Details on the Latest Games That Japanese Kids Love
Top left and top right: Tamagotchi Uni is a popular toy. (Photos courtesy of © BANDAI)
Bottom left: Many people like to play Splatoon 3TM. (Image courtesy of © Nintendo)
Bottom right: Punirunes Punitomo Tsūshin has a lot of fans. (© TOMY)
What kinds of things do you do for fun? Maybe some of you reading this have played a game made in Japan. Lots of games are developed in Japan, and a wide range of games are being created there all the time. Some recently popular games let you take care of characters inside a screen or connect with friends and other people around the world. This article gives some examples of the latest games that Japanese kids love. Let’s take a look!
Cute Toys with LCD Screens and a New Way to Play
This game has a fun feature that makes it feel like you are touching the character inside the screen. It was created in 2021, and an anime was made in the year afterward. The soft and squishy characters are popular with kids. When you put your finger inside the hole at the top of the toy, a finger will appear on screen as well. You can also take pictures of what is happening on the screen. (© TOMY)
One game that is very popular with kids in Japan is a toy that makes it feel like you are actually touching the character inside the screen. When you put your finger inside the hole at the top of the toy, the sensor inside detects it and shows a finger on screen as well! You can press a soft and squishy button in the hole that feels like “Squeeze” toys or slime to control the game. Based on your movements, you can pet the squishy and cute characters or make them jump. This toy also lets you take care of the characters by preparing food and cleaning up, and you can play lots of fun minigames, too.
Left: The character is sticking to dust to clean up.
Center: A crane game where you try to get gummies.
Right: You can collect coins and buy things in the game, too. (© TOMY)
In the latest series of these toys, you can move the toy near to a TV or smartphone playing a special movie, and see the character in the movie appear in the toy. This new feature is popular with fans. On top of all the previous ways to play, this new series lets you connect with other friends who have the same toy. You can let characters move between your toy and theirs by pushing your screens together, and you can take photos of their screens, too. These features make for a fun game that you can play using your own fingers, and that lets you enjoy using the latest technology. The company that created this game says that it wants to bring kids fun and surprising experiences.
Left: A photo with added special effects to show how the new series of toys from 2024 can connect with other things. For example, if you play a special video on a TV or smartphone and put this toy nearby, it will respond to the sound, and a character will appear inside the toy.
Right: There is also a set including a strap and cover, letting you take the toy with you as you walk around. (© TOMY)
Games That Let You Connect and Play with People Worldwide
Left: The packaging of a popular action shooting game. It made the news by selling over 3.45 million copies within Japan in three days after release. Note: This product is a game for the Nintendo SwitchTM system.
Right: Play as a team in four-on-four ink-slinging battles. The team that covers the largest area in ink wins! (Images courtesy of © Nintendo)
The latest release in the action shooting game series where you paint the surface around you such as city streets and natural landscapes with ink, is a hit for both kids and grownups. It was developed by a Japanese company which creates games that are enjoyed by people around the world. One particularly popular mode in the game lets you join a team of four people and battle to try to cover the largest area as possible with ink in your own team’s color. This game can be played like a kind of sport, and it is easy for beginners to join in too, so it can be enjoyed by kids along with their parents. Some of the cool designs for the tools that shoot ink are inspired by things that the game’s developers played with as kids. Another appealing feature of the game is that you can play the game while connecting online with other people around the world. There are many other ways to play the game, such as stages where you defeat salmon with teammates and collect golden salmon eggs, and a mode where you play on your own as you complete lots of missions one by one. What’s more, updates with tools, stages, and more have been available to download after the game was released. This helps players to continue having fun in the game in a fresh way.
In this stage, you cooperate with teammates to defeat salmon. (Images courtesy of © Nintendo)
Left: Splatsville, the setting for the latest game in the series.
Right: In Hero Mode, you take on many different kinds of missions alone. (Images courtesy of © Nintendo)
A Toy That Has Evolved to Make a Popular Comeback
This portable digital pet toy lets you raise a character inside the screen. With its egg-like shape, it has been loved by people in Japan for many years. The current version is designed like a watch that you can wear on your wrist. (Photos courtesy of © BANDAI)
One egg-shaped portable digital pet toy was released in Japan in 1996 and became a huge hit. It lets you take care of the character inside the screen just like a real pet. You can feed it, clean up after it goes to the bathroom, and watch it grow. It has been updated to newer and better versions many times with the advance of digital technology, and it has gained a lot of popularity each time. In 2021, a watch-like version was released that you can wear on your wrist. This version let you use the microphone and touch screen to talk to and pet the character while you raise it. The latest series of this toy released in 2023 with a new Wi-Fi function. Many people are talking about how it lets them meet unique characters that are being raised around the world. You can select a language and set a greeting with this new version, and you can also have fun sending and receiving hearts from characters that other people have raised in their screens. People also enjoy how they can visit the rooms of their friends’ characters, and customize their own characters with accessories that keep on coming in through multiple downloadable updates.
Left: Kids connecting their toys with the Wi-Fi function. The character raised by kid on the right is going to the room of the character raised by the kid on the left, to create matching accessories using a DIY function.
Right: An illustration about how unique characters can come together and have fun in a feature that is like a metaverse for Tamagotchi. (Photo and image courtesy of © BANDAI)
Left: You can meet characters raised by people in different countries and regions.
Center: Your character can go on a fun trip with other characters, too.
Right: One popular accessory gives your character big eyes as if it was in a Japanese manga. (Images courtesy of © BANDAI)
You can also use this toy as a watch to tell the time. (Photo courtesy of © BANDAI)
Japanese games and toys are evolving to become even more fun by using the latest digital technologies. Why not try playing with them yourself?