Nico Nico Douga Hits 28 Million Users, Generates US$46 Million In Sales Last Quarter

Nico Nico Douga, Japan’s answer to YouTube, is still growing nicely, five years after launch. Dwango, the Tokyo-based company behind the popular service, released its financial report [PDF] for the last nine months (ending in June 2012). And according to the report, Nico Nico (the company’s most important asset) reached 28.08 million users in June.… Continue reading Nico Nico Douga Hits 28 Million Users, Generates US$46 Million In Sales Last Quarter

Six Japanese Social Game Platformer Announced To End Complete Gacha

A communication council of 6 major Japanese social gaming platforms – Gree, DeNA(Mobage), Cyber Agent, Mixi, NHN Japan and Dwango – just released that they would not release new games having Kompu Gacha any more. Kompu Gatcha in current games will be also terminated by the end of this month. From this morning, Klab (major… Continue reading Six Japanese Social Game Platformer Announced To End Complete Gacha

The First Top-Pro-vs-Computer Shogi(Japanese Chess) Match Was Won By Computer

The first top professional player vs computer Shogi(Wikipedia) match Dennousen (Battle of Cyber-King) was held at Shogi Kaikan (Japan Shogi Association building), Tokyo January 14, 2012. Kunio Yonenaga, an ex grand-master (in 1993) and a chairman of Japan Shogi Association, who retired in 2003, played against a computer program “Bonkura-s”. Although he is a retired… Continue reading The First Top-Pro-vs-Computer Shogi(Japanese Chess) Match Was Won By Computer

5 Trends In Japan’s Web And Mobile Worlds In 2011

2011 is over – reason enough to take a look at some of the key trends that shaped Japan’s web, mobile, and gaming industries last year. I could think, in no particular order, of five major developments that made a significant impact last year: March 11 Triple Disaster The triple disaster that hit Japan on… Continue reading 5 Trends In Japan’s Web And Mobile Worlds In 2011

Bijin Tenki: Girls Keep You Updated With Weather Forecast On The iPhone

Bijin Tokei, a company known for having developed a hot girl clock gadget, has recently developed the weather girl iPhone app called Bijin Tenki[J] in partnership with mobile app provider Dwango. On the app, cute girls (no idea on how many girls are involved) will keep you updated with weather forecast for the next seven… Continue reading Bijin Tenki: Girls Keep You Updated With Weather Forecast On The iPhone

English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 2: How To Use

We explained how to register for Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga in English here (click here for a list of all Nico Nico articles we’ve written so far). This quick guide should explains Nico Nico’s main features and how to actually get around the site (ignore our older guide). Nico Nico has changed… Continue reading English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 2: How To Use

English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 1: How To Register

It’s been a while since we explained how English speaking users can set up an account for Japan’s super-popular video sharing site Nico Nico Douga (click here for a list of all Nico Nico articles we’ve written so far). A few things changed in the registration process, which is why we thought it’s a good… Continue reading English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 1: How To Register

Nico Nico Douga Turns In The Black In Full-year Result And Plans New Office In Harajuku

Dwango[J], the parent of the company running Japan’s largest video sharing site Nico Nico Douga[J], announced its full-year consolidated financial statements (Oct. 2009 thru Sep. 2010) last week, which showed us Nico Nico Douga had turned in the black for the first time in their full-year result.   (In their monthly earnings, it already turned in… Continue reading Nico Nico Douga Turns In The Black In Full-year Result And Plans New Office In Harajuku

Lots Of Popular Names Leaves And Joins Happens This Month

We reported that a Japanese web geeks’ icon Naoya Ito’s move on September 1st from Hatena to the No.1 social networking service Gree, but he was not the only one. There are several big names reported to leave and/or enter web/IT companies in Japan around the beginning of September 2010. Poupee Girl CEO Yoshimi Morinaga,… Continue reading Lots Of Popular Names Leaves And Joins Happens This Month

New Digital Telopper Realizes Social TV Commenting

Nico Nico Douga is a popular video sharing service in Japan. Their traffic is second to YouTube, boasts over 18 million registered users, and known by its flowing comments over the movie. Nico Nico Jikkyo(Jikkyo=live), which we covered a year ago, is a derived service which itself if just a transparent application displays user-generated comments,… Continue reading New Digital Telopper Realizes Social TV Commenting