SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

video games (Page 111)

The “Nintendo PlayStation”: a look at the console that could’ve changed gaming history【Video】

Scott Wilson
Nov 10, 2015
Tweet

For most modern gamers, the idea of rival video game giants Nintendo and Sony collaborating on a project is pretty much unthinkable. But believe it or not, back in the day when the Super Nintendo was king, Sony and Nintendo were supposed to team up to make a new console. Unfortunately the deal went sour, and it was thought that all prototypes of the mythical Sony-Nintendo console were gone.

Until now. A working copy of what has been dubbed the “Nintendo PlayStation” was recently brought to light and shown off online for the world to see. Join us after the jump to witness what could’ve been…

Japan
(history • myth • nintendo • playstation • Sony • video • video games)

Adorable Avengers, assemble! Marvel’s heroes getting the Tsum Tsum treatment in new mobile game

Casey Baseel
Nov 10, 2015

Earth’s mightiest and cuddliest super-deformed heroes are set to assemble in a new smartphone game follow-up to the Disney hit.

Japan
(Avengers • Iron Man • Marvel • mobile games • Smartphones • tsum tsum • video games)

Super Mario Maker update doubles down on creepy “Skinny Mario” with weird easter egg【Video】

Mike
Nov 9, 2015

Super Mario Maker, the toolkit/game for Wii U that allows Mario fans to build their very own levels using a vast array of items and characters from the games’ universe, is without a doubt a huge hit. Players had been craving the ability to DIY their own levels for the classic series pretty much since the original handful of games were released for the original NES.

One addition to the game that players never expected to see was the inclusion of the crazy “Weird Mushroom”—originally a glitch in the first Super Mario Bros.—which turns Mario into “Skinny Mario,” a creepy, distorted Mario whose lanky limbs wiggle about all over the place with each (giant) jump.

Skinny Mario was, to put it lightly, not well-received by the gaming community, and Nintendo had a golden opportunity to fix it when it released the first update to the game a few days ago. Except, instead of doing away with Skinny Mario, Nintendo actually decided to include even more, super creepy, Skinny Mario appearances.

Global, Internet, Japan
(creepy • Mario • Mario Maker • video games • weird)

Capcom opens its first directly operated character cafe with exclusive Monster Hunter X menu

Oona McGee
Nov 9, 2015

Have you ever wanted to refuel like a character from your favourite video game? Well soon you’ll be able to, thanks to the new Capcom Cafe that’s set to open in Saitama Prefecture later this month.

Capcom, the Japanese video game developer and publisher who brought us hugely successful hits like Resident Evil, Street Fighter and Devil May Cry, will be offering exclusive merchandise and tie-in menus to promote various games at their new cafe, and for their opening they’ll be celebrating with meals, sweets and drinks in honour of their next big video game release, Monster Hunter X.

Japan
(biohazard • cafes • Capcom • gaming • Monster Hunter • Resident Evil • Street Fighter • video games)

Subway-riding Pikachu displays terrifying Pokémon power/hidden limb

Casey Baseel
Nov 9, 2015

This is why the Pokémon Company won’t sell you a full-size Pikachu costume.

Internet
(anime • cosplay • funny • nintendo • Pikachu • Pokemon • video games)

Dhalsim’s “Yoga Rap” isn’t rap, but it is impossible to get out of your head 【Video】

Master Blaster
Nov 7, 2015

As one of the original Street Fighter II characters, it’s hard not to feel a spot of nostalgic fondness for Dhalsim. Thanks to him I’ve been practicing yoga every day in the hopes that I might one day be able to kick people in the face from 10 yards away. I think that comes on the brink of enlightenment, however, as I still have to get pretty close to people to do any serious damage.

But now my meditation just got a lot easier with the release of the “Yoga Rap” on YouTube. It’s a quick song, but not when you play it on a continuous loop as I have thanks to its infectious chants of “yoga fire” and “yoga flame” over and over and over again.

Internet, Japan
(Dhalsim • Dhalsim Rap • EDM • music • Street Fighter • video • video games)

“Whiteday” – A Korean virtual reality horror game that’s sure to get your heart racing【Video】

Jamie Koide
Nov 6, 2015

White Day, observed on March 14, is celebrated in Korea the same way it’s celebrated in Japan: by men confessing their love or returning the affections of the women who gave them chocolate on Valentine’s Day.

But what happens when your plans to leave the girl of your dreams a sweet surprise get you locked inside your school and running for your life, chased by possessed janitors and other ghastly haunts? You get the horror game Whiteday: A Labyrinth Named School, which is getting a re-make and will be released later this month.

Korea
(Horror • playstation • ROI GAMES • Sony • video games • white day • White Day: A Labyrinth Named School)

Fan-made live-action Metroid video is triumphantly awesome, tragically not in theaters 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Nov 5, 2015

Every couple of years, rumors surfaces of some slim chance that a live-action Legend of Zelda film is about to get the green light from rights holder Nintendo. Then, as suddenly as the speculation began, it fizzles out, leaving fans feeling dejected about the lack of a big screen quest for Link and Zelda.

Really, though, The Legend of Zelda’s storyline and overall visual look vary so much from one video game installment to the next that a film adaptation would probably fail to please gamers whose favorite chapter wasn’t used as the specific source material. On the other hand, Metroid, Nintendo’s dark space adventure, has the foundation for an awesome, crowd-pleasing movie, as this fan-made live-action short film shows.

Japan
(awesome • Live action • Metroid • nintendo • video • video games)

Adorable Japanese kids’ homemade Splatoon costumes are ink-redible【Pics】

Scott Wilson
Nov 5, 2015

Halloween may be over, but that hasn’t put a stop to the internet being flooded with pictures of all the amazing and not-really-amazing-but-still-popular costumes that people wore.

One costume that was especially popular this year was the Inklings from the Wii U game Splatoon, but the ones who pulled it off the best have to be this pair of Japanese kids. Not only are their costumes homemade, but they look absolutely adorable while running around covering everything in pretend ink.

Japan
(cosplay • cute • halloween • kids • nintendo • Splatoon • video games)

LED potion lamp heals us with its array of colors, sets perfect adventure mood

KK Miller
Nov 5, 2015

Growing up with video games, there are a number of make-believe items we’d love to pull out from a bag to make our everyday lives better. Even just an ordinary potion could mean going from a sloth-like laziness to the get-up-and-go of a hummingbird. Sure, there have been plenty of elixirs concocted by drink makers that turn out to be delicious and colorful, but there’s another potion hitting the markets that we are looking to add to our stash to raise the hit points of our mood, since it’s an LED potion lamp!

Internet
(cool • interior • lamp • LED • potion • ThinkGeek • video • video games)

Japanese netizens unsure about Dhalism’s new look in Street Fighter V

Jamie Koide
Nov 3, 2015

Leading up to the much-anticipated release of Street Fighter V early next year, trailers showcasing the roster of characters have gradually been popping up online. The most recent of which revealed that Dhalsim, the stretchy yoga master with a penchant for fire, would be making a comeback, something which left some players feeling rather underwhelmed since he’s not exactly a crowd favorite in Japan or abroad.

But whether or you’re a fan of the character or not, few could deny that Dhalsim’s new look is a little bit confusing.

Internet, Japan
(Capcom • characters • Dhalsim • PS4 • reactions • Street Fighter V • video games)

Do Minecraft lessons, an edible garden, and diploma iPads make this the greatest school in Japan?

KK Miller
Oct 31, 2015

Education is always one of the number one topics of conversation among citizens. People want to know that their child is given the best education that they can get, and they will pick up and move to a new neighborhood just so their kids can be in a better school.

But just how do you determine what the best school is? A strong case can be made for Aiwa Elementary School in Tokyo as the best elementary school in all of Japan, and we are going to give you three reasons why: Minecraft, edible gardens, and iPads.

Japan
(Aiwa Elementary School • edible gardens • education • ipad • Minecraft • Tokyo • video games)

Cute but creepy exploration game set in Japan releasing in time for Halloween on PS Vita

Cara Clegg
Oct 30, 2015

Are you afraid of the dark? Most children are, but as we get older we get used to going out at night and start to realize that the world during the twilight hours is the same as during the day, only a bit darker.

But that lingering fear of the darkness often remains somewhere deep inside, forgotten but never entirely gone. Bring those fears back to the fore again this Halloween with Yomawari, a cute but creepy new game for the PlayStation Vita.

Japan
(gaming • halloween • Horror • PS Vita • scary • Sony • spooky • video games • Yomawari)

Yo-kai Watch’s Western debut is upon us, but have the Yokai already become lost in translation?

Evie Nyan
Oct 30, 2015

We’ve been telling our fine readers for literally years now about Yo-kai Watch, the Pokémon-esque game/manga/anime series that’s full of adorable yet mischievous collectible yokai monsters. And now that the series has been newly localised and adapted for the West, you’re finally going to see for yourselves what’s been driving Japanese kids to ritually torch bonfires of old Pokémon goods in favour of worshipping the new yokai overlords. Okay, we’re exaggerating, but only a little bit.

Of course, the success of any Japanese import into the Western market hinges on a heartfelt and thorough localisation process. It happened to Pokémon—Satoshi became Ash Ketchum, and many Pokémon were entirely renamed—and now it’s happening to Yo-kai Watch, too.

But is the very Japanese charm of the new franchise about to be seriously lost in translation?

Europe, Global, Internet, Japan, USA
(anime • nintendo • video games • yokai • Yokai Watch • Youkai Watch)

Nintendo’s first smartphone app creates a virtual you that does social networking all on its own

Casey Baseel
Oct 29, 2015

Last month it was announced that the Pokémon franchise would be coming to smartphones in Pokémon GO, an ambitious augmented reality mobile title. But while Pokémon is often associated with Nintendo, the brand itself is managed by The Pokémon Company, a semi-independent subsidiary of the video game hardware and software giant.

Today, Nintendo revealed the first stage of plans for its long-awaited Nintendo-branded smartphone apps, but those hoping for a new game starring Mario or Link are going to have to keep waiting. As a matter of fact, Nintendo’s first official smartphone release isn’t a game at all, but a system by which to make a virtual recreation of yourself that will autonomously talk about you in the social media sphere.

Japan
(Miitomo • nintendo • Smartphones • social networking • video games)

“Smash Bros. and chill” is disturbing, borderline not-safe-for-work【Pics】

Meg Murphy
Oct 29, 2015

Ever since Twitter user @itsIsaaaaaaac tweeted those famous words, “Netflix and chill“, internet meme-dom, and indirect invitations to have a “good time” with it, were forever changed.

As a result, the internet is now packed full of hilarious and awkward examples of what can happen when one puts out that particular call. But what if, mused one net user, instead of offering to Netflix and chill one was to make a similar offer to “Smash Bros. and chill“? What would that even look like?

Thanks to the work of the Internet masses, we now have the answer. And it’s hilariously inappropriate.

Internet
(inappropraite behavior • memes • Netflix and chill • nintendo • Pokemon • Smash Bros • video games)

Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto wanted everyone to kiss and make up at the end of GoldenEye

KK Miller
Oct 28, 2015

Nintendo’s last cartridge-based home console, the Nintendo 64, was home to a long list of games that no doubt played a big part in many of our lives, and none more so than GoldenEye 007. A first-person shooter that followed the storyline of the James Bond movie of the same name, GoldenEye’s all-guns-blazing split-screen multiplayer mode made and broke many a friendship over the years, and was considered the epitome of fun in back in 1997 when it launched.

But the game was an odd choice to appear exclusively on a console made by Nintendo—a company with a reputation for squeaky-clean fun and family-friendly software. And it turns out that the violent nature of GoldenEye was a matter of deep concern for Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s most influential director and producer and the creator of Super Mario. So much, in fact, that he suggested an alternate ending to the game: one where everyone shook hands and made up.

Global, Japan
(007 • James Bond • nintendo • Shigeru Miyamoto • video games • violence in video games)

Japanese boys love game wants players to unleash their libido, match some man-nipples

Joan Coello
Oct 28, 2015

Japanese game makers and gamers take their chosen medium of entertainment very seriously, and there are titles out there for just about every conceivable audience, even niche genres such as “BL” (boys love). Although it may seem like the audience for such titles may not be so big, there are numerous BL titles on the market to satisfy the desires of fujoshi gamers.

Even among the many titles, however, one particular game titled Out Division has managed to catch its players unaware with a unique take on the classic memory game. Fancy playing a game of nipple matching, anyone?

Japan
(boys love • fujoshi • online game • video games • weird)

Nintendo’s 8-bit Famicom getting first new cartridge in 21 years with chiptune album 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Oct 28, 2015

As we head towards the end of the year, video game publishers are pulling out their big guns. But what if the modern gaming world leaves you feeling cold? Maybe you’re burned out on multiplayer first-person shooters, and open-world game sandboxes hold as much appeal to you as the pet poop-concealing one in your neighborhood park.

In that case, you’ll be happy to know that this December, Nintendo’s 8-bit Famicom, the Japanese version of the NES, is getting its first commercial cartridge release in more than two decades.

Japan
(chiptunes • famicom • music • NES • nintendo • retro games • video • video games)

Say Hello (Kitty) to my little friend — Sanrio’s famous mascot as a custom assault rifle

Jamie Koide
Oct 27, 2015

Although most online first-person shooters these days allow players to customize their avatar to an extent, with only limited options it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd on the battlefield. You might spot someone with the occasional paid-DLC hat or weapon, but nothing we’ve seen comes anywhere close to the awesomeness of this Hello Kitty-inspired assault rifle.

But just who exactly is the genius behind this masterpiece? You might be surprised to find out they have closer connections to the gaming industry than you might have first expected.