My Nintendo
Nintendo launches My Nintendo app in Japan
Offers services across Switch, Wii U and 3DS
Hypercasual Help
Supersonic Studios partners with ITI to help publish Japanese games internationally
"We are excited to help other Japanese developers see their games achieve international success"
Data Driven
Five Chinese and Japanese mobile gaming myths investigated
GameRefinery gets out its magnifying glass
"unprecedented Challenges"
Sony sets up $100 million Covid-19 global relief fund
Fund will go towards medical workers, first responders and more.
It's Magic
Jam City launches Disney Emoji Blitz in Japan after 30 million downloads worldwide
""The appealing art style, cute emojis, and blitz style gameplay make Disney Emoji Blitz the perfect game for the Japanese market"
Mages;acquisition
Colopl acquires Steins;Gate creator Mages for $14.9 million
Bolstering the mobile publisher with a raft of niche IPs
Rising Up
ByteDance's Combat of Hero secures the most iOS downloads in Japan for four consecutive days
Was originally released in December 2019
Big Launch
Monster Hunter Riders storms to the top of the Japanese download chart
Crunching the data with App Annie
Reality Gacha
Reality Gaming Group partners with Nagemon to bring gacha to Reality Clash
Pushing further into Japan with new mechanic
"i Like Apple"
Shigeru Miyamoto talks working with Apple, Pokemon GO and why the Switch was helped by smartphones
Quotes taken from Japanese magazine Famitsu
Trademark
Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures apply for two new trademarks in Japan
They translate to The Legendary Heartbeat and Amazing Rare
From The Ashes
New Japanese publisher Phoenixx sets up shop in Tokyo
It has five titles set for a 2020 release
Sega Financials Q3 Fy2020
Sega Sammy mobile revenues grow thanks to new Fist of the North Star release
Fist of the North Star Legends ReVIVE and Sega Pocket Club Manager were the top grossing mobile games in Q3
Dena Financials Q3 Fy19
DeNA game profits slump as Pokemon Masters and Mario Kart Tour fail to take off
Posts overall loss of $460 million so far in FY2019
Scrap Genesis
DeNA to shut down two of its games on March 31st
Torikago Scrap Merch and Fantasy Earth Genesis both getting the boot
Sensor Tower
Sony's Fate/Grand Order accumulates over $4 billion in lifetime revenue
Top grossing title in Japan for 2019
Blue Shelled
Unofficial Mario Kart experience ordered to pay $458,000 in damages to Nintendo
Mari Mobility Development must pay five times originally cost
Partnership
Square Enix and Suntory partner for Dragon Quest Walk missions via Japanese vending machines
14,000 can be found across the country
Home Turf
Nintendo Switch Lite passes 1 million sales in Japan
Console launched in September 2019
Closing The Loop
Mobius Final Fantasy is being shut down after nearly five years
Western players get longer to see the end of the story
Famitsu Charts
Nintendo Switch accounted for 26 of the top 30 best-selling games in Japan
Pokemon Sword and Shield continues to capture audiences
"power Up Bands"
Super Nintendo World theme park will let visitors become Mario via wristbands and smartphone app
New Mario Kart ride revealed alongside official theme park song
Moving Forward
Sony's mobile studio ForwardWorks partners with Kadokawa Games for new smartphone title
Cave Interactive also part of the development structure
Hotel Mario
Nintendo's former Kyoto headquarters to become hotel in 2021
20 rooms, including restaurant, gym, bar and spa
New Partnership
Tencent invests undisclosed sum in Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames
"We hope to use this capital to strengthen our foundation as a business"
Cut Losses
Nexon sells off mobile developer Gloops for one Japanese yen
Japanese studio was purchased for approximately $470 million in 2012
Join The Monolith
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild developer looking to expand staff for sequel
Monolith Soft has been ramping up since the year's start
You Have My Sword
Pokemon Sword and Shield outsells Let’s Go, Pikachu/Eevee in Japan
Dual release took less than two weeks to overtake its predecessor
It’s Over 9000
Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle does $2 billion in revenue
Fighter makes $1 billion in 19 months
Storming
Pokemon Sword and Shield sold 1.3 million copies in Japan within first three days
Third biggest UK launch in Nintendo’s history
Tag Team
Bandai Namco revealed as a development partner for Mario Kart Tour
“Partially implemented in-games and 3D visual assets for courses, characters and machines”
Financials
Mobile pushes Square Enix's game profits up 33%
Dragon Quest Walk and Romancing SaGa Re: univerSe come in strong
Thanks For Playing
Shigeru Miyamoto to be awarded “Person of Cultural Merit” by Japanese government
Recognition will take place on at the Imperial Palace on November 3rd, 2019
Money Strike
Monster Strike and Fate/Grand Order generated over $500 million in Q3 2019
Fate/Grand Order followed in second place
Global Launch
Korean top grosser The King Of Fighters Allstar launches globally
100 million fighters have been collected so far
Levelling Up
Nintendo’s Dragalia Lost generates $106 million in first year
Third highest-grossing mobile title for the company
Good Start
Pokemon Masters generates $33 million from first month
Free-to-play title catches 12 million installs
Dream Land
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate mashes the competition at Japan Game Awards 2019
All-star fighting title took top honour among several other awards on the night
Must Be Fate
Sony’s Fate/Grand Order tops mobile revenue for August at $163 million
PUBG Mobile followed with more than $160 million
Masterful
Pokemon Masters raked in $26 million from first week
Title surpassed 10 million downloads in less than four days
Gotta Sync ‘em All
Pokemon Masters champions 10 million downloads in four days
Number one for downloads across 27 countries including the US and Japan
New Studio
Fate/Grand Order developer Type-Moon opens new subsidiary studio
New location is headed up by Dragon Quest Builders series director Kazuya Niinou
Global Advertising
The top global game advertisers in the US, Japan and South Korea for June 2019
SocialPeta data shows which games are generating the highest number of ad impressions
Osaki
Monolith Soft opens second studio in Japan
New location is a result of increased profits from the previous year
Gotta Friend ‘em All
Pokemon Masters launches on mobile this summer
“The idea was to create a gameplay experience where you could not only befriend Pokemon but also trainers to battle alongside you”
Stroll
Square Enix wants players to put on their fantasy shoes in Dragon Quest Walk
The latest entry in the RPG series is Square Enix’s take on Pokemon Go
East Meets West
East Meets West: Roblox partners with Tencent, Gamescom heads to Asia, and Konami talks two years of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Gotta Launch 'em All
Pokemon press conference reveals several new games and apps
Pokemon Sleep, Detective Pickachu Sequel, Pokemon Masters and more
East Meets West
East Meets West: Google restricts Huawei Android access, Gravity lifts GungHo, and Netmarble has a new flagship game
Keeping up with the news from the world's most influential games market
Financials
Gravity and Puzzle & Dragons spur on GungHo sales to $318m in Q1 2019
Developer Gravity riding high on Ragnarok M success