NHN Japan parts with CosPlay Social Networking Service "Cure" and "WorldCosplay"

This news may be important if you are interested in Japanese CosPlay. NHN Japan transferred CosPlay Social Networking Service "Cure" and "WorldCosplay" to pixiv.

Cure is Social Networking Service for CosPlayer which opened in August, 2001 and has 950,000 users. Users can share one's CosPlay photo.

WorldCosplay is CosPlay Social Networking Service of the world wide version which opened in January, 2012 and They support 12 languages. Many foreigners CosPlayer register here.

This business transfer may be business reorganization of NHN Japan. Now, NHN Japan is known as a company of popular messaging application LINE. On the other hand, pixiv runs popular illustration Social Networking Service "pixiv". pixiv supports 7 languages and has many overseas users. They establish a subsidiary for administration of Cure and WorldCosplay.

Doraemon in Ameba Pigg!

New Doraemon movie "Doraemon: Nobita and Secret Gadget Museum" is shown in Japan in March 9.



Therefore, a virtual goods tie-up is carried out now in popular virtual world Ameba Pigg. This is the third year in this year.

Kawaii!

Doraemon has Small-light(One of the gadgets of Doraemon). So...

Let's play smaller avatar size! We can become small by inputting it into "/min" in a chat window.

Various items that a movie became the motif are in Gacha. Gacha one time is 250Ameba Gold(250yen :about 2.74USD).

Such coordinates are possible when we get these.

Only in Japan: iPhone case made by a rice cracker

Souvenir company RAKKI in Yamaguchi sells interesting iPhone goods. t is iPhone cover made by a SENBEI(煎餅:rice cracker). They sell this as an edible survival rice cracker in emergency.

All rice crackers are made with manual labor by craftsmen, and there are the hole for cameras. However, it have a problem. It is very difficult to attach it to iPhone, and Possibility to fail is 76%.

However, it becomes the topic very much, 500 sold in instants when they started a Web mail order.

In addition, this is manufactured from unpolished rice. Of course its taste is delicious!

Japanese girl gives love to a lover by 3D scanner, 3D printer and chocolate

The manners and customs of Valentine's Day in Japan are strange. In Japan, women give chocolate to a sweetheart on St Valentine's Day. Probably, the sweets company thought of it for business. However, it has completely rooted in Japan.


Then, cafe "FabCafe" in Shibuya which has a laser cutter and 3D printer will hold an interesting workshop in February. Only a woman can participate in it.

Well, it is an event which makes the own face chocolate using 3D scanner and 3D printer.

The example of "3D Photo booth" which made own figure with 3D scanner and 3D printer existed until now. However, as for the example which uses chocolate as a material, this will be the first. This workshop is two days, and the tuition is 6,000 yen(about 67.7 USD). It costs time and money. However, this is very popular, and a reservation has been buried immediately.


Do you want the chocolate of a sweetheart's face?

via
ものづくり女子限定！ハイスペックすぎる自分型チョコレートを贈ろうの会

Is this an object? No, it is costume.

Rovio does Angry Birds promotion in Japan. However, the method seems to be slightly different from other countries. These are the photo which Angry Birds Japan introduced in Twitter.

This is photos of a promotion event held in Osaka late last week. This big rea bird is not an object. A person in this, in other words this is "costume". Red bird does not have a foot and a wing, but this can move. Because a person having low height -probably woman- in this.

I watch such photo in overseas websites frequently.

Such a costume cannot be familiar in Japan. Because the face of the person of the inside appears. When we wear costume in Japan, we must turn into the character completely. And audience believe heartily that it is a character not costume. In the event of Osaka, red bird was not costume but a live bird.

By the way, a lot of companies making such a costume are in Japan, and it is called "Kigurumi（着ぐるみ）" in Japan. 

By the way, Rovio opened Japanese official site of Angry Birds today.

http://www.angrybirds.com/jp/index.html

Please check it if you are interested in Japanese.

Japan's Pokelabo released social game apps for iOS for global markets

It's time to compare the artwork of the global market and Japanese market!

Japanese social game developer Pokelabo -They were purchased for about 150 million USD by GREE in October, 2012- and Aeria Games released a global version of  their iOS social game apps "Unmei no Guardian Battle(Destined Guardian Battle)". The named "Immortalis".

"Unmei no Guardian Battle" is J-style card battle social game. We collect various Guardian -almost beautiful woman- and organize a deck and fight.

A characteristic of this is that a real-time battle is held frequently. It is received by Japanese users, and this got 200,000 users from release in 20 days.

When this is localized for a global market, it becomes in this way.

This was released in 100 countries. The game rule is the same, but the language support is English. Which artwork do you like?

LINE broke through 100 million users, and Snoop Dogg enjoys LINE

Today is a memorable day for the Japanese IT industry. Because messaging apps LINE of NHN Japan broke through 100 million users.

They achieved this in only 1 and a half years. Japanese IT services has not succeeded in this way until now in a global market. Besides, they grow up faster than Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.



LINE is popular in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, South America and Spain. They aim at North America and the European market from now on.

Then,  a American Hip Hop artist enjoys LINE very much. The person is Snoop Dogg. He has begun to use LINE from November of the last year. And he posts funny photos to fans frequently.

:D:D:D:D:D
He seems to like LINE and LINE Camera!:D And he just released official LINE stamp. It's free of charge!

The user of the artist like him will big help of North America market advance of LINE.

Now, Robots run a marathon in Osaka

Bipedal walking robot marathon "Robomarafull vol.3" is held in Osaka, Japan in January 17 - 20.

The rule of this event is simple. Within 72 hours of the time limit, robots aims at the completion of 42.195km. The course of one lap of 75 meters is prepared for in a stadium and the robots run 563 laps in this and compete for time. Time of the champions of the last year is 45 hours 48 minutes 07 seconds.

The sponsor of this event is the Osaka government. This event is held as urgent job creation business. However, it is not the employment of the event staff. The true purpose is upbringing of the robot developer. The event is broadcasted in Ustream.

Japanese technopop group Denki Groove made their figure with 3D printer

Japanese technopop group Denki Groove releases a new album "Ningen to Doubutsu(A human being and animal)" on February 27. Such photo is placed in it.

These are the figure that reproduced them.

These were made in OMOTE 3D SHASHIN KAN which opened in Tokyo, Omotesando until January 14. There was the world's first "3D photo booth". The guest scanned oneself with 3D scanner and was able to make whole body figure of full color. It became the big topic and popular. And it was placed in many overseas media.

See Also:
http://www.dezeen.com/2012/11/23/omote-3d-printing-photo-booth-shashinkan-by-party/

Now, 3D printer becomes the topic in Japan, but it is not yet common. However, the popularity may rise by a famous musician having used it.

LINE Camera broke through 20 million downloading

NHN Japan announced that camera apps for smartphone "LINE Camera" broke through 20 million downloading.

"LINE camera" is camera apps linking popular messaging application LINE. We decorate photo and can post in LINE. This was released on April 12, 2012 and it broke through 20 million downloading from release in about 10 months. According to NHN Japan, it is popular in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Nepal. So LINE Camera links with the social networking except LINE such as Twitter, Facebook, mixi, Sina Weibo, Renren, me2day and Cyworld.

Of course I like LINE Camera, too. It has many functions and useful. We can use 22 filters, various writing brushes, and frame and stamp more than 100. Furthermore, it has function that puts some photo together to make collage.

This resembles J-style photo booth "Purikura". Therefore it seem to be supported by women.