Japanese bishojo-game (pornographic interactive game with Japanese anime-style girls Wikipedia) maker Overdrive released a non-adult, all English, still Japanese-anime-style game which features foreigners Japan visit experiences, titled Go! Go! Nippon! (Nippon is how Japanese calls Japan in Japanese).

All texts are given both in English and Japanese, so it may be useful not only for people just to visit Japan but also interested in Japanese language.

The online download site selling the game told on its official Twitter account, "This probably marks history as the very first visual novel made by a Japanese company, for western visual novel and bishoujo game fans!"

The game runs on Windows PC. The price is $13.66 in US$ or €9.95. The game is not purchasable from inside Japan.

via Hevoluson [J]

Go! Go! Nippon! -My First Trip to Japan- : Anime Novel Game Style Japan Guide

The Google+ iPhone App's huge but only affected for some countries has been fixed after about 10 days.

As we reported on September 26, Japanese (Chinese and Korean as well) Google+ user who updated the app found that they were unable to put in their native language letters.

The new version 1.0.5.2346 has come on October 4 with changes;

• Fixed bug with Chinese, Japanese and Korean
• Re-enable autocomplete when composing a post

It was quite a show-stopper for East Asians. I hope they will have test item with Asian languages before shipment.

Google+ iPhone App Bug (unable to write Japanese/Chinese/Korean) Fixed

A Tokyo-based Internet ad solution company, Fringe81 [JP], revealed their new ad optimization software called Iogous [JP].

Iogous is a specialized tool for optimizing display ad creative. Iogous enables to try numerous combinations of designs, colors, and texts with statistical method.

Fringe81 says that the tool achieves few hundreds percent improvement of click-through-rate. It means they can give more than doubled revenue for display ad publishers.

Iogous is already adopted by 20 publishers and 26 advertisers. Many publishers and agencies endorsed the tool. It suggests that a quick reception of the tool.

There is a similar tool called Snapads in the market. That tool was already TechCrunched.

Iogous – A Display Ad Optimization Tool

Shinjuku-based web app developer Axsh Co.,Ltd.[J] introduced an open source software called Wakame-vdc(virtual data center) which allows you to develop a public cloud service of your own, by enhancing Wakame-fuel that has been originally developed for making it easier to configure server instances and network setting on Amazon EC2.   You may download it and use it for free for non-commercial use.

The company developed it with aiming at automating miscellaneous procedures at data center facilities, and it is expected to be adopted by three to four data center companies in a year.

Author's note: Axsh (or Akushu) means shaking hands with someone in Japanese.   Wakame stands for a kind of seaweed.

See Also:

• Wakame Project Page at Ruby Forge
• Introduction to Wakame [J]

Axsh Introduces New Open Source To Build Your Own Cloud

Japanese mobile system/application developer KLab Inc. [J] announced that they had developed a clone of Kindle Developer's Kit (KDK) and Kindle Emulator.

The official KDK has been available for limited beta developers since February. Klab release said that they could not wait approval so that they built the emulator from Amazon's specification documents.

Currently, not all Java interfaces are supported, but two main classes which are needed to realize key input and screen rendering are implemented.

As testbeds, two popular games - Tetris and Load Runner - are made on it. Tetris's source code is also provided.

Here is a movie how NES emulator is running on the KDK clone.

With the KDK clone, you may develop Kindle application before you can access official KDK. Although KLab does not mention it, Kindle applications may be able to run on this emulator (in your Java SE 6 on PC).

See Also:

KLab's news release [J]

KLab Releases Amazon Kindle Compatible Emulator In Open Source

Konami Digital Entertainment released virtual dating simulation game Love Plus[J] for the iPhone/iPod touch on Monday.   There is a series of  three apps corresponding to three heroines starring in the game, which are Love Plus iM (Aika Takamine), Love Plus iR (Rinko Kobayakawa) and Love Plus iN (Nene Anegasaki).

Left: An composite picture demo using augmented reality of Love Plus.   Right: A Collage picture of Steve Jobs who presents the iPad on which Love Plus runs. (source: Yomige 4[J])

Beside playing the game, it allows you to get a shot of you and the heroine as a couple by the iPhone-embedded camera.   Now you can feel as if she were just next to you - but only in the picture unfortunately.

Some GPS-enabled virtual conversation features are expected to be added in the future app updates.

The following video is taken by iPodStyle[J] at Konami's demonstration party held Monday at Sofmap Mac Collection Akiba[J].

Available only at Japanese AppStore.

See Also:

• New Dating Game Robs Boys Of Loves In Girlfriends

Virtual Dating Game Love Plus Is Introduced For iPhone

Yahoo Japan released 16 free iPhone Apps simultaneously at Japanese iTunes Store. By locating each app on the screen correctly, like solving a number slider puzzle, you can depict a face of the most famous character in Japan, Doraemon.

Each app icon is designed to be a part of the face of this character. Usually, iPhone app icons have a unique gradation effect  common to all, but icons of those apps don't have such kind of effect on them.

These apps were released as a part of the campaign to promote the animation movie of Doraemon. Apps are comprised by 11 comic book  apps, a battery level checker app, mini-game apps and etc.

Currently, 16 apps are all ranked in the top 20 free apps in Japanese iTunes App store.

16 Free Apps To Depict Character’s Face On Your iPhone

Following Google's Japanese IME (input method editor) newly introduced in the beginning of this month, the Japanese subsidiary of China's largest website search portal Baidu[C] also introduced a new one for our language, which is named Baidu Type[J] (in beta).

By referring to the Japanese input method which has been adopted for cellphone handsets, Baidu has developed it with aiming at the user's comfort when keying the Japanese language.   As well as Google IME, Baidu Type also uses a bunch of the Japanese expressions accumulated on the blogosphere to gain the accuracy to convert the user's pronunciation-based inputs to Japanese words exactly as he/she wants.

See Also:

• Baidu Japan's Official Blog[J]

New Japanese IME Has Come From The Origin Of Chinese Characters

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.

iPhone Now Turns To Be Good Tool For Playing On Green

Following the company's stupid iPhone/iPod touch app serial release (like this), Kayac, a funny web app developer based in Tokyo’s suburb, just made something new to make our hard days more cheerful.

Tanimania, it is a breast enhancer that enables to make the breast of you or your girlfriend much sexier than ever - but unfortunately it's available only on an iPhone screen, not real one.

Just shoot someone's portrait including a specific part of her (a male's breast is not recommended), and adjust the image position so that it should be corrected as you expect.   Additionally, the app allows you to put a mole on her face virtually.

Tanimania is available at AppStore for almost USD1.28 (JPY115), and the app's title comes from Japanese slang "tanima" standing for a sexy woman's cleavage formed by the breasts.

iPhone Breast Enhancer: Better Than Plastic Surgery To Be Sexy?