Switch game cases are beginning to pop up at Japanese retailers. Twitter user Gaijinhunter stopped by one of these stores, and shared a bunch of photos today. Not only are there images of the cases themselves, but also a couple of shots showing how the size compares to the PSP boxes.
Nintendo has scheduled more maintenance for both Wii U and 3DS as well as maintenance specifically pertaining to the use of eShop cards. As far as the schedule goes, both are as follows:
Wii U / 3DS maintenance (online play, rankings, etc.)
– 4 PM PT (January 30) – 8 PM PT (January 30)
– 7 PM ET (January 30) – 11 PM ET (January 30)
– 12 AM in the UK (January 31) – 4 AM in the UK (January 31)
– 1 AM in Europe (January 31) – 5 AM in Europe (January 31)
Using eShop cards
– 10 AM PT (February 7) – 1 PM PT (February 7)
– 1 PM ET (February 7) – 4 PM ET (February 7)
– 6 PM in the UK (February 7) – 9 PM in Europe (February 7)
– 7 PM in Europe (February 7) – 10 PM in Europe (February 7)
The Japanese Twitter account for Splatoon has posted a handful of screenshots from Splatoon 2 which show off one of the new maps. Called “Barnacles Sports Club” in Japanese (surely the official English name will be pun-tastic), this map was briefly seen in the Splatoon 2 trailer shown at the Switch presentation two weeks ago. As the name implies, it’s sort of a sports club / gym with climbing areas, a pool, fitness equipment and so on. It seems like the spawn point for each teams will be the highest points of the map, with slopes leading down to the central area.
Tsunakazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokemon Company, recently sat down with Nikkei for an interview. Other than some general talk about the games industry and Pokemon GO, he had this to say when asked about safety concerns when playing Pokemon GO:
“To avoid the danger, we also released “Pokemon Go Plus,” the smartphone-linked wearable device, so that “Pokemon Go” players do not have to always be looking down at their smartphone screens. Together with Nintendo, we are thinking of developing a new device that can be played more safely. “
Since the interview was originally conducted in Japanese, there’s always the danger of something being lost in translation, but the word “device” being used here is interesting. Pokemon GO Plus is more of an accessory since you still need an actual smartphone to properly play Pokemon GO, but it seems like Ishihara might be talking about a device here that lets you play the game on its own.
Certainly an interesting possibility, but either way, it seems like this mysterious device is still in the planning stages, so we probably won’t get to see it for a while.
Nintendo just released part 2 of the “Heroes & Heroines” trailer for Fire Emblem Heroes, showing off a couple more of the game’s characters and their all-new artwork and voice samples. Give it a watch:
The above Switch ad was seen in one of Tokyo’s subways. Despite the game not being a launch title, Splatoon 2 is the hightlight. Thanks to eigotaku for the picture!
This week’s expanded Japanese software sales are as follows:
01./00. [PS4] Gravity Rush 2 (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2017.01.19} (¥6.900) – 74.361 / NEW
02./00. [3DS] Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World # (Nintendo) {2017.01.19} (¥4.700) – 39.555 / NEW
03./00. [PS4] Valkyria Revolution (Sega) {2017.01.19} (¥7.990) – 38.197 / NEW
04./01. [PS4] Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue (Square Enix) {2017.01.12} (¥6.800) – 22.758 / 160.555 (-83%)
05./04. [3DS] Pokemon Sun / Moon (Pokemon Co.) {2016.11.18} (¥4.980) – 21.036 / 3.092.277 (-34%)
06./06. [3DS] Yo-Kai Watch 3: Sukiyaki (Level 5) {2016.12.15} (¥4.800) – 20.831 / 629.229 (-10%)
07./00. [PSV] Valkyria Revolution (Sega) {2017.01.19} (¥6.990) – 18.219 / NEW
08./02. [PSV] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony # (Spike Chunsoft) {2017.01.12} (¥6.400) – 15.943 / 92.110 (-79%)
09./05. [3DS] Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo) {2016.12.01} (¥4.700) – 14.285 / 928.969 (-40%)
10./07. [3DS] Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!! (Nintendo) {2016.12.22} (¥4.980) – 8.638 / 269.727 (-48%)
11./03. [PS4] Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony # (Spike Chunsoft) {2017.01.12} (¥7.400) – 7.955 / 47.961 (-80%)
12./08. [PS4] Grand Theft Auto V [New Price Edition] (Take-Two Interactive Japan) {2015.10.08} (¥4.990) – 7.456 / 252.874 (-26%)
13./10. [PSV] Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition # (Sony Computer Entertainment) {2015.03.19} (¥2.400) – 6.824 / 1.090.208 (-23%)
14./09. [PS4] Final Fantasy XV # (Square Enix) {2016.11.29} (¥8.800) – 5.859 / 923.632 (-41%)
15./13. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Welcome amiibo (Nintendo) {2016.11.23} (¥2.700) – 5.033 / 112.797 (-21%)
16./12. [3DS] Miitopia (Nintendo) {2016.12.08} (¥4.700) – 4.775 / 156.947 (-35%)
17./00. [PSV] Hana Oboro: Sengoku Denranki # (Idea Factory) {2017.01.19} (¥6.300) – 4.522 / NEW
18./16. [WIU] Minecraft: Wii U Edition (Microsoft Game Studios) {2016.06.23} (¥3.600) – 3.732 / 279.716 (-24%)
19./18. [PS4] Battlefield 1 (Electronic Arts) {2016.10.21} (¥7.800) – 3.432 / 252.485 (-26%)
20./17. [PS4] Watch Dogs 2 (Ubisoft) {2016.12.01} (¥8.400) – 3.037 / 105.648 (-35%)
Initial Media Create data for the week of January 16 came in earlier this week. However, the sales tracker now provides some extra information about the Japanese market, including an important note about Switch.
Media Create says that Switch pre-orders have already surpassed 80 percent of the system’s initial shipment. While we sadly don’t have a specific number for Switch’s initial shipment in Japan, the fact that it’s already sold through such a high percentage is encouraging. This was also done just after pre-orders opened last weekend.
Megami Meguri has managed to reach another big milestone. The game has surpassed 400,000 downloads, Capcom announced today. It was just last month that it was sitting at around 250,000.
Capcom is working on a major update for Megami Meguri, which will introduce various elements including a Photo Mode. New characters will be added in as well.
Miitomo has been updated with more content. Users will find a new stage, along with some brand new items.
“Snowy superstar! Winter Sportswear #1” is the new stage. It includes the following:
– Ski hat + goggles
– Snowboarding gear
– Polka-dot snowboarding gear
– Snowboard
And as far as the new items go, you can nab the following:
– Tattered dragon wings
– Cossack hat
– Outdoorsy fur vest
– Retro chic squares dress
– Mouton boots
