[Info] I go to Casual Connect USA held in , so the update of articles is delayed

I go to sonference event Casual Connect USA held in San Francisco, CA in July 30 - August 1, so the update of articles is delayed. In addition, I give priority to the update of the report articles of Casual Connect USA after having come back to Japan. Because I may not place press release. Sorry!
The photos which I shot locally show them as soon as possible in Twitter and Facebook. Please follow them.

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SEGA does a haiku for a game

Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry. It is comprised of words of the 5 sound/7 sound/5 sound, and got close to many people. However, most of modern youths do not assume it a hobby. Therefore SEGA started a project to make a haiku a game "project 575".

They promote the making of haiku of the youth by this project. For the first, they released game application UTA YOMI 575 for iOS.

UTA YOMI 575 is the apps that is made to speak a haiku by characters of the high school girl. Characters are 3D, voices are VOCALOID. Furthermore, users can post the movie of characters to the Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. This is new style of UGC.



SEGA releases music, manga, novel, anime, PlayStation Vita games and carries out cross-media development from now on.

Let's dance Bon festival dance with avatar at pedestrian scramble of Shibuya

pedestrian scramble of Shibuya is one of the sightseeing spots of Tokyo. Japanese tech giant Cyber Agent carries out an interesting project using their virtual world Ameba Pigg there.

It is Bon festival dance with avatars on huge screen.

Bon festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors, and Bon festival dance is a dance to cheer up souls of dead people. These are still summer big events in current Japan. Ameba Pigg reproduces this in real Shibuya.

When Ameba users input own Ameba ID in this page (PC/Smartphone). Their avatars come up on huge screen of Shibuya and dancing. Very simple! This event is held until July 31.

It is a schedule of the huge screen.

11:10～11:19/11:40～11:49/12:10～12:19/12:40～12:49/14:10～14:19/14:40～14:49
15:10～15:19/15:40～15:49/16:10～16:19/16:40～16:49/17:10～17:19/17:40～17:49

Gungho is not only Puzzle & Dragons. They released "Freak Tower" in North America and Europe

Japan's Gungho is known in puzzle RPG for smartphones "Puzzle & Dragons". However, their smartphone game is not only that. They released tower management simulation game "Freak Tower"(Japanese name: Crazy Tower) in North America and Europe.

Freak Tower is the simulation game that a management game and a tower defense game were combined. Players become the tower owner, let strange residents enter and run the various shops in a own tower. Furthermore, players can decorate a tower and change the clothes of residents (Factor of the decorations is very popular in Japan).

Strange monsters occasionally attack a tower and players repulse this in cooperation with residents. It is right "tower defense".

This has already broken through 1,300,000 downloading in Japan. This is the number that is small if we compare it with puzzle & Dragons. However, this is originally a successful number in Japan. In addition, they released this last month in Korea.

Kawaii! Japanese brand A BATHING APE teamed up with Angry Birds on T-shirts

Unfortunately, Angry Birds is not popular as Pazzle & Doragons and Nameko in Japan. However, it may penetrate steadily. A BATHING APE of the fashion brand which is popular among Japanese youths performs a special tie-up with Angry Birds.

So CUTE!!
A BATHING APE arranged the design of birds and pigs. This face is a face of their monkey character "milo". They sell the T-shirts using this design for 7,140 yen(about 73USD) from July 13. Expensive? Because they are brands of popularity, it is natural.

Puzzle & Dragons Method: EA add the element of the RPG for Tetris

A lot of game apps that put social RPG and something together came to be released after puzzle & Dragons prospered. SEGA made their masterpiece puzzle game PUYOPUYO an RPG.

See Also:
Copy of the Puzzle & Dragons? However, Puyo puyo Quest is popular in Japan

Next is EA. They release the iOS application "Tetris Monster" which made Tetris an RPG in a few days.

The details have not been yet announced, but we can expect that it is fantasy from the illustration of the website. This is a Japan-limited project and the first time that a new works of the Tetris is released only in Japan. Do you want to play in this from the countries except Japan?

Coca-Cola Japan moves origami with augmented reality

Coca-Cola Japan released AR apps in this spring for smartphones which linked vending machines. Recently, they added "Origami magic AR" as new contents of this apps.

At first, we make the origami of the mascot character of the Coca-Cola Japan.

If we make origami exactly, it should become such a shape.

Next, we start AR apps. Origami AR is the bottom button.

Then, such a screen appears.

We put origami according to guidelines.

When image recognition succeeds, origami begins a dancing!

PDF data of the origami, a procedure of the origami and link to apps are here. Unfortunately the procedure of the origami is only Japanese support. Please do your best in reference to illustrations!

This is Japan: Battle simulation game of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces

An official site of battle simulation game Furusato Jieitai(ふるさと自衛隊: Hometown and Self-Defense Forces) for smartphones that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces cooperated entirely opened. This has not been yet released, but accepts pre-registration now.

I write it once again. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces cooperated entirely. This is right the Japanese.

The game system is a pure J-style card battle. Payers become a commander, put the cards of various armaments of the Self-Defense Forces together, organize one's military unit and fight between players.

Photos of armaments of the real Self-Defense Forces are used in cards. All the data are based on the real, too.

In addition to them, the player can enjoy the changing clothes of the adjutant. The uniforms of adjutants reproduce the uniform of real woman self-defense officials. Players can change their uniform depending on a season. Possibly there may be more players falling into this than a battle.

Japanese weird smartphone game "Alpaca Nisan" began goods sale

I wrote about strange smartphone game "Alpaca Nisan(Alpaca Evolution)" in May.

See Also:
Japanese weird smartphone game "Alpaca Nisan" broke through 4M downloading from release in 3 months

The mutation of alpacas is very weird. However, many Japanese think that they are cute. Therefore developer COCOSOLA of this game apps started goods sale.

These are 4 kinds of mascot key chains which expressed the evolution form of alpacas. These are sold as a prize of the crane game in the game arcades from this month.

These are 6 kinds of capsule toys and sold by Gacha in a general shops from this month, too. Gacha one time is 200 yen.

Anyone will think this game to be weird first. However, we see them cutely whenever we play a game. Particularly, I think the mascot key chains of the prize are Kawaii.

Messaging apps LINE broke through 200 million users

To be frank, I thought that the growth of LINE slowed down after this when I wrote this article in January.

See Also:
LINE broke through 100 million users, and Snoop Dogg enjoys LINE

However, my expectations were largely wrong.

LINE is released in June, 2011 and is popular now in Taiwan, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Spain, India and South America as well as Japan. They break through 150 million users on April 30, 2013 when it is approximately 23 months from release, and extend popularity led by youths.
According to them, users increase rapidly in India, Philippines, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru. They helped 200 million user breakthroughs and LINE got 100 million users newly in a half year. In addition, the ratio of iOS : Android is by half.

They promote the localization every each country from now on. They intend to provide the official accounts and stickers which reflected regionality and culture to users of each country.

GREE released trading card game "Siegkrone"

Before, I wrote that GREE entered the trading card game business.

See Also:
GREE enters the trading card business

It is live now. They held a press presentation to release. These are photos at that time.

 The illustrations of cards are made from the artwork of the GREE's social games. However, they will release the cards of other contents such as the popular anime in future. In the beginning, They release a card pack of "Attack on Titan(進撃の巨人)" in September.

Of course they let a trading card game link a smartphone and social games. They list serial number in a card pack, and when players input it in a social game, they can get the virtual card same as a real card in a social game. Many games and virtual spaces have already practiced this technique. They apply it by a trading card game.

Furthermore, they release smartphone apps to assist the play of the trading card game. Trading card games  are always haunted by troublesome calculations. So, they release apps having a convenient electronic calculator function and battle log preservation function.

And they adopt an original rule. It is to use the smartphone as one piece of card. We make an original virtual card using various images and can use it in a game. GREE delivers images for virtual cards regularly, but we can use own illustrations and photos.

The card packs have been already sold in shops. GREE holds events throughout Japan from now on.

http://siegkrone-tcg.com/