12.17.2013

DeNA entered the education-related business

DeNA begins the business except the social game.

See Also:
DeNA released Japanese Manga apps for a global market


A new genre was added to them today. It is education. They released education business for children "Applizemi".



They offer a digital textbook to children through apps of Applizemi regularly. Of course their social game know-how is utilized in this, but it's not F2P. It's monthly subscription and charges are 980 yen every month. At first they contribute this in free of charge as a trial until June, 2014. They begin with national language, arithmetic and English digital texts for primary schoolchildren, and release the digital text of the junior high school and high school student in the future.

This is a Japanese traditional correspondence education. After a school was over, many Japanese children go to the private supplementary school, and even a correspondence education studies more at home. In addition, adults study for various qualification by a correspondence education, too. However, they are textbooks of the paper and sent to the home with a parcel every month. Now, It's the 21st century! :D All of them can replace with smartphone, tablet and apps. Probably DeNA aims at it.

Everything becomes cutey in Japan. Even if it is Unity

Unity is a giant of the multi-platform game developement tool. Of course there are many users in Japan. So Unity Technologies established Unity Japan in 2011. And they just began Japan's original development. They are Moe(萌え) and personification of Unity. They provide Japanese original character Unity-Chan to users gratis in 2014.







Unity-Chan("Chan" is familiar title affixed to people's names via Wiktionary) is a free asset and developers can use her for game development. Of course she is not simple asset. She is person that it is like a mascot character of Unity. She has detailed setting and voice.

Real name: Kohaku ootori(大鳥こはく)
Birth date: August 13
Blood type: AO
Favorite food: Curry croquette
Voice actor: Asuka Kakumoto

Her debut is Comic Market 85(Comiket) held in Tokyo Big Sight in 29-31, December. It's the world's biggest Otaku event, and Unity exhibits a booth in these companies area. They sell limited goods of Unity-Chan and appeal to a large number of Otaku for her.

I would like to know the comment of David Helgason about this :)

12.16.2013

Japan got romance sim which fall in love with a printer at last

A strange game was born again from Japan. It's an ad-game of home-appliance maker brother. The title is "Burao in love". Well, it's romance sim for women, and Burao is printer!


Burao said, "Nice to meet you, my name is Bura Burao. My hobby is futsal. My favorite ink is magenta."

Burao changes its clothes(?).

"Take that! Flying over-head scanner cover shoot!!!"


Unfortunately this is only Japanese support, we can play about ten minutes willingly.

Cyber Agent's new romance sim became the topic because of the bug


On December 13, Cyber Agent released new romance sim "Boyfriend(Provisional)" in their mobile game platform Ameba. This is a simulation game to meet various boys in high school life, and to find an ideal boyfriend. Characters gain voices and popular famous voice actors more than 30 play them. It became the topic very well, and 150,000 users registered at a prior registration stage.

It should have originally become the screen such as these.






However, after release, it was such screens that users saw.










:D :D :D

Layers are out of order!

This became the topic of an unfavorable kind for Cyber Agent, but much Web media wrote an article about this. As a result, this became the effective promotion! :)


Why Angry Birds can't get popularity in Japan?

Unfortunately, Angry Birds is not popular in Japan. There are very few kinds of sold goods, and it is difficult to find them in downtown and shops. When I tell this to foreign people, they are surprised. However, this is a fact. Angry Birds is one of the contents to realize the difference between Japan and overseas market. Why? The main problem is that there are a lot of rivals of Angry Birds. Too many mobile games and too many characters…

Now, their biggest rival of the character of  mobile game is Nameko. In addition, LINE characters are tough like this, too.

In fact, Japan resembles Finland. At first, the area of the country is the almost same. 80% of the country are the forest, don’t have underground resources and nations love mobile. However, Japan has a big difference. It’s population. Population of 125 million produces mobile games and characters and to consume. Well, Japan has a closed specific market.
I think that the reason is not only it.

I live in farm village in Yokote city, Akita now. Most of the inhabitants are old people of poor farmers, and they don't have the knowledge of the mobile game at all, and don't have the preconception for Finland, too(In the first place, they don't know where Finland exists either). I showed them Angry Birds. Unexpectedly their impression for characters were very good. They said "Funny face!". However, their reaction changed completely when I let them play a game. They said in this way, “What a cruel game!”, “I feel sorry for the birds and piggies!”.


Needless to say, Japan is Hentai big country. There are a lot of more cruel, weird and bizarre games. However, many Japanese adults have a feeling of repulsion to “Aerial ramming”. This was the same in Tokyo. When Rovio Japan started, they held an event in Apple Store Ginza and a businessman asked them a question in Q and A time, "After having attacked pigs, what happens to them? Do they die?". I did not see such a question until now in overseas sites. I told this to the American friend who lived in Tokyo. Then he answered, "It's natural! Aerial ramming is Kamikaze(Kamikaze Suicide Attack) for the Japanese!".

via Wikipedia "Kamikaze"

This was an unexpected viewpoint. Surely, Japanese may have a bad impression toward Aerial ramming because of Kamikaze Suicide Attack. Most of generations who experienced WW II already died, but the subsequent generation learns WW II and how was Japan of those days foolish in books, TV programs, movies, etc... In those processes, a Japanese may dislike Aerial ramming under unconsciousness. It's right "imprinting".

Then what kind of measures should Rovio Japan take in future to let Angry Birds be popular in Japan?

1. Focusing for small kids 
Fortunately, Angry Birds is already popular among Japanese kids. Most of participants of the sketch event that they held in Tokyo in last month were children of kindergarteners. Furthermore, they do not have the preconception because they do not yet know WW II.

See Also:

2. Don't be angry, let's laugh
They cooperated with popular mobile game Puzzle & Dragons of GungHo last month, and birds laughed there. It was very popular with Japanese Puzzle & Dragons fans.

See Also:
Collaboration of Angry Birds and Puzzle & Dragons began today

3. Leave "Aerial ramming"
Fortunately too, racing game Angry Birds Go! was just released and many Japanese game and  apps media wrote articles about this. Japanese gamers are used to a comical race game because of the Mario cart series(Besides, Nintendo does not yet have an intention to go into a smartphone market). Angry Birds Go! may give Japanese people a new impression of Angry Birds.