“Sony Could Punish Them” – Former Xbox Publishing Boss Explains PlayStation 2’s Vice-Like Grip On Japan

“They couldn’t make it too obvious they were supporting Xbox”. Ed Fries played a big role in securing the long-term stability of the Xbox brand, and served as vice president of game publishing during the first Xbox era. He’s the ideal person, then, to talk about Microsoft’s efforts to court Japanese developers in the very…

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“The Wait Is Finally Over” – Japanese Visual Novel ‘Kishin Hishou Demonbane’ Has Been Translated Into English

“A story about acceptance, love, and finding your true self”. Nitroplus’ 2006 visual novel Kishin Hishou Demonbane has been translated into English by the Starry Wisdom Translation Team. The sequel to Deus Machina Demonbane, which was released on PC and PS2 (with the latter removing the erotic elements), Kishin Hishou Demonbane is described by one…

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HEIANKYO ALIEN – by Jeremy Parish

Gaming historians often write about popular media in the pre-internet age as if it all existed in vacuum-sealed silos by country, but that’s not true at all. Intercontinental communication may have been a lot more complicated back then, but consider Heiankyo Alien, a minor 1970s video game hit in Japan that demonstrated how Western and…

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