Month: September 2010

Founder Of Japanese Startup Tadacopy Goes Off To The World For His Samurai Backpacker Project

The following interview was held by Tokyo-based Natsuki Yamada who works as an editor and writer for printed and online magazines (for example, Natsuki writes for 10. Magazine). The photos were taken by Tokyo-based photographer and accessory artist Ikumi Mochida (who also does photo work for 10.Magazine). Should young Japanese businessmen open up more to… Continue reading Founder Of Japanese Startup Tadacopy Goes Off To The World For His Samurai Backpacker Project

China’s Rekoo To Distribute Social Games In Japan Through Cell Phone Address Books

Last summer, Beijing-based social games maker Rekoo launched “Sunshine Ranch” on Japan’s biggest social network, Mixi, and caused a sensation (with 5.1 million users today, it has basically become Japan’s “Farmville”). After Sunshine Ranch, Rekoo capitalized on the success by releasing a number of other simulations on Mixi and other platforms (just like Zynga did… Continue reading China’s Rekoo To Distribute Social Games In Japan Through Cell Phone Address Books

LovePress++ Wii Board Virtual Massage

At the Tokyo Game Show “Sense Of Wonder Night” on 17th September evening, Kanagawa Institute Of Technology presented a masseur training system “LovePress++ – Ore no Yome ni Massa-gi(massaging for my true love)”. The system uses an Wii Barance Board, input device of Nintendo’s game console Wii, as a back of human body. The researcher’s… Continue reading LovePress++ Wii Board Virtual Massage

Nintendo Admits Blowing-Cartridge Is Not Only Meaningless But Harmful After A Quarter Century

Nintendo celebrates 25 years anniversary of Super Mario by TV commercial in Japan. The commercial depicts that a guy plays the first Super Mario Brothers in 1985 (see TV set and a radio-cassette recorder). It was a common scene nationwide. But on their special website [J], Nintendo put another short movie and warns users “Don’t… Continue reading Nintendo Admits Blowing-Cartridge Is Not Only Meaningless But Harmful After A Quarter Century

Is Steve Stopped At Airport? May Be Fiction But Now Animated

Japan’s tabloid magazine SPA![J] reported that Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs had been barred from taking Ninja throwing stars aboard his private jet plane at an airport in Osaka, and Apple’s spokesman denied it and told Bloomberg News that Steve had visited in Kyoto but the incidents described were a pure fiction. Taiwan’s NMA (Next Media… Continue reading Is Steve Stopped At Airport? May Be Fiction But Now Animated

New Singer Debuts From Video Sharing Site, Then Performs In Real Space At Record Shop

New male singer “Clear” introduced his first album last Wednesday, its sales surpassed 13,000 copies by the end of last week.  It’s ranked in the 9th place for Japan’s Billboard-like company Oricon’s weekly album sales chart[J]. He started his ‘singer’ career by posting his performance videos into the “I just tried singing out” section of… Continue reading New Singer Debuts From Video Sharing Site, Then Performs In Real Space At Record Shop

The iPhone Makes You Much Easier To Park On City Streets

Tokyo-based mobile service integrator IMJ Mobile[J] and its subsidiary developing iPhone/Android apps Bottle Cube have introduced the iPhone app that allows you to find available parking lots near where you are by using GPS. IMJ Mobile has a database consisting from more than 36,000 parking lot location data, and they’ve been presenting the data to… Continue reading The iPhone Makes You Much Easier To Park On City Streets

Twitter Explained In Two Manga Comics

Mitaka no Chushin de Nau wo Tsubuyaku Mitaka no Chushin de Nau wo Tsubuyaku(I Tweeted “Now!” at the Heart of Mitaka) The manga “Mitaka no Chushin de Nau wo Tsubuyaku” was published by Shogakukan in July 2010 drawn by comic essay cartoonist Yoko Gendai, which is likely the first Twitter manga in Japan, and so… Continue reading Twitter Explained In Two Manga Comics