News
Following departure from Nintendo, WarioWare series creator Goro Abe will continue making small-scale, unconventional games
3+ hour, 23+ min ago (81+ words) Following departure from Nintendo, WarioWare series creator Goro Abe will continue making small-scale, unconventional games'AUTOMATON He plans to continue making games, particularly small and experimental titles where he can dabble in mechanics not commonly seen in commercial games. He'll also…...
The Switch 2’s cheaper, Japan-only model may be generating loss of $160 per unit for Nintendo, Japanese analyst says
7+ hour, 38+ min ago (120+ words) Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda analyzes Nintendo's recent financial results and the Switch 2's "deteriorating profit margin." Related:Why did Nintendo handle Switch 2 pre-orders so differently in Japan and the US? Japanese study suggests it's about differing views on fairness…...
When a three-month project turns into four years: looking back on Japanese indie developers' struggles to estimate development time
1+ day, 22+ hour ago (254+ words) For many indie developers, estimating development time remains one of the most difficult aspects of production. Projects that start small can easily expand in scope, resulting in timelines that exceed initial expectations. In this week's throwback, we'll revisit a moment…...
Koei Tecmo partners and invests in AI startup behind new character chatbot-style LLM
6+ day, 3+ hour ago (336+ words) Koei Tecmo partners and invests in AI startup behind new character chatbot-style LLM'AUTOMATON Japanese company SpiralAI has announced the signing of a strategic partnership with Koei Tecmo and unveiled its next-generation large language model, Geppetto2. The model is positioned as a…...
Konami might be the key to PS5’s revival in Japan, domestic journalist suggests
2+ week, 4+ day ago (213+ words) While PS5 exclusive deals haven't worked out for companies like Square Enix, Konami may be able to'keep'it up. Sony has recently been making efforts to rekindle interest for the PS5 in the Japanese market,'where sales have grown sluggish. One major step'was'the…...
Sony’s cheap, Japan-only PS5 model “may rekindle the console race in Japan for the first time in a while” says domestic journalist
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (407+ words) Editor-in-Chief since October 2023. She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while…...
Sony plans to minimize effect of rising PlayStation 5 memory costs by boosting software and network service revenue, according to CFO
2+ week, 6+ day ago (262+ words) Sony's recent financial results briefing reveals how the PlayStation company is going to handle the rising memory prices. Sony Group released its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 on February 5, 2026. As reported by Inside, PS5 lifetime sales…...
We ask Kojima Productions why they’ve stuck to Decima for nearly ten years. Chief technology officer on what makes Death Stranding’s engine irreplaceable
3+ week, 3+ hour ago (593+ words) Interview with Kojima Productions chief technology officer Akio Sakamoto about the studio's use of the Decima game engine. AUTOMATON recently sat down with Akio Sakamoto, chief technology officer at Kojima Productions, to find out more about how the studio works…...
Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy’s third entry “will not compromise on graphics whatsoever” despite multiplatform shift. Director Naoki Hamaguchi addresses concerns
3+ week, 1+ day ago (677+ words) Final Fantasy VII Remake series director Naoki Hamaguchi explains why going multiplatform doesn't mean fans should worry about a graphical downgrade. "While it'does'feel'reassuring'to hear that'from you considering your background as an engineer,'I think'it's'also a given that a developer'wouldn't'say anything…...
PlayStation 1’s bizarre fishing reel controller was developed thanks to the obsessive attention to detail of actual fishing nuts. “It would be pointless if it didn’t feel like the real thing”
3+ week, 6+ day ago (272+ words) Former ASCII developer and Bass Landing producer Takeshi Kaneda talks about the development of PlayStation's fishing reel controller. Apparently, Bass Landing was pitched by one of Kaneda's coworkers, who was, coincidentally, a hardcore fan of fishing, and the high level…...