Tag - video-games

 
Menu
Search
 
December 04, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

VIDEO GAMES

A statue of Mario on display inside a Takashiyama department store in Kyoto in November. Nintendo's shares have soared 47% in the past year, outpacing gains in console rivals Microsoft and Sony Group over the past couple of months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024
Nintendo’s record gain tested in wait for 'Switch 2’
Nintendo's shares have soared 47% in the past year, recently outpacing gains in console rivals Microsoft and Sony Group.
Executive officer, producer and director Masayoshi Yokoyama poses next to a promotional poster for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The Yakuza gangster series has long been seen as a Japanese version of Grand Theft Auto, but Yokoyama dismisses any such comparison.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024
'We don't hit women': How Yakuza differs from Grand Theft Auto
Designer Masayoshi Yokoyama sat down to discuss video game violence ahead of the Jan. 26 release of the latest in the Yakuza series.
A man walks out of a game store displaying a promotional poster for Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the latest in the Yakuza series of video games. Behind the worldwide success of Japanese video games lies a delicate task: appealing to overseas players whose expectations on issues like sexism are increasingly influencing the content of major titles.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024
From Japan to the world: how to translate a game
Everything from slang to costumes needs to be considered in an era where international success is crucial to making a blockbuster.
Has runaway hit Palworld gotten itself into hot water with The Pokemon Company?
LIFE / Digital
Jan 25, 2024
The Pokemon Company to Palworld: ‘We intend to investigate’
“We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokemon intellectual property or assets in that game,” The Pokemon Company said in a statement.
In Palworld, players can explore an open world and collectible Pokemon-esque creatures, some of whom utilize a variety of weaponry to defeat opponents.
LIFE / Digital
Jan 24, 2024
Overnight smash Palworld is much more than ‘Pokemon with guns’
Instead of “Pokemon with guns,” a more apt description for Palworld would be “Pokemon, but it grew up over the last 30 years.”
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed baseball game ambassador by Konami Group’s content unit.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 16, 2024
Konami hires Shohei Ohtani to champion Power Pros in 30th year
Ohtani's appointment to baseball game ambassador also marks the 20th anniversary of spinoff Professional Baseball Spirits.
Final Fantasy VII Rebith, the second installment in the modern remastering of the 1997 classic scheduled for a Feb. 29 release, leads the slate of Japan-made games this year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON: GAMES
Jan 13, 2024
Final Fantasy and Tekken kick-start exciting year for gamers
Many upcoming titles are legacy franchises with recognizable faces that have withstood the ebb and flow of gaming popularity.
From movies, anime, manga and even to sports stars, 2023 was a year where global audiences demonstrated their increasing fondness for Japanese soft power.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 27, 2023
From Godzilla to Shohei: Japan's soft power had a big year
Little by little, Japan is getting better at pitching its copious wares overseas, and 2023 proved that.
An Aladdin X staff member plays Suika Game on its home projector in Tokyo on Friday. Suika Game was originally developed for the company's line of home projectors.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 25, 2023
Suika Game: How a Japanese home projector app became a viral hit
The puzzle game has ranked No. 1 in Nintendo Switch software downloads, topping titles such as Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
A designer at work at Vietnamese internet firm VNG in Ho Chi Minh City
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 24, 2023
'Beyond our borders': Vietnam tech firm VNG takes on world best
Beyond gaming, VNG also dabbles in fintech and AI, with a mission to show the world what Vietnam and its engineers are capable of.
Fans praised Nintendo for following up one of the best open-world games ever made with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a worthy sequel that introduced enough new mechanics to keep the experience fresh for players new and old alike.
CULTURE / 2023 in Review
Dec 22, 2023
Zelda was a gem among many in a crowning year for gaming
Japanese studios’ hits included: Street Fighter 6, remakes of Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, to name a few.
Attendees play the Fate/Samurai Remnant video game on PlayStation 5 video game consoles at the Tokyo Game Show in September.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 21, 2023
Sony highlights PS5 momentum as hardware sales top 50 million
Sony is seeing strong momentum for its PlayStation 5 console, a senior games executive has said, with lifetime sales exceeding 50 million units and the company recording its best-ever Black Friday period sales for the device.
Developed by Larian Studios, Baldur's Gate 3, a Dungeons & Dragons-inspired action-adventure role-playing game, is the consensus game of the year.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 16, 2023
Critical success: Baldur’s Gate 3 wins Game of the Year honors
First presented in 2014, the Game Awards decides on winners through a voting jury of the news media and input from players.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023
Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda
Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive (right), arrives to testify at an antitrust case against Google in Washington on Oct. 30. A trio of antitrust cases on the docket threaten to reshape Google’s business and sap its profits.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023
Google’s antitrust loss to Epic could preview its legal fate in 2024
The San Francisco case was the first test of how Google might fare in the antitrust gauntlet it faces in the United States — and the company was routed.
Mena Kato, Microsoft's new director of Japan partnerships for Xbox, during an interview in Tokyo on Nov. 29
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023
Microsoft taps PlayStation veteran to champion Xbox in Japan
Mena Kato is counting on her dealmaking skills, Microsoft’s global reach and local connections to make the Xbox a relevant player.
An attendee plays Fortnite, made by Epic Games, during the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 12, 2023
Legal defeat for Google threatens $200 billion app store industry
Until now, Google and Apple have charged commissions of as much as 30% to software developers who typically have had few other options.
Real-time strategy game Last Train Home tells an overlooked story of the Czechoslovak Legion’s evacuation across Russia in the embers of the Great War.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 2, 2023
Last Train Home traverses murky morality of a WWI escape
Czech studio Ashborne's first full release follows a legion of soldiers fleeing across revolutionary Russia — and all the dilemmas of war that entails.
Sony Group has raised its full-year outlook after its media divisions outperformed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2023
Sony raises sales and profit outlook as media helps offset mobile
The adjustments suggest resilient consumer spending and a weaker yen are stabilizing the business.
Nintendo has announced it is developing a live-action movie adaptation of its The Legend of Zelda video game series.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2023
Zelda the movie shows Nintendo has learned its lesson
The live-action Zelda movie is still shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: Nintendo will want loyal sidekicks to embark on this adventure.
Japan’s 2024 buzzword of the year urges a reevaluation of past norms
Sadao Abe, who played the role of a time-traveling Showa Era teacher transported to present day in a popular TV drama, receives the 2024 buzzword of the year award for the word "futehodo," the nickname of the series.
Princess Aiko, only child of emperor, turns 23
Princess Aiko on Nov. 22 ahead of her 23rd birthday on Sunday at the Imperial Palace
Ishiba questioned on political reform, social issues and the economy
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks in the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
Nearly 90% in Japan and China have negative views of other
Chinese people's sentiment toward Japan is believed to be impacted by their use of social media platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, as well as whether they have visited Japan.
Bear that attacked Akita supermarket employee captured
A brown bear in Hokkaido. In the city of Akita, a bear that attacked a supermarket employee over the weekend was captured in a box trap on Monday morning.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Europe eyes 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine as possible peace deal option
A serviceman with the Ukrainian Army's 24th mechanized brigade fires a machine gun during an exercise, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the country's Donetsk region on Friday.
Seven strangers and an algorithm: Can this new dinner app help you make friends?
Timeleft uses an algorithm to match its users with five or six strangers in an effort to prompt “human connection” over dinner at a restaurant. It determines the attendees with the help of a simple personality quiz available when you sign up for the service. 
Don’t worry, you can still use your Japan health insurance card — for now
A My Number card reader at a pediatric clinic in Tokyo. While the government will stop issuing new health insurance cards on Monday, most people will remain unaffected by the move in the short term as existing health insurance cards can still be used for another year.
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.

Podcast

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

Longform

The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo is a popular place to foster curiosity in the natural sciences.
Can Japan's scientific community rebound from a Nobel nosedive?
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER