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December 22, 2024
 

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GAMES

A limited edition of PlayStation 5 (PS5) Pro video game console
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 20, 2024
Sony’s record climb makes investors more bullish on gaming boom
Sony Group’s long-awaited rise to record highs has emboldened bullish investors and analysts, who see gains extending into 2025 on a robust outlook for video games.
The headquarters building for Sony in central Tokyo
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2024
Sony buys 10% of Elden Ring owner for $320 million
The new deal will see Sony pay ¥50 billion ($320 million) for 12 million new Kadokawa shares, making it the company's biggest shareholder.
On Dec. 11, Universal Studios Japan officially unveiled its new Donkey Kong Country area, putting the iconic character in the spotlight for the first time in a while.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 12, 2024
USJ’s new Donkey Kong Country is a barrel of fun
Mine Cart Madness is the area’s only ride, but there are shops and snacking options as well as chances to meet costumed characters from the iconic series.
Deputy Mayor of Nagoya Hideo Nakata holds the Asian Games flag as Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura stands during the Asian Games handover ceremony in Hangzhou, China, in October 2023.
SPORTS
Dec 11, 2024
Organizers say 2026 Asian Games on track
Japanese media said the Olympic Council of Asia was not happy with preparations for the event in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture area.
Signage at the Tencent headquarters in Shenzhen, China
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 11, 2024
Scrappy studio boss feeds Tencent’s lofty global game ambitions
"Arena Breakout: Infinite" is Tencent’s newest "Call of Duty"-style PC shooter, targeting a genre that typically tops spending charts.
Video game music has come a long way from its humble origins.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Dec 7, 2024
Beyond beeps and boops: Video game music has grown up
Video game music has gone from 8-bit chiptunes to fully realized productions that bring the gamer’s experience to life.
While FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a strong contender for game of the year, Black Myth: Wukong, the first AAA game made by a Chinese developer, offers some stiff competition.
LIFE / Digital / 2024 in Review
Dec 6, 2024
It’s Japan versus China for 2024’s game of the year
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Black Myth: Wukong both have a claim to the best game of 2024, a year marked by cultural scandals and lawsuits.
The PlayStation 5 on display during the annual Tokyo Game Show in September. PlayStation was Sony's first foray into the world of video games when it hit the shelves in Japan on Dec. 3, 1994.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024
PlayStation at 30: How Sony's gray box conquered gaming
The PlayStation became a legend, selling more than 102 million units and positioning Sony as a heavyweight in a hugely lucrative sector.
Ken Kutaragi, the creator of Sony's PlayStation, speaks at the annual Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 2, 2024
Father of PlayStation says 'everyone told us we would fail'
With revolutionary 3D graphics and titles like "Tomb Raider" and "Metal Gear Solid," the device first hit shelves on Dec. 3, 1994.
Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of using its iconic intellectual properties to engage users while preparing for the inevitable transition to a successor console after the Nintendo Switch.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 24, 2024
Nintendo’s latest device, the Alarmo, is a $100 wake-up call
Alarmo and other recent products reflect Nintendo's strategy of leveraging its iconic IPs to engage users as it prepares for the successor to the Nintendo Switch.
Sony's potential acquisition of Kadokawa, the publisher behind Elden Ring, represents an opportunity to expand its intellectual property across gaming, anime and other media provided it learns from past failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 22, 2024
Like in Elden Ring, Sony must learn from its mistakes
The Japanese firm’s proposed deal for Kadokawa has great potential — if it can avoid getting stuck in the same mazes as before.
Sony Group headquarters in Tokyo, on Jan. 31, 2023
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2024
Japanese publisher Kadokawa shares roar on Sony buyout report
Early afternoon Kadokawa shares were up 15.91% to ¥4,341 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Sony already has a 2% stake in Kadokawa and a stake in Kadokawa subsidiary FromSoftware, the developer of Elden Ring.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024
Sony in talks to buy media powerhouse behind Elden Ring, sources say
The talks between the two sides are ongoing and, if successful, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
The newly opened Nintendo Museum and upcoming Donkey Kong Country area of Universal Studios Japan are the latest examples of the gaming giant's efforts to expand beyond traditional consoles and handhelds.
LIFE / Digital
Nov 16, 2024
Why Nintendo is becoming a 'talent agency' for its beloved characters
Game and console sales account for over 90% of Nintendo's revenue, so exposure to characters could be "a trigger" to attract more people to consoles.
In the past two weeks, developer DeNA has raked in over $50 million for the Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket app, a free-to-play game that charges for premium features.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 14, 2024
Gotta collect 'em all: New Pokemon trading card game becomes big hit
The novel yet nostalgic app has amassed over 30 million downloads worldwide in the first two weeks of its release.
Nintendo reported ¥27.7 billion in net profit in the July-September quarter, down 69% year on year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024
Nintendo Switch sales drop as successor console looms
Despite the decline, sales continue to be robust in comparison to past Nintendo platforms in the same year, Nintendo said.
In the April-September period, Nintendo logged net profit of ¥108.7 billion ($710 million), down 60% from the same period a year earlier.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Nintendo lowers sales forecast as first-half profits plunge
The video game giant now expects sales of ¥1.28 trillion, down from the previous estimate of ¥1.35 trillion, and also issued a less optimistic operating profit forecast.
Held weekly at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, Tatakai Tuesday brings together both local and visiting fighting game enthusiasts.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 2, 2024
Blood, bruises and brotherhood at Tokyo’s fighting games club
Organizers Jonathan Metoyer and Andrew Fidelis started the events to 'replicate a sense of pressure you’d feel in competitive space.'
Ryoma Takeuchi (right) is perfectly cast as Kazuma Kiryu, a Jack Reacher-esque character of impermeable physicality in Amazon Prime’s new series “Like a Dragon: Yakuza.”
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Oct 25, 2024
Amazon’s ‘Like a Dragon: Yakuza’ pulls its biggest punch
Amazon’s new series based on the long-running Ryu Ga Gotoku games flattens the quirkiest elements of the Kamurocho red-light district for a run-of-the-mill crime drama.
The Scottish city of Glasgow has been announced as the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 22, 2024
Glasgow confirmed as host of 10-sport 2026 Commonwealth Games
The future of the 2026 edition was thrown into doubt when the Australian state of Victoria, the original hosts, withdrew last year citing rising costs.
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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