Jul 20 (newsonjapan.com) - Japan’s top gaming companies are continuing to innovate as global competition grows more pressing.
Of course, Japanese companies have always had power in the gaming industry, a reputation that dates as far back as 1889, when Nintendo was founded in Kyoto to produce hanafuda cards, a playing card made from paper and cardboard.
Card playing in Japan remains popular, but it has since evolved, with many utilizing the rise of online gambling sites, like online casino Jackpot City, or オンラインカジ JackpotCity/ ジャックポットシテ as it would be known in Japanese. Founded in 1998, Jackpot City offers card games like Blackjack, provided by award-winning software provider Evolution Gaming, the Casino Supplier of the Year. As card-playing has moved online, Nintendo went on a similar venture, moving away from handmade cards and becoming a video game developer. This transition proved crucial, as Nintendo is now one of Japan’s most famous gaming companies, generating roughly USD 11 billion in net sales in 2019.
In the same category as Nintendo is Square Enix and Sega. What’s great about these three corporations is that even though they’re large-cap companies that have reached the threshold of success, they continue to innovate and make their presence known in the gaming sector.
New Games Coming to Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a video game console that supports online gaming; GameStop’s CEO Paul Reines labelled it a “game-changer.” The Switch's best-selling games include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which as of 2021, has sold 35.39 million copies. Since the old Nintendo games are the most popular, the company recently announced it will be releasing the first new 2D Metroid game for the first time in almost 20 years. Metroid Dread will be coming to Nintendo Switch this fall, on October 8, 2021.
Suit up as Samus Aran in the first new entry of the 2D #Metroid saga in more than 19 years, #MetroidDread, launching 10/8.
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 15, 2021
Continue Samus’ story after Metroid Fusion, exploring a strange new planet alone and hunted by the ominous E.M.M.I.
Pre-order: https://t.co/p0Dsf1YiKY pic.twitter.com/gQ40VZbrZT
Square Enix Is Spinning Out
The gaming world has Square Enix to thank for the Final Fantasy series. The various instalments of the franchise, which tend to be role-playing games, have become one of the most widely distributed games ever, a reality that’s allowed Square Enix to obtain a market capitalization of more than $500 billion. The franchise was first released in 1987, and Square Enix has recently disclosed that there’s a new Final Fantasy spin-off on the horizon — and it’s going to be action-heavy. Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin will be launched in 2022.
Introducing STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN, a new action RPG from the maestros at Team NINJA and KOEI TECMO. Find out all about the game here: https://t.co/6YIIoqXdQx @FFOrigin #SquareEnixPresents pic.twitter.com/GzjUaJ4p6R
— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) June 13, 2021
Sega’s Remastering Super Monkey Ball
If we’ve noticed anything from Nintendo and Square Enix's announcements, it’s that the popular games of the past are always going to make a comeback. The Metroid series is coming back, so too is Final Fantasy, and now according to Sega, so is Super Monkey Ball. At the E3 2021 conference, Sega disclosed that the first three games of the Super Money Ball series are being remastered. They will then be packed in a collection called Super Money Ball Banana Mania and launched in October 2021.
Gaming has always been popular in Japan, made evident in its history with hanafuda and card playing and its subsequent evolution to online casinos that offer card games. As for video games, Japanese companies are among the most famous innovators in the space, but they’re not relying on past successes. Instead, Japanese companies are releasing new instalments and spins-offs in 2021/22.
