Asiajin

Tokyo-based (and listed) web juggernaut CyberAgent’s virtual world Ameba Pigg [JP] has proven to be a veritable success here in Japan since its launch this February. The company says there are now 1.5 million members in the virtual community, with an undisclosed number of those coming from Non-Japanese-speaking countries (the service is Japanese only).

But next spring there will be an English version of Ameba Pigg, on Facebook. This means Cyberagent chose to go a different path this time after launching a stand-alone English version of its other hit virtual community Pu-pe Girl soon after the Japanese original was live.

CyberAgent says they will “Americanize” Ameba Pigg by offering users more possibilities to change the look of their avatars and selling virtual clothing tailored to American users (CyberAgent is said to currently pull in about $1 million in sales of virtual items from Ameba Pigg per month). In addition, the avatars will be able to interact in environments such as the virtual version of Central Park in New York, as opposed to districts like Shibuya in Tokyo, for example, where Japanese users can interact.

Another CyberAgent property, virtual pet game meromero park, was largely left unchanged (design-wise) when it made its way to Taiwan last year (background on Asiajin). Interestingly, the same is true for the English version which was launched on Facebook, too (in August this year). So why CyberAgent now apparently decided to streamline and take the “Japanese feel” away from Ameba Pigg is beyond me, but many Japanese web companies think that’s the way to go to get international users (the final design of the English version hasn’t been shown yet though).

Check out this video to get a taste of the cutesy feel of the Japanese original:

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

Tags: Japan, News, USA // Add Comment »

Tokyo-based start-up company Cerevo[J] will begin accepting orders for the company’s first product Cerevo Cam next Tuesday.   It’s an Internet-enabled digital camera that automatically uploads your pictures to photo sharing services such as Flickr when it’s at WiFi locations, without ejecting a memory card nor using a USB cable.   Therefore, if you’d like to share a snapshot with someone whom you have posed with at a party or a meet-up, you just need to bring the camera back home.   You don’t need pick it out from your suitcase, and that will process complicated mess afterward.   Just you’ll be notified via a cellphone e-mail when the camera battery is low-level and requires another charging.

Preparing for the product release, the company’s website has changed its appearance to attract Internet geeks more than ever.   A cute promotional girl duo explains how the product works and what are significantly different from the cameras which have been ever introduced by the other companies.

As far as we see the blogosphere trends on the new product, the geeks are interested in the duo’s identity rather than technical specs of the product.   Well-known Japanese A-list blogger Masaki Ishitani (@masakiishitani[J]) praised their charm and noted on his blog that he was eager to join their live performance event if they would have.

In order to enjoy the duo’s flash video presentation, visit Cerevo’s website at http://cerevo.com and click the Play icon in the center of the top page.

See Also:

• Masaki Ishitani’s “Mitaimon (that’s a must see)”: Cerevo Girls get a higher attention than Cerevo Cam[J]

Cerevo also featured in these Asiajin articles:

• Event Wrap-up: 400+ Geeks Applaud Web Innovators At WISH2009
• CJIC2009: Internet-Enabled Home Appliances Come Together To Foresee Our Future

Tags: Community, Company, Japan, Joke, Trend // Add Comment »

Tokyo-based system integrator developing LBS (location-based service) and GIS (geographic information system) applications Wave On[J] just introduced a convenient iPhone/iPod touch app for golf lovers.

This is called Question Yards[E/J] and allows you to measure the approximate distance to the pin on a green that marks the hole by taking a picture having the pin and your golf ball with the iPhone-embedded camera.   The app will calculate the distance based on the ratio of the pin’s length on-screen to its real height.   The golf pin is usually seven feet high as every golfer knows, and you need not to enter the number of the height on the app.  It does work on the same principle as the golf scope monocular.

The company expects that the population of amateur golfers will be rapidly growing because golf is intend to be introduced as an official summer Olympic sport in 2016, and it also expects the app to be purchased by beginner golfers who have suffered from reading the distance when making an approach.

All the processes are completed within the app and require no Internet connectivity, which allows you to use it on a green sometimes located out of the cellphone service coverage.

Tags: Cellular Phone, Japan, Software // Add Comment »

Tokyo-, Osaka- and Shanghai-based business consultancy providing support for start-up companies, Akinai Research Institute[J] just introduced a new program encouraging entrepreneurs in terms of financial, personnel and material resources in association with nine program supporting partners. Entrepreneurs joining the program can get benefits by receiving complimentary services and packages as follows.

1. Microsoft BizSpark: offering free license of Microsoft BI applications.
2. Yayoi[J]: offering discount rates for the company’s Intuit Quickbooks-like accounting software designed for SMEs. (requiring to subscribe to a two-year onerous customer support)
3. Cybozu: offering the company’s flagship groupware license for free for the first year.
4. NetOn (web-marketing business): offering 10% discount for the company’s presenting template sets for Flash-based website designs.
5. C-Rep[J] (sales promotion): offering the template sets of business proposal presentations for free.
6. Sakura Internet[J] (server hosting): offering shared-server hosting service for free.
7. Find Star[J] (e-marketing news): offering an opportunity to place an ad on the company’s e-mail newsletter subscribed by 21,000 readers.
8. Office Busters[J] (second-hand office fixtures): offering second-hand desks and chairs for free for the first year. S&H charges are requested to be paid.
9. Akinai Research Instiute: offering a free consultation about launching and managing a company for the first interview. Providing a free office rent for the first three months.

The new service is named Katana, standing for a sword in Japanese, after a weapon that used to be held by the Samurai warriors, since the consultancy portrays potential entrepreneurs as the warriors.

Younger-than-three-year-old start-up companies and self-employed businesses are allowed to join the program after completing the sign-up process to be a member of it.  The consultancy expects to engage 50 supporting partners and 100,000 members by the end of 2012.

The consultancy’s head Mr. Masanori Yoshida[J] is known for having launched several entrepreneurship encouragement programs, and has organized new business contests in Yokohama, Shanghai (Mainland China) and HCMC (HoChiMinh City, Vietnam).

Katana: The Program’s Promotion Video[J] on YouTube.

See Also:

• Akinai’s Press Release: “Katana” Service launched [J, PDF]

Tags: Announcement, Company, Japan, News, Trend // Add Comment »

Google submitted a revised settlement to the NY Federal Court Friday seeking approval of an agreement that would clear the way for continuing operation of Google Books, Google’s book retrieval and online sales service.   To avoid legal conflicts with publishers and authors in Japan, France and Germany, the settlement redefined the service so as to deal with books which have been published only in English-speaking countries such as US, UK, Australia and Canada.

Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers reached the settlement to a copyright infringement suit, but International PEN, Japan Writers Association[J], Mystery Writer of Japan[J], China Writers Association[C], and other book writers’ groups in several nations are standing against it.

Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs has reportedly told the U.S. government to handle this case in accordance with international copyright treaties and to provide Japanese copyright holders with sufficient information on the settlement.   Open Book Alliance, consisting of Amazon, Microsoft and Yahoo, has blamed Google that the settlement is superficial.

The NY Federal Court also announced it would hold a public hearing next February for giving the stakeholders opportunities to express their requests asking for further revision on the settlement.

See Also:

Press Release by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs:
Concerning about the lawsuit of Google Books in the U.S.[J, PDF]

Tags: Japan, News, Trend // Add Comment »