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November 22, 2024
 

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GAMES

Gamers play the "Minecraft" game at E3 2017, one of the biggest events in the gaming industry calendar, in Los Angeles. Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Players of all ages and backgrounds have used the game for everything from educational projects and architecture to building communities and creating artworks.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024
Sweden's small game studios punching above their weight
In 2022, the country's game developers had a combined revenue of 32.5 billion kronor ($3 billion).
A former employee of Bandai Namco Entertainment was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly embezzling ¥54 million by selling company-owned mobile phones and other items meant for game development.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024
Ex-employee of Bandai Namco unit arrested over ¥54 million embezzlement
The man, 59, allegedly sold about 500 company-owned smartphones and other items without permission to a Tokyo-based secondhand store.
Sony Group is missing analyst expectations for sales as demand for its PlayStation 5 hardware wanes.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024
Sony sales outlook misses estimates on waning demand for PS5s
Shares in Sony have been under pressure this month amid mounting speculation about the terms of its potential $26 billion bid for Paramount Global.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs a session of the virtual Saudi-Bahraini Coordination Council in Riyadh in December 2020.
JAPAN
May 10, 2024
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to visit Japan
The visit to Japan by Saudi Arabia's de-facto leader, known by his initials MBS, will be his first since 2019.
Nintendo tends to innovate and take unconventional product development routes, producing both great successes, like its Switch console, and spectacular failures.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 10, 2024
Nintendo needs to 'switch' its next console up
The Kyoto firm has been coy about what will come after the highly successful Switch console, but it needs to step up its game and learn from past mistakes.
Despite logging a record net profit in the year to March, helped by the weak yen, Nintendo expects net profit to drop nearly 40% in the current financial year.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2024
Nintendo says announcement on Switch successor 'this fiscal year'
Players and investors have been hungry for news about a successor to the Switch, and the company said a statement was finally forthcoming.
In fiscal 2022, the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan fielded 4,024 inquiries concerning online game microtransactions made by students of elementary, junior high and high schools without the knowledge of their parents.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2024
Watch out for microtransactions in kids' online games, parents urged
Watchdog reports surge in complaints of children racking up unauthorized charges on smartphones using their parents' payment credentials.
Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai speaks at a a news conference in Sendai on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2024
Miyagi governor suggests scrapping national sports event
The annual event is hosted in rotation by the 47 prefectures.
Since the original 2010 release, visual novel series Danganronpa has spawned eight mainline games (and several other titles) for a total 5 million copies sold worldwide.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Apr 6, 2024
Are visual novels ready for a great leap forward?
Where reaction time and manual reflexes are in other genres, visual novels prize critical thinking and the ability to interpret characters’ motivations.
Last December, Nintendo postponed the Splatoon Koshien finals and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe World Championship, as well as cancel Nintendo Live Tokyo, citing threats leveled at both attendees and personnel.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 4, 2024
Ibaraki man arrested over death threats sent to Nintendo
The man allegedly sent 39 messages through an inquiry form on Nintendo's official website, threatening to kill people at the gamemaker's events.
A customer walks past a display for Nintendo's Super Mario at an electronics store in Tokyo on Jan. 12. Last year, Nintendo increased salaries, in part to be competitive with other studios.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2024
Japan’s game industry weathers the storm amid layoffs worldwide
The country's studios are actually scrambling to attract and retain talent — a state of affairs that is symptomatic of the nation’s demographic challenges.
Nintendo's popular video game character Super Mario will return to the big screen in April 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 11, 2024
Nintendo announces new 'Super Mario' movie
The video game company will partner with animation studio Illumination again for the animated feature scheduled for an April 2026 release.
Sony's move to cut costs and Microsoft's decision to release titles on rival platforms reflect uncertainty in the gaming industry.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 8, 2024
Looks like we're nearing peak PlayStation
The gaming industry as a whole is struggling with ballooning development costs and longer production cycles, leading to fewer and risk-averse titles.
Older people take part in a rhythm game competition at Chiba City Hall on Oct. 17.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2024
Esports gain traction at welfare facilities in Japan
Esports is being used in part with the aim of preserving cognitive functions in elderly people.
Nintendo has filed a lawsuit against a U.S. maker of software that allows people to use PCs and smartphones to play video games intended for a specific console.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 1, 2024
Nintendo sues company for piracy on 'colossal scale'
The company is looking to clamp down on the operations of a company called Tropic Haze, which owns and runs a popular video game emulator.
Gamers of a certain age immediately recoil in pain when the name "Aerith" is mentioned — this is why the character's death still means so much today.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 29, 2024
With one death, Final Fantasy VII changed the game
With one shocking act, Final Fantasy VII rethought the social contract of games where players are largely free from consequences.
DeNA plans to co-develop Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket with Creatures Co. for launch on both iOS and Android devices this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Shares in DeNA soar on announcement of new Pokemon trading card game
The smartphone game was one of a flurry of announcements on the 28th anniversary of the first Pokemon game release.
Chorus supported A Space for the Unbound by publishing the console versions of the game, which meant working closely with platforms like Nintendo for the eShop and physical versions while also providing additional Japanese localization for the game.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 24, 2024
How a small publisher links Japan to global indie gaming hits
Chorus Worldwide was founded in 2014, but the combined games pedigree of its core team goes much further back.
Signage for the Nintendo Switch is seen in Manhattan, New York. The successor to the popular Switch was scheduled for release in late 2024, but several game publishers have been advised of a delay by the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 17, 2024
Nintendo is telling game publishers Switch 2 will be delayed
The firm is advising game publishers that its next-generation console will be delayed until the first quarter of 2025.
Established in December 2021 in the middle of the pandemic-fuelled gaming craze, Sega Sapporo Studio is remarkable for growing amid a recent slump in the industry.
LIFE / Digital
Feb 17, 2024
Sega developers say new Sapporo studios lead to better lives
Aside from quality-of-life benefits that come from living outside a major metropolis, Sapporo also has a history of game development.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

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