Studio Collabs
Capcom to collaborate with Tencent’s TiMi studios for Monster Hunter mobile game
Capcom will work alongside TiMi to produce a game based off the popular Monster Hunter franchise for mobile
Views Week
Week in Views - What caught our editorial eyes in the last seven days
This week we consider football, Japan, and whether we are living in (Back to) the Future
Presenting Plans
Square Enix’s latest financial report reinforces company focus on blockchain gaming
President and representative director Yosuke Matsuda outlines plans for blockchain, HD games, and international growth
New Studio
Netease announces new studio led by former Resident Evil & Devil May Cry producer
Called GPTRACK50, the new studio represents a massive step from mobile into the console & PC markets for Netease
Japanese Market
Hypercasual games dominate Japan’s charts by installs, but struggle to engage players
Mobile gaming is on the rise in the home of video gaming
Financials
CyberAgent’s 2022 financials reveal 33.8 percent operating loss despite surge in advertising revenue
CyberAgent game sales are down, but that advertising growth holds steady as digital media investment is on the horizon.
Big In Japan
How did Apex Legends top the charts in Japan?
Apex Legends was in Japan's top 10 for 54 consecutive days! What did EA do to ensure they cracked such a valuable - and challenging - market?
Made Its Way
Zynga launches FarmVille 3 in Japan
Comes six months after global release
Expanding Overseas
WonderPlanet opening Singapore subsidiary to explore blockchain
Following discussions on NFTs and the metaverse
Manga To Mobile
Naruto manga publisher Shueisha launches new games division
Shueisha Games to focus on all platforms, including mobile
Anime Collab
PUBG Mobile Japan to collaborate with Black Lagoon
Bringing exclusive skins to match the anime's noir action theme
Building Blockchain
Animoca Brands opens new subsidiary in Tokyo, Japan
Expanding business
4 Million In 11 Days
Bravely Default Brilliant Lights reaches four million players in first 11 days
Featuring new and returning characters
To Be Expected
Nintendo’s mobile revenue falls 5.2% to $347 million
Nintendo Switch sells over 100 million units, overtakes Nintendo Wii
Na Release
Disney Twisted-Wonderland gets English release in US and Canada
Aniplex of America publishes the previously Japan-exclusive title
Total Divestment
Update: Stillfront acquires 6Waves for $201 million, buys out Nexon's 34.8% stake for $93 million
Purchasing 26.5 million shares from Nexon
Jotaro...
KLab to distribute upcoming JoJo's Bizarre Adventure mobile game worldwide
Will be the first globally available mobile title from the franchise
Itchy Twitter Fingers
Japan’s mobile games community dominated Twitter in 2021
Genshin Impact leads the conversations
Diversification
Nexon branches out with $400 million investment into Russo Brother’s AGBO
A further $100 million set aside
A Fated Acquisition
Aniplex to acquire Fate/Grand Order developer Delightworks games division
Includes the entire game development team behind Fate/Grand Order
Fantasy Is Final
Japanese game sector to hit $22 billion in 2021
Players prefer single player RPGs within a fantasy setting
Shining Brilliantly
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are Japan’s second-best physical Switch launch
Switch sales almost doubled
Most Wanted List
Top 5 Japan-only mobile games we wanna play
From rhythm to RPG to WTF?
Bloomin' Lovely
Niantic and Nintendo launch Pikmin Bloom
Will roll out globally, starting with Australia and Singapore
Retro Renaissance
Nintendo introduces additional tier to Nintendo Switch Online
New plan will bring N64 and Sega Mega Drive titles
Making Of
How World of Demons was summoned from an unreleased mobile game
"I gave it my all, right up until the end..."
Time To Slime
Pre-register now for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: ISEKAI Memories
You're so generic
Additional Changes
Another brick in App Store walled garden removed: Reader apps can link-out
Apple reacts to Japan Fair Trade Commission
Follow The Rhythm
Sega reveals upcoming rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!
Heading to iOS and Android later this year
Super Spending
Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle accumulates $3 billion in lifetime revenue
Launched in January 2015
Minecraft And Zelda
Nintendo Switch games make up entirety of Japan's weekly top 30
First time a single platform has dominated the charts for 33 years
Baring Claws
Nintendo settles five-year court battle with White Cat Project developers
Colopl are ordered to pay for future use of Nintendo’s patents
Gaining On Wii
Nintendo Switch sales close on 90 million, revenue drops nearly 10%
More sales than PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
A New Verse
Mixi’s Langer Lee joins ByteDance game's division Nuverse
Lee will take over as head of corporate development
What A Story
Monster Hunter Stories 2 has already hatched over a million sales
JPRG launched globally on July 9th, 2021
New Mmorpg Hits
Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds storms the most downloaded Q2 2021 charts in Japan and South Korea
Crunching the data with App Annie
"correct Understanding"
Nintendo denies Switch OLED profit margin increase
The company also debunked ongoing Switch Pro claims
Brave
Square Enix commits to mobile with Bravely Default: Brilliant Lights
The game will be released on iOS and Android in Japan
"hooked"
Mario maker Shigeru Miyamoto obsessed with Pokémon GO
"The average person playing Pokémon GO in Japan is probably around 60 years old"
A Real Viridian Forest
Pokémon Wonder is a new nature theme park opening in Japan
Limited-time experience running from July 2021 to April 2022
"core Of Atari"
Atari Gaming shifting focus away from free-to-play and mobile games
Attention to be directed towards premium games for console and PC
11 Days
Ni No Kuni: Cross Worlds beats Pokémon GO to $100 million revenue
Only available in five markets
Live And Kicking
How Nexon adapted KartRider Rush Plus for mobile
23 million players and counting
"nintendo Gallery"
Nintendo to convert Hanafuda card factory to museum in Japan
Uji Ogura Plant was built in 1969
Harder Gold
Nexon buys $100 million Bitcoin
Spent 2% of its cash reserves
Switch It Up
Nintendo Switch is Japan's sixth best-selling console of all time
The DS holds the top spot
Golden Age
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sells 3.7 million copies in five months
Released on 20 November 2020
Nintend-no
Super Nintendo World closes temporarily as COVID cases rise in Japan
Only opened on 28 March
Just Fantasy?
Update: Square Enix dismisses acquisition rumours
"This report is not based on any announcement"
Chasing Cats
Tom and Jerry: Chase soft-launches in Japan and South Korea
NetEase decline to comment on future