Neowin News Feed for: Japan

Free Microsoft Points offered to Japanese Xbox 360 gamers if they play online

John Callaham — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:32:33 +0100

Microsoft will launch a new program in Japan later this week that's designed to give Xbox 360 players some free Microsoft Points, but only if they reach certain goals for online gameplay. Read more...

Microsoft Surface RT released in Japan and New Zealand; appears in anime series

John Callaham — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:31:29 +0000

Microsoft has started selling the Surface RT tablet in New Zealand and Japan and in the latter country it will make a product placement appearance in the Ghost in the Shell anime Arise. Read more...

Surface RT rumored for Japan launch; 128 GB Surface Pro still hard to find

John Callaham — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:52:50 +0000

A new report claims that Microsoft will expand the sales of its Surface RT tablet, running on Windows RT, to Japan starting sometime in March. Meanwhile the 128 GB Surface Pro tablet is still scarce. Read more...

Microsoft Points system unfair to Japan, says XBLA dev

Tim Schiesser — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:53:24 +0000

Japanese game developer Hiroyuki Maruyama has complained about the method Microsoft uses for developer payouts through XBLA, claiming it's unfair and off-putting to Japanese Xbox 360 developers Read more...

Why can't Microsoft sell Xbox consoles and games in Japan?

John Callaham — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:00:00 +0000

A new and extensive article takes a look at why Microsoft can't seem to crack the Japanese game market with its Xbox business, despite spending lots of time and money trying to do so. Read more...

Windows 8 retail boxes get Wedge Mice and mascots in Japan

John Callaham — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:47:24 +0100

The retail boxes for Windows 8 in Japan have been revealed, with two anime-like mascots on the front and a Wedge Mouse included inside. Some Japanese retailers will hold Windows 8 launch events. Read more...

Japan begins to crack down on piracy with two million yen fines

Paul Ferson — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:34:05 +0100

Japan's government has agreed to new legislation against criminals caught downloading illegally, bringing in a maximum fine of two million yen or a potential two year stay in a prison cell. Read more...

More than $100,000 worth of iPhone 5 devices stolen in Japan

Stephen Robinson — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:09:33 +0100

Over $100,000 worth of iPhone 5 devices have been stolen from stores in Japan this morning. The robberies occurred in the early hours before the official launch of the device. Read more...

Apple lose in the Patent Wars against Samsung; in Japan

Andrew Stevenson — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:40:59 +0100

First Apple wins in the US court, forcing Samsung to pay over $1 billion in damages to Apple. Now the Japanese legal system has favoured Samsung, saying that they didn't infringe Apple patents. Read more...

IPv6 adoption in America passes 3 million

Nathan Tsui — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:01:35 +0100

Almost two months after its official launch, IPv6 adoption is growing steadily, according to new research. The US currently leads the field by users, with over 3.3m users adopting the new protocol. Read more...

Trivia Tuesday: The rise and fall of the MSX

Tyler Holman — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:03:22 +0100

Trivia Tuesday is back, so join us as we delve into the history of one of Microsoft's more obscure products, the mysterious MSX platform that took Japan and South America by storm in the mid-'80s. Read more...

Fujitsu offers custom PC building service in Japan

John Callaham — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 22:11:04 +0100

Fujitsu has announced that Japanese residents will be able to use a new service that will teach them how to assemble a desktop or notebook PC, with 19 different models to choose from. Read more...

YouTube's existence threatened in Japan

Paul Ferson — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:17:19 +0100

In the wake of the capture of one of the terrorists responsible for the Tokyo sarin gas attacks of 1995, Japan's government has quietly amended one of their laws which could theoretically ban YouTube. Read more...

Japanese researchers create faster SSDs

Paul Ferson — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:33:23 +0100

Wait, your SSD wasn't fast enough? You'll be pleased to know a group of Japanese researchers agree, so they've managed to find a way to squeeze some more performance from available technologies. Read more...

Google autocomplete gets slammed in Japanese court

John Callaham — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:42:42 +0100

A Japanese court has ordered Google to remove some terms from its search autocomplete feature, after a man claimed to have lost his job because the feature linked his name to criminal acts. Read more...

Siri is turning Japanese with iOS 5.1

Paul Ferson — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:15:42 +0000

Apple announces that Siri will soon support the Japanese language, and will be deployed to Japan over the next few weeks as part of the company's latest iOS 5.1 update. Read more...

Wi-Fi comes to Japanese vending machines

Tyler Holman — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:25:26 +0000

Some of the coolest vending machines you've ever seen are rolling out in cities across Japan, filled not only with delicious beverages, but what amounts to all the free Wi-Fi you can eat. Read more...

PS Vita portable game console launches in Japan

John Callaham — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:27:29 +0000

Sony has now officially launched its next generation portable game console, the PS Vita, in Japan with an event in Shibuya where company execs helped to sell the first units of the console. Read more...

Kinect sales total 114,000 units in Japan so far

John Callaham — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:35:33 +0000

A new report claims that just 114,000 units of Microsoft's Kinect motion sensor for the Xbox 360 console have been sold in Japan during the device's first year, far less than in the rest of the world. Read more...

PS Vita to be released in Japan on December 17

John Callaham — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:49:38 +0100

Sony announced today that the PS Vita portable game console will be released in its native Japan on December 17. It also announced plans to let users pre-pay for its wireless 3G service. Read more...