Japan Gaming Guide

Importer’s favourite freeloader is back, courtesy of Datel. Once again you can play import games on Wii. Great news for everyone! Nintendo might not be happy about it though. The problem is they can release a firmware update at any time which can cripple the software again. Probably best to buy a pile of foreign games and burn through them as quickly as possible, before Nintendo ruin your fun.

[Read]

If you happen to be in the vicinity of an American ‘Toys R Us’ store over the holiday period, you might want to pick up the overlooked GBA title Mazes of Fate, which is going for the bargain price of $9.99. Mazes of Fate is an old school dungeon crawler reminiscent of the classic Eye of the Beholder – its new low price apparently reflects the developer’s lack of publishing clout rather than any lack of quality.

Not only is it a great bargain, but is also the first Nintendo game developed in Latin America. Not only that, but the game’s official website has a downright lovely loading animation – we’re sold already.

[Read]

Nintendo continue their upward march. As the Wii and DS continue to sell, their share price continues to rise. Stock in the Kyoto giant has doubled in the last year which means they are now the second largest company in Japan, after Toyota.

With the Wii and DS Nintendo have released two outstandingly successful products at the same time. With games like Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Fit coming out over the next few months, it seems like their good fortune will continue.

Sony and Microsoft are struggling to keep up, but neither are resting on their laurels. Halo 3 has given the Xbox 360 a boost, and Sony are price cutting to try and regain some ground.  We think the gap will narrow as the prices come down, but Nintendo have considerable momentum and look set to continue as market leader for a while to come.

[Read]

Our favourite crazy genius has just won another game design award. Nintendo’s flamboyant designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, has been handed the Economist magazine’s Innovation Award for Consumer Goods.The award reflects Miyamoto’s pioneering role in the games industry and his influence on products from the Mario series through to the Wii.

[Read]

Wiimote accidents. We’ve all had them. Some people bash them against walls, some hurl them into televisions, windows and loved ones. Some smash them in anger when the batteries fail in the middle of Wii Sports tennis. The list of dangers is endless. Fortunately, Nintendo love and care about you! They’ve already given us more secure wrist straps to stop us losing our grip, now we’re getting the gaming equivalent of a crash helmet. The Wii Jacket is a neat little garment to soften the impact of any collisions that may occur during play. It’s also completely free, so what are you waiting for?

[Read]

Wireless devices, including the Nintendo DS and the PSP are now banned on Japanese airlines. This means you’ll now have to content yourself with watching the array of inflight movies and enjoying the wide selection of beverages available to make your journey a pleasant one. Just switch that DS off!

[Read]

Little did Nintendo realise what they started when they married cell-shaded animation to the Zelda series. One gaming couple decided to celebrate their love with this Wind Waker cake. Resembling one of the islands that Link explores on his nautical travels, this is one of the finest expressions of nerdom we’ve seen.

[Read, via 4ColorRebellion]

Nintendo might be enjoying fabulous wealth at the moment, but some of their customers may be in trouble, at least if they’re using Nintendo’s home expenses diary software for the NDS. The software contains a minor bug and can sometimes make incorrect calculations.

So if you suddenly find your hard earned savings have vanished, blame Nintendo. Or buy some new games to cheer yourself up.

[Read]

Shigeru Miyamoto recently gave an interview to Time. The legendary game designer answered 10 fan submitted questions. Topics include a Zelda movie, the relationship between casual and hardcore gaming and advice for aspiring game creators.

Naturally, we regard Miyamoto san as nothing short of a God here at JGG. When Super Mario Galaxy comes out we may literally die of excitement. A shame, since then we won’t be able to play it. Follow the link for the full interview.

No surprises in the June hardware sales figures. Over 270,000 Wiis were shifted, compared to 41,628 PS3s and 17,610 Xbox 360s. Reuters points out that’s a 6-1 advantage to the Wii, compared to the 4-1 advantage in April and a 5-1 advantage in May.

Nintendo’s charge saw them briefly overtake Sony’s share price to break into Japan’s richest ten companies.

Surely Sony will have to take action sooner or later – is a price cut on the way?

[Read, via Hexus.Gaming]