Taito Put Out Game Application for Mobage

Taito [J] is coming out with “Space Invaders Infinity Gene LITE for Mobage,” an Android game app on DeNA’s [J] Mobage [J] platform.  They are also planning an iOS version for this Fall. “Space Invaders Infinity Gene LITE for Mobage” is a free app which allows users to get a taste of the evolution of… Continue reading Taito Put Out Game Application for Mobage

Lawson Makes Its Character Girl Be Vocaloid

Japan’s 2nd biggest convenience chain-store Lawson makes its image character girl ‘Akiko-chan’ transformed to Vocaloid, Yamaha’s artificial voice synthesizer brand well-known by used for a popular virtual singer Hatsune Miku. The official Lawson-channel [J] is made on Nico Nico Douga. via ITMedia See Also: Asiajin » Japanese Virtual Diva Hatsune Miku First US Tour In… Continue reading Lawson Makes Its Character Girl Be Vocaloid

eBook Initiative Japan Goes IPO

eBook Initiative Japan Co., Ltd., who runs Japanese online e-book mall eBookJapan [J], announced that their IPO at Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers section has been approved [J]. The planned date is October 28. eBookJapan started selling online book since year 2000, when the company was established. The site now boasts 50,000 e-books, 80% of which… Continue reading eBook Initiative Japan Goes IPO

English Broadcaster NHK World Starts Free Ustream Channel

We blogged several times about NHK‘s online efforts in the past few months (NHK is Japan’s national TV and radio network). And today, NHK World, the broadcaster’s international service that’s available worldwide except for Japan, has launched a channel on Ustream. NHK World, which broadcasts programs on Japan in English, is live-streaming its content for… Continue reading English Broadcaster NHK World Starts Free Ustream Channel

Hard Times May Come For Softbank After KDDI Gets iPhone5

Some days ago we reported KDDI may distribute the next iteration of the iPhone. Now the reactions are coming: Goldman Sachs predicts hard times may come for Softbank [J], Softbank falls a 5% at Tokyo Stocks Exchange. Softbank, with a 21% share of the market, is the third leading mobile service provider in Japan, trailing NTT DoCoMo (48%) and KDDI… Continue reading Hard Times May Come For Softbank After KDDI Gets iPhone5

Google+ iPhone App Degraded For Japan And Others

Google released a new version of Google+ app for iPhone on iTunes store. However, upgrading the app will stop Japanese users from typing Japanese texts. The revision 1.0.4.2326 seems to block users converting phonetics to Japanese (both Chinese-kanji and kana) letters. I guess that the new feature “Improved +mention support” seems to grab every single… Continue reading Google+ iPhone App Degraded For Japan And Others

KDDI’s “Android au” Site Terminated, Not Telling Why But Likely By iPhone 5

KDDI’s Android handset promotion site “Android au” has been shut down today. The site shows a very short message “Android au site has finished.” in plain HTML, then visitors are redirected to KDDI au’s top page after 5 seconds. The special page has been promoting KDDI’s Android handset with a popular boys group Arashi, with… Continue reading KDDI’s “Android au” Site Terminated, Not Telling Why But Likely By iPhone 5

Grenge Releases Communication App “Group Talk” For Mixi and Android

Grenge [J] has released the communication application “Group Talk” for mixi and Android.  Download is free. “Group Talk” is a group chat application which allows you to choose your close friends from “My miku” (friends on mixi) and have a chat just with them.  You can enjoy communication secretly with friends across three different platforms:… Continue reading Grenge Releases Communication App “Group Talk” For Mixi and Android

Konami Links Social Game And Arcade Machine

This is something I was expecting to read. Konami has launched an arcade machine linked with one of its social games [JP]. The arcade game it’s called Baseball Heroes 2011 Shine Star [JP], and it’s complemented with the social game Professional Baseball Dream Nine (which have about 1 million users at GREE). There is no so much details about… Continue reading Konami Links Social Game And Arcade Machine