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Japanese mag reveals juicy Bomberman details
Click image to enlarge We'd like to point out that the only Bomberman we know about is the Wii Ware Bomberman game announced via the Japanese Wii Ware page. This scan is interesting, though, because it reveals some details about this upcoming Bomberman game we're assuming is the Wii Ware version.This latest scan shows the game will retain that Bomberman look and we're crossing our fingers that it will retain that classic feel, as well. And, thanks to this same magazine scan, we can confirm the game has 8-player support for online fun. It will also include 39 different stages and is scheduled for release on Wii Ware in Japan this June. Oh, and it will also feature Mii integration.Like we said, this could be a new retail Bomberman game being developed for the Wii, or it could be the Wii Ware title. We're leaning toward the Wii Ware game, but it's not like Hudson hasn't hooked us up with retail discs containing Bomberman in the past.
New PS1 games hit the Japanese PSN
Love obscure Japanese PS1 games? As both American and European PS Stores continue to get neglected with PS1 games, Japan continues to expand its library with four new titles this week: Spyro the DragonAddie no OkurimonoGakkou wo TsukurouKawa no Nushi Tsuri According to Siliconera, the most obscure title of the list, Addie no Okurimono, "is a puzzle game developed by Sony Computer Entertainment that gives players a Da Vinci Code-like toy to spell words." There's so many random games in Japan that just never come out here, huh?
99 no Namida says yes to boxart, release date
Coming from Namco Bandai, 99 no Namida (Tears of 99), is a title that is sure to make you cry. Well, Namco Bandai thinks it is, as the title takes a few bits of information about yourself and uses it to spin some yarns about what would most make you cry. Why? Well, it works on the principle that after you cry, you feel better.The Famitsu update today drops a boxart for the game, as well as a release date (June 5th), on us. While we're interested in seeing if this game can make us cry (we're the most manly of men, don'tchaknow), we're pretty darn certain this game would never be localized for the U.S., even though we've got plenty of training games of our own.%Gallery-15389%
Contra: Dual Promoters
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Contra_trades_bad_dudes_for_chicks_in_Japan_PICS'; Contra 4 has really undergone some serious changes for its Japanese release and it's getting less manly by the moment. In fact, these people promoting the game don't seem to have a single chest hair. There's nary a headband in sight. Those muscles are absolutely pitiful. What have you done, Konami? This is the last straw! Someone needs to draw mustaches on these girls and maybe whip up a couple of protein shakes immediately. Where's Nintendo Power? They know what Contra is really all about: pure, undiluted beefcakery. Accept no substitute.%Gallery-18181%
Super Hi-Vision gets tested, could be used to publicly display 2012 Olympics in Britain
2015? Nah, that's about three years too long to wait for Super Hi-Vision -- for Britons, at least. Reportedly, Japanese public broadcaster NHK is currently testing the Super Hi-Vision system, and the BBC has announced plans to use said technology in order to "broadcast the 2012 Olympics to large TV sets placed in public areas across Britain." For folks worried that their current HDTV is about to become obsolete, we're here to pass along the news that it's not. According to Masuru Kanazawa, a research engineer at NHK's Science and Technical Research Laboratory, "SHV requires at least a 60-inch screen" in order to even see the improvements in quality, and of course, it's not exactly being aimed at the consumer market right now, either. 'Course, all that could change when 150-inch sets become living room mainstays.
Casio's EX-F1 camera with 60fps burst and 1200fps video -- March 28th
Oh great lorf of frames per second shooters. Casio's Exilim Pro EX-F1 just snagged a ship date. It'll cost you ¥130,000 (tax inclusive) when it hits on March 28th in Japan. Still, we expect many people will be swayed by this 6 megapixel novelty with the ability to burst at 60fps while shooting up to 1200fps video. Still no US or European release where it's expected to pop for $999 (pre tax), but it can't be long now. [Via I4U]
Japan orders Apple to investigate exploding iPod nanos
Uh oh. Japan's trade and economy ministry is now officially investigating the explosive nature of the iPod nano. The culprit is model MA099J/A -- AKA, the old black and white plastic model already reported to spew "chest high flames," cause bedroom fires, and explode across the floor. The Japan incident occurred in January when an iPod nano reportedly "shot out sparks while recharging." At this point, all odds are with the nano's lithium ion battery. Apple Japan has been ordered to investigate the issue and report back to the ministry with the cause. Kind of like asking the fox what it was doing in the hen house, eh?Update: Apparently, the Japanese ministry "strongly warned" Apple for failing to report the incident (as required by law) when it occurred. Apple's filing with the ministry came on March 7th.
Wii Ware priced and dated for Japan
When it comes to Wii Ware in Japan, Nintendo is cutting it fine. Just this morning, the company announced that the service would launch in the region on March 25th, a mere fortnight from now. The U.S. launch of Wii Ware, you may recall, is down for May 12th.As well as a date, Nintendo revealed a launch line-up of nine titles with prices that ranged from 500 (Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii and Angel's Solitaire) to 1500 (My Life As A King: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles) Wii points: Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii (Arc System Works, 500 points) Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii (Bandai Namco, 1000 points) Sakusaku Animal Panic (Konami, 1000 points) Star Soldier R (Hudson, 800 points) My Life As A King: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (Square Enix, 1500 points) Angel's Solitaire (G-Mode, 500 points) Dr. Mario & Bacillus Extermination (Nintendo, 1000 points) Everybody's Pokemon Ranch (Nintendo, 1000 points) Lonpos (Genki, 1000 points) Update 1: GameTrailers has just updated with videos of Everybody's Pokemon Ranch, Star Soldier R, Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii, and Dr. Mario. Hit the break, people!
Sony Ericsson withdrawing from NTT DoCoMo, sort of
What the heck is going on here? Despite the overwhelming popularity of gizmo-heavy mobile devices in Japan, working with megacarrier NTT DoCoMo must be a losing proposition for many of its manufacturing partners, because just days after Mitsubishi's announcement of its withdrawal, a fresh Nikkei report indicates that Sony Ericsson is raising the white flag as well to divert attention and resources to less saturated and more profitable markets. Apparently, DoCoMo will bear the brunt of the downsizing, while Sony Ericsson's partnership with KDDI -- a CDMA carrier -- will continue. [Warning: subscription required]Update: It turns out that Sony Ericsson intends to continue working with DoCoMo by initially delivering new models through mid '08, at which point it will start buying handsets from other manufacturers and rebranding them. In other countries this would be truly egregious, but as our Japanese bureau points out, DoCoMo lays out very strict requirements for each of its lines that would probably make it difficult to distinguish a true Sony Ericsson model from a rebranded model sourced from, say, Sharp or Toshiba.Update 2: Sony Ericsson's Japanese PR folks have denied Nikkei's report, although they did mention that they are "reevaluating" their DoCoMo line without going into any detail. Whether the report was actually false or Nikkei just managed to out the info well before Sony Ericsson wanted it out, though, remains unclear.Update 3: The official Sony Ericsson response, and while it says that they're taking a good, hard look at their DoCoMo business, it also mentions that they'll continue to develop new handsets for the carrier. Clear as mud? Good!Read - Nikkei report [subscription required]Read - Sony Ericsson response
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 2/25-3/2
The DS dropped to third in last week's hardware sales, as the PSP inched its way to first. (In case you haven't been keeping track, Wii sales have been above those of the DS for quite some time, but the PSP and DS keep flip-flopping for the week's best selling portable.)Hardware: PSP: 73,706 Wii: 64,535 Nintendo DS: 51,922 PlayStation 3: 13,520 PlayStation 2: 10,986 Xbox 360: 2,282 In the software chart, though, Nintendo's portable dominated once again. There were fourteen DS games to hit the top thirty last week, three of which made the top ten. Most of note is the new release Soma Bringer, a game that many of us outside of Japan have been coveting. It debuted in fourth, and was the top seller for the dual-screened handheld last week.Meanwhile, Professor Layton 2 and Animal Crossing slipped back into the top thirty, while Harvest Moon and Etrian Odyssey II managed to remain in the top ten. Check after the break to see a whole lot of DS games in boldface.
New Sim City 2 screens, promo site erected
Sim City aficionados will enjoy this update from Famitsu. They've gone ahead and set up a small promo site for the upcoming sequel to Sim City DS, Sim City 2. And, as we still lack our whipping boy for reading Japanese, we've no idea what any of the text says on the page. But, there's plenty of new screens to look at! That's always nice.If you want to check out the new screens, which seem to show off multiple assistants, then hit up our gallery below.%Gallery-12347%
Student-developed titles hit Japan's Download Stations
From late next week, every DS owner in Japan will have totally free access to the first of four student-developed titles. That's because the games in question were originally created under the watchful eye of Nintendo, which is now releasing these at DS Download Stations around Japan. Each game will be available for a fortnight, before sadly disappearing into the ether for ... well, ever.What's really striking about these is their apparent quality -- if you had told us the above shot was taken from a game developed at a professional studio, we'd have totally believed you (in actual fact, it's from Wakerai no Heya Tsuzuki, a touchscreen horror game)! Equally intriguing is Nan de Momo Koko Yasan, which equips players with a "magical paintbrush" with which to color objects. The other titles are Kiki Master and Watashi no Otochabako.It's almost a certainty that we'll never play these ourselves, but we'd love to see a similar initiative happening over here. Tap the youthful minds of the U.S., Nintendo![Via Siliconera]
Sega Toys' dancing I-Spin: like an I-Dog with a woofer orifice
Move over Rolly, there's a cheaper, craplasticer bot ready to stomp out your game. Sega Toys just announced their ¥5,250 ($51) I-Spin dancing robot. Apparently it responds to ambient sounds by rolling around and flipping its ears in time with the beat. After that novelty wears thin, you can directly attach the creature to any audio source where it will live out its remaining years as an external speaker.
Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade now loose in Japan
Announced in early February, both the Silver Satin PS3 and Xbox 360 Arcade are now on sale in Japan. The SS PS3 is a spec-for-spec equivalent of the existing black and white Japanese models. However, this is the first time the entry-level Xbox 360, already available outside of Nippon, makes an appearance on Japanese soil. Guess which one Japanese gamers are more likely to buy? Right, the Wii.Read -- PS3Read -- Xbox 360 Arcade
Panasonic's 12 new plasmas and LCDs hit the stage in Japan, shelves in April
Panasonic is getting its new HDTVs out in Japan ahead of the expected 2008 Olympics buying spree, with 12 new models unveiled today. One of the few times Japan gets the short end of the tech stick, its incredible 150-inch plasma, and Google-enabled (for Youtube, Picasa access) PZ850 line from CES were nowhere to be found, with the top of the line represented by the 42-, 46-, 50-inch PZ800 series (sporting 1080p, x.v.Color, THX display certification, a new less-reflective glass and 30,000:1 contrast ratio) thats due April 20 for ¥370,000 - ¥500,000 ($3,584 - $4,844). The lower end PZ85/PZ80 (the PZ85's are slimmer, the PZ80 comes in black or silver finish, but they're otherwise the same) screens slide in with 42- to 50-inch models hitting shelves April 10th for ¥300,000 to ¥430,000 ($2,906 - $4,166). Finally the 32- and 37-inch 1080p LCDs (LZ85/LZ80) round things out with 10,000:1 contrast ratios, 120Hz motion processing and an expected arrival of April 20.[Via Impress]
Pokemon Ranger 2 goodies from Japan
Fans of the Pokemon franchise (see: uh, everyone?) and, more specifically, the Pokemon Ranger franchise, were ecstatic to hear (and see) that a sequel to the touch-screen-intensive game is coming. Well, prepare to become even more excited, as we've got a gallery of images for you to go through below, as well as a link to the Japanese commercial for the game. What else could you ask for? Oh, right ... an actual copy of the game. Well, you'll have to wait a bit on that one. %Gallery-17838% Read - Pokemon Ranger 2 Japanese site Read - Pokemon Ranger 2 Japanese advertisement [Via Go Nintendo]
Kodak's 8-mm thin KTEL-30W 3-inch AMOLED TV
If you're fortunate enough to be living in Japan then this new Kodak ELiTe Vision KTEL-30W AMOLED TV can be yours sometime later this month. Measuring just 8-mm thick, this 3-inch 1Seg TV features a mono speaker, headphone jack (naturally), and a lithium polymer battery good for about 3.5 hours of continuous TV playback. Thing is, It'll cost you about ¥29,800 or about $287 for functionality already integrated into many Japanese phones.%Gallery-17809%[Via Impress]
Logitec's LIC-iREC01 puts a stereo mic on your iPod
There's no shortage of microphones for one's iPod, but Logitec is looking to earn the business of those still on the hunt with its LIC-iREC01. Put simply, this dock connector appendage is said to work on "all generations of iPods" (with dock connectors, obviously), and provides a built-in stereo mic for voice recording on the fly, an additional audio input for connecting something more sophisticated, and a mini-USB port for keeping your PMP synced while this thing is plugged in. At the moment, pricing details are unknown, but those camped out in Japan can look for it to land in their neighborhood later this month.[Via AkihabaraNews]
Sim City 2 constructs Japanese release date, new screens
Town-planning enthusiasts who are also adept at reading kanji rejoice! EA just declared that Sim City 2 DS will be layin' pipes and buildin' roads in Japan on March 19th.Don't get too excited, though. One look at any screens of Maxis' build-me-do should let you know that this is not most people's idea of an import-friendly title. There are lashings of Japanese text, and if the user interface is anywhere near as confusing as the one found in the first Sim City DS (which we struggled to understand in English), we may as well just give up now and wait for news of a western release.Go past the break for a sprinkling of new screens.%Gallery-12347%
Skype finally comes to Japanese PSPs this month
After being passed over due to failed certification tests, Skype on PSP will finally land in the hands of Japanese gamers on March 18, PSP Fanboy reports. The Japanese version of the Slim-PSP-only service launches a month later than the North American version, defying our normal expectations of how these things go.The day after the firmware launch, a new Skype-optimized USB microphone atttachment for the PSP will be released for 2,500 yen (or two for 4,000). Expect a sudden surge in Japanese gamers yelling at their PSPs shortly thereafter.
