Report: Wonder Festival 2013 [Winter]

Yesterday, I went to Wonder Festival 2013 [Winter]. This is the biggest figure event in Asia. In addition, it is the event that can most sense current Japanese "MAKE" movement.

These are cool works of the amateur modelers.

It is not only small figures to have been displayed.

These are life-sized figures of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure".

This is life-sized Ball-jointed doll, and the price is 192,500 yen(about 2060USD).

Unfortunately this EVANGELION No.2 is unfinished, but is powerful.

This is life-sized Votoms which was made all with paper.

Furthermore, the many cos-player enjoy this event, too. These 3 people are not figures.

Nameko!!

A splendid point of this event is that amateur modelers and companies exhibit together.

If you are interested in the present conditions of Japanese digital fabrication, Wonder Festival is the most suitable place.

These dragons are made with 3D printer, too. Cool!

Hatsune Miku appeared from a liquid and light! :)

Roland sells very small 3D printer "iModera". The size is 86mm *55mm *26mm, and the price is 78,750 yen(about 843USD).

By the way, Nameko is a star in not only the mobile game industry but also the figure industry.

KAWAII!!! :D

On the other hand, LINE characters are popular like Nameko, too.

Tamiya is a Japanese representative model company. However, they changed boldly recently.

It is sale of the materials of fake sweets. Their main customer was men until now. However, enough profit was not provided only in men because of the declining birthrate. And the fake sweets making are popular among women recently. I think that this is a very interesting turn.

And I discovered it last.

Wonder Festival attracts attention from the foreign countries, and guests of the foreigner increase year by year. However, unfortunately a Japanese is weak in English. Therefore Tokyo Otaku Mode performed English support.

See Also:
Are you Otaku? Then check this site!

This is one of the really exciting events  in a Japanese event for geek. You should go to this if you live in Japan. In addition, I consider whether I exhibit in this the next time.

The boundary of 2D and 3D is becoming vague in Japan

I wrote it before about drawing technology "Live 2D"

See Also:
2D or not 2D, that is no problem

However, a cooler technique appeared. This is "E-mote".


The boob shakes! :D

E-mote have a lot of template. Creator can get an effect of pseudo 3D by letting these templates apply to 2D character. We can use tese ver. of "E-mote Lite" free on 30 days. The license version is 300,000 yen(about 3231USD) a 1year. The custom of the character itself is 700,000 yen - 1 million yen. I think that we can apply this in smartphones apps.

The combination of T-shirt and AR is really cool!

Cospa is Japanese representative CosPlay fashion brand. They sell various CosPlay clothes and tie-up fashion items. In them, this T-shirts is very cool!

This is a tie-up T-shirt of popular novel/anime Accel World. Back print becomes AR marker, and the feather of the butterfly appears when we watch it using AR app Yousei for smartphones "Yousei Megane".

The another version is this.

Feathers are 3DCG, so we can watch them from all angles and take photo. These prices are 3,200 yen.

via
http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000049477
http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000049475

Snack of popular game apps for smartphones "Nameko Saibai Kit"

Yesterday, I bought Nameko snack. However, this is not a nameko mushroom flavor snack. This is a snack about the game apps for smartphones "Nameko Saibai Kit" series.

KAWAII! Japan overflows with Nameko goods now. It spreads to a sweets.

The snack is chocolate flavor and shape is Nameko. According to the official site of Nameko, snack food company Tohato tested many times to make this shape and had a hard time.

Furthermore, there is suppulementg of the sticker in the snack. This is very durable and can put it on mobile, tablet and laptop.

May be only in Japan: Fusion of porn and social game

"Eroge" where por and a game fused is in Japan. It is the erotic game that only adults can play. It came for a social game.

DMM started pre-user's registration acceptance of new mobile social game "NOZOKIANA". The motif of this is a popular e-book. Users look in various girls from the peephole on the wall. Users can collect the figure of various girls. The voice of the voice actor sticks to the girl characters. Now, the social game with the voice is popular in Japan.

Social game platform moeG(Moe Game) specialized in porno started pre-user's registration acceptance of new mobile social game "Priget Plus". This is a general J-style card social game. However, all the cards are girls. Users collect various girls and train them. They are improved for training, and the area of their clothes decreases.

Both are released in the end of this month. Of course only adults can play neither.

LINE occupies Japan: LINE's mobile virtual world "LINE Play" got 2M users

NHN Japan's messaging apps LINE is occupying Japan. Mobile virtual world LINE Play got 2 million users in about two months.

LINE Play is the 2D virtual world like Ameba Pigg and iOS ver. and Android ver. are released.

LINE Play pre-opened on November 20, and grand opened on December 18.  They already got 1 million users during the period. And they got 2 million users on January 30, 2013. This is the most shorthand notes in the Japanese virtual world.

The pace of Ameba Pigg -the virtual world that has most users in Japan- was like this...


February, 2009 - Open
April, 2009 - 100,000 users breakthroughs
July, 2009 - 500,000 users breakthroughs
October, 2009 - 1,400,000 users breakthroughs
January, 2010 - 2 million users breakthroughs
...

Now, Ameba Pigg has about 14 million users. However, it took 11 months until 2 million users breakthrough. Does LINE Play win Ameba Pigg?

Community revitalization and social game

Now, The Japanese local economy is the worst. Tokyo may do well. However, the local citys, towns and Villages are suck! The economic disparity spreads steadily in Japan. Meanwhile, Kochi Prefecture found means of escape in a social game.

Kochi government supports a social game developer in prefecture from 2011. They established a social game developer support fund with local banks and held competition. And they did business tie-up with GREE.

They released 3 social games until now in GREE. All of titles developed by Tech companies in Kochi. Artists from Kochi were in charge of the artwork, the music, the scenario. The Kochi government succeeded in creation of the new employment by a social game.

Furthermore, Iwate Prefecture started a project similar to them. Iwate government, Morioka city government and  Iwate University started a digital content industry upbringing project recently. And Japanese game & AR developer Premiumagency join in it as the first support company, and  establish a development studio in Iwate.

Iwate is a stricken area of 2011 Aftermath of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Many human resources were lost, and the agriculture was destroyed. Therefore they are going to shift to technology industry and contents industry. These can conduct a business with a small number of people for world.

The appearance of the social game changed Japanese economy greatly. It offers a job to many people.

Damn it! Dropped a smartphone on a dish!!...No, This is the smartphone stands

Please do not be upset. Because this is not a genuine dish.

This is the smartphone stands made by a famos food model sample maker in Tokyo Maiduru.

The food models which they make are very precise, and overseas tourists purchase these as a souvenir. Therefore they devised various goods. The smartphone stands are the most new works.

They sell these as the goods which are most suitable to watching video. However, we may use it as joke goods surprising friends. The price is 2,625 - 5,670 yen(about 29 - 62 USD).

Other goods are here.

NHN Japan parts with CosPlay Social Networking Service "Cure" and "WorldCosplay"

This news may be important if you are interested in Japanese CosPlay. NHN Japan transferred CosPlay Social Networking Service "Cure" and "WorldCosplay" to pixiv.

Cure is Social Networking Service for CosPlayer which opened in August, 2001 and has 950,000 users. Users can share one's CosPlay photo.

WorldCosplay is CosPlay Social Networking Service of the world wide version which opened in January, 2012 and They support 12 languages. Many foreigners CosPlayer register here.

This business transfer may be business reorganization of NHN Japan. Now, NHN Japan is known as a company of popular messaging application LINE. On the other hand, pixiv runs popular illustration Social Networking Service "pixiv". pixiv supports 7 languages and has many overseas users. They establish a subsidiary for administration of Cure and WorldCosplay.