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.

Korean mobile game company Com2uS broadcast pleasant TV CMs in Japan

In Japan, TV CMs are still convincing advertisement channels, and many mobile game companies broadcast CMs of their games. Really, the number of the downloading of the game apps rises after CMs were broadcasted. Korean mobile game company Com2uS(JP site is here) broadcasts 13 kinds of CMs for the advertising of their mobile RPG Summoners War JP ver. in Japan. They are very pleasant.

They appointed elderly people of the country in Japan somehow. They are the people that they are the farthest from the game and tech industry, and they might not understand intention of CMs. However, therefore they have unlikelihood and funniness, and attracts audiences's attention. All CMs are here.

Tsum Tsum, the popular mobile game of Disney and LINE becomes the arcade game in Japan

In Japan, the example that popular mobile games become the arcade games seems to be established. Konami digital entertainment announced that they made "LINE: Tsum Tsum" an arcade game.

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Puzzle & Dragons way: Mixi's mobile game Monster Strike becomes the arcade game
GungHo and Square Enix released the arcade game of the Puzzle and Dragons

LINE: Tsum Tsum is a puzzle game for smartphones which LINE and Disney Japan offer. Its motif is stuffed toy TSUM TSUM sold in Disney store, and passes 20 million downloading in the global market.

The basic rule of Tsum Tsum of the arcade version does not change from a smartphone version. However, it has not only the single play mode but also the match mode and players can get the Tsum Tsum mascot of the limited version after a play. This is not sold in Disney store.

This is a very interesting measure that put a crane game and an arcade game together. Even the people who do not usually play mobile games may visit the game arcade for these mascots. Noe, Japanese game arcades function as society ground of elderly people(Because declining birthrate goes rapidly and children are becoming poverty in Japan). This is the new advertising opportunity of Disney and LINE.