Nikkei
Latest
Google denies launching optimized version of Maps for China
Google's presence in China has increased marginally in recent times, but those excited about a rumoured optimized version of Maps for the country will be disappointed to learn the claims are untrue. Earlier this week Japan news site Nikkei reported that Google had launched a China-specific version of Maps for the first time in eight years, along with an accompanying app for Chinese iPhones, but Google quickly shot this down. "There have been no changes to Google Maps in China. Maps has been accessible on desktop for years, but does not have an official presence in Android or iOS app stores in China," a spokesperson said.
Sony plans to revive its vinyl record production
Sony was late to the vinyl resurgence with a new turntable of its own, and it's going to be later yet with its effort to jump back into pressing records. Nikkei reports that thanks to demand, the perpetually tardy tech company will first start putting Japanese music (and some modern hits) to wax, with production starting next March. In fact, the company has already outfitted a recording studio with a press so it can produce masters in situ. If there's a roadblock, it's that Sony is apparently having a hard time finding engineers to help guide the pressing process.
Nikkei expects Nintendo Switch will sell for less than $250 in Japan
It's almost a tradition: Nintendo teases a new product and Nikkei reports a key detail just before its official reveal. The Japanese paper successfully called the Nintendo DSi, key details of the 3DS and got pretty close to the Wii U's launch price. Now, paper is predicting a ballpark price for the Nintendo Switch. Nikkei says fans should plan to spend about ¥25,000 for Nintendo's next device in Japan -- about $215 at today's exchange rate.
Nintendo says it's not stopping Wii U production
Contrary to reports from Japan's well-regarded business rag, Nikkei, Nintendo has told ITMedia that it has no plans to halt Wii U production so soon. "That's [Nikkei's report] not an official announcement. We plan to continue production through the rest of the year." (Admittedly, Nikkei's Nintendo scoops have been hit and miss in the past.) Despite rolling out a steady stream of new hits, the console is failing to gain the traction of the original Wii, and the higher-powered PS4 and Xbox One continue to make Nintendo's home console a distant third in installed user numbers. The games maker is hoping more exposure, courtesy of its tip-toeing foray into mobile, might help improve sales.
Robot autopsy shows Pepper's head may be replaceable
Don't worry, the gruesome image (above) of SoftBank's Pepper isn't part of Elon Musk's robot takedown plan. It's actually a teardown by Japanese website Nikkei showing exactly what makes the emotion sensing 'bot tick. The head came off the body easily enough, but Pepper probably won't get an "easily repairable" score as Nikkei's technicians had to drill to get it apart. Once it cracked the cranium, however, it confirmed that yes, Pepper has Intel inside -- an Atom processor, to be exact. The site theorizes that since the head detaches easily from the body, SoftBank might let users upgrade just by dropping in a new one with a different CPU.
Iwata: Nintendo considering mergers and acquisitions as an option
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said mergers and acquisitions are an option for turning the company's fortunes around in a Nikkei interview. Iwata said the company "should abandon old assumptions about our businesses. We are considering M&As as an option. For this reason, we'll step up share buybacks." This echos Iwata's statements during a press conference earlier this month in which he said Nintendo is "thinking about a new business structure" and is specifically "studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business." It also follows news of the company having to drastically cut its forecasts for the fiscal year, taking its expected Wii U shipments down from 9 million to 2.8 million. Additionally, Iwata commented on the option of Nintendo delisting itself from the stock market, saying that "quarterly earnings reporting is not a good fit for Nintendo." He said that even when Nintendo thinks a goal is reachable, it doesn't for sure know whether a product will be a hit. "But it is thanks to the stock market that Nintendo has grown to what it is today. I don't want to turn to a management buyout just because we are inconvenienced now," he added.
Nintendo reportedly planning mini-games and content for its biggest rival: the smartphone (updated)
Japanese newspaper Nikkei has a generally good record for getting the scoop on Nintendo, and this one could be pretty important. According to this report, Nintendo will announce plans to create "progressive" content for smartphones -- the very devices that many reckon is chipping away at the company's casual gaming audience. We won't be seeing a full-length iteration of a Zelda title, but it could include background stories (video content is mentioned), offer a tour of in-game worlds and (least interestingly) the very latest news on retail games headed to Nintendo's own hardware. Mini-games would introduce new characters and, as Nintendo has apparently told it to Nikkei, would be free to try, at least for a short period. The report adds that Nintendo will hold off on paid-for games and in-app purchase, instead hoping that its smart device morsels would whet the appetite for full-version -- full-price -- console game purchases. CEO Satoru Iwata had already mentioned late last year that the company needed to "take advantage of [smartphones'] existence." Nintendo hasn't confirmed or denied the report yet: we reached out for comment earlier today. Nikkei says that Nintendo will announce these plans later this week, when Iwata-san discusses the game maker's Q3 financial results. (Spoilers: there's going to be some bad news.) Update: Not so Sega. Not yet.
Future Sony smartphones could recharge wirelessly in just an hour
Yes, it's futuristic, but that ponderous trickle of energy from base station to device isn't great for impatient types. Sony, however, thinks that it's solved the problem of slow wireless charging with its latest invention. The new unit, based on a forthcoming version of the Qi standard, promises to pump 10 to 15 watts of energy into your device -- theoretically cutting charging times down to just an hour. While so much power would normally cause your smartphone to overheat and combust, chip and power company Rohm promises that its new control chips can handle the temperature issues. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing this hardware turn up in Xperia phones until the second half of 2014, but at least that means we've got some time to recycle all of our cables.
Report: Sega to purchase Atlus' parent company for 14 billion yen [update: confirmed]
Following reports of Sega bidding on Atlus parent Index Holdings, parent company of Atlus, Japanese media company Nikkei has reported that Sega Sammy will purchase Index Holdings for 14 billion yen ($141.6 million). The deal is to be concluded in November. Sega rattled its cup at the grave of THQ in July, seeking revenue from the publisher that was made through pre-orders for Sega's Company of Heroes 2. We've reached out to Atlus and will update as we learn more. Update: Atlus Japan has confirmed the purchase.
Nikkei: NEC to halt smartphone business after Lenovo deal falls through
Barely a month after NEC introduced the Terrain (seen above), its first phone in the US in eight years, and it looks like the company is about to give up its smartphone business for good. According to Japan's Nikkei, NEC has been trying to sell its loss-leading mobile division to Lenovo since late last year, especially since the two already have an existing PC partnership. However, it looks like that deal has fallen through and the sale is no longer in the cards. The Nikkei reports that NEC hopes to focus on just its feature phone lineup for now, and to sell off a few mobile-related patents in the process.
Nikkei: Panasonic may end plasma HDTV production soon
While we've heard rumors of the death of plasmas before, Japanese business paper The Nikkei is reporting that Panasonic may stop using the technology in fiscal 2014. Without citing sources, it claims Panasonic will shut down production at its main Amagasaki plant, reducing production gradually to avoid angering partners and retailers. A Panasonic spokesperson tells Reuters that the company has not made any decisions on the future of its TV business yet. The Nikkei's info indicates it will downsize the entire TV business, including reductions in LCD manufacturing, over the next three years. What's next? OLED, as Sony and Panasonic are partnering on developing the technology and according to the report it plans to outsource manufacturing to keep costs down. We'll find out how much of this turns out to be true in the coming months, but for now we'll just appreciate the company's latest round of Viera plasmas.
Rumor: PS4 to push 'new playing options' over high-powered hardware
According to a Nikkei report sourced to an unnamed Sony Computer Entertainment employee, the PlayStation 4 will have "new playing options" as its primary selling point, rather than its hardware specs. It sounds very Nintendo-like on a broad scale, but somewhat different in execution, as those new playing options will be based on connections to other devices, including smartphones.The PS4 will be presented as a "nerve center" for home entertainment, with improved ability to connect to mobile devices – including Xperia smartphones, Nikkei notes, but presumably popular phones as well.We expect to learn more about the mystery device on February 20, when Sony will hold an event that is expected to reveal the console.
Nikkei: Amazon to launch Kindle in Japan 'early October'
If it feels like we've heard about Amazon's intention to punch through the Japanese wall with Kindle before, it's because we have. However, if a new report on Reuters via The Nikkei is to be believed, it could finally be getting closer. It's said that the internet retailer had planned to launch its e-reader line in September, but supply chain problems put paid to that. Now we're told it'll land in "early October" with Amazon hurriedly securing Japanese content in time for the busy end of year sales period. The Kindle's still not out of the woods just yet though, as it's also been suggested that publishers are being asked to change data formats for their content, which is ripe for causing another bottleneck, should they not comply in time. Sadly, given the history of this tale, we're not expecting Japanese farm owners to be making any irrational bets just yet.
Nikkei: Nintendo to reveal larger 3DS system, 30,000 yen Wii U
Nikkei, a Japanese newspaper with a penchant for correctly reporting Nintendo-related news before its official announcement, is reporting that Nintendo is planning a version of the 3DS with a larger 4.3-inch top screen. This "3DS XL" type system, if (Andriasang's writeup of) Nikkei's report is accurate, could be out this summer in North America, Europe, and Japan.Nikkei also reports that it expects the Wii U to retail for 30,000 yen in Japan. That comes to $383 in US dollars, though Japanese systems tend to be more expensive than in the US – the 3DS is currently equivalent to $190, for example.We'll find out for sure tomorrow: Nintendo's E3 presentation takes place tomorrow at 9am PST.
Apple is Japan's top consumer brand for the first time
The iPad, iPhone and other Apple products have become so popular in Japan that Apple is now Japan's top consumer brand. Just three years ago, Apple was barely visible in the #64 spot in Nikkei's annual brand ranking. Last year, Apple had made it to 11th place, and this year the company skyrocketed to the top of the list. Apple bumped Google from the top spot, which should make Eric Schmidt's weekend an unhappy one. The top ten list follows, with last year's ranking in parentheses: (11) Apple (1) Google (2) Uniqlo (7) YouTube (6) Disney (4) McDonalds (3) Panasonic (5) Nissan (39) Dyson (9) Rakute Business respondents put Apple in second place, with Japan's Toyota in the numero uno position. Not only did Apple make the top brand list as a company, but the iPad and two other products are in the top 40 as individual brands.
Nikkei: Seaman finds new life on the 3DS
Back in the summer of 2010, a tantalizing prospect came up: Seaman on the 3DS. It was teased by Yoot Saito, the creator of the Dreamcast original, and since then we've been all about it. We've been so about it.According to a report from Japanese news outlet Nikkei Inc. (via Andriasang), Seaman is the first of many rival-published games Nintendo is aiming to bring to the 3DS. The report mentions Seaman as an example of the types of games Nintendo is looking to revive on the 3DS, yet sadly offers no further detail on the impending update.Saito, along with three other notable Japanese developers, is working on a special 3DS project for Level-5 called Guild 01. Saito will design one game, to be included with the other three from Suda 51, Yasumi Matsuno and Yoshiyuki Hirai.
Sony's Kaz Hirai to step up as president as early as April (updated)
Nikkei is reporting that Sony will be promoting current Executive Deputy President Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai to president as soon as April, while Howard Stringer is expected to remain chairman and CEO of the company. As you may recall, Sony started its search for a new president as far back as November 2010, and with Kaz's two promotions last year (to Executive Deputy President in April and to Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman in September), it isn't surprising that he's the chosen one to pick up some of Sir Howard's work. It'll be a while before we see the consequences of this promotion, and anything can happen between now and the board meeting as early as next month to seal the deal; but here's hoping that under Kaz, Sony will go easy on all these new memory card formats while it further unifies its various groups within the corporation. Update: Bloomberg has received a brief statement from Sony clarifying that the board has not yet made a decision on this promotion, which isn't really a denial of the plan considering the final board meeting has yet to take place.
Panasonic plans to go forth with Android to all of Europe this spring, North America is a definite maybe
Have you been hoping to experience a Panasonic boom up close and personal, but found yourself in the wrong locale? The Japanese electronics giant wants to change all of that by expanding its Android lineup to Europe and North America, according to Nikkei. The company's said to be in talks with a "major telecommunications firm" in Europe to bring several devices to the continent as early as this spring, and is aspiring to eventually make it to North America and other Asian countries. This lines up with last week's rumors that it was seeking out a PR agency to help spread the news when the time's right. Might we expect Panasonic to make a mobile splash at CES or MWC in a major way? It's going to be exhibiting at both, so we'd say there's a pretty good chance.
Nintendo expected to announce greater loss than forecast for first half of year
Nintendo will announce its earnings on Thursday for the first half of the fiscal year ending in March -- and the Nikkei business daily reports the House of Mario won't deliver happy news. Nikkei (via Reuters) expects the company to announce a recurring loss of ¥100 billion ($1.32B), a greater loss than the predicted ¥55 billion ($725M). Nikkei estimates Nintendo's full-year operating profit will be ¥35 billion ($461M) come March. In Nintendo's revised earnings forecast for the year, announced back in July, the company dropped its estimated profit by 82 percent to ¥20 billion ($257M), from the ¥110 billion ($1.41B) it originally intended to earn. At the time, the company stated the new projection was to reflect "trends of stronger-than-expected yen appreciation and sales performance, the decided price reduction of the Nintendo 3DS hardware, and the sales outlook for the holiday season."
3DS moves 200K+ units after price drop in Japan, hits 1.5m total
After a precipitous drop-off in sales, Nintendo dropped the price of the 3DS worldwide and, in Japan at least, the early numbers show a strong consumer response. After enjoying a steep 40 percent discount on August 11 -- from ¥25,000 to ¥15,000 -- 3DS sales spiked up the week of August 8 through 14. Japanese business pub Nikkei pegged sales at 207,000 units while Famitsu publisher slash game publisher slash market research group Enterbrain puts sales a little higher at 214,821 units. Either way, that's the highest week of sales since the console's February debut, when it managed to move nearly 375K units in a week. As a result, the console has finally clipped past the 1.5 million mark in Japan six months after its release, and just two months after reaching the big million. We'll have to wait a bit longer before we learn how last week's price drop affected sales in Europe and North America.
