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August 25, 2025
 

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NINTENDO

Merchandise are pictured for sale at a Nintendo store in central Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 2, 2025
Nintendo to raise U.S. pricing of original Switch hardware
Nintendo attributed the changes to "market conditions," a hint at the impact of the Trump administration’s tariffs.
Nintendo said its quarterly revenue had more than doubled year-on-year thanks to the Switch 2, which became the world's fastest-selling console after its launch in June.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2025
Nintendo keeps Switch 2 forecast unchanged despite hot start
The Kyoto-based company said on Friday that it still expects to sell 15 million units of its next-generation hardware by March, maintaining a conservative view.
Visitors play Hades 2, an upcoming independent game for Nintendo's Switch 2, during the BitSummit indie gaming expo in the city of Kyoto on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jul 19, 2025
Indie game studios battle for piece of Switch 2 success
With Nintendo game sales long dominated by in-house franchises, it can be hard for outsiders to break through.
Sega's first brick-and-mortar store in Japan is an example of how the country's video game industry is thinking of its digital products as tangible experiences.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 18, 2025
Sega’s first Japan store signals ‘immersive entertainment’ push
Opened on July 18 in the Shibuya Parco building, the video game company’s brick-and-mortar venture hints at a broader trend in Japan’s gaming landscape.
After nearly shuttering earlier this year, the Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society continues its work to save the early history of Japanese gaming.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 12, 2025
‘Our ultimate goal is to save every single Japanese video game’
The Tokyo-based Game Preservation Society almost shuttered earlier this year, but a flood of support has buoyed efforts to save games on extinct media.
A customer buys a Nintendo Switch 2 in Tokyo on June 5. Online outrage over the gaming console’s price, terms and features was loud but meaningless, as record-breaking sales showed once again that internet backlash rarely reflects real consumer behavior.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 25, 2025
The 'internet' hated Switch 2 — consumers bought it anyway
The internet gives consumers a voice they once didn’t have. But separating signal from noise is a challenge — just look at the Switch 2.
A customer poses with a Nintendo Switch 2 console at a Bic Camera electronics store in Tokyo on June 5.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2025
Nintendo's Switch 2 sets sales record in boon for gaming sector
The numbers bode well for its target of selling 15 million units by March next year.
The Switch 2 is Nintendo's first new gaming console in eight years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
Nintendo’s Switch 2 console is finally here
The long-awaited gaming console hits shelves Thursday, with booming orders and tariffs making for a complicated debut.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't your typical Japanese role-playing game, but that hasn't stopped it from being one of the best to come from the genre in years.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 24, 2025
Uh-oh, is the rest of the world making JRPGs better than Japan?
Developed by a French studio, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has pushed the genre forward more than any Japanese-developed title in the past 10 years.
For Nintendo, it’s been a challenge making sure it can produce enough Switch 2 gaming devices to meet demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Nintendo turns to Samsung to make chips for Switch 2
The Kyoto-based company is pivoting to Samsung because the Nvidia-based chipset that the Switch 2 employs was optimized for the Korean company’s manufacturing systems.
Kyoto's gaming landscape is dominated by Nintendo's headquarters, but a contingent of foreign-born indie developers is also working in the gaming giant's shadow.
LIFE / Digital
May 17, 2025
In Nintendo’s backyard, foreign indie game devs are thriving
“Of course, we’re all in the shadow of Nintendo, but we’re also here because of Nintendo,” says one British indie game developer.
An attendee wearing a Super Mario costume plays a Nintendo Switch 2 game console at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention center in London on April 11.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 10, 2025
Nintendo doesn’t rule out Switch 2 price hike after soft outlook
The firm expects shipments of the system to be nearly 1.8 million shy of analysts' estimates, and could raise the price, depending on how Trump administration tariffs work out.
An attendee plays Mario Kart World during the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event in London in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2025
Nintendo gives conservative sales outlook for Switch 2 amid tariff concerns
The Kyoto-based company expects to ship just 15 million units of the new console in the year to March, shy of the 16.8 million average estimated by analysts.
Excitement for Nintendo's next console is high, but a vocal contingent of fans are voicing criticism over the company's pricing strategy.
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
May 5, 2025
‘Drop the price’: Behind the pushback on Nintendo’s Switch 2
Nintendo games have never been cheap, but the company seems to be nickel-and-diming more than ever with its new console.
An attendee plays with the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming device at a media event in Tokyo on April 3.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Nintendo says demand for Switch 2 console in Japan is overwhelming
"We have received 2.2 million applications for the lottery sale at our official online store for customers in Japan alone," said Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa.
Sony and Nintendo might have to raise the prices of their game consoles, which are assembled mainly in China and are shipped to the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 11, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2 and Sony PS5 likely to get price hikes due to tariffs
Pricing could come close to $590 for the soon-to-be-released Nintendo Switch 2 or Sony’s PS5 Astro Bot bundle.
Guests play the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console at an event in Paris on April 2.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 10, 2025
Nintendo gets breathing room on tariffs — just in time for Switch 2 launch
Nintendo dodges a 46% tariff on Vietnam-assembled consoles, buying time to flood the U.S. with Switch 2 units before the launch window closes.
Guests play with the new Nintendo Switch 2 video game console system during a presentation at the Grand Palais in Paris on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 5, 2025
Nintendo delays Switch 2 preorders in U.S. over tariff concerns
The Kyoto-based company is delaying preorders of its hotly anticipated gaming console as it assesses the fallout from the trade tariffs.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 presentation amazed with unexpected game reveals, impressive hardware upgrades and a surprising price announcement, but its two-tier pricing strategy and higher cost left fans both excited and confused.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2025
Nintendo's Switch 2 reveal had a big surprise: The price
An hourlong presentation finally lifted the lid on the Switch 2, which will go on sale June 5 for $450 — though less if you speak Japanese.
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 3, 2025
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The gaming giant's newest console will retail for ¥49,980 for its Japanese-only version and ¥69,980 for multilingual and multiregion support.
Japan to revise romanization rules for first time in 70 years
The Agency for Cultural Affairs is recommending replacing the government’s long-standing Kunrei system with more widely used Hepburn-style spellings.
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
At meeting rich in symbolism, Ishiba and South Korea's Lee agree to steadily build ties
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba shake hands at joint press announcement after summit talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
Are 'coolcations' the answer for Japan's heat-weary tourists?
Hikers on a trail in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture. As extreme heat continues to grip Japan, a tectonic shift may be underway in the nation’s summer tourism scene as more people gravitate toward cooler destinations.
Japan to boost support for joint ride-hailing services
Tatsuaki Igarashi, mayor of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, exits a ride-sharing vehicle at Tsukuba Station in January.
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Reigen, Germany's first sake brewery, makes a diverse, nontraditional range of sake that includes fruit-flavored sips and wine barrel-aged renditions.
Alicia Keys closed Summer Sonic, but J-pop owned it
Summer Sonic’s 2025 lineup demonstrated its strength, showcasing the latest in J-pop, including “new kawaii” act Fruits Zipper.
Is the LDP’s catch-all approach to politics still effective?
Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi visits Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on Aug. 15. Political commentator Toru Hashimoto has suggested that Takaichi ought to lead a group of like-minded hawkish politicians out of the Liberal Democratic Party and form their own party.
Fingers sore from too much phone time? You might have ‘sumaho yubi.’
A catch-all term for tendonitis and arthritis caused by excessive smartphone use, 'sumaho yubi' may be difficult to treat for gadget-crazy Japan.
As farm minister, Koizumi is held ‘hostage’ by Ishiba
Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi (center) attends a Lower House session on Aug. 1. Locking Koizumi into the Cabinet is Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s way of turning a potential rival into a team player, according to one expert.

Podcast

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

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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