japan was forced to close its doors due to the pandemic - just a month after opening Super Nintendo World. We're now in June, and the park has been reopened since then. It has actually been open to the public since the beginning of the month and is now operating at a...
News Here Are The Switch eShop's Best-Selling Games Of May 2021 (Japan)
Monster Hunter still leads the pack
Nintendo has released an updated list of its best-selling titles in Japan, this time covering May 2021. Monster Hunter Rise tops the list once again, making it the most-downloaded game on the Japanese eShop for three months in a row. Rune Factory 5 jumps into second place in its opening month, after launching on...
News Shin Megami Tensei V Release Date Seemingly Leaked Ahead Of Nintendo's E3 Direct
Is an official announcement finally happening?
The Japanese website of the upcoming Switch release Shin Megami Tensei V has apparently been updated by accident. As a result, it seems we now know the release date of this anticipated title. Persona Central reports It's arriving later this year on 11th November. While the game has already been...
News Pikachu Is Now On The Menu At McDonald's Restaurants In Japan
That's one way to celebrate 25 years
If you love Pikachu, then you would probably love the latest promotion announced for McDonald's restaurants in Japan. As of next week, the fast-food giant will be offering "limited-time" Pikachu-themed sweets and Happy Meal Toys. According to 4Gamer (via Nintendo Enthusiast), there'll be a "Fruits-chu" trio of...
Japanese Charts Miitopia Tops The Table As Switch Hardware Sales Hit 20 Million
Switch takes eight of top ten
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for the week ending 30th May, revealing that Miitopia has managed to grab that elusive number one at the second time of asking The quirky, Mii-based RPG lost out to Rune Factory 5 in its debut week last week, but has now managed to jump up a place thanks to a decent second...
News A Life-Size Slowpoke Plush Launches This Year, But It'll Cost You
Please send us one
It's time to move aside, Absolutely Ridable Lapras, because a new super-sized Poké plush is (very slowly) rolling into town. Japan's Pokémon Center is finally giving us the product we deserve by launching this incredible, life-sized Slowpoke later this year. It's 150cm long (so around 5 feet), 65cm tall, and 75cm wide, but most...
News Nintendo Switch Has Now Sold More Than 20 Million Units In Japan
Animal Crossing leads the software charts
The success of the Switch continues, as Nintendo surpasses 20 million sales of the console in its home country of Japan alone. As reported by Famitsu, the system's sales total ticked over the 20 million sales mark earlier today, 2nd June. The console initially launched on 3rd March 2017, meaning it has...
News Nintendo Is Turning One Of Its Old Facilities Into A "Nintendo Gallery"
It should be ready by 2024
Nintendo has announced its Uji Ogura Plant and the land surrounding the building is being transformed into a new gallery to showcase the company's development history and philosophy. The gallery will be tentatively known as the "Nintendo Gallery" and renovations are expected to be completed within Nintendo's 2023 fiscal...
Feature More Than Just Pokémon - Japan’s Secret World Of Game Boy Color
Hidden handheld happiness
The Game Boy Color was the immensely popular home of a wide range of handheld classics, from multi-million sellers such as Pokémon Gold and Silver and Link’s Awakening DX to the now painfully expensive Metal Gear Solid, not to mention the non-Color original Game Boy library it played, too