Latest news with #Kiriko
The Mainichi
2 days ago
- The Mainichi
Easy Japanese news in translation: Wild tradition kicks off Kiriko festivals in Ishikawa Pref.
Every summer on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, festivals are held in various places, where large lanterns called "kiriko" are paraded through the streets. The largest lanterns weigh about 4 metric tons and are over 15 meters tall. The "Abare Festival," which marks the beginning of Kiriko festivals, reached its peak on July 5 in the town of Noto. The festival's wild actions are believed to please the gods, so participants broke "mikoshi" portable shrines and threw them into the river. Easy Japanese news is taken from the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun, a newspaper for children. This is perfect material for anyone studying Japanese who has learned hiragana and katakana. We encourage beginners to read the article in English followed by Japanese, or vice versa, to test their comprehension. A fresh set will be published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., Japan time. Click/tap here for past installments. Intermediate learners who do not need English assistance can directly access the Mainichi Shogakusei Shimbun site here. Furigana (hiragana) is added to all kanji in the text.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Overwatch 2 Stadium patch notes: New update buffs DVa and Junkrat, nerfs Kiriko
Game developer Blizzard just released a fresh Stadium patch for Overwatch 2 on July 9, 2025. This update focuses on balancing several heroes in the fast-paced Stadium mode. While some got stronger, others were toned down to improve overall gameplay. From DVa's stronger slam to Kiriko's reduced clone power, here's everything that changed. DVa and Junkrat among the biggest winners DVa got a buff to her Tokki Slam, which now deals more damage. This should make her a stronger pick during close fights. Junkrat received multiple improvements. His cash income from damage and healing went up by over 11 percent. His Hop Boom now deals more damage, and Rainin' Lead fires more frequently. Items like Lithium Alloy and Fawkes' Funny Fuel also got a power boost, improving his overall damage and healing abilities. Nerfs for Kiriko, Juno and Ana Kiriko took a clear hit. Her Clone Conjuration now heals and damages much less than before, although its duration has been increased. Juno's Hyper Healer got weaker as the Overhealth dropped from 100 to 75. Ana also saw changes. Her 'Our Turn' power now reduces cooldown for less time, while 'My Turn' and' Your Full Potentia'l give stronger buffs. Her Venomous damage was raised too. NEW STADIUM PATCH NOTES! 🚨🦊 Kiriko - Clones will have reduced damage and increased duration 🐀 Junkrat - will cause more mayhem and earn more cash👩🚀 Juno - Hyper Healer has decreased overhealth✨ And so much more!📝 Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 8, 2025 NEW STADIUM PATCH NOTES! 🚨🦊 Kiriko - Clones will have reduced damage and increased duration 🐀 Junkrat - will cause more mayhem and earn more cash👩🚀 Juno - Hyper Healer has decreased overhealth✨ And so much more!📝 Zenyatta gets tweaks, Mei and others see changes Zenyatta's Dual Harmony healing reduction was slightly lowered, and his orb effects now last longer. His ultimate meter cap also got a boost. Mei's Twice As Nice now resets her snowball cooldown, letting her launch attacks more often. This patch is aimed at making Stadium mode more balanced and fun. With stronger builds for Junkrat and DVa, and fairer tweaks to support heroes like Kiriko and Zenyatta, the July 9 patch brings a more competitive edge to the mode. Keep testing different heroes and see how the changes affect your playstyle.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Some Fans Are Cheering The Return Of Loot Boxes In Overwatch 2
One of the funny things about being entrenched in a game's community for years is that you sometimes forget how it might look to someone on the outside. That happened to me this week when Blizzard announced it would be bringing loot boxes back to Overwatch 2 in Season 15 after dropping the mystery cosmetic packs when the sequel launched in 2022. When I saw that, my immediate thought was 'Oh, so the people who wanted those back finally got what they wanted,' and then I mentally moved on to the next thing. I forgot that if you hadn't been paying attention to Overwatch 2 for several years, you might be confused as to why Blizzard would make this choice, much less frame it as something worth celebrating. It's tied up in years of nostalgia toward the 'way things used to be' in the original Overwatch and a dislike of Overwatch 2's methods of monetization. The return of loot boxes doesn't mean Blizzard is dismantling the expensive money dump entirely, but it is giving players a free option to maybe get the skins they want. When Overwatch 2 launched, it completely reorganized how you unlock and purchase cosmetics. Blizzard added an in-game shop that rotates cosmetics in and out weekly that can be purchased with in-game currency and real-world money. Compare this to how you would unlock most things in the original Overwatch; you'd unlock a loot box with each level you gained and would hope and pray the skin you wanted was inside. You couldn't control what you got from them, but the trade-off was that everything from skins to victory poses was obtainable for free. However, if you're not so patient, you could also buy loot boxes with real money, which is how they get you. So there was an element of gambling involved. By the time the original Overwatch was replaced by the sequel, I had unlocked so many cosmetics that opening the free loot boxes I'd gotten was a waste of time because I was mostly finding duplicates. Sure, I probably spent a few bucks here and there trying to find something specific, but the monetary investment was nothing compared to what it's cost me to buy new skins in Overwatch 2's store. That's part of why fans have been asking for a return to loot boxes. They're pretty much a gambling mechanic that incentivizes players to spend real money in hopes of finding their desired skin, but there was still an option to earn them for free. A dedicated player could get everything they wanted without paying a cent, but in Overwatch 2 that Mercy or Kiriko skin you've been eyeing is locked behind a paywall, and probably costs a pretty penny. It's easy to see how someone might yearn for the days when Overwatch wasn't such a huge money investment on top of being such a grind, and it's a pretty damning criticism of Overwatch 2's expensive store that some people think gambling is the preferable approach. But looking at loot boxes in an Overwatch-shaped vacuum isn't telling the whole story, which is why people who aren't in the payload-pushing trenches are bewildered by the excitement. Loot boxes have always been a controversial form of microtransaction in video games. Most gacha games use them in an inherently exploitative way because they require significant monetary or time investment with only a chance of getting the rewards you want. Such mystery packs have also been a centerpiece in lawsuits and legislation as parents and elected officials deem them a predatory business model. With all this baggage, it probably looks insane from the outside to see Blizzard tout their return and fans respond with excitement, eager to accept them with open arms. From the sound of it, however, Blizzard isn't bringing them back in the same way, and the approach the team is taking this time around sounds less exploitative than what came before. In an interview with IGN, Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller confirmed that Loot Boxes will only be available on the battle pass and completing challenges, with no option to purchase them with real money. Keller also confirmed in an interview with YouTuber emongg that if you get a duplicate cosmetic, you can re-roll so you're not wasting the limited loot boxes you can get per season. Overwatch 2 has found so many ways to monetize things that were once free in the original that I'm surprised Blizzard didn't try to monetize gambling on top of it, but considering the gambling aspect is so fraught that the U.S. government wants to get involved, this was probably the safer approach. Blizzard is also trying to be more transparent about what you might get by providing explicit drop rates so there's less randomized mystery. Ultimately, what Blizzard has described is less like the gambling we typically associate with loot boxes and more like a free form of progression that harkens back to the old days of Overwatch. As long as there isn't any predatory option to pay for them with real cash, I don't see the harm in giving people chance drops to earn old cosmetics that have rotated out of the shop. Reviving the little glowing chests that burst open with a celebratory fanfare is a nostalgia play just like the Overwatch Classic modes and bringing the old 6v6 format back. But in another timeline loot boxes could've been brought back exactly as they were, ready to rake in money from some poor Mercy main desperate to get the latest legendary skin. Loot boxes will return in season 15 on February the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
