Tag: Japan
Feature The Nintendo Museum Goes Hard On Merch & Fun, But Could Dive Deeper Into History
Worth a trip to Japan?
This week, Nintendo opened the doors to a site destined to become a stop-off for many a video game fan visiting Japan: the Nintendo Museum. This latest venture into the real world promises a peek into the company's archives and history, and Kyotogamer was there for Nintendo Life with an account of what's in store if you make...
Japanese Charts Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trounces The Competition
The Switch Lite gets a nice boost, too
New Zelda weeeeeek! Yes, a new Zelda game is out and, rather predictably, Echoes of Wisdom has topped the Japanese charts with a total of 200,121 units sold. It's a comfortable win for Nintendo and we suspect the game will retain its position for another few weeks at least with those kind of launch stats...
Round Up The Reviews Are In For The Nintendo Museum
Will you be making the trip?
This week marks the grand opening of the Nintendo Museum in Japan, and if you're wondering what it's like, we've put together a round up of some of the impressions so far. In case you missed the initial announcement, we've also got a handy guide - detailing everything you need to know if you are planning to make a trip...
News Nintendo Museum Is Limiting Select Merch Sales As Expensive Online Listings Arise
After just one day!
Last week, we got a sneak peek at some of the awesome merchandise available exclusively at the Nintendo Museum. Well, wouldn't you know it, after just one day of being open to the public, the attraction has announced that it will be limiting sales on select items (thanks, VGC). As detailed in a post from the official Nintendo...
News Castlevania Dev Steps Down From Bloodstained 2 After Cancer Diagnosis
"It is a great blow to have him step away from the project"
Shūtarō Īda, a veteran designer on the Castlevania franchise and director of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, has sadly stepped down from the development of Bloodstained 2 following a cancer diagnosis. Īda announced his decision on social media (thanks, VGC), stating that although he...
Feature Here's 10 Games We Played At TGS 2024 Coming To Switch
Fantasian! DQ3! Phantom Brave! Sonic, again!
With the Nintendo Switch winding down, the Switch successor still unannounced, and Nintendo itself not typically showing games at the Tokyo Game Show, it can be a little hard to find titles you can play on your favourite hybrid handheld console between massive booths for Monster Hunter Wilds and the...
Japanese Charts Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Surpasses 6 Million Units Sold
Pole position
The latest boxed charts data from Japan is now available courtesy of Famitsu, and once again, we can see that the Switch is still comfortably dominating in the region both with hardware and software sales. Astro Bot is the only representative from Sony's PS5 platform. Frankly, it's mad that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe keeps selling so well...
News Raiden Fighters Remix Collection Now In Development
Three Raiden spin-offs will return
Japanese game developer and shoot 'em up specialist MOSS has announced it's releasing a Raiden Fighters Remix Collection. No platforms or release date have been announced just yet. This arcade shmup spin-off collection will feature a bunch of '90s titles including Raiden Fighters (1996), Raiden Fighters 2:...
News Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Wins Japan's Grand Game Award For 2024
It was released on Switch last year
It's meant to be all about Echoes of Wisdom this week, but there are also some celebrations currently taking place for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. A year after its release, Link's massive open-world sequel outing has now taken out the "grand award" at Japan's Game Awards for 2024. This award was...
Hands On Professor Layton & The New World Of Steam - New World, But Feels Like The Old Prof
As puzzling as ever
It has been a while since we’ve seen Professor Layton and his protege Luke. For a while, the mind-bending puzzle series seemed like a Nintendo mainstay - at least on the DS and 3DS. The last game starred Katrielle Layton, the daughter of the titular Professor, and received rather mixed reviews when it came out for 3DS in 2017...
News Miyamoto: Nintendo Won't Be Opening Museums In Other Locations
"We have no intention of expanding"
The Nintendo Museum looks amazing but it's located in Japan and not everybody will be able to make the trip. So, is there a chance of Nintendo opening more museums outside of its homeland? Well, as you can see in the headline, according to Miyamoto this won't be happening. In a recent Game Watch interview, the...
News The Nintendo Museum's Exclusive Merch Looks Seriously Cool
We want it all!
We are closing in on the grand opening of Kyoto's Nintendo Museum on 2nd October and today we've got our first peek at some of the gift shop's exclusive merchandise. Naturally, we want it all. As documented by Japanese site Game Watch (and a handful of other folks lucky enough to visit the museum before launch), the 'Bonus Stage'...
News Palworld's Japan Release On PS5 Delayed As Nintendo's Lawsuit Looms
Hold yer horses, pal
If you managed to catch Sony's latest State of Play broadcast, then you'll know that Pocketpair's Palworld has scored a shadow drop release on PS5. At least, in some countries, that is. Y'see, the game's launch has been indefinitely delayed in Japan. As detailed in a social media post from the Japanese Palworld account, its...
News Nintendo To End Repairs For Famicom & Super Famicom Classic, New 2DS XL In Japan
Three more reach the end of the line
Nintendo has announced that it will be ending repairs for the Famicom Classic, Super Famicom Classic, and the New Nintendo 2DS XL in Japan "as our current stock of parts runs out". Shared by OatmealDome on Bluesky, both the classic "mini" cons
Random How Kaz Ayabe's Millennium Kitchen Got Its Name
Kitchen crusher
Summer may be over for all you Northern Hemisphere dwellers, but we've got a bumper feature in store for you very soon that'll keep the summer vibes alive as days grow shorter. We'll be publishing an enormous career-spanning interview with Mr. Kaz Ayabe, the developer behind the Bokunatsu (My Summer Vacation) series who's been...
News Capcom Outlines Its 'Tokyo Game Show 2024' Online Program
Expect the latest titles and more
The Tokyo Game Show is fast approaching and more developers are revealing their plans for this year's event. Capcom has now lifted the lid on its own schedule, revealing it will be running its online program from 26th September 2024. Fans can expect the following titles to feature as well as the upcoming release...
Japanese Charts Mario Kart Speeds Back Into Top Three As Switch Stays In Control
Surprise, surprise
After last week's new releases, the Japanese charts this time around are a little less surprising (thanks, Famitsu). There's a newcomer at the top spot, as the catchily-titled visual novel The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance – Memories in Ice, Tearful Figurine racked up 20,919 sales in its debut week...
News Nintendo Teams Up With Lawson In New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Campaign
Exclusive goodies available
Ahead of the launch of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom next week, Nintendo has been promoting the game in all sorts of ways. As part of this, it's teamed up with Lawson convenience stores in Japan. Although the campaign has been live since August, a new wave of goodies are coming next week on 24th September 2024, closer to the...
News Nintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With Four More Titles
Including some Super Famicom games
In a new Switch Online update, Nintendo has just added four more titles to the Super Nintendo game library. The first game is the SNES beat 'em up Battletoads Double Dragon (1993) and the three Super Famicom titles include the racing game Big Run (1991), the action-puzzle title Cosmo Gang The Puzzle (1993, though...
News Another Life-Size Pokémon Plush Has Been Announced
I choose you Porygon
We've seen The Pokémon Company release all sorts of life-size Pokémon plush in the past and now the latest is officially available. The catch is it is only available through the Japanese Pokémon Center (for now). It's Porygon (one of the OG Pokémon) and is available for roughly $391.20 USD (thanks, Kotaku). Here's a look at...
Japanese Charts Switch Dominates As PS5 Price Hike Kills Momentum
Ouch
The latest chart data is here courtesy of Famitsu, and to be honest, it's been a bit of a quiet week. At the top, we've got Touhou Danmaku Kagura: Phantasia Lost for the Switch with a total of 16,631 sales during its debut week, while the PS5's Astro Bot nabs second place with a total of 12,672. Quite a bit lower than we were expecting, but...
Video New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Japanese Commercials Released
We're now weeks out from release
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is just weeks out from launching on the Switch and Nintendo isn't holding back with its marketing campaign. Apart from some lifestyle ads here in the West, in Japan it's also releasing some new commercials. The latest ones give fans a closer look at Zelda and how she'll be able...
Random Even The Manhole Covers Look Cool At The Nintendo Museum
Pokéman(hole cover)
It's easy to dazzle us Nintendo fans with a giant Wiimote, a Toad barbershop quartet and a wall of pristine NES games, but to make a manhole cover exciting? That feels like a bit of a stretc- oh my GOD is that Pikachu?! Nintendo has revealed a special manhole cover which will be housed in Kyoto's Nintendo Museum and it's quite...
News Onward And Upward! This Upcoming Mario Wonder Plushie Actually Talks
It's a wonderful life
Remember the annoying Talking Flowers from Super Mario Bros. Wonder? The ones that would shower you with helpful advice like "onwards and upwards," "Hey!," and "WoOoAAhh" as you ran past? Well, you'll soon be able to have one of your own as toy manufacturer San-ei Boeki has revealed an all-new talking plushie will be coming to...
News More Developers Announce Their Tokyo Game Show 2024 Lineups
Guilty Gear Strive, Dragon Quest III HD-2D and much more
The Tokyo Game Show will take place later this month and more publishers are slowly revealing the lineup of games they'll be showing off at the big event. Some of the latest reveals come from Square Enix and Arc System Works. Starting with Square Enix, it will be hosting a special live stream...
Dragon page
As the Western world waits for a localisation announcement, Zelda fans in Japan have been poring through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Master Works, the latest tome dedicated to 2023’s Nintendo Switch masterpiece. Part art book, part development deep dive, part history lesson, Master Works delivers the final word on Tears...
Japanese Charts Emio Bags A Top Five Spot In A Week Of New Releases
Gundam Breaker 4 towers over all
We are back with the latest look at Japan's video game sales chart (via Famitsu) and it has been quite the week for new releases, with eight titles in the top ten making their debut. The big newbie for Nintendo fans is the arrival of Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, which is performing far better than...
News SNK Announces ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 1 And Vol. 2 For Switch
But there's no mention of a local release
SNK has announced ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 1 and ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 2 for the Nintendo Switch. Both collections will be released in Japan on 12th December 2024. If we hear anything about a local release, we'll let you know. Here are the games in each package (via Gematsu): ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol...
News Super Mario Party Jamboree Will Include Pauline As A Playable Character
Party like it's 1981
We haven't heard much about Super Mario Party Jamboree since its original announcement in June, but that changes today! Nintendo has opened an official website for the game in Japan and some screenshots show off what appears to be a playable version of the classic character 'Pauline' alongside fan favourites such as Peach,...
Japanese Charts There's No Catching Powerful Pro Baseball In Another Quiet Week
PS5 tops hardware before the Japan price hike
The latest Japanese charts are in, courtesy of Famitsu, and it's an expectedly quiet week as we prepare for the stacked September release schedule. Despite only shifting an additional 10,198 units, Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-25 has held onto the top spot for the fourth week in a row. To be honest,...
News Nintendo Runs Out Of Replacement Parts For New 3DS, Ends Repairs In Japan
"We have run out of parts"
Following an announcement Nintendo would stop 3DS repairs in Japan, the company's support service has now revealed it's run out of parts necessary to repair the New Nintendo 3DS in this location. According to a rough translation, this means it's no longer accepting repairs for this particular unit as of 28th August 2024...
News Zelda: TOTK 'Master Works' Art Book Looks Stunning In New Introductory Video
Launching in Japan this week
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is getting a 'Master Works' art book in Japan. For the time being, it is only launching in Japan, but those of us elsewhere can still get a glimpse at some of the goodies inside thanks to a new sneak peek trailer from publisher Ambit. @ZeldaOfficialJP shared the trailer on...
Round Up Here's What Was In Japan's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase And Indie World (August 2024)
New announcements, trailers and much more
Nintendo's latest Partner Showcase and Indie World broadcast was filled with all sorts of announcements, but not all of them were actually featured in the local presentation. As usual, Japan's Direct was a little bit different, and sprinkled throughout it were all sorts of exclusive announcements. There...
Japanese Charts Powerful Pro Baseball Knocks It Out Of The Park, Again
Another Switch-dominated week
Famitsu has shared the latest physical gaming charts from Japan, this time comprising the last two weeks and it has been yet another monster one for the Switch. The Japan-only Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-25 knocks it out of the park once again, staying at the top of the pile with an additional 32,372 copies sold. It's...
News Masahiro Sakurai Has Already Toured Nintendo's Museum
Here's what the Smash Bros. creator thought...
One absolute legend who has helped bring the world of Nintendo to life over the years is Super Smash Bros. creator and director Masahiro Sakurai - so it's no surprise he's been given the chance to tour the whole thing ahead of its official opening in Kyoto, Japan on 2nd October 2024. Yes, that's right...
News Nintendo Museum Tickets Will Feature Your Mii
One for Mii, please
When the Nintendo Museum opens up on 2nd October 2024, we're sure a bunch of fans will be piling through the doors, eager to get a look at all of the beautiful exhibits and play with the interactive stations. But, if you're one of the lucky ones who manages to snag a ticket, there will be a delightful little surprise even before...
News Atsuko Tanaka, The Japanese Voice Of Bayonetta, Has Passed Away
She also played Chun-Li and Major from Ghost in the Shell
There's some incredibly sad news coming out of Japan this week about the passing of Atsuko Tanaka - the voice actor behind many major video game and anime roles. This was revealed by her son Hikaru Tanaka on social media - with Oricon News noting how she died on 20th August 2024 at 61 years...
News Lost In Cult Is Launching A Huge Book On The History Of Grasshopper Manufacture
Includes interviews with Suda51 and Shinji Mikami
Book publisher Lost in Cult has announced it will be launching a comprehensive book celebrating Japanese studio Grasshopper Manufacture. Written by Blake Hester and clocking in at over 400 pages, Kill the Past: 25 Years of Grasshopper Manufacture will launch in Q2/Q3 2025 with pre-orders available...
Gallery Here's A Closer Look At The Nintendo Museum - Exhibits, Interactive Experiences & Much More
Everything on show during Nintendo's 'Museum Direct'
The Nintendo Museum is finally opening this year and now that Nintendo has given us a preview in the latest Direct broadcast, we've put together this gallery capturing its retro history. As previously revealed, the museum is built on the site of Nintendo's original factory (the Nintendo Uji Ogura...
The doors open this week
The Nintendo Museum is opening in Kyoto, Japan this week. Ticket reservations are live and Nintendo also provides all sorts of helpful information on the official museum website. Here's a quick rundown about some things you might want to know before you visit the museum. Nintendo Museum Guide: Opening Date The Nintendo...
News It's Official, The Nintendo Museum Opens October 2024
"A free Nintendo Account is required to make a reservation"
Well, we've just had our first proper look at the Nintendo Museum, courtesy of Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and at the very end of the broadcast, an opening date was confirmed. The official launch for this new museum located in Kyoto, Japan will take place this year on 2nd October 2024:...
Watch Nintendo Museum Direct - Live!
Tour de force
In what might be one of the company's most unexpected moves of late, Nintendo has announced a new Direct presentation, but this time focusing solely on its Nintendo Museum, due to open in Fall 2024 in Kyoto, Japan. So no, there won't be any game announcements during this Direct and certainly no mention of the Nintendo Switch...
News Nintendo Announces 'Nintendo Museum Direct'
Don't expect news about games or the "Switch successor"
In some surprise news, Nintendo has announced a 'Nintendo Direct' tour of the Nintendo Museum this week. According to Nintendo of America, this livestream will take place on 19th August at 3pm PT. <time style="list">19th Aug 2024 11pm BST</time> The showcase will run for...
Random Pokémon And All Nippon Airways Collaborate In Airline Safety Video
Set Mewtwo to 'aeroplane mode'
All Nippon Airways, the Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, has collaborated with The Pokémon Company to produce a new airline safety video starring some of your favourite Pocket Monsters. As highlighted by VGC, the video will be shown on both the "Pikachu Jet NH" and the "Eevee Jet NH" aircraft starting...
News Sega Announces New Sonic X Shadow Generations Manga, Here's A First Look
Available in next month's issue of CoroCoro
Sega has announced all sorts of things in the lead up to Sonic X Shadow Generations, and now to add to the year of Shadow, it's officially revealed a new manga series is on the way. It will begin in the October issue of CoroCoro Comic, which goes on sale next month. Here's a first look at Shadow in this...
Japanese Charts The Sky Is Blue And The Switch Continues To Dominate
Ninten-doing the business
The latest Famitsu charts are here and, we'll be honest, it's not the most noteworthy week imagineable, but its nevertheless another period that sees the Switch absolutely dominating, so we're happy regardless. Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-25 once again finds itself at the top, but One Piece Odyssey suffers a significant...
News Nintendo Releases Adorable Summer-Themed Mario Artwork
Download now
Nintendo has released an adorable new piece of artwork featuring Mario and Luigi to celebrate the warm, relaxing Summer months (thanks, Tokyo Game Life). Available to download over on My Nintendo, the artwork features Mario and his brother Luigi chiling in the shallow depths of the ocean, while a cute Blooper gazes up from underwater...
News Xenoblade Chronicles Dev Monolith Soft Is Recruiting For A 'New RPG'
Eight roles are up for grabs
Monolith Soft, the developer behind the wonderful Xenoblade Chronicles franchise, has announced that it is looking to recruit new talent for what it describes as a 'new RPG'. In a post via the studio's official website (thanks, Nintendo Everything), founder, CCO, and executive director Tetsuya Takahashi put a call out...
News Nintendo's Share Price Tanks Amid Fears Of A US Recession
Nikkei 225 index fell by more than 12%
Nintendo's share price has tanked by more than 15% on Monday morning amid global fears of a US recession and rising tensions in the Middle East. As highlighted by Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of industry consultancy Kantan Games, almost every major Japanese gaming company saw a drop in share price as Japan's Nikkei...
Japanese Charts Baseball Takes The Crown In Another Switch-Filled Bonanza
So powerful
The latest Famitsu charts are in and, as expected, it's another strong week for the Switch, with only Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 representing a competing console in the software top ten. There are two newcomers this week, too, with One Piece Odyssey entering the charts at in second place - not to be sniffed at - while The Legend of...
