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HORI
HORI has opened Amazon preorders for the Electric Ocarina of Time, an officially licensed Nintendo Switch 2 accessory due November 5, after preorders were limited to its own store. The company also has Switch 2 accessories and a racing wheel due in November, and an arcade controller scheduled for early spring 2027.
Synthesized from 30
Yomimono stories · updated
2d ago
HORI's recent hardware falls into three groups: Nintendo Switch 2 accessories tied to specific games, its own branded peripherals for PC and console, and a professional training product. The Electric Ocarina of Time is the clearest example of the first. It is an officially licensed Nintendo Switch 2 accessory that has the console pick up its sound for performance scenes in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, and it releases November 5 at 7,980 yen. Preorders began at the Hori Store and then moved to Amazon, which the company opened after the store sellout demand.
The Umbreon & Espeon Starlight Night line, three Switch 2 items priced between 4,980 and 5,480 yen, is also set for November 2026, and the HSR-DD03 Direct Drive Wheel is a 59,980 yen PC wheel with 3.2Nm of peak torque and a November release. The HORI Arcade Classic Pro, a 39,980 yen arcade controller, supports Switch 2, Switch, and Windows 11 over XInput, includes four swappable units, and is scheduled for early spring 2027. HORI showed the ocarina at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Away from peripherals, HORI and Hino Motors are commercializing two driving school simulators, JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR and JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR, and showed both at Tokyo Game Show 2026. HORI says it planned the product in response to the expansion of the specified skilled foreign worker program into the automobile transportation field. Pricing has not been announced.
HORI's existing guitar lesson software also carries a game. The bundled guitar controller from GUITAR LIFE -LESSON1- is the required input for the indie Switch title Iseki Hori, where the controller is held by the neck and pushed into soil as a shovel. HORI Store offered the software at 7,980 yen through October 13, down from 12,980 yen.
Key facts
- Electric Ocarina of Time release date and price
- November 5, 7,980 yen, officially licensed for Nintendo Switch 2 ↗
- Electric Ocarina of Time input method
- Not a real ocarina and not played by blowing; the Switch 2 console picks up its sound, with Free Play and Auto Play modes and 12 Auto Play songs ↗
- Umbreon & Espeon Starlight Night lineup
- Quilted Medium Pouch and Shoulder Pouch at 4,980 yen, Wired Hori Pad TURBO at 5,480 yen, all November 2026 ↗
- HSR-DD03 Direct Drive Wheel
- PC wheel at 59,980 yen, 3.2Nm peak torque, 280mm wheel, 2kg base, November release ↗
- HORI Arcade Classic Pro
- 39,980 yen, supports Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 11 over XInput, four included units (stick, trackball, paddle, loop lever), scheduled for early spring 2027 ↗
- Driving school simulator versions
- JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR for ordinary automobiles and JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR for large vehicles, developed with Hino Motors, pricing not announced ↗
- GUITAR LIFE -LESSON1- discount
- Offered at 7,980 yen through October 13, down from 12,980 yen, at HORI Store ↗
Timeline
- Oct 22, 2026 The Hero's Party Has Been Wiped Out. Soundtrack Sets November 10 Release
- Oct 21, 2026 Edgerunners 2 Soundtrack And Imahori Score Land On Streaming Services
- Oct 21, 2026 Horimiya 15th Pop Up Shop Adds Clear Cards, Sticker Set, Multi Case and Strawberry Tote
- Oct 20, 2026 Horizon Manga Returns to Young King BULL After Akiyama's Unofficial English Release
- Oct 20, 2026 Shibuya Startup Cultural Festival Returns To Hikarie With Free Admission
- Oct 19, 2026 Hori Opens Amazon Preorders For Electric Ocarina Of Time After Hori Store Sellout Demand
- Oct 12, 2026 Yuji Horii Releases Short AI-Made Adventure Game Komiya in the Interrogation Room
- Oct 11, 2026 Game Spark's Weekly Spalang: Aion 2, Front Mission, Forza Horizon 6
- Oct 9, 2026 Horimiya 15th Pop Up Shop Announces First Merch Wave Ahead of December 4 Start
- Oct 9, 2026 Forza Horizon 6 PS5 Version Set For January 27, 2027 Release
- Oct 7, 2026 Playground Games Says It Did Not Communicate Enough With Forza Horizon 6 Players
- Oct 4, 2026 Audient's Horizon Audio Interfaces Head To Japan In October
- Oct 3, 2026 Guitar Controller Doubles as Shovel in 'Iseki Hori' for Switch
- Oct 3, 2026 Bandai Releases Animal Crossing Tomodachi Doll SELECTION With 10 Flocked Figures
- Oct 3, 2026 Forza Horizon 6 Support Team Says Itasha Bans Are Reviewed by Hand
- Sep 18, 2026 HORI Puts 3.2Nm Direct Drive Racing Wheel On Sale In November
- Sep 17, 2026 Hori Sets November 2026 Launch For Umbreon And Espeon Switch 2 Accessories
- Sep 17, 2026 HORI Shows Electric Ocarina Of Time At Tokyo Game Show 2026
- Sep 15, 2026 HORI Announces Arcade Classic Pro Controller With Swappable Units
- Sep 14, 2026 Ace Combat 8 Story Trailer Reveals New Cast And Superweapons
- Sep 13, 2026 G-Mode Details The Portopia Serial Murder Case Continued After Nintendo Direct Reveal
- Sep 10, 2026 HORI and Hino Motors Develop Driving School Simulator for TGS 2026
- Sep 10, 2026 Game Spark Reports Hands-On With CLUTCH From Former Forza Horizon 5 Director
- Sep 10, 2026 Yami Launches YAMI GAMES Label With Meta-Horror Title Tarou-kun Has Come
- Sep 8, 2026 Forza Horizon 6 PS5 Version Reaffirmed for Late 2026 Release
- Sep 8, 2026 Steam Hits $15 Billion in 2026 Revenue as Forza Horizon 6 Leads New Releases
- Sep 2, 2026 Pokémon Horizons and Pokémon GO Announce Episode 150 Collaboration
- Sep 1, 2026 Animal Crossing Tomodachi Doll Selection Launches September 28
- Aug 31, 2026 Unauthorized Sentai Akibaranger Sesotai Risogu Set Gets Surprise Release
- Aug 30, 2026 CLUTCH Team Explains Story-Focused Racing Design at Gamescom
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Release
- game · October 1, 2026 · Nintendo Store · 2026-10-03
- Release
- game · November 2026 · Japan · 2026-09-17
- Noted
- HORI Store is offering "GUITAR LIFE -LESSON1-" at 7,980 yen (tax included) through October 13, down from 12,980 yen. · 2026-10-03
- Announced
- announced the HSR-DD03 Direct Drive Wheel · 2026-09-18
- Announced
- Umbreon & Espeon Starlight Night line of Nintendo Switch 2 peripherals and accessories · 2026-09-17
- Announced
- commercialized a full-scale driving school simulator, developed jointly with Hino Motors (Tokyo Game Show 2026) · 2026-09-10
- Announced
- JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR for large vehicles and JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR for passenger cars will be playable at the HORI booth (Tokyo Game Show 2026) · 2026-09-10
Connections
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Claim activity
When a claim about HORI was confirmed, debunked, or disputed against
open-web sources. The record stays even after a claim drops off the facts list.
- Confirmed Umbreon & Espeon Starlight Night line of Nintendo Switch 2 peripherals and accessories Sep 20 · source
All coverage
1d ago
The Portopia Serial Murder Case Continues: Burial of Oblivion, with Yuji Horii as original creator and general director, arrives Thursday, March 4, 2027, on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam. The full remake of the 1983 mystery adventure adds five new investigation files set in 1980s Kobe. Packaged Switch editions include the 1985 Famicom version on the cartridge; download and Steam versions do not. Prices run from 4,800 to 9,878 yen.
2d ago
Death Kumiai and Flashlight Games will release the 27-track original soundtrack for the PC RPG The Hero's Party Has Been Wiped Out. on November 10, the same day as the game itself. The digital edition goes out on Steam that day. Pre-orders for the CD edition opened October 22 at composer Yuji Ninomiya's official shop, priced at 2,750 yen, with a jacket drawn by Death Kumiai illustrator Sabotenshi and a booklet of development anecdotes. The CD will also be sold early at the M3-2026 Autumn doujin event at Tokyo Ryutsu Center on October 25 for 2,500 yen at the venue; pre-ordered copies ship on or after November 10, so the event is the fastest way to get one. A preview video lets listeners hear 9 of the 27 tracks, drawn mainly from the early part of the game. The soundtrack announcement came a day before a separate demo release.
3d ago
CD PROJEKT RED's Japan account announced on October 21 that the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 original soundtrack and Tsuneo Imahori's Original Series Score are out on music streaming services. The soundtrack holds all 8 songs, including Petite Meller's ending theme "Watson (feat. Oslo Green)," Rico Nasty's "You Can't Run From Me," and DOUDOU's "A Rusty Dream." Imahori's 39-track score collects the incidental music. Both albums are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.
3d ago
The Horimiya 15th POP UP SHOP has announced a second round of goods: a trading clear card two-card set at 550 yen, a nine-sticker set at 1,300 yen, a multi case at 1,500 yen, and a cotton tote bag at 1,200 yen, all using newly drawn 15th-anniversary illustrations and strawberry motifs. The shop opens at Yurakucho Marui on Friday, December 4, 2026, the first of four venues, and will also carry items from the running Horimiya CAFE Katagiri High School Cultural Festival.
3d ago
Shiten Akiyama's Horizon resumed in Young King BULL's 22nd issue on Monday, the magazine's official X account announced. The manga debuted in the magazine in June 2025, and Shonengahosha published the first compiled volume on February 16. Kodama Tales has licensed the series and will release the first volume in January 2027. Akiyama had posted an unofficially translated English version in February and said on X that the publisher had them delete it.
4d ago
Startup Factory will hold the Shibuya Startup Cultural Festival 2026 on November 3 at Shibuya Hikarie Hall A, with free admission and free experiences. Osamu Suzuki, THE RAMPAGE's Jin and Shogo Iwaya, Chidaruma Shin-tai's Takumi Goto, Takafumi Horie, Kyo, Suki ni Narimashita. members and Yutori's Takanobu Kataishi are set to appear. CyberAgent, Dwango, Naily and HA-LU are confirmed exhibitors.
5d ago
Hori has opened Amazon preorders for the Electric Ocarina of Time, an officially licensed Nintendo accessory for Nintendo Switch 2, after preorders had been limited to the company's own Hori Store. The electronic ocarina is scheduled for release on November 5 at 7,980 yen, the same day as the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time it is built to work with. Amazon orders currently list delivery for November 6, one day after launch. The device is not a real ocarina and is not played by blowing into it. The Switch 2 console picks up its sound, letting players play along with performance scenes in the game. It has two modes: Free Play, where finger holes are covered as on a real ocarina, and Auto Play, where songs from the game play automatically and can be triggered with buttons. Inside counts 12 songs in Auto Play. A volume dial and earphone jack are included.
Oct 12
Yuji Horii released the short adventure game Komiya in the Interrogation Room on October 11, 2026. Players act as a detective interrogating an old man named Komiya, a suspect in a safe burglary, and must prove he is the culprit within the visiting time by exposing contradictions between his testimony and the evidence. Horii said production took about 30 minutes and that giving instructions to AI can produce a reasonably good game. It clears in about 5 to 10 minutes and runs in various browsers.
Oct 11
Game Spark's Weekly Spalang for October 2 to 8, 2026 lists its five most-read articles. Fifth is the SYNDUALITY Noir production committee's memorial statement after animator Kenichiro Katsura died on September 30 at 59. Fourth is a column on why Front Mission is seen overseas as a finished series. Third covers an Aion 2 character creator slider. Second covers a Forza Horizon 6 developer statement amid an itasha controversy.
Oct 9
The first wave of merchandise for "Horimiya 15th POP UP SHOP" has been announced ahead of its Friday, December 4, 2026 opening at Yurakucho Marui and other venues. The lineup includes acrylic stand keychains with newly drawn strawberry-motif illustrations, hand-signed reproduction original art by HERO and Daisuke Hagiwara, and Hori and Miyamura plush mascots designed by HERO. The event runs at four venues in Tokyo, Fukuoka, Aichi, and Osaka, with a separate cafe event starting October 14.
Oct 9
Microsoft Japan will release the PlayStation 5 version of Forza Horizon 6 on January 27, 2027, with early access from January 21 for Premium Edition buyers and above. The Standard Edition starts at 9,800 yen, and a packaged version is planned. Anyone who pre-orders through the PlayStation Store gets a tuned Ferrari J50 added to their garage. Development of the PS5 port was handled by Panic Button, which also worked on the PlayStation 5 version of Forza Horizon 5. The release was originally slated for 2026, but the date slipped after no new information appeared at gamescom in August or Tokyo Game Show in September. The game itself launched on Xbox Series X|S and PC on May 19, set in Japan with more than 550 real cars and a map that rotates through the four seasons every real-world week. The first of two planned paid expansions will roll out starting January 21.
Oct 7
Playground Games published a statement on October 6 through its official X account about Forza Horizon 6, saying it had not communicated sufficiently with players and that it is considering changes to in-game content and to how it shares information. The statement does not name the feedback that prompted this or any measures or timing. Players who shared itasha designs reported deletions and account suspensions in September.
Oct 4
Hotone Japan will handle domestic sales of Audient's Horizon series, a line of Thunderbolt 3 audio interfaces built for professional studios. Three models are listed: the Horizon 8P and Horizon 16 at ¥450,000 each, and the Horizon 32 at ¥594,000, with sales set to begin Friday, October 2, 2026. All three use 32-bit AD/DA conversion and run at 0.99 ms round-trip latency.
Oct 3
Indie developer Takahiro Miyazawa released "Iseki Hori" on the Nintendo Store on October 1, 2026 for 700 yen (tax included). The Switch game is an excavation title in which the player holds a guitar controller by the neck and pushes it into soil like a shovel. The required controller is the one bundled with HORI's guitar lesson software "GUITAR LIFE -LESSON1-" and a Joy-Con (R) is also needed. Across eight stages set in an ordinary house's yard, players clear each stage by removing soil around a relic until the excavation rate reaches 100 percent. A grip strength gauge tied to pressure sensors on the guitar's neck means soil cannot be dug in Adult Mode unless the neck is squeezed firmly. A Child Mode allows digging with light force. A 2D mini-game, "Mini Iseki Hori," can be played without the guitar controller. HORI Store is offering "GUITAR LIFE -LESSON1-" at 7,980 yen (tax included) through October 13, down from 12,980 yen.
Oct 3
Bandai released the shokugan line Animal Crossing: New Horizons Tomodachi Doll SELECTION on September 28. Each box costs 550 yen and goes on sale in the candy sections of mass retailers nationwide in Japan. The set has 10 flocked dolls, each with a display stand and one piece of soda-flavored gum. The lineup is Isabelle, Tom Nook, Timmy, Tommy, K.K. Slider, Mabel, and four more: Chai (also listed as Chabashira), Julian, Marshal, Jack, Aurora, Raymond, and Whitney. The sources do not fully agree on the back half of the roster. One listing gives Chai, Julian, Jack, and Aurora; another gives Marshal, Julian, Raymond, and Whitney; a third gives Chabashira, Marshal, Jack, and Aurora. All versions confirm 10 types and the same 550 yen price. The figures are re-releases from the earlier Tomodachi Doll series.
Oct 3
Turn 10 updated the Forza Code of Conduct on September 24, saying reported user-generated content goes into a single review queue and that the number of reports does not affect priority or position in the queue. A human moderator then decides the penalty based on severity and past violations. A first violation draws only a warning, with longer suspensions for repeat offenses, though content the support team defines as zero tolerance brings a permanent ban regardless of history. The update follows months of reports from players who make itasha designs, anime-decorated car liveries, saying their shared work was deleted and their accounts suspended. Some creators stopped sharing work. Turn 10 handles support for Forza Horizon 6, which is set in Japan and available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, with a PS5 release planned for later this year.
Sep 18
HORI announced the HSR-DD03 Direct Drive Wheel on September 16, a PC racing wheel priced at 59,980 yen and set for November release. At Tokyo Game Show the unit drew a 90-minute business-day wait. The wheel is 280mm, the base unit measures 140 x 190 x 115mm and weighs 2kg, and two motors inside the wheel produce force feedback alongside 3.2Nm of peak torque.
Sep 17
Hori will release the Umbreon & Espeon Starlight Night line of Nintendo Switch 2 peripherals and accessories in November 2026. The lineup has three items: a Quilted Medium Pouch and a Shoulder Pouch, both 4,980 yen including tax, and a Wired Hori Pad TURBO at 5,480 yen including tax. The controller also supports Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch (OLED Model), in TV mode only.
Sep 17
HORI is displaying the Electric Ocarina of Time, an electronic instrument modeled on the ocarina Link uses, at its Tokyo Game Show 2026 booth. The product is set for a November release at 7,980 yen and works with the voice recognition feature of the Nintendo Switch 2 software The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, pairing its sound with in-game effects.
Sep 15
HORI announced the HORI Arcade Classic Pro for Nintendo Switch 2 on September 14, 2026. The arcade controller is built for Hamster's Arcade Archives series and similar titles, and it supports Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and Windows 11 PCs over XInput. The price is 39,980 yen including tax. Pre-orders opened September 14 and run through October 2 at the HORI Store. The chassis measures about 50 by 29 by 11 centimeters and weighs roughly 2.0 kilograms without units. Eight buttons sit in the center of the top surface, and units mount on the left and right sides. The box includes four units: an 8-direction stick, a trackball, a paddle, and a loop lever, and they can be combined freely. HORI cites Qix for 4-direction stick input, Cybattler for the trackball, Arkanoid for the paddle, and Front Line for the loop lever. Rapid-fire and assignment functions are included. Release is scheduled for early spring 2027.
Sep 14
Bandai Namco released a story trailer for ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE on September 15. The game is set in 2029 in the series' Strangereal world, where the Federation of Central Usea rebuilds after an attack by the Republic of Sotoa. Camille Thuillier (Mamiko Noto), Gillish Toprak (Kenyu Horiuchi), D.D. (Setsuji Sato), and AWACS (Takashi Kondo) were announced, along with the Megafloat Fathom and the Spear of Tonitrus. It launches October 2 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Sep 13
The Portopia Serial Murder Case Continued: Burial of Oblivion was announced at the September 9, 2026 Nintendo Direct, and G-Mode's Koichi Takeshita discussed the project in an email interview. The title follows the same structure as the Hokkaido Serial Murder: Murder on the Okhotsk remake: a full remake of the original game plus a new story. Takeshita said the Okhotsk team is handling it.
Sep 10
HORI announced on September 10 that it will commercialize a full-scale driving school simulator developed with Hino Motors, and will exhibit it at Tokyo Game Show 2026, which runs from September 17 to 21. Two versions are planned: JAPAN DRIVER TRAINING SIMULATOR for ordinary automobiles and JAPAN TRUCK DRIVING SIMULATOR for large vehicles. The vehicles covered run from standard cars to medium 4-ton trucks, 10-ton trucks, towing vehicles, and buses. Hino Motors supplied vehicle data and engine sound sampling for the 3DCG reproduction of training vehicles. The simulator reproduces left-side driving practice based on Japanese traffic rules, and the course of the practical skills contest for truck drivers. HORI says it planned the product in response to the expansion of the specified skilled foreign worker program into the automobile transportation field. Pricing has not been announced.
Sep 10
At gamescom 2026 in Cologne, held from August 26 to August 30, Game Spark played CLUTCH, a racing game in development at Maverick Games. The studio is led by Mike Brown, who was creative director on Forza Horizon 5. The demo opens with a cutscene that hands control to the player across a police chase, a lavender field run, and a circuit race.
Sep 10
Yami, the company behind the Haunting Exhibition and Fear Exhibition horror shows, has started a game label called YAMI GAMES. Its first release, the meta-horror game Tarou-kun Has Come, launched on August 28 at 1,500 yen. Producer Tsubasa Fujita and developers BeforeHomeWorks spoke to GAME Watch about building the label and the game, where players check a missing streamer's unplayable video against web pages to find out why it stops.
Sep 8
Playground Games has reaffirmed on its official site that the PS5 version of Forza Horizon 6 remains planned for late 2026. The update follows speculation from The Verge's Tom Warren, covered by IGN and VICE, that the port might slip to 2027. The studio posted on September 7 that players planning a trip to Discover Japan on PlayStation 5 should stay tuned, and the site continues to list the late 2026 window. No official delay announcement was made. The game is out now on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Sep 8
Steam generated $15 billion in gross revenue as of August 2026, according to market research firm Alinea Analytics, a 15 percent increase year over year that already exceeds Steam's full-year 2023 total. About 19,000 new games launched on the platform this year. Forza Horizon 6 leads new releases with $210.5 million in revenue, ahead of Red Desert, Biohazard Requiem, Slay the Spire 2, Subnautica 2, and Meccha Chameleon.
Sep 2
The Pokémon Horizons anime and the Pokémon GO mobile game are collaborating on both a television episode and an in-game event. Episode 150, titled "Hirogaru Sekai, Kimi to GO!" (The Expanding World, With You and GO!), airs in Japan on September 18. The episode features Professor Willow from Pokémon GO, and Liko and her companions head out on fieldwork alongside him. As the investigation progresses, the episode reveals how Friede first met Charizard. PokéStops appear in the episode. A promotional video previewing the collaboration was released on September 2.
The in-game event, named "Pokémon Horizons: The Series Celebration Event," runs worldwide from September 16 to 22. Charmander wearing Friede's goggles makes its Pokémon GO debut during the event, appearing in the wild, through Field Research, with regular Lure Modules, and through the event GO Pass. Players can evolve it into Charmeleon and then Charizard while keeping the goggles. Shiny versions and Special Backgrounds are available. Pikachu wearing Cap's hat returns as a wild encounter and in one-star raids. Three-star raids feature Charizard wearing Friede's goggles, Meowscarada, Skeledirge, and Quaquaval. The wild lineup varies by time of day. A promotional code announced during the September 18 broadcast guarantees an encounter with Charmander wearing Friede's goggles with a Special Background.
Sep 1
Bandai will release the Atsumare Doubutsu no Mori Tomodachi Doll SELECTION on September 28 at candy sections of mass retailers across Japan. The line is a re-release of the earlier Tomodachi Doll series, which turns Animal Crossing: New Horizons characters into flocked dolls. Ten characters appear in the set: Shizue, Tanukichi, Tsubukichi, Mamekichi, Totakeke, Misuzu, Chachamaru, Jun, Jack, and Yukimi. Each doll comes with a display stand, and every package includes one soda-flavored gum. The price is 550 yen including tax. The SELECTION is a compilation of the existing Tomodachi Doll lineup rather than a new character set, so the ten figures carry the same designs as the original series. Bandai sells the dolls individually, and the full run covers all ten characters. The product page on the Bandai Candy site carries further details on the lineup and release.
Aug 31
Premium Bandai is taking pre-orders for the Sesotai Risogu Grandiose Number One Set, an unauthorized item from Unauthorized Sentai Akibaranger modeled after the Sentai Ring series of Number One Sentai Gojuujager. The set includes rings themed after the three Akibarangers, Season Pain versions, and a GOLDEN EDITION, and it is compatible with the separately sold DX Tegasword.
Aug 30
At gamescom 2026, Maverick Games' Mike Brown and Ben Penrose detailed CLUTCH, an open-world driving game set in Monaco. The title splits playtime between professional R1K circuit racing and the underground Midnight Collective, with a story by Skins writer Jamie Brittain. Brown, former Forza Horizon 5 creative director, said the narrative gives meaning to wins and losses.
Aug 30
ASCII.jp's second-part review of PC Shop SEVEN's ZEFT R65YC gaming PC checks performance, noise, and real-game results. The unit, priced at 758,780 yen, uses a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5070 Ti inside a Noctua and Antec collaboration case. It delivered comfortable play at max quality in Forza Horizon 6 while staying in the 30dB range.
Aug 30
ASCII.jp tested Forza Horizon 6 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on three JAPANNEXT JN-VC236F curved displays. Each 23.6-inch Full HD monitor costs 12,980 yen, for a total of 38,940 yen. The triple-screen rig delivers a 5760x1080 resolution. The curvature is a gentle R3000, better suited for business than gaming.
Aug 29
The second cour of the TV anime Red River will air from September 29, with Soma Saito voicing User Ramses, Kyle's greatest rival, and Shun Horie voicing Judah Hasphaslupi, the sixth prince of the Hittite Empire. A two-volume Blu-ray BOX is also confirmed, with Volume 1 on December 9 and Volume 2 on April 14, 2027.
Aug 28
The television anime adaptation of Chie Shinohara's Red River manga announced two new cast members on Monday. Sōma Saitō will voice User Ramses, a free-spirited Egyptian general and the greatest rival of Kail. Shun Horie will voice Juda Haspasrupi, the sixth prince in line for the Hittite throne who has long looked up to Kail and is suspicious of his mother Nakia. The anime premiered in NTV's AnichU programming block on July 7 at 25:35, effectively July 8 at 1:35 a.m., and on BS NTV on July 8. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime as it airs in Japan. The cast includes Mirai Tachibana as Yuri, Wataru Katō as Kail Muršili, and Aya Uchida as Queen Nakia. Kōsuke Kobayashi is directing the anime at Tatsunoko Production, with Yoriko Tomita overseeing series scripts and Kenji Fujisaki designing characters. Yoshihisa Hirano is composing the music. The manga was serialized from 1995 to 2002 in Shogakukan's Shojo Comic magazine, and Viz Media began releasing the English edition in 2004.
Aug 27
Playground Games announced on August 26 that Forza Horizon 6 will collaborate with Seven-Eleven. The collaboration content, named "7-Eleven Evolving World" and "EventLab Content Pack," is scheduled to arrive with the October series update. Details are still under wraps, with only a single image released at the time of the announcement. The content reportedly reflects feedback submitted through the Forza Feedback Portal. Separately, the September 7 series update will introduce a new feature called Drift Attack, a drift-point competition mode. Players earn points by drifting on a course, with bonus points available inside clipping zones. Drift Attack will be accessible from the open-world map at Shimano Circuit, which becomes a permanent drift circuit. It supports solo and multiplayer play, and completing campaign challenges unlocks a customized 1990 Jaguar XJ-S Forza Edition. Starting September 10, a British car festival event will begin, offering three series-first British cars through the Festival Playlist and four additional vehicles for Car Pass owners. Forza Horizon 6 is available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and a PS5 version is planned within the year.
Aug 23
ASCII.jp's second look at the Sycom G-Master Spear 2 Z890i benchmarks the BTO PC with a Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and RTX 5070 Ti. The CPU carries 6 P-cores and 12 E-cores, four more E-cores than the Core Ultra 5 245K and two fewer P-cores than the Core Ultra 7 265K. CINEBENCH 2026 scored 7263 pts multi-thread and 566 pts single-thread. The standard configuration sells for 453,130 yen, or 404,150 yen during the Sycom Summer Campaign 2026 through August 31.
Aug 18
Studio Bones president Masahiko Minami said the studio would be eager to adapt Kohei Horikoshi's horror one-shot Don't Laugh, Shijima-San if the opportunity arises. Minami, speaking at Otakon 2026, admitted he had not known about the manga until the interview. The one-shot ran in Weekly Shonen Jump on Aug 10.
Aug 18
Nijimen reports that the Horimiya 15th anniversary project includes two events: a cafe themed after Katagiri High School's cultural festival and a pop-up shop with a strawberry motif. Daisuke Hagiwara drew separate main visuals for each. The cafe runs in Tokyo from October 14 to December 27, 2026, and in Osaka from November 25, 2026 to February 7, 2027. The shop starts in December 2026 across four cities.
Aug 14
At Anime Expo, MARRIAGETOXIN director Motonobu Hori and Bones Film producer Tatsuya Saito discussed adapting the manga by Jomyaku and Mizuki Yoda. They cited the characters and the series' ambiguous tone as key draws, and detailed the challenge of translating the manga's chaotic panel energy into animation.
Aug 13
The television anime adaptation of the manga Tenkaichi: The Greatest Warrior Under the Rising Sun has revealed its first teaser promotional video, a teaser visual, main cast, staff, and an April 2027 debut. The announcement came on Thursday through the anime's official website and social media channels. The series is produced by studio Fugaku, with Masashi Abe directing. Kazuharu Sato handles series scripts, Ryoji Nakamori designs the characters, and Hayato Matsuo composes the music. The main voice cast includes Gen Sato as Miyamoto Musashi, Kenichiro Matsuda as Honda Tadakatsu, and Kenyu Horiuchi as Oda Nobunaga. The manga, written by Yosuke Nakamaru and illustrated by Kyotaro Azuma, launched in Kodansha's Young Magazine the 3rd in January 2021, then moved to Monthly Young Magazine in May 2021 after the former ceased publication. Kodansha's K MANGA service publishes the manga in English simultaneously. The story is set in 1600, ten years after Oda Nobunaga unified Japan, and follows his announcement that he will pass power to whoever brings him the strongest warrior. The first match pits Honda Tadakatsu against Miyamoto Musashi.
Aug 11
Nijimen published the results of its otaku-selected ranking of characters voiced by Kenyu Horiuchi, timed to the voice actor's birthday on July 30. Professor Oak from 'Pokémon' took first place with 75 votes, rising from second last year. The top 10 includes roles from 'SPY×FAMILY', 'Demon Slayer', and 'ONE PIECE'.
Aug 11
At CEDEC 2026, cultural consultant Kyoko Yamashita detailed how Playground Games built a lived-in Japan for Forza Horizon 6. She joined a studio with no Japanese staff, guided field research in Tokyo and Hakone, and advised on design, art, sound, and radio DJ auditions. The team aimed for everyday realism over postcard landmarks.
Aug 7
The Romelia War Chronicle anime will premiere in October 2026 and run for two cours. The staff revealed four new cast members: Shoya Chiba as Gran, Gakuto Kajiwara as Ragn, Shun Horie as Kyle, and Ryunosuke Watanuki as Otto. Crunchyroll will stream the series as it airs, and Otakon screened the world premiere on July 31.
Aug 7
Popular itasha livery creators in Forza Horizon 6 are withdrawing their shared designs after reported bans. Creators Kamikaze SSSS and Kracsa saw their design counts drop to zero. Speculation points to a Chinese-speaking community running a reporting campaign against anime-style paints, though its actual influence on operator decisions remains unclear.
Aug 7
Director Kazuya Kamihoriuchi discussed the upcoming film Kamen Rider Zetts: Mission of Farewell, which caps off the TV series. The story centers on Mitsugu and Takanori Kokage, with a theme of daydreams encroaching on reality. Kamihoriuchi aimed for unprecedented motorcycle action, including an 8-minute chase scene.
Aug 6
Bandai Namco Filmworks announced on July 24 that the 23rd installment of free streaming on the official Sunrise YouTube channel will add 'Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere' and 'Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon' for the first time. Both series will release episodes 1 through 6, starting August 7 and September 18 respectively.
Aug 6
At CEDEC 2026, culture advisor Kyoko Yamashita explained how Playground Games, a UK studio with no Japanese staff among its roughly 100-person Forza Horizon 6 team, achieved a realistic Japan. She described her role, the team's early lack of Japan knowledge, and the decision to send leads to Japan.
Aug 5
At CEDEC 2026, held July 22 to 24 at Pacifico Yokohama North, Kyoko Yamashita took the stage to explain her work as cultural consultant for Forza Horizon 6, developed by UK studio Playground Games. Yamashita joined Square Soft in 1997 as a marketing assistant and later became independent, working as a business consultant and interpreter. She said this was her first time serving as a cultural advisor on a game, and that she was chosen because of her long industry career, her work preventing cultural misunderstandings for companies, and her love of cars. When she joined the project in the UK, there was no Japanese staff or anyone who spoke Japanese, so she began by introducing basic facts about Japan. The team's goal was not a postcard view but a Japan with a sense of daily life, one that would feel natural even to Japanese people. To achieve this, she recommended the team visit Japan, and eight key members toured Tokyo for about a week, driving in Hakone and using taxis, trains, and the Shinkansen. The team's questions, collected in a dedicated message box, covered the four seasons, festivals, shop signs, and landmarks. Yamashita worked on the title for two and a half years.
Aug 5
Microsoft plans to make Xbox 360 titles playable on its next-generation console, codenamed Project Helix, as well as on Xbox PC and handheld devices, according to a document The Verge says it confirmed. The rollout is expected to happen in stages from 2027 to 2028. Developers can choose whether to enable backward compatibility for their titles and decide pricing and Game Pass availability. The document also outlines a Disc to Digital system for Xbox One and Xbox Series S, where inserting a physical disc into a compatible console grants a digital license tied to the disc and user account. That license carries across compatible Xbox devices, but if the disc is sold or transferred, the original owner loses access. The Disc to Digital beta was scheduled for July 2026, with general availability in August, but the beta has been delayed, so the August date is uncertain. In July 2026, Microsoft began backward compatibility for original Xbox titles on PC and PC-based handhelds like the ROG XBOX Ally, starting with four titles including Blinx: The Time Sweeper. The full PC backward compatibility release is planned for October 2026.