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July 11, 2026
 

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VIDEO GAMES

Gaming enthusiasts check out the Sony PlayStation booth during the Tokyo Game Show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture in September.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 8, 2026
Sony hits eject on the era of owning games
Fans are losing one of their last bits of leverage over an industry that is going places many don¡¯t like and there are clear downsides from Sony¡¯s move.
From January 2028, PlayStation games will release only as digital downloads, calling into question protections about ownership over software and the long-term playability of older titles released on discs.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 2, 2026
Sony to end video game disc production in January 2028
The gaming giant says the move toward digital-only games aligns the company with consumer trends toward online marketplaces.
Japan¡¯s global soft power through anime and video games has grown in recent years in part because it largely remains more attuned to fans than investors.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2026
Don¡¯t let Wall Street crush Japan¡¯s soft power
Gamers fear that big money, foreign or otherwise, is going to ruin what might be one of the least-touched bastions of nerd entertainment.
A French consumer advocacy group filed a claim alleging "planned obsolescence" in 2020, saying Nintendo knew some controllers were failing too quickly.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2026
Nintendo agrees to €35 million French fine over faulty Switch controllers
France¡¯s consumer protection agency determined that Nintendo Europe had not sufficiently informed consumers of a recurring problem despite the console being sold for years.
Scientist Brett Kagan looks at cortical and hippocampal cells on cell culture plates as they attempt to decode morse code, at Cortical Labs' Physical Containment Level 2 laboratory in Melbourne.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
May 31, 2026
Australian researchers teach brain cells to play Doom video game
Each so-called ¡°biological computer¡± contains around 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations.
Other Japanese role-playing game series may be more popular overseas, but in Japan, Dragon Quest still reigns supreme ¡ª even 40 years after the first game in the franchise hit shelves.
LIFE / Digital
May 27, 2026
On Dragon Quest¡¯s 40th anniversary, ¡®it¡¯s impossible to ignore its influence¡¯
The famous JRPG franchise that developers around the world say set the standard for the genre turns 40 on May 27.
Despite record Switch 2 sales and blockbuster movie success, Nintendo's shares have plunged as investors worry about rising costs and the company's lack of announced hit games for the crucial holiday season.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 24, 2026
Nintendo gamers love surprises. Investors don¡¯t.
The stock selloff is not entirely irrational: Investors can¡¯t value what they don¡¯t know and Nintendo¡¯s plans for this year are a mystery.
In Coffee Talk Tokyo, a new visual novel game set in a near-future Tokyo populated by spirits and folkloric creatures, the player steps into the role of a barista dispensing as much advice as caffeine.
LIFE / Digital
May 23, 2026
A salaryman, a ghost and a water spirit walk into a coffee bar
Out May 21, visual novel Coffee Talk Tokyo trades flashy gameplay for thoughtful meditations on life in a near-future Japan.
Nintendo shares climbed as much as 6.8% in Tokyo Tuesday to mark a third straight day of gains ¡ª their longest winning streak since mid-March.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 19, 2026
Nintendo shares rebound as AI fatigue fuels Japan stock rotation
Nintendo shares climbed as much as 6.8% in Tokyo to mark a third straight day of gains ¡ª their longest winning streak since mid-March.
Despite Tokyo's outsized impact on Japan in real life, much of Forza Horizon 6's content sends players through Japan's more rural stretches than its neon-soaked cities.
LIFE / Digital
May 14, 2026
Forza Horizon 6 is all gas, no brakes in series¡¯ first Japan pit stop
The newest entry to the arcade racing series isn¡¯t exactly subtle about portraying Japan as a playground for cars ¡ª but that¡¯s what makes it so fun.
A customer visits the gaming section for Nintendo products at a shop in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2026
Nintendo shares dive after forecast exposes memory squeeze
Nintendo shares had shed close to 30% this year through Friday, with concerns growing about the slow pace of game launches since the Switch 2¡¯s debut in June.
Sony Group said Friday it expects operating profit to rise about 11% to ?1.6 trillion for the year through March 2027, broadly in line with market expectations.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 8, 2026
Sony announces $3 billion buyback as memory prices take toll
Sony¡¯s shares are down 22% this year as escalating component costs erode margins across the consumer electronics industry.
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2026
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Inkonbini developer Dima Shen says convenience stores are like ¡°safe rooms¡± from video games: familiar, friendly and always there when you need them.
Nintendo¡¯s Switch 2 was the best-selling console in the U.S. in March, driven by the surprise hit Pokemon Pokopia, as hardware spending jumped 69% year on year to $500 million.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2026
Pokopia flurry helps Nintendo¡¯s Switch 2 top U.S. sales in March
Pokemon Pokopia, an entry in a budding genre of ¡°cozy games¡± that eschew leaderboards and time pressure, swept to global success with little expectation ahead of its release.
A professional table tennis player competes against Sony AI autonomous robot Ace in December in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2026
Table tennis robot Ace makes history by beating top-level human players
The feat could presage an array of other applications for similarly adept robots.
A Sanrio store in Tokyo's Asakusa district. Sanrio is launching a new gaming brand, with some 10 titles to be released over the next three years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2026
Sanrio launches gaming brand, tapping fast-growing global market
Sanrio¡¯s push into gaming reflects a broader trend among Japanese intellectual property owners to diversify revenue by extending popular franchises into interactive entertainment.
Sony Pictures Entertainment is restructuring for growth, leading to hundreds of job cuts across its film, TV and corporate divisions in the coming months.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2026
Sony Pictures Entertainment to cut hundreds of jobs in TV and film
The job cuts at Sony Pictures come amid a deep slump and existential crisis in Hollywood, which has faced setbacks, two labor strikes and the ongoing collapse of cable TV.
Sony has raised the prices of its PlayStation 5 video-game console lineup by as much as $150, citing economic pressures.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2026
Sony raises PlayStation 5 prices by up to $150 citing economic pressures
The increases are a continuation of an unusual trend for gaming consoles, where prices have gone up over time instead of gradually falling.
U.S. crime plunged in 2025 to near historic lows, with declines driven by post-pandemic normalization, possible effects of deportation policy and reduced social activity by restless youths as more time is spent on phones and video games.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2026
Are video games and phones helping to reduce crime?
¡°More kids seem to be spending more time at home in their basements scrolling on their phones rather than out carousing with friends,¡± an expert said.
Nintendo plans to make 4 million units of its Switch 2 game console this quarter, falling short of the 6 million it had originally planned to produce.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 25, 2026
Nintendo cuts Switch 2 output by over 30% on weak holiday sales
After a record-setting debut in June, sales of the Switch 2 have failed to meet Nintendo management¡¯s high expectations.
China¡¯s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese payment processor¡¯s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm¡¯s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ?115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Trump says ¡®Japan¡¯ instead of Iran at meeting in Ankara
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a news conference during a NATO leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday.
World¡¯s first fully sealed vertical-farming facility opens in Tokyo
Fully sealed units are stacked on top of each other at Plantx's vertical-farming facility in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Wednesday.
¡®Princess Mononoke¡¯ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The ¡°Princess Mononoke¡± adaptation was created under Shochiku¡¯s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ¡®Human Vapor¡¯
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix¡¯s ¡°Human Vapor,¡± says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.
Filmmaker explores history of discrimination against foreign nationals in Japan
Takashi Nishihara, the director of "Now and Then," in Tokyo on Wednesday. The director has spent 10 years traversing politically charged terrain while exploring youth-driven grassroots political movements that scrutinize the status quo.
Okinawa¡¯s prized seaweed under threat as oceans warm
Local harvesters gather <i>mozuku</i> during low tide at Hyakuna Beach in the city of Nanjo, Okinawa Prefecture. As the planet warms, rising ocean temperatures are placing increasing pressure on the seaweed industry.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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