BODY: If your backlog wasn't long enough already, Nintendo just made it longer. A new Nintendo eShop sale began in Japan on September 17, with about 560 Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch games marked down. End dates differ from game to game, so it's worth checking each listing before you wait.
Several games dropped to new all-time lows. Memory of Memorie: A Chill Story (Switch 2 version) is a work-along game set in the room of a young witch in training. It has a built-in work timer and Celtic-style background music, and more of the story opens up the longer you stay focused. It's 20% off at ¥1,200. QQQbeats!!! is a bubble-shooter crossed with a rhythm game, and it's 65% off at ¥1,980. HYKE: Northern Light(s) is a witch-themed action RPG with camping and cooking, and it's half price at ¥1,400. Old-school fans can also get G-MODE Archives+ DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA Avatar Tuner A's TEST Server Complete Version for ¥1,440. It's a re-release of a mobile RPG from the Shin Megami Tensei family.
Other titles match their previous lowest prices. CyberConnect2's strategy RPG Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 is 40% off at ¥2,508. Its young animal heroes once again fight from inside the giant tank Taranis. Word Game (Mojiyugi) is 20% off at ¥2,880. In this puzzle game the whole world is built from written characters: you slash, push and split kanji apart to change what the words mean. Robotics;Notes Elite has one of the biggest cuts, 75% off at ¥1,650. Other highlights include Until Then (¥2,552), a pixel-art story set in the Philippines, the houseplant shop sim Leafy Corner (¥960) and the food-stacking physics puzzle Bakumori Shokudo (¥770).
The sale also includes LEGO Party, Paddle Paddle Paddle, Frog Detective: The Whole Case and the Lord of the Rings life sim The Hobbit's Tale.
The insider take
Games you play alongside work or study, called sagyō gēmu in Japanese, have become a small but steady trend in Japan. They grew out of the same "study with me" culture that fills Japanese YouTube with hours-long livestreams of people quietly working at their desks. A cheap witch-themed focus timer that runs on the Switch 2 fits how many Tokyo students and remote workers already use their screens. Word Game is the more interesting pick for learners: its puzzles depend on how kanji are built, so it works better than most games as a sneaky Japanese lesson. And at ¥1,650, Robotics;Notes Elite is an easy way into the Science Adventure series, the same series that includes Steins;Gate.
Originally reported by AUTOMATON (Japanese).