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Dryer Box hits Japan, promises to dry out soaked cellphones for $12
Chances are you've probably heard of the rice method for drying out water-logged gadgets -- and possibly been in the unfortunate position of having to try it -- but it looks like folks in Japan now have a considerably more high-tech option at their disposal: the Dryer Box. That's reportedly already found its way into some Yodobashi Camera shops in Tokyo, and promises to dry out your soaked cellphone (or other gadget, presumably) in about 30 minutes for ¥1,000 (or $12). Exactly how it does that isn't clear, but there's apparently no charge if it fails to revive your device.
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd off to a quick start in Japan
Famitsu is reporting on the impressive demand for Capcom's PSP RPG Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, which has launched in Japan this morning. Around 140 people were in line outside the West Shinjuku branch of Yodobashi Camera before the store opened, while more than 200 people were at the Ikebukuro branch of Bic Camera. Promotion of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd has had an impact -- the game's TV commercial seems to have aired more frequently here in the past week than that of any other game (this blogger watches too much Japanese telly), and the PSP hardware-plus-game bundle also appears to be selling out in Tokyo. Chances are, this PSP hit will top next week's Japanese sales chart. [Image credit: Famitsu]
Japanese Wii enjoys painless birth; stores across Japan sell out
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Japanese_Wii_enjoys_painless_birth_stores_across_Japan_sell_out'; We were in Osaka this morning to see the delivery of Nintendo's Wii to the world's greatest DS fans. Stores across Japan received a total of 400,000 Wii consoles. In Osaka, Japan's second city, 2,800 units were allocated to the Umeda branch of Yodobashi Camera alone, while Bic Camera in Nipponbashi received 650 systems. Both locations were sold out within an hour of opening. Compared with last month's farcical PS3 launch, there were notably fewer auctioneers-in-the-making at today's Wii debut. Most people we met were genuinely looking forward to playing games with their new purchase. (There are Wii lots on Yahoo! Auctions, but the going rate is only marginally higher than the retail price: typically Y30,000 (US$260) via auction, compared with Y25,000 (US$217) in stores.) The Wii's software tie-in ratio, too, seems to be more encouraging than that of the PlayStation3. Most customers in line at Yodobashi Umeda bought Zelda, while significant numbers also went for Wii Sports and Hajimete no Wii. Numerous methods of retail were used to launch the Wii, and these varied from store to store. Yodobashi kept its customers camped overnight in a parking lot, distributing numbered tickets to determine the order of entrance, before opening its doors at 7am. Bic Camera also opened at 7am, although most of the 650 people in line there didn't arrive until the first trains of the morning began to run at around 5am. Famitsu reports that the Tokyo Ikebukuro branch of Bic Camera sold out if its allocation of 1,200 units, while the Tokyo Yuuraku-cho arm of Bic Camera declared the console "sold out" at 5.41am when the 1,500th person arrived in the queue there. Sales figures from around the country are still coming in, but we'll keep you informed of the final stats just as soon as we get them. In the meantime, enjoy our snaps of the Osaka Wii launch experience after the jump.
