Category: Games

A thread on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board claimed that “Pokémon has lost its popularity to Chiikawa and become a has-been.” But early replies quickly posted data showing that “net profit is up 114x over 9 years, making it the world’s strongest IP, surpassing Mickey Mouse,” sparking a wave of pushback against the original poster’s claim. Some pointed out that the exact same taunt was thrown around back when Yo-kai Watch was popular, while others pushed back on the logic that “not being scalped means not being popular.” The discussion also veered off into whether Chiikawa creator Nagano really collaborated with Palworld, and into trends in Pokémon card scalping.

11AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:22

Bring back the McDonald's Pokémon card collab already — store staff were pocketing millions of yen off it last time.

14AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:24

Huh? I thought someone was saying something about Palworld?

16AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:27

If it's a scalping war, Pokémon can't afford to lose either.

18AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:28

Thanks, Nintendo.

31AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:50

Nagano's ditched Pokémon and switched over to Palworld though.

38AnonymousSep 3, 2026 12:00

Re: #31
Wait, do you seriously believe Nagano actually drew this?

89AnonymousSep 3, 2026 13:04

Re: #31
Nagano didn't draw that.
It's just a Chiikawa knockoff lol

Nagano hates rip-offs, so a real collab is basically hopeless now.

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry) thread “[Sad news] Pokémon loses its throne entirely to Chiikawa, becomes a has-been.”

A product page for what appears to be a Switch version of “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” showed up on the Norwegian electronics retailer site “elkjop.no,” setting off a wave of remake speculation on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board. The big question was who’s actually developing it, with many pointing to Monolith Soft, which previously helped with asset creation and programming on “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom.” The thread was split: some expect a full-blown remake — overworld included — if Monolith is involved, while others worried, citing past remakes handed off to outside studios that flopped (like “Front Mission” and “Star Fox”).

Is this for real?

Source: elkjop.no / Original listing here

33AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:21

Wonder if this is Genesis, Zelda, or something else entirely they're working on.

37AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:25

Re: #33
That one's suggested to be Genesis, based on something in the website's source code.
Just like with Ocarina of Time, the job listing vanished shortly before the announcement.
Meanwhile, Tetsuya Takahashi's new RPG is still hiring for it, so that one probably isn't Genesis.

*This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Ocarina of Time Remake — Is Monolith Soft the Developer?.”

Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo discussed the company’s future platform strategy in an email interview. The Trails (Kiseki) series has mostly centered on PlayStation until now, but with the Trails in the Sky remake, Falcom took the plunge into a company-led worldwide simultaneous release that included Switch and Steam (PC) — and says it got “an extremely strong response.” On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, the comment sparked debate over the series’ history of PlayStation exclusivity, and over whether “lots of new users” means actual sales numbers or just a higher share of new users relative to existing ones.

Nihon Falcom’s representative director and president, Toshihiro Kondo, spoke about the company’s future platform plans. For the Trails in the Sky remake, the company took on a self-led worldwide release that included Switch and PC (Steam), and reportedly got “an extremely strong response.” He also indicated that going forward, some degree of multiplatform, worldwide releases will likely become the standard approach.

In an email interview with ASCII.jp, Kondo explained that while the Trails series had mainly been built around PS5 up to now, with Trails in the Sky the company challenged itself to lead a worldwide rollout that also included Switch and PC (Steam).

He noted that with brand-new entries, the scenario often isn’t finalized until right before master-up, leaving no time to also handle overseas versions. Trails in the Sky, by contrast, could draw on existing assets, which made it easier to manage — and once it actually launched, they got “an extremely strong response.”

Source: gamestalk.net / Original article here

25AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:15

PlayStation has got nothing but guys pushing 40 and olderrrrrr!!!!

28AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:17

Re: #25
What a hellscape — a guy pushing 40 himself making fun of other guys pushing 40 lol

50AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:39

Re: #28
Way too many young people on there, lmao

53AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:40

Re: #28
Unlike some washed-up franchise, it just has a wide range of age groups playing it

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Good News] Falcom President Kondo: “Right now, most new users are coming from Switch and Steam”.”

PlayStation’s information broadcast “State of Play” (nicknamed “Steple” in Japan) is scheduled for September 3, 2026. Last time, the show generated so much hype beforehand that theaters even held screening events for it — but this time there’s been almost no buzz ahead of the broadcast, prompting a thread on 5ch’s hardware/industry board (“Geha”). In the thread, conflicting reports swirled about a rumored trailer reveal for Naughty Dog’s supposed new title Intergalactic (nicknamed “Space Baldy” after its bald-headed hero), alongside denials of that same rumor. Discussion also spread to other topics, like what to call “State of Play” for short and the differing sales fortunes of Western versus Japanese games.

24AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:56

Hololive, who did watch-alongs for practically everything during the Nintendo Direct, hasn't scheduled a single one for State of Play.

48AnonymousSep 3, 2026 11:08

Re: #24
Pekora (a Hololive VTuber) does State of Play watch-alongs sometimes, so she'll probably do one, right?

*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch hardware/industry (“Geha”) thread “[Sad news] Nobody — including overseas fans — cares about today’s State of Play.”

An IGN analysis reporting that PlayStation’s revenue per user rose 59% in the PS5 generation compared to the previous one sparked discussion on 5ch’s hardware/industry board (Gehazoku). Many posters speculated the increase was driven by price hikes to PS Plus and the console itself, with some analysis suggesting the growth came not from full-game sales but from DLC and add-on purchases. Others pointed out that the overall user base hasn’t grown, suggesting casual players may have left while only the core, heavy-spending fanbase remained. Opinions split over what the revenue growth actually represents and whether it validates Sony’s live-service strategy.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “IGN: ‘PlayStation’s Revenue Per User Has Risen 59% Since the PS5 Generation Began’.”

When Nihon Falcom shifted its flagship series from a PS-centered rollout to a self-led multiplatform strategy, it sparked discussion on 5ch’s game/hardware industry board (the “Gehaban”) about claims that “third parties say PlayStation gets few new users.” The thread debated which figure better reflects reality — SIE’s published PS5 new-user ratio (about 42%, roughly 31.5 million people, covering November 2020 through the end of December 2024) or Switch 2’s new-user count (about 16%, roughly 3.8 million people, in its first year on sale) — along with disagreements over the definition of “new user” and the gap between domestic and overseas sales ratios.

68AnonymousSep 3, 2026 08:40

New users are so scarce that hardware sales just keep dropping.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Third Parties: “PlayStation Has Few New Users” ← Despair.”

On August 31, The Pokémon Company announced a new movie, “Pokémon: Wildcard,” based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It’s slated for release in 2027, with animation production handled by CloverWorks, a studio under Sony Music-affiliated Aniplex. The director is Katsuhiko Kitada, with character designs by Akemi Hayashi. On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, the fact that a Sony-affiliated company is producing Nintendo IP sparked back-and-forth between posters arguing “Nintendo is basically acting like a third-party studio now” and others countering “it’s just a subcontracting job” — with some posts also mixing up PlayStation maker Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) with the Sony Music group.

Pokémon’s first new movie in seven years is, surprisingly, based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game. “Pokémon: Wildcard” announced, produced by CloverWorks

On August 31, The Pokémon Company announced the movie “Pokémon: Wildcard,” based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It’s set for release in 2027.

“Pokémon Wildcard” is a new film based on the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The protagonist is said to be a Pokémon TCG player striving to become champion. The teaser footage shows glimpses of Mimikyu and animation of hands holding Pokémon cards. The director is Katsuhiko Kitada, with character designs by Akemi Hayashi, and animation production by CloverWorks.

Source: automaton-media.com / Original article here

20AnonymousSep 2, 2026 18:56

Well, if it's CloverWorks it's probably going to be good.

69AnonymousSep 2, 2026 19:15

Pokémon movies are box-office flops though

※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Movie “Pokémon: Wildcard” animation production handled by Sony-owned CloverWorks.”

A post asking, “If it weren’t for Pokémon, wouldn’t the Game Boy just be rated on par with the WonderSwan?” sparked a wide-ranging debate on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G board. The Game Boy launched in 1989, while Pokémon Red/Green didn’t arrive until 1996 — leaving a seven-year gap. Opinions split over how to read that gap: some argued “it held up fine thanks to Tetris and Mario,” while others countered that “before Pokémon it was a plain handheld with no major hits.” Many posters backed up their arguments with actual million-seller sales figures, and the discussion also expanded into comparisons with the PlayStation’s popularity at the time.

※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Would the Game Boy only be rated on par with the WonderSwan if it weren’t for Pokémon?“.

A thread popped up on 5ch’s “Nanide Jikkyo G” board about Sony releasing a new wired earbud model, of all things, at this point in time. With wireless earbuds having been the mainstream choice for a long while now, wired-earbud loyalists piled on with complaints about wireless — “charging is a pain,” “too easy to lose.” At the same time, posters pointed out the practical wall of “my phone doesn’t even have a jack,” and others praised the convenience of noise-canceling and touch controls, leaving opinions split on which is actually better. There was also a reply asking for ASMR-listening recommendations, showing that the right pick really depends on what you’re using it for.

31AnonymousSep 2, 2026 22:59

Chinese earbuds "greedy bundle" set for ¥20,000 ("イヤンホホ" is a cutesy, playful way of saying "イヤホン," earbuds)

54AnonymousSep 2, 2026 23:11

I've been using these for jogging forever, they just won't break — nice work, Sony.

113AnonymousSep 2, 2026 23:47

Idiot: "I want ones with noise-canceling!"
Know-it-all: "Why not just use the SE215 — basically earplug earbuds?"
Idiot: "But then I can't hear outside sound!"
Know-it-all: "Do you even need that?"
Idiot: "Sometimes I want to hear what's going on around me!"
Know-it-all: "Then just take them out?"
Idiot: "Too much hassle! I want to do it with one touch!"
Know-it-all: "One-touch is fine, but taking them out is too much hassle…?"

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanide Jikkyo G) thread “Sony’s putting out new wired earbuds only now lol“.

Foreign outlets report that the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Stellar Blade will be the first title to combine NVIDIA’s DLSS upscaling with AMD’s FSR 3.1 frame generation at the same time, and the news lit up 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (“Geha”) board — a forum known for its console-war-style hardware debates. Some praised the technical combination itself, while others worried about the input lag that frame generation inevitably introduces by synthesizing extra frames to smooth out the framerate. Opinions split over how the Switch 2 version stacks up against the PS5 release, and whether the tech is even a good fit for an action game that demands precise parry and dodge timing.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch Hardware/Industry (“Geha,” a board known for hardware and console-war discussion) thread “Switch 2’s Stellar Blade Becomes the First Title to Combine DLSS + FSR 3.1 Frame Generation.”