SEGA does a haiku for a game

Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry. It is comprised of words of the 5 sound/7 sound/5 sound, and got close to many people. However, most of modern youths do not assume it a hobby. Therefore SEGA started a project to make a haiku a game "project 575".

They promote the making of haiku of the youth by this project. For the first, they released game application UTA YOMI 575 for iOS.

UTA YOMI 575 is the apps that is made to speak a haiku by characters of the high school girl. Characters are 3D, voices are VOCALOID. Furthermore, users can post the movie of characters to the Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. This is new style of UGC.



SEGA releases music, manga, novel, anime, PlayStation Vita games and carries out cross-media development from now on.

Let's dance Bon festival dance with avatar at pedestrian scramble of Shibuya

pedestrian scramble of Shibuya is one of the sightseeing spots of Tokyo. Japanese tech giant Cyber Agent carries out an interesting project using their virtual world Ameba Pigg there.

It is Bon festival dance with avatars on huge screen.

Bon festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors, and Bon festival dance is a dance to cheer up souls of dead people. These are still summer big events in current Japan. Ameba Pigg reproduces this in real Shibuya.

When Ameba users input own Ameba ID in this page (PC/Smartphone). Their avatars come up on huge screen of Shibuya and dancing. Very simple! This event is held until July 31.

It is a schedule of the huge screen.

11:10～11:19/11:40～11:49/12:10～12:19/12:40～12:49/14:10～14:19/14:40～14:49
15:10～15:19/15:40～15:49/16:10～16:19/16:40～16:49/17:10～17:19/17:40～17:49

Gungho is not only Puzzle & Dragons. They released "Freak Tower" in North America and Europe

Japan's Gungho is known in puzzle RPG for smartphones "Puzzle & Dragons". However, their smartphone game is not only that. They released tower management simulation game "Freak Tower"(Japanese name: Crazy Tower) in North America and Europe.

Freak Tower is the simulation game that a management game and a tower defense game were combined. Players become the tower owner, let strange residents enter and run the various shops in a own tower. Furthermore, players can decorate a tower and change the clothes of residents (Factor of the decorations is very popular in Japan).

Strange monsters occasionally attack a tower and players repulse this in cooperation with residents. It is right "tower defense".

This has already broken through 1,300,000 downloading in Japan. This is the number that is small if we compare it with puzzle & Dragons. However, this is originally a successful number in Japan. In addition, they released this last month in Korea.

Kawaii! Japanese brand A BATHING APE teamed up with Angry Birds on T-shirts

Unfortunately, Angry Birds is not popular as Pazzle & Doragons and Nameko in Japan. However, it may penetrate steadily. A BATHING APE of the fashion brand which is popular among Japanese youths performs a special tie-up with Angry Birds.

So CUTE!!
A BATHING APE arranged the design of birds and pigs. This face is a face of their monkey character "milo". They sell the T-shirts using this design for 7,140 yen(about 73USD) from July 13. Expensive? Because they are brands of popularity, it is natural.

Puzzle & Dragons Method: EA add the element of the RPG for Tetris

A lot of game apps that put social RPG and something together came to be released after puzzle & Dragons prospered. SEGA made their masterpiece puzzle game PUYOPUYO an RPG.

See Also:
Copy of the Puzzle & Dragons? However, Puyo puyo Quest is popular in Japan

Next is EA. They release the iOS application "Tetris Monster" which made Tetris an RPG in a few days.

The details have not been yet announced, but we can expect that it is fantasy from the illustration of the website. This is a Japan-limited project and the first time that a new works of the Tetris is released only in Japan. Do you want to play in this from the countries except Japan?