VERACITY IN GAMING
VERACITY IN GAMING
SD Gundam Battle Alliance’s Steam player count is off to a great start, but reviews have been mixed
SD Gundam Battle Alliance launched on August 25 (JST) for PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. This latest Gundam game appears to be enjoying a successful start on Steam in terms of both sales and player count. When looking at the reviews themselves, however, currently 58% are positive.
A Soul Hackers 2 tagline about the game being a successor to Persona and SMT doesn’t sit right with Japanese fans
An advertising tagline for Soul Hackers 2 in Japan has given rise to some complicated feelings among fans of the series. When promoting the game via TV commercials, Twitter, and other media, Atlus has used the tagline: “The new Atlus RPG that succeeds Shin Megami Tensei and Persona.”
Masahiro Sakurai launches a YouTube channel with the goal of making games more fun
Game creator Masahiro Sakurai has launched a new YouTube channel called Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games. Sakurai gave his reason for creating the channel by saying, “I want to try and help make games around the world a little more fun,” and explained that it will consist of videos that provide easy-to-understand explanations about various game design elements and methods.
ByMie Aoki
FFXIV producer/director Naoki Yoshida criticizes a Japanese internet service provider over connection issues
ISP in Japan called NURO Hikari warns of connection trouble on the day of FFXIV patch 6.2 due to “online game updates” FFXIV producer/director Naoki Yoshida previously criticized a Japanese internet service provider over connection issues.
Bloodborne Kart adds Father Gascoigne to its roster
Game developer Lilith Walther has provided a status update on her Bloodborne fangame, Bloodborne Kart. In addition to new gameplay videos, it was also revealed that Father Gascoigne will be a playable character.
Sakurai’s daily Super Smash Bros. Ultimate screenshots come to an end after nearly 3 years of updates
Game creator Masahiro Sakurai has concluded his daily upload of screenshots from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Sakurai began posting one screenshot each day starting in December of 2019, and after continuing for roughly 2 years and 8 months, announced on August 23 (JST) that the project has come to an end.
Japan gets a new gaming credit card with the Saison Gaming Card Digital
Credit Saison has announced that the Saison Gaming Card Digital, a credit card aimed at gamers, will soon be available in Japan. Credit Saison had previously offered the Saison Gaming Card which launched in December 2020. The card was based on the concept of a credit card made for gamers.
Ninja Slayer game sees a massive sales boost after a speedrunning event and a name change
The official Twitter account for the cyberpunk ninja novel Ninja Slayer has reported that the tie-in game NINJASLAYER: AREA 4643 received a massive boost in sales over the past week. According to their tweet, the recent name change, and increased recognition are being reflected in the sales.
Spatial audio voice chat tool CRI TeleXus has been officially released
CRI Middleware has begun offering the official version of its communication middleware CRI TeleXus. This new version includes a voice chat function that supports spatial audio. Future additions are expected to include an AI interpreting function that will enable conversations between speakers of different languages.
Game retailer in Japan to counter PS5 reselling by requiring customers to sell their PS4 when buying a PS5
Japanese game, movie, and entertainment media retailer GEO has announced a new measure to prevent reselling in their upcoming PS5 lottery. Customers will be required to sell the store their PS4 in order to purchase their PS5.
Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone to get movie adaptations as Sega partners with Picturestart
Sega has announced that Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone are getting movie adaptations which are being developed in cooperation with Picturestart.
Dimension Girl is a new roguelite action game featuring Subspace Coneru
Publisher CREST has announced side-scrolling roguelite action game Dimension Girl -Jigen Shoujo- Subspace Coneru for Nintendo Switch and PC (Steam). It's based on the Dimension Girl Subspace Coneru character from the creative brand Gravity Beyond XD and its leading creator Hyperspace.
HORI announces the Split Pad Fit for Nintendo Switch, a slimmer version of the Split Pad Pro controller
Game accessory maker HORI has announced that it will be releasing the Split Pad Fit for Nintendo Switch in Japan. HORI previously created the Split Pad Pro, and the company received many requests to make a slightly more compact version. This lead to the creation of the Split Pad Fit.
Elden Ring players discover a quarrel between location names
There is an area in Elden Ring that has grabbed the attention of players due to a strange phenomenon where the location names are seemingly in dispute with one another, causing both names to alternate on screen.
A VTuber’s Anonymous;Code stream was cut off with a copyright strike despite getting permission for the broadcast
VTuber Rio Minase's recent livestream of Anonymous;Code, which he received permission to broadcast, was recently cut short due to a copyright strike mid-stream. It appears that Mages' Chiyomaru Shikura was watching the broadcast when he decided to submit a copyright claim against the stream.
Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Niikawa resigns, bringing chairman Kitazumi back into the role
Nippon Ichi Software announced on August 19 (JST) that Sohei Niikawa has resigned from his role as the company’s president and representative director for personal reasons. Chairman Koichi Kitazumi will act as chairman and president of Nippon Ichi Software going forward.
A Nintendo Switch table arcade cabinet has gamers intrigued
Japanese company Ittoku has revealed a prototype product called Full HD Table Type Arcade Cabinet Switch Docking Model that lets you play the Nintendo Switch on a nostalgic table style arcade cabinet, and many gamers are intrigued by it.
Former Nintendo developer spots a game they directed being used without permission in a mobile game ad
Former Nintendo employee and game creator Takaya Imamura spotted a mobile game ad using an image from a Nintendo game without permission and took to Twitter to express his bewilderment. The image in the ad looks to be from Steel Diver: Sub Wars, a game that was developed during Imamura’s time at the company.
Embracer Group acquires its first Japanese studio Tatsujin, plans to bring Toaplan’s games to PC [UPDATE]
Embracer Group revealed studio acquisitions, including their first Japanese studio, Tatsujin. The Tokyo-based company handles the licenses for classic Toaplan titles like Flying Shark (Sky Shark), Kyukyoku Tiger (Twin Cobra), Zero Wing, and Tatsujin (Truxton).
Ninja Slayer game gets a sudden name change on Steam because some weren’t aware it was related to the series
The name of the Ninja Slayer tie-in game AREA 4643 has been changed. The new title is NINJASLAYER: AREA 4643, and it was changed because of the number of people that didn’t know it was a Ninja Slayer game. “After watching RTA in Japan and seeing nobody realize that this was a Ninja Slayer game, we added the title.”
Sunsoft brings back a kusoge legend by announcing Ikki Unite for Steam
Sunsoft's Ikki Unite is a new title based on the action-shooting game Ikki, which was first released on arcade in 1985 and later ported to a number of consoles including the Famicom. The game was also known at the time for being deemed a kusoge (crap game) by illustrator Jun Miura.
Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak’s Anomaly Investigations reportedly easier than EX 5-star Anomaly Quests, even at the highest level
As of now, the highest quest level for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak's Anomaly Investigations is 100, which one might think would produce the strongest monsters in the game. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Twitter user @aru__ch has been looking into the matter and their findings have been drawing attention from fans.