Digital | ON: GAMES Jun 17, 2018
by Brian Ashcraft
Nintendo's summer releases include a new look for "Pokemon" characters, an unusual sushi battle game and a tennis game that has already stood the test of time.
NEWSWORTHY
Business / Tech May 30, 2018
Nintendo Co. is bringing together the magnetic appeal of Pokemon, smartphones and the Switch console to create an interlinked gaming experience. "Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu" and "Pokemon: Let's Go Eevee" were unveiled by the Kyoto-based video-game maker on Wednesday. They're designed to capitalize on the ...
Digital | ON: GAMES Mar 25, 2018
Follow-ups that outdo originals
by Brian Ashcraft
Fukuoka-based game-maker Level-5 has released "Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom," which looks just as beautiful as the original 2011 PS3 fantasy game.
Business Jan 23, 2018
Cuddly and cute, but will Japan's Olympic mascots be cash cows?
They're wide-eyed, brightly colored and completely adorable. But can the Tokyo Olympic mascots bring in the cash in a country where cuddly icons promote everything from regional tourism to prisons? The organizing committee unveiled three sets of prospective mascots for the 2020 Games last year. ...
Business Dec 25, 2017
Animation studio behind 'Pokemon' TV show to open first overseas base in Malaysia
Animation powerhouse OLM Inc. is planning to set up an animation studio in Malaysia, to attract local talent and cater to demand for creative work in the region. The new studio will be the firm's first base outside Japan. OLM, known for animating the "Pokemon" TV ...
Digital | ON: GAMES Nov 26, 2017
Getting your money's worth in the game world
by Brian Ashcraft
The power of the Xbox One X It was an amazing sight. On the morning of Nov. 7, it seemed the impossible had happened: A sign outside the Yodobashi Camera electronics store in Tokyo's Akihabara district read "Xbox One X Sold Out." What happened? It turned ...
Digital | ON: GAMES Sep 24, 2017
Better games for serious hardware
by Brian Ashcraft
Get the Playstation 4 revved "Gran Turismo Sport" is Sony's long-running "Gran Turismo" game's PlayStation 4 debut. The first "GT" was released in 1997 on the PlayStation 1, and 20 years later, "Gran Turismo" is still going strong, holding on to its title as "the ...
National Nov 11, 2016
Rare Pokemon deployed to help recovery in Tohoku quake zones
by Shinya Ajima
Three of the prefectures slammed by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami are getting a significant boost in efforts to revive tourism from an invisible source — a Pokemon character. The Lapras, a rare, plesiosaur-like monster in the "Pokemon Go" game, is popping up more ...
Digital | ON: GAMES Oct 22, 2016
PlayStation adds more power to the PS4
by Brian Ashcraft
More power to the PS4 This is for those who think the PlayStation 4 isn't powerful enough. Dubbed the PlayStation 4 Pro, the console has souped-up hardware with more processing power and a revamped GPU. The result is a console that can stream 4K video ...
Asia Pacific / Offbeat Aug 11, 2016
Taiwan police take aim at Pokemon gamers driven to distraction
The launch of the "Pokemon Go" game in Taiwan has sparked a sharp rise in traffic violations by commuters using their smartphones to play while driving. Authorities have issued 1,210 tickets for smartphone use in traffic between last Saturday, when the game was released in ...
Language | COMMUNICATION CUES Aug 8, 2016
Nintendo's smartphone game "Pokemon Go" has finally launched in Japan, the birthplace of the little virtual monsters.
National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Aug 6, 2016
Japan's media blast away at the 'Pokemon Go' craze
by Mark Schreiber
The nation's magazines have a whole lot ot say about the roaring success of Niantic's "Pokemon Go."