Daniel Robson

Will Phil Spencer's Exit Reset Xbox's Progress in Japan? Xbox has always struggled in Japan, but Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond made meaningful advances in recent years, writes Daniel Robson.

Xbox has always struggled in Japan, but Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond made meaningful advances in recent years, writes @nomoredaniels.bsky.social

Here's a look at the kind of persistence and relationships the new regime will have to maintain.

thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/phil... [Paywalled]

Pokémon is the Ultimate Universal Language After decades in Japan, Daniel Robson has realised that the ultimate universal language, one visitors and locals speak fluently, is Pokémon.

After decades in Japan, @nomoredaniels.bsky.social has learned that the ultimate universal language, one visitors and locals speak fluently, is Pokémon.

Games are a clear indicator of Japan's incredible soft power, but oddly, the country's leadership doesn't seem eager to capitalise on it just yet.

The Sonic & Friends Cafe in Yurakucho, Tokyo!

Not the best collaboration cafe ever: plain decor, limited and uninspired food menu, and insanely tight 70-minute time limit. But the Sonic parfait and Tails drink were cute and delicious. Not great, but not a bad place if you really love Sonic like me!

I’m sorry to hear that Ash. I’m sure you’ll land on your feet – good luck!

Mikabomb are some of my oldest friends, so it was wonderful to see them again on their second ever Japan tour. Amazing show as ever, and a couple of late nights drinking together 🍻

They played with Bo-Peep and some other old friends, so it was a super sexy punk rock reunion! 🤘

Delicious homemade authentic British pie and mash at Mash Bros in Ogikubo. This small but super friendly bar is a must visit 😋

大久保のMash Brosで、自家製の本格英国風パイとマッシュポテト。いこごちがよくてとってもフレンドリーなお店なのでぜひ訪れてほしい😋

www.instagram.com/mashbrostoky...

Spent a delightful hour at Hot Sauce Bar in Harajuku, tasting 20 flavourful hot sauces. It was hard to choose a couple to take home!

原宿のHot Sauce Barで楽しい時間を過ごした。20種類ほどの風味豊かなホットソースを試食して、買って帰る分を選ぶのに苦労した！

www.instagram.com/hotsaucebar_...

Oh nice, I’m glad you liked it! She’s awesome right?

Here's a playlist of my favourite songs from 2025:
open.spotify.com/playlist/1po...

💿109 songs this year!
🎸1 song per artist
🌏Music from dozens of countries
⚡️All killer, no filler
▶️🔀Play in order or hit shuffle!

I loved a lot of music last year, so I hope you love it too 🤘

近所のデパートから見える富士山🗻

What a wild 12 months it’s been. 2025 was one of my best years ever. Wishing you all the best for 2026!

ひゃー本当にヤバい12ヶ月でした。2025年は人生最高の年の一つでした。2026年もみんな、素晴らしい1年になりますように！

What Escalating Japan-China Tensions Could Mean For Videogames - Parallax: Japan The geopolitical relationship between Japan and China is souring. As avid consumers of each other's entertainment, what's at stake for games?

Geopolitical tensions between Japan and China are heating up, and the effects are rippling out. Flights are being suspended, and concerts are being cancelled mid-performance.

So then, what's at stake for videogames? @nomoredaniels.bsky.social looks at some of the industry's fears.

[PAYWALLED]

Gamescom Asia’s Glow-Up Is a Win for the Region - Parallax: Japan If this year's show was any indication, Gamescom Asia has taken a big step up, and the Japanese games industry seems to be on board.

In this month's edition of Parallax, @nomoredaniels.bsky.social reports back from Gamescom Asia 2025.

Bigger, better, and more well-attended by game publishers, Daniel says it's a positive step up, especially at a time when people in the region can't (and won't) attend events in Europe and the US.

Japanese Games Are Stronger than Ever, but the Asian Wave Is Far Larger - Parallax: Japan Many of the biggest games at Gamescom 2025 were from Japan, but it was impossible to look past the Chinese and Korean ones, too.

Several Japanese games were among the biggest at Gamescom 2025, showing that the region is very healthy, writes @nomoredaniels.bsky.social.

But they were far from the only titles from Asia occupying the minds (and hearts) of attendees.

thisweekinvideogames.com/feature/para... [PAYWALLED]

It’s just magnificent 🚀👽

Why am I not?? 🥺

Likewise! Enjoy the show :)

Thanks Milky – you guys really crushed it this year ❤️

Ahhhhh @nomoredaniels.bsky.social and @andyrobinson.bsky.social are so real for this 🫶

Shoutout to @nomoredaniels.bsky.social for the hangout and at a rad Star Wars themed bar

明日から、IGN JAPANのエグゼクティブプロデューサーになり、その他のゲーム関連事業を担当することになります！

From tomorrow, I will be moving up to a management role at our company, to oversee IGN Japan as Executive Producer and work on bizdev for other game-related projects!

jp.ign.com/ign-japan/78...

Nice surprise to see two more great PlayStation Japan Studio games coming to Switch (following Freedom Wars). Never predicted we’d see our games on Nintendo hardware when I was there a decade ago 🤯

フリーダムウォーズに続けて、SIEのJAPAN Studio作品さらに2本がSwitchに移植されるんだ、びっくり！10年前社員だったころ、Jスタのゲームが任天堂ハードに来るなんて想像もしなかった 😵‍💫

So close!

That’s why I stayed 😅 Go through enough major natural disasters and pandemics and you feel pretty grateful to be in a civilised place like Japan rather than the West.

Finally got to see Idles in Tokyo and they were AMAZING. Lovely messy mosh pit, strong anti-fascist messaging. And what a bonus to have Otoboke Beaver as the opener!

大好きなイギリスのバンドIDLESのライブをやっと初めて見れたけど、最高に最高でした！しかも対バンとしておとぼけビ〜バ〜のステージもヤバかった😝

It was a pleasure to join the Taipei Game Show Indie Game Awards as a judge and presenter, and to broadcast live on IGN Japan from the TpGS show floor with all the amazing guests who came to join us. So many awesome games!

台北ゲームショウ2025、とても楽しかったです！今年もアワードの審査委員としてもメディアパートナーとしても参加ができて嬉しかった😸

Wait what’s a VGC 🤔

お友達🦎

New friends 💕🐻🐻‍❄️