Latest News
Veteran manga artist exposes exploitative industry practices that are “strangling” Japanese mangaka
Prompted by the recent suicide of manga artist Ashihara Hinako, one industry veteran revealed the biggest problems facing mangaka in Japan, including low incomes and exploitative behavior by publishers.
Could Japan’s Niconico have surpassed YouTube with earlier monetization? platform’s COO comments
Dwango COO Shigetaka Kurita has joined in on discussion about whether Niconico, one of Japan’s biggest video sharing platforms, could have grown greater than YouTube with earlier monetization.
Final Fantasy’s original creator reveals why FFVII was released on PlayStation and not Nintendo 64
Hironobu Sakaguchi recently explained in an interview exactly why Final Fantasy VII never made it to the Nintendo 64, and what made Square go with Sony’s PlayStation instead.
Palworld devs remind people that it’s normal to take a break from a game
In response to recent pessimistic articles about Palworld losing X% of its player base, the game’s representative Bucky reminded players that Palworld will be back with more content and it’s normal for them to take a break and come back later.
Bandai Namco disappointed with performance of “new online game” (meaning Blue Protocol)
Bandai Namco Holdings released their 9-month Financial Report for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, which mentions a new online game falling short of forecasts. This likely refers to the MMO Blue Protocol.
Editor’s choices
Non-gaming news
New Gundam co-produced by Evangelion’s studio Khara rakes in 598 million yen in three days, taking top spot at box office
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- sees explosive popularity in its opening weekend, taking the No. 1 spot at the Japanese box office.
Indie games
Learn Japanese by taking photos in this cozy new game (Updated)
Shashingo: Learn Japanese with Photography is a fun new language learning game that helps you learn everyday Japanese by taking photos.
nintendo
Nintendo’s attorney weighs in on what makes emulators illegal
Koji Nishiura, patent attorney and deputy general manager of Nintendo’s intellectual property department, talks about legal problems surrounding emulation.