Japan
The foreigner’s guide to gaming culture in Japan!
| Japan | |
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New round of Japanese PlayStation classics hits PSN-J June 28, 2010: Cheap old games as a post-World Cup pick-me-up? Not necessary if you're a Japan fan! |
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Weekly Japanese game sales chart (24/5-30/5) – ANALYSED! June 9, 2010: And now for the Top Ten in detail... |
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Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Force on Xbox 360 – first trailer stomps into view! June 4, 2010: "The Fourth Is The Force" (and SEGA Japan PR's got a lisp)... |
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Final Fantasy IX now available for download from Japanese PlayStation Store May 20, 2010: This was one of the better ones, right? |
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Two more PC-Engine gems encrusted in PSN-J’s Game Archives May 19, 2010: A fine brace of shmups! |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: bulk buy edition May 18, 2010: Stacks of games for stacks of yen? |
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Cave shmup comes to life with resin cast replica ships May 18, 2010: Ketsui! |
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Eight new PS classics for PSN-J’s Game Archives May 18, 2010: Including DonPachi! |
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Guess SEGA of Japan’s “next 360 action” title and win a prize!* May 17, 2010: *Prize: the right to feel smug. For 30 minutes. |
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Prope releases Ivy The Kiwi? storybook May 17, 2010: Yuji Naka loves cute stuff! |
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New range of funky Mario T-shirts now on sale at Japan’s Right-on stores May 17, 2010: One step up from UNIQLO... |
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Super Mario Galaxy 2 commercials air on Japanese TV May 12, 2010: Starring a couple of members of boy-band-of-the-moment Arashi... |
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iPad in Japan: the retail details May 11, 2010: It plays games, you know... |
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Hudson releases rapid-fire measurement DSiWare April 28, 2010: Challenge Takahashi! |
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Legendary Famicom title Ikki making comeback on PS3 this summer April 26, 2010: First screenshots show 21st century/8-bit clash |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: MEGA RARE edition! April 26, 2010: Japan doesn't know the meaning of "recession"! |
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SquEnix brings N64 classic Wonder Project J2 to iMode phones April 13, 2010: Anime-zing! |
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King Of Fighters mid-Nineties compilation PSP-bound April 7, 2010: Ah, the Nineties... |
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Senko no Ronde DUO on the way April 6, 2010: Check out the brand new "Commander Style" of play! |
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Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack -PLUS- due May 26th April 6, 2010: "Original" + "-PLUS-" = Leona Lewis bonus tracks? |
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New CD compilation to commemorate 15th anniversary of SEGA’s 32X March 19, 2010: The sounds of "state-of-the-art 32-bit technology"! |
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Nintendo of Japan’s Mario Club now hiring game testers! March 10, 2010: Mmm... minimum wage! |
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Thunderforce V among new (old) delights on Japan’s PlayStation Store March 10, 2010: It's all happening down in the Archives... |
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Your brand new 3D telly for the next decade of Japanese gaming! February 12, 2010: (Maybe.) |
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Mario Kart Wii comes to life as Choro Q Hybrid! February 1, 2010: ...with actual power-up items! |
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Final Fantasy & Final Fantasy II bound for iPhone! January 21, 2010: Old games Touched up... |
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New PSN/XBLA After Burner Climax details! January 21, 2010: Can we have Planet Harriers next, please? |
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Taiko no Tatsujin due on iPhone at beginning of February! January 19, 2010: Japan-only to begin with... |
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J-pop songstress Hitomi Toi contributing to Monkey Ball Athletic soundtrack January 18, 2010: 一十三十一 |
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Gaijin Gamer’s instant guide to… Japanese TV shows worth recording via PS3 Torne January 15, 2010: There are at least two... |
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Mega-rare shmup Kyuin arrives on Japanese PlayStation Store! January 14, 2010: Another mega-bargain in the Game Archives! |
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Gran Turismo 5′s Japan release postponed beyond March 2010 January 13, 2010: Now listed as "TBC" again. D'oh! |
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PS3/360 No More Heroes: Heroes’ Paradise TV ad hits Japan’s screens January 13, 2010: Marvelous! |
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Pac-Man Chinese-style steamed buns now on sale in conbinis Japan-wide! January 13, 2010: Pac-Man's so sweet. |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: inexplicably expensive games edition January 12, 2010: HOW much?! |
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Dragon Quest IX to get low-price re-release this March! January 12, 2010: If you haven't already got a copy, now there's no excuse. |
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Idolm@ster CD sales break the one million mark January 11, 2010: Japan loves its guilty pleasures! |
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New DS Bokujou Monogatari ad builds on Japan’s kawaii agriculture phenomenon January 11, 2010: Farming is so IN! |
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Taito’s DS Minna no Suizokukan: full of (sea)life! January 8, 2010: Call it Everybody's Aquarium. |
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Tokyo Metropolitan Brass Quintet to perform Dragon Quest IX concert in Tokyo January 7, 2010: DQ pilgrims need to arrive in the capital by March 1st... |
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Cash-in jackpot: it’s the Japan-only Michael Jackson PS3! January 6, 2010: Nothing cynical here. Move along. |
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Japanese band GreeeeN to pioneer ‘interactive live events’ in new DS title January 5, 2010: Welcome to the future of J-pop! |
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Sonic Bowling spins onto Japanese phones January 5, 2010: One Hedgehog. Ten pins. |
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Gaijin Gamer’s instant guide to Japanese game companies’ YouTube channels January 4, 2010: The official lines. |
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Kenka Bancho 4 gets in-game dumpling crossover action! January 4, 2010: Gyou-----za-----!! |
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Takahashi Meijin to make long-awaited comeback as vocalist on new CD album December 29, 2009: Remixed and Auto-Tuned to hell... |
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Hot new Japanese (re-)release: The Conbini 200X (Xbox 360) December 29, 2009: Two pints of Yebisu and a packet of Pocky. |
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Annual all-night Famicom festival returns to Tokyo in January 2010! December 23, 2009: Chiptune till the break of dawn! |
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SEGA’s giant comedy Tetris coin-op drops into Japan’s arcades December 23, 2009: デッカい！ |
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Hot new Japanese release: Neo-Geo Online Collection Complete Box (PS2) December 23, 2009: Two volumes, 36 games, 20,000 yen. |
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Japanese keitai phenomenon Itotooshi now available on iPhone December 22, 2009: 10 million downloads and counting! |
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Gyakuten Saiban (Phoenix Wright) released on iPhone in Japan! December 22, 2009: No objections, right? |
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Biggest Christmas bonuses in Japan once again paid out by Nintendo December 18, 2009: NCL more generous to its employees than Japan Railways, Asahi Beer and Toyota... |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: ridiculous Final Fantasy XIII cosplay edition December 18, 2009: How much would you pay for a pink wig? |
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XIIImas Eve: Square Enix blitzes Japanese TV with FF ads December 16, 2009: One day to go. |
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Hot new Japanese release: Zaxxon (Virtual Console Arcade) December 15, 2009: Something to keep you entertained until FFXIII. |
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Final Fantasy XIII Elixir spills into Japan’s conbinis December 10, 2009: *Drink not guaranteed to Restore faith in series. |
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Gaijin Gamer’s most wanted Japanese PlayStation Classics December 10, 2009: On J-PSN please, 'cause discs are minging. |
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PlayStation Awards 2009: big win for Mohan as SEGA’s Nagoshi leaves audience temporarily blind December 8, 2009: Dark glasses essential. |
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Professor Layton’s cinema debut approaches December 8, 2009: Get down to yer local Toho Cinemas on December 19th, fellow gaijin! |
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Nintendo re-manufactures, re-releases the original Game & Watch machine November 19, 2009: ...And gives it away for "free" to its Club Nintendo friends... |
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It’s the hardwired Pikachu choir from hell! November 17, 2009: This man has a wife and kids. |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: game music and copying device edition November 16, 2009: It's hammer time! |
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Four more PlayStation classics arrive in PSN-J’s Game Archives November 11, 2009: And by "classic" we mean Neko-Zamurai! |
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The very best of Japanese chiptune, pt. 3: USK November 10, 2009: "Just a Gameboy musician in Fukuoka, Japan." |
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New invention informs Japanese parents of the time their children spend gaming November 10, 2009: Introducing the "Kids Timer" - new worst enemy of Japan's young gamers! |
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SEGA Japan choreographs horrific Puyo Puyo 7 dance routine! November 9, 2009: Disturbing on so many levels... |
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The very best of Japanese chiptune, pt. 2: YMCK November 9, 2009: Shibuya-kei reborn through the cassette slot of a Famicom... |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch: rare book/magazine edition November 6, 2009: Out of print but still in demand. |
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The very best of Japanese chiptune, pt. 1: XINON November 5, 2009: Mr. 8-bit Awesomeness! |
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Do certain games really make the Japanese feel nauseous? November 5, 2009: Anecdotal evidence suggests a 50:50 split, as well as some funny anomalies... |
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Get a Porter case for your PSP Go November 4, 2009: You won't regret it. People will be impressed. |
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Mainichi Issyo subscription SCANDAL November 2, 2009: Sony's beloved PS3 service Mainichi Issyo goes subscription-based - pay 800 yen a month, or lose the right to have your PS3 news presented to you by cats... |
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3D Dot Game Heroes appealing to Japan’s “lost” Famicom generation November 2, 2009: Something old, something new... |
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Introducing… the Osaka Game Show 2009! October 30, 2009: Well, kind of. |
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Yahoo! Auctions watch October 30, 2009: Let the bargain hunting begin! |
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It’s PRINCESS ROBOT BUBBLEGUM! October 29, 2009: We love her, obviously. |
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Arcade Adventures: Music GunGun! October 29, 2009: We hit the game centres to see what's out there beyond forty million Tekken and Street Fighter cabinets, gambling and walls of Answer X Answer quiz machines populated by smoking middle-aged men. |
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Game Center CX returns to our screens! October 29, 2009: Season 12 of the awesome Shinwa Arino-presented "Game Center CX" programme kicked off on October 13th - tune your TV to Fuji Terebi TWO now! |
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5 essential PlayStation games to download from J-PSN October 29, 2009: If you nip along to your local conbini and buy a 3,000 yen PSN ticket, what will you spend your credit on? Stuck for ideas? Here are five absolutely sublime 32-bit PlayStation games available in the Game Archives area of the Japanese PS Store for just 600 yen each... |
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Nanikore? – Boku No Natsuyasumi 3 October 26, 2009: Welcome to Nanikore? – an occasional series where I pick something random that I don't understand off the shelves and hope that it turns out to be good, funny, or both. This time... |
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How to find the Nintendo Building! October 23, 2009: Every Gaijin in Kyoto's top pilgrimage is to the proud white HQ of Nintendo Co. Ltd. Here's how you get there... |
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Gaijin Gamer’s instant guide to… the conbini! October 23, 2009: You're at the conbini. That's convenience store, to the common gaijin. You like games. WHAT DO YOU DO? |
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Snazzy terebi gemu fashion at UNIQLO October 22, 2009: Official game t-shirts at daft prices! Bring it on, UNIQLO! (Article not sponsored by UNIQLO.) |
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Cave 360 ports to be region-free October 9, 2009: Cave: Bringing hundreds of thousands of purple bullets to a country near you. |
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Satoru Iwata Video Interview - the late Nintendo president spoke with Kikizo in 2004 as 'Nintendo Revolution' loomed.
Kaz Hirai Video Interview - the first of Kikizo's interviews with the man who went on to become global head of Sony.
Ed Fries Video Interview - one of Xbox's founders discusses an epic journey from Excel to Xbox.
Yu Suzuki, the Kikizo Interview - we spend time with one of gaming's most revered creators.
Tetris - The Making of an Icon: Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers reveal the fascinating story behind Tetris
Rare founders, Chris and Tim Stamper - their only interview? Genuinely 'rare' sit down with founders of the legendary studio.
The History of First-Person Shooters - a retrospective, from Maze War to Modern Warfare