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April 01, 2025
 

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VIDEO GAMES

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.
After years of pining, gamers are finally getting the live-action Zelda movie they've always wanted.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Nov 8, 2023
A live-action Legend of Zelda movie is in development
A live-action Zelda movie has been a holy grail of video game adaptations for decades, and now that day has come.
Nintendo reported operating profit of ¥94.5 billion and revenue of ¥334.9 billion in the September quarter, both beating analyst expectations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023
Nintendo lifts annual profit forecasts
The Kyoto-based entertainment company said it now expects operating income of ¥500 billion ($3.3 billion), up from ¥450 billion previously.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, exits federal court in Washington on Oct. 30.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023
Google's app store strategy bad for everyone, Epic says in court
Moves by Alphabet to thwart competition hurt developers and raise prices for consumers, the games firm said in opening statements.
Fortnite is estimated to be played by over 400 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2023
Fortnite developer fails to report ¥30 billion in revenue in Japan
The problem, which lasted for three years to December 2020, was uncovered in an investigation.
A graphic pro-Israel advert was displayed within mobile phone video games in Britain, France, Austria, Germany and Holland.
WORLD
Oct 31, 2023
Graphic pro-Israel ads displayed in children’s mobile phone games
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the video was a government-promoted ad but said they had "no idea" how it ended up inside games.
Bungie, the Sony-owned game studio behind Destiny 2, has cut an undisclosed number of staffers amid restructuring of Sony's video game operations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Sony’s Bungie game unit cuts staff following delayed titles
Sony, which purchased Bungie in early 2022 for $3.6 billion, has been cutting staff across its PlayStation division this year, in part due to delays.
Soccer star Christiano Ronaldo (center) and FIFa President Gianni Infantino (right) welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) during the announcement of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / esports
Oct 24, 2023
Saudi gamer prince announces Esports World Cup
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the sector since the 38-year-old became first in line to the throne six years ago.
Gamers compete during the Electronic Entertainment Expo E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2017.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 24, 2023
Twitch and YouTube curb big-money deals for gaming superstars
For years, the leading livestreaming sites have competed for top gaming talent to bolster their services.
Elderly people experience taking part in esports in Ono, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Oct 16, 2023
Fukushima town turns to esports as a health tool for the elderly
Ono and Fukushima Medical University have been holding trial sessions and analyzing the effects of gaming experience on cognitive functions.
IOC President Thomas Bach says the organization is keen to embrace esports as well as the use of artificial intelligence at future Olympic Games.
OLYMPICS
Oct 15, 2023
IOC to explore Olympic Esports Games
Estimates suggest over 500 million of those are interested specifically in esports, which include virtual sports and sport simulations.
This year's Tokyo Game Show attendance came up just shy of 2019's draw — an encouraging sign for the event's future.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Oct 7, 2023
A dark fantasy spin on ‘Pinocchio’ may put FromSoftware under pressure
It wasn’t the biggest TGS ever, but it's hard to imagine anyone behind the scenes at TGS headquarters pulling their hair out over 2023’s return to form.
Gamers play during the first day of Europe's leading digital games fair, Gamescom, in Cologne, Germany, in August 2019
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2023
Video game competitions should be in the Olympics
Esports is already among the world’s most popular competitive activities. Last year, the global audience totaled more than 500 million people.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan on Thursday.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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