Japan News, Japan Features - Page 8 of 23

Sometimes we deliberate whether to even bother typing up the Japanese sales charts

There's often not much to commentate on, but this week is huge. Final Fantasy XIII-2 topped the Media Create sourced charts, selling over 500k units on the PlayStation 3. While the numbers look impressive on their own, it's worth noting that the game's predecessor managed to sell 1.1 million units back in 2009. The..

Following up Enterbrain's figures yesterday, Japanese sales tracking firm Media Create has released an alternative preliminary report on the PlayStation Vita's opening sales figures

Andriasang reports that the company puts the PS Vita's opening sales at about 325,000 units — slightly higher than Enterbrain. The firm also noted that the the initial shipment was around 500,000 units, supporting..

If you were a little disappointed by yesterday's PlayStation Vita sales numbers, it's probably because you believed an earlier rumour that put the system's initial shipment at about 700,000 units

But that number's been clarified overnight. In a column posted on Nikkei, IGDA Japan vice coordinator Kyoshi Shin said that the shipment was closer to 500,000 units. However, Shin was critical of Sony's..

Lots of happy customers

After the PlayStation Vita launch in Japan the first sales figures are in, and they're pretty healthy. As reported by Andriasang, Vita sold a very impressive 321,407 units in its first two days on sale (17th and 18th December). By comparison, back in February Nintendo sold 371,326 3DS consoles in two days, so it could be a...

The Corpse Party franchise is only just finding its feet in the West

XSEED translated and released the quirky handheld horror title in the West earlier this month. But Japan's already gearing up for the franchise's third entry, with word of a new game — tentatively titled Corpse Party 2U — appearing in the latest issue of Dengeki PlayStation magazine. Details are scarce, but Siliconera notes..

The newly released PlayStation Vita enjoyed a strong start in Japan, but failed to outpace the Nintendo 3DS in its first two days on sale

Famitsu reports that Enterbrain recorded 321,407 PS Vita consoles were sold within the system's first 48 hours on the market. In the same period the Nintendo 3DS scooped up 371,326, but Sony will be not be concerned as long as PS Vita sales remain consistent. The..

First photos in

PlayStation Vita launched in Japan on Saturday, and Sony bigwigs Andrew House and Kaz Hirai attended the official launch event to meet the very first PlayStation Vita owners. There's no official sales for the first weekend yet but we'll bring you when we get them. The following photo story is one of our moments of the gaming year so...

The PlayStation Vita is now out in Japan

That means there are impressions, videos and information already all over the Internet. But if you want some definitive discussion all in one place, the 8-4 Play podcast has got your back. For those unfamiliar: 8-4 Play is fronted by a couple of former US games journalists who now work in Japan on video game localisation. You might not know their name, but..

There's officially a new member to the PlayStation family

Almost 12 months after Sony unveiled its "Next Generation Portable" to the world, the platform holder has released the PlayStation Vita to much fanfare in Japan. Despite the inclement weather, gamers in their hundreds gathered outside Japanese retailers to get their hands on the new system. Something that makes us green with envy..

With the PlayStation Vita due out in less than 24 hours in Japan, we're starting to get a slow and steady trickle of news and information

The littlest details are always the most fascinating. Take for example the PlayStation Vita's boxes — just how big are they? ShopTo News has got your back, with a selection of images comparing the PS Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to a variety of..

Have you ever been walking to work wishing you could listen to the Uncharted soundtrack along the way? It happens to the best of us

But it's mighty frustrating when you realise you haven't got the MP3 on your portable music player of choice. Sony's PlayStation Game Music service in Japan attempts to alleviate that problem. The service allows subscribers to several mobile services to stream a..

Nintendo's 3DS dominated the hardware and software charts in Japan this week, with Mario Kart 7 getting off to a stormer

But while the system-seller pushed over 400k units, the PlayStation 3 port of popular arcade title Gundam Extreme VS wasn't far behind — selling a very respectable 349k units. Newcomer Assassin's Creed: Revelations managed to climb into fourth spot, while Tekken Hybrid and King..

Either the quality of games is improving or Famitsu's getting soft

The Japanese bible has dished out a perfect score to Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy XIII-2, just a week after it awarded a similarly "rare" 40/40 to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Perhaps importantly, the magazine notes that Square Enix has managed to straighten out any creases found in the original Final Fantasy XIII,..

Things aren't going smoothly at Team ICO it seems

Just days after creative lead Fumito Ueda reassured fans regarding the development of The Last Guardian, news of another departure has surfaced. This time it's the game's executive producer, who's left Sony for London based casual games studio, Bossa. Yoshifusa Hayama worked as the executive producer on The Last Guardian, as well as ICO and Final..

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan held its annual PlayStation Awards overnight, celebrating the best-selling PlayStation games of the year

As with recent years, Sony also used the event to give out some special awards that were voted for by fans of the platform. The awards covered games released between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011. Six games won a gold prize, determined by 500k sales..

Following a successful launch for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Japan seems pumped to get its hands on upcoming portable outing Uncharted: Golden Abyss

The Sony Bend developed exclusive won a poll conducted by Japanese gaming bible Famitsu magazine, which also noted that more than 50% of readers intend to buy the system at launch. Just 8.2% of readers said they have no plans to buy Sony's new..

Who said PlayStation Vita can't compete with the glut of $1 iPhone applications? Konami's confirmed that it will release a free game to coincide with the new handheld's Japanese launch

The wordy AR Combat Digi Q: Friend Tank Battalion, will release for free on the PlayStation Store, providing players with five stages of the augmented reality battle tank sim. Players will then be able to stump up..

Despite what Sony says, the PlayStation Vita is as much a multimedia power-house as it is a gaming machine

But while games such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss are stealing all the headlines, some of the PS Vita's lesser known features are getting brushed under the carpet. In an interview with Impress Watch, a selection of Sony's hardware developers talked openly about the system's multimedia functions,..

Despite a smattering of new software releases, it was pretty uneventful seven days for PlayStation in Japan this week

Hardware sales were down after the enthusiasm of new colours last week, with the PlayStation 3 shifting 34k units and the PSP just behind with 33k units. After its tremendous debut last week, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 dropped to tenth in the all formats charts, selling a..