Bandai Namco opens VR arcade in Beijing, China

Bandai Namco Amusement, an amusement branch of major Japanese game company Bandai Namco, has signed a VR content franchise agreement with Chinese entertainment company XINGBAO INTERNATIONAL CULTURE MEDIA, and They will open VR arcade VR ZONE BEIJING in Chaoyang Park in Beijing this fall.

XINGBAO INTERNATIONAL CULTURE MEDIA is a company that focuses on cultivating a good IP entertainment industry environment by linking IP inside and outside China and entertainment content. They are already producing and promoting Chinese movies and TV shows, movie theater management, and esports business.
On the other hand, Bandai Namco Amusement has already deployed 21 huge VR arcades facilities in Japan and 6 in overseas, and will soon open it in Macau, too. Beijing is the 8th overseas VR arcade overseas, with 13 types of VR attractions. Among them are Gundam, Evangelion, Godzilla, Dragon Ball and Mario Kart.

[Facility name] VR ZONE BEIJING
[Residential] NO 1, SOUTH ROAD, CHAOYANG PARK, CHAOYANG DISTRICT, BEIJING, CHINA
[Facilities area] Approximately 1,700㎡
[Opening date] Fall 2019

Keep track of your heart rate with your watch

At present, many people measure various data while running. People who are particularly concerned about own health care not only about their running route but also their heart rate. Casio has released WSD-F21HR, the smart watch for outdoor use as a new item of their outdoor brand PRO TREK Smart.

This is a new model that adds a heart rate measurement function based on the WSD-F20 they released in 2017. It has a watch-face that is linked to the heart rate measurement function. When the built-in accelerometer detects the user's movement (walking, running, biking), the heart rate measurement starts automatically. You can check your heart rate zone history for the past 24 hours, daily maximum / minimum heart rate, and daily energy consumption on a regular watch-face. The watch-face on the heart rate measurement screen allows you to check your current heart rate zone, current heart rate, daily maximum / minimum heart rate, and daily energy consumption. When you cross a pre-set heart rate zone, it will be notified with a display and vibration to prevent you becoming over-paced. It can also measure the maximum oxygen intake (per kg body weight) that can be taken into the body per minute, so you can use it as a measure of endurance such as running. In addition, using a mobile application linked to this, you can record and manage daily exercises.
It runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and runs for about 20 hours with a charging time of about 2.5 hours(When heart rate is measured by running / trail running using GPS). The size is about 61.7 x 57.7 x 16.8mm and weighs about 81g. Accessories are an AC adapter and a dedicated charging cable. The price is 61,600 yen (including 10% tax)

VR horror attraction combining room escape, shooting and zombies

The other day, I wrote about a VR horror show in Sendai, Miyagi Pref.

See Also:
VR horror show that you can enjoy lying down

However, another type of VR horror attraction is being held at department store Forus in Sendai. It combines VR horror attraction with room escape and shooting game. The play fee is 500 yen once.

The title is "Mystery solving horror school "Escape from 360 degrees / 1 minute". The motif is a Japanese school classroom. You are trapped in an unattended classroom and you aim to escape. But there are so many zombies outside the classroom that you have to shoot at their heads. In other words, it combines two types of games. Can you escape the classroom within the time limit? How many zombies can you shoot within the time limit?

The VR HMD used was Oculus GO. Many VR beginners play these VR attractions. So the all-in-one and lightweight Oculus GO is perfect for them.

When you wear Oculus GO, you will first see an eerie classroom. The door is locked, so you explore different places to find hints and find the key. When you get out of the classroom, the zombies approach from three directions. If you shoot their torso, arms and legs, they won't stop. You must shoot their heads exactly.

This does not scare people by visual. Give people a sense of tension. At the venue, the highest score of zombie shooting was posted. That was 73. My score at this time was 69!

This is held until September 1. Even elementary school students can play. Information is here (Japanese).

Potato chips with Japanese virtual Youtuber collection cards will be released in October

Now, virtual Youtubers(VTubers) are very popular in Japan, which is equivalent to real celebrities and artists. Real or virtual? 3D or 2D? That is not important issues. Are they cute? cool? good at singing? talks interesting? These are the important issues. Reflecting its popularity, in the middle of October, potato chips with popular VTuber collection cards "VTuber Chips" will be released. The price is 242 yen and it will be sold at convenience store FamilyMart, general store Village Vanguard, anime merchandise store Animate, and eCommerce site eStream Store.

The ranks of the cards are N cards, R(rare) cards, and SR(super rare) cards, and there are 16 each. There are 48 kinds of cards, and one card is randomly attached to each bag.

A list of VTubers participating in this.

• HIMEHINA
• Tokino Sora
• Baacharu
• Hakari Kanna
• Mirai Akari
• Yomemi&Moemi
• Ruki&Loki
• Shizuka Rin
• Shirakami Fubuki
• Tsukino Mito
• Shiro
• Nekomiya Hinata
• Higuchi Kaede
• Fuji Aoi
• Honma Himawari
• Yuzuki Roa

A mysterious exhibition to appreciate the clear sound of the full-digital speaker OVO

From August 11 - 18, a mysterious exhibition was held at the Sendai-Forus, department store in Sendai. It is an exhibition to appreciate the "sound".

This event was held by JDSound, who develops audio equipment such as full-digital speaker OVO. They were established after the Great East Japan Earthquake, with the intention of helping boost the economy of Tohoku by making electronic products in the area. OVO is their main product, and it play clear sound via USB instead of Bluetooth. Advantages include better sound quality, no delayed output, no setting up procedure and no need for battery charging. You simply plug it into whatever device you want to amp up the audio on. Its full-digital logic system can handle audio signals and output digital ones using less power than an analog system. It left and right sound channels for a stereo effect and boosts sudden or loud sounds by drawing extra energy to the speaker when needed.

At this exhibition, we were able to enjoy various ASMR(Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) sounds played by OVO.

This is how the venue is. It was an exhibition to appreciate the sound, so of course there were no paintings or photos, just black canvases on an inorganic concrete wall.

The title of this work is "not in time and the madness". As I listened to the canvas to appreciate the sound, I heard a quick touch typing sound in it, so I understood the meaning of the title. What impressed me was that, despite the noisy venue, I was able to hear a clear and realistic sound by bringing my ears closer to the canvas. Why was there an event to enjoy sound at a department store with a lot of noise? This was their challenge.

When I looked at the back of the canvas, OVO was directly taped there! A very simple setting :)
However, it is a good technique to get people who are not familiar with sound and gadgets to understand the performance of OVO. Moreover, it is easy to remain in people's memories because it involves an active action of listening to the sound by bringing the ear close to the canvas.

Sounds that seemed to have a relaxing effect such as bonfire sounds, water sounds, people whispering, and sound of cutting vegetables were on display.
It attracted many people's attention and about 3000 people visited here. This is a staggering figure at a local event.

Currently, they are actively working to release OVO in collaboration with local professional baseball teams and virtual Youtuber, and to release a version of OVO that can customize the exterior. Initially, they raised development funds through crowd funding, but raised more than 90 million yen in only in Japan. Now, OVO is also sold on Amazon.