Next is GREE:Angry Birds cooperates with GREE's mobile game Monpla

Before, I wrote about Angry Birds and LINE's mobile game.

See Also:
Next is LINE: Angry Birds gets into the Japanese mobile game more

Rovio Japan makes efforts in the tie-up with Japanese mobile game companies more. Now, they carry out an event about Angry Birds in GREE's mobile game "Monpla".

Monpla is a fantasy RPG that collects various cute monsters and has adventures(well... the view of the world resembles Pokemon...). Originally this is a social game for futurephones and one of the senior titles of GREE. It was provided in GREE for global before, but unfortunately was unpopular among overseas users and has been already shut down. However, it still has many users in Japan.

GREE designed suits for monsters of Angry Birds for this tie-up. Besides, they are 3D models. When players win the fight with the enemy monsters, they can get points. When points save a constant number, they get virtual goods of Angry Birds.

Furthermore, monsters of the enemy wear a suit of Angry Birds!

This is a very elaborate tie-up event. In addition, GREE enforces tie-up events with Angry Birds in another 2 titles "Tsuri-Sta（釣り★スタ)" and "Shometsu-Toshi(消滅都市)".

Popular manga/anime ONE PIECE became the mobile rhythm game

Yesterday, Bandai Namco games released rhythm game of Japanese popular manga/anime ONE PIECE "ONE PIECE DANCE BATTLE". Its downloading is free(iOS/Android), but unfortunately the release area is only Japan.

The rule of ONE PIECE DANCE BATTLE is simple. Players collect various characters of ONE PIECE, form dance teams and battles by dances on map. A story of ONE PIECE and the relationship between characters are not important in this game. Characters fighting against each other may join the same team.

Players can get new characters by achieving quests, win dance battles, and gacha system(*gacha...the vending machine which characters appear at random. General virtual goods sale form in Japanese online games, social games, and mobile games).

Because ONE PIECE was very popular contents, various social games/mobile games were released from the Futurephone era.

See Also:
Bandai Namco games released a new mobile social game of popular Manga/Anime "ONE PIECE" in GREE
Popular manga ONE PIECE forms original game community in Android

However, I think that ONE PIECE DANCE BATTLE is luxury most. At first, this is full 3D title, all 3DCG are high quality and dance motions are smooth. Above all, characters dancing are very cute and funny! There are a lot of kinds of characters, and even bit parts are reproduced in 3DCG. This is a game that enjoy to see ONE PIECE characters dancing.

Japanese singer Sachiko Kobayashi broadcasts a show for Oculus Rift

Now, Oculus Rift is becoming the hottest gadget in Japan. In particular, the entertainment industry makes efforts in its utilization.

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Japanese singer Kumi Koda releases a music video for Oculus Rift

Japanese enka(演歌) singer Sachiko Kobayashi(小林幸子) broadcasts a show live as VR movie for Oculus Rift on November 17. This is the first example of the streaming service by the new technology that Dwango and NTT developed jointly.

Enka is a genre of the songs based on Japanese traditional vocalism, and often compared to American country music or the blues.(via Wikipedia)



Sachiko Kobayashi is the great singer whom she continues singing enka for from 10 years old for 50 years. However, she is more famous by the characteristic that there is. It is gorgeous dress.

Her stage dress are already stage set! She wears such dresses at important TV show and the show in the big hall, and it is one of the highlight. Dwango broadcasts her show of November 17 in video sharing site Nico Nico Douga(ニコニコ動画). We can watch it with the PC, but watch it by released VR application on that day in Oculus Rift, too. If we can watched her gorgeous dress and show in Oculus Rift? It will be a pleasant experience.

Details(Japanese)
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv199935215

Japan's KLab develops a mobile game of popular drama glee

Japanese mobile game developer KLab announced that they conclude licensing agreement with Fox Digital Entertainment and develope a mobile game of popular drama glee.

KLab is one of the Japanese main mobile game companies. They are known for success of cute rhythm game "Love Live! School Idol Festival" for smartphones recently.

This has already passed 5 million downloading in a Japanese market, and provided in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and China. In particular, Chinese fans were enthusiastic and kneeled on the ground for this advertisement on the train.

via http://rocketnews24.com/2014/08/04/473085/



KLab applies the know-how of this to a mobile game of glee. In this game, players can play rhythm games with music used in a drama and can relive the story. Of course this is released in the global market, with broadcast of season 6 of the drama.

Next is LINE: Angry Birds gets into the Japanese mobile game more

Angry Birds makes efforts in the collaboration with the Japanese mobile game. They cooperated with mega-hit mobile game Puzzle and Dragons until today. Next, they began a tie-up with mobile game of mega-hit messaging apps LINE "LINE Rangers"(iOS/Android).

See Also:
Screenshot: Angry Birds Epic in Puzzle and Dragons

LINE Rangers is the tower defense game that LINE characters in various costume appear. They fight against enemies to help Sally of the small bird carried off by wicked aliens.



Red of Angry Birds comes up as one of rangers in gacha - capsule vending machine and representative charging technique of the Japanese social/mobile games -. When players play gacha, various characters appear at random and Red comes up in gacha until November 17. By the way, Red is an able ranger with stamina. Because LINE Rangers has 20 million users, this is good publicity work for Angry Birds.

Japan's GungHo buys 70% stake in PlayPhone

On the tonight, exciting news jumped. Japan's GungHo Online Entertainment buys 70% stake in PlayPhone, and make them the subsidiary. Press release is here, but currently only available in Japanese.

Now, GungHo is known as a company of megahit mobile game Puzzle and Dragons, but unfortunately it has a hard fight in the North America market. It is the second that they got the overseas company. It is the second that they got the overseas company. They got Finland's  Supercell just one year ago. Probably they make efforts in overseas advance more.

Mixi's savior mobile game "Monster Strike" entered the North America market

This week, Japanese mega hit mobile game “Monster Strike” entered the North America market. mixi opens English official site, Facebook page and Twitter account completely.

This is the game that saved mixi from the bottom. mixi was The Social Network operator most popular in Japan before. However, their The Social Network declined and deteriorated, so they introduced open platform earliest in Japan and added social games. Unfortunately they were overtaken by Mobage and GREE and fell behind the support of smartphones. mixi was driven to a dying state.

However, the situation changed completely after Monster Strike was released in October, 2013. Profit and the stock prices of mixi were V-shaped turnaround. The number of downloading already passes 14 million, it was released in not only Japan but also Taiwan, and releases in Korea in December. One mobile game saved a company … the mobile game market is really dynamic.

Monster Strike is an RPG having elements of billiards and the pinball. Players transfer own character like pinball and hit on enemies and attack it. You can download it free in App Store and Google Play.

Japanese singer Kumi Koda releases a music video for Oculus Rift

Japanese singer Kumi Koda released VR music video using Oculus Rift. It is exhibited in TOKYO DESIGNERS WEEK started on October 28. Probably it is world's first VR MV.

This is one of the projects of the 15th anniversary of her debut. It was produced as a music video of "Dance In The Rain" released as a digital single on November 5. Audiences can watch world view of the number from a different viewpoint by Oculus Rift and stereophonic sound. Herself gave ideas from a planning stage. It was already exhibited as an art work in art festival in London "TENT LONDON" and it got a good reputation.

Japan's Meisei High School opens a virtual world branch school in the next spring

This may revolutionize a system and the style of the Japanese school. Meisei high school, the private correspondence upper secondary school in Chiba, Japan opens a cute virtual world branch school in the next spring. Of course students can obtain a graduation qualification on this.

Students can make their avatars, study to watch videos of subjects with a PC, smartphone and tablet, and ask teachers questions by email.

Of course students must take examinations. Interestingly, even a virtual classrooms are prepared for.

When they study hard and get the good score in examinations, they get virtual currency "MS point". They can buy outfitting items for avatars using it in the school shop and decorate one's avatar using them. In other words, earnest student becomes cooler. This is completely opposite to the reality world! :)

Friends are essential to school life. Students can talk by real-time chat.

The curriculum is three years, and of course the school expenses are necessary(but it is cheaper than real high schools). This is a new form of correspondence upper secondary school. The conventional system is lonely and boring. However, space and other students exist in the virtual world, and seems to be fun. It can be called gamification of the learning.

Ideal fusion of AR and VR: Sony Cat Toro appeared in the reality world by PTAM

A certain Japanese developer uploaded cute demo video in Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. It is right ideal fusion of AR and VR.

Sony cat Toro Inoue dances to a song of Hatsune Miku in a real room. It is really Kawaii(super cute)!! He has a shadow, and there is presence, but there is no AR marker and specific image which should be necessary for AR technology. Because the developer used PTAM(Parallel Tracking and Mapping).
This is a program that compose 3DCG in mapping of the 3D space researched and developed by Georg Klein of Oxford University. Because AR marker and an image are unnecessary in this, developers can utilize contents more freely.



The developer who let Toro appear practically considers put Oculus Rift and PTAM together next. Now, VR is the most enthusiastic in Japan.

Screenshot: Angry Birds Epic in Puzzle and Dragons

A tie-up event with Angry Birds Epic began on today in Puzzle and Dragons.

See Also:
Angry Birds cooperates with GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons again

Angry Birds Epic dungeons of 4 levels are added to Puzzle and Dragons now. Interestingly, both birds and pigs confronts players as enemies. Matilda is a powerful enemy than Red in the early stages :)

However, Red and the Chuck become  powerful enemies in the high level of the degree of difficulty.

Of course powerful enemies of the pig appear, too.

Theme music of Angry Birds are used for BGM and all the scenery of dungeon are drawn in 3D.

We can occasionally get them when we beat them. They have skills like Angry Birds Epic.

This is a good measure to prevent Japanese players from forgetting Angry Birds. By the way, Angry Birds Transformers is not released only in Japan now and it is not announced why it is not released. Why?? Though Transformers is a toy born in Japan.