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Tokyo 2020's Olympics pitch: Mario, Pac-Man and co.
In case you didn't notice, the Olympics is wrapping up in Rio, and sports fans now have an endure a whole three years and 11 months until the next one, which happens to be in Tokyo. Japan's Olympic committee decided to highlight that fact by transforming the country's Prime Minister into Mario (naturally), showcasing its distinctive skyline (swoon!), showing some of its athletes you've probably never heard of (sorry!) and a bunch video game and anime characters. It's all backed by a punchy jazz soundtrack, and is likely to give you goosebumps, although I wonder why the creative team wasn't able to book Pikachu in time.
Toyota Fun-Vii concept car envisions instantly customizable interior and exterior
Look, the reality is that you can't drive your car into a Pay 'n' Spray every 15 minutes or so à la Grand Theft Auto, but what if you can simply change the vehicle's skin at the tap of a button? Toyota certainly likes the sound of that and has thus come up with the funky-looking Fun-Vii concept car. What's more, even the interior can be changed as well, and similarly it can be used as a display space for navigation or even racing simulation (assuming the latter's disabled while actually driving, of course). This is all good and well, but unlike many other concept exhibits we've seen, Toyota's mockup couldn't seat people -- we suspect the "car" only used a back projection from within, so we couldn't get to see what it'd feel like to play a Tron-like game inside the "car." Nevertheless, we look forward to day when this idea becomes a reality -- here's looking at you, flexible OLED! Video after the break. %Gallery-140617%
Robot Doraemon travels back in time to shame Japanese children to success
If you're one of those nerds, you're probably quite stoked at the prospect of a real, honest-to-goodness Doraemon in your living room. And even if not, surely we can all agree that this guy is pretty damn cute, right? This ear-less, time travelin' cat features motion, light, heat, and sound sensors that let it react to its environment with a whole slew of facial features and vocal mannerisms that mean nothing to us, seeing as how it's communicating in Japanese. This guy is available from Bandai, starting September 3rd -- in the meantime, check out a few pics snapped at the Tokyo Toy Show below.[Via Tokyo Mango]
Doraemon netbook has all the American kids perplexed
Not sure what exactly Doraemon is? Haven't heard all the rage over it in Japan? Fret not, as this here netbook is definitely none of your concern. If you just so happen to be in the opposite camp, you'll certainly take interest in knowing that this Doraemon-splashed rig has been spotted in Taiwan, and so far as we can tell, it's just a beautified version of the Classmate PC. Regrettably, there's no word on actual specifications, and we're hoping and praying the ¥48,000 ($497) price tag we're seeing is a horrific typographical error. Even if not, we're still tempted -- just don't tell anyone.[Via PortableMonkey, thanks Peter]
Our love for Doraemon grows with each new screen
When not upping the cute factor of your DS or bridging together genres to make one of the most awesome hybrid games we've ever heard of, Doraemon is fine with just ruling Japan. Well, we're prepared to accept the robotic cat into our life, as we're sure if Japan loves him, we most certainly will. Doraemon, can you please come to North America and change our life?The first step in accepting the new animated cat overlord as your personal savior and mentor is to hit up the screens below from the feline's latest game, Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant. You won't be disappointed.%Gallery-19058%
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/10-3/16
"If you bundle a game with a special brush stylus, they will come," the heavens whispered to Nintendo. While we expected Beautiful Letter Training (also known as Bimoji or Calligraphy Training) to do well, we didn't expect it to sell 66,000 copies in its first week. This first-party effort by Nintendo looks as polished and full of content as a calligraphy nongame could get, but we're still surprised by the high demand for this game in Japan. Nintendo has understood sales markets better than anyone else this generation, though, so we probably should have expected this.Also appearing on the charts are both versions of Hayate the Combat Butler, as we predicted. The mansion edition was slightly more popular, as preference was given to the little girls in little black dresses. At the sixth spot was Shugo Chara!, which, in case you were wondering, is yet another manga/anime-based game about a school girl.Harvest Moon: Shining Sun and Friends, meanwhile, jumped back into the top ten, while Soma Bringer dropped down a few notches. One other notable game on the chart is the infamous Duel Love, which debuted at spot twenty-seven. That's not a great start for the title, but perhaps nipple rubbing is more niche in Japan than we thought.Despite making a killing in software and having fifteen games in the top thirty, the DS remained in third for hardware sales. Still, considering that everyone and their mother already owns a DS in Japan, we're somewhat surprised that it comes so close to the top, week after week.Mosey on after the break to see the numbers in full, folks.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/3-3/9
Japan loves Doraemon, and it shows. Not only did the manga-based robot cat have a successful DS baseball game, but now a game based on the manga itself debuted in the top ten. Soma Bringer was still the top dog for the handheld, though, selling a total of 68,000 copies in two weeks. Are numbers like these high enough to motivate Monolith Soft to bring the game to English speaking markets? Well, we certainly hope so, but that remains to be seen.As for hardware, the DS stayed in third place again last week, but wasn't too far behind the PSP: Wii: 57,068 PSP: 53,924 Nintendo DS: 48,658 PlayStation 3: 21,008 PlayStation 2: 10,429 Xbox 360: 2,891 The numbers and placings for software are listed after the break, so if you're curious, just click away.
Taiko Cameo Master
Hey kids, Namco Bandai's Taiko Drum Master: 7 Islands' Adventure isn't just about providing us with a source of rhythmic, touchscreen-tapping goodness -- according to the latest batch of screens from Famitsu, it also happens to feature some pretty neat cameos.The Butt-Biting Bug to the right there is just one example of this, but it looks like we'll also be treated to cast members from Doraemon and The Idolmaster. Rhythmically tap your way past the break for more cameotastic shots!
Sega uses 'Answer x Answer' arcade game for a little cross-promotion
Answer x Answer is an arcade quiz game from Sega that involves answering trivia questions and also solving various puzzles, and competing online to be the fastest and most accurate. Sega is taking advantage of its success by throwing some advertising for one of its other licensed properties, Doraemon, in.In March, special Doraemon-themed questions will appear in the quiz game. In addition, a visual puzzle will have players staring at the Doraemon: Nobita to Midori no Kyojinden DS boxart as it is slowly revealed over the course of the game. The game, by the way, is also tied in to the Doraemon movie (warning: sound).Playing a game and seeing an ad for another game is like using your Little Orphan Annie decoder ring to reveal "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."[Via Siliconera]
Taiko no Tatsujin's ironically earless guest
The last Taiko no Tatsujin DS game featured the Super Mario Bros. theme song, accompanied by wonderful Mario animations. We don't know if any Nintendo characters or themes are going to make an appearance in the sequel, 7-tsu no Shima no Daibouken, but Namco Bandai is still looking outside its own properties for guest appearances.The latest character to appear in Taiko: Doraemon. The Doraemon theme song is apparently a staple of Taiko games, even appearing in the last DS game. This time, however, Doraemon and friends will appear as guest characters in the bottom of the play area, basically distracting you as you're trying to play. It's quite likely that, since the song has appeared before, the characters have too. But they're cute, and these are new screens of their appearance in this game. Plus, it's pretty strange to feature an earless character in a music game.
Doraemon returns from the future to make your DS cute again
The world's favorite blue robot cat from the future is back with more stuff to put on your DS. The Doraemon Waku Waku DS Accessory Set includes a system shell, a card case, an extending stylus, and a screen-cleaning strap all bearing the adorable visage of Doraemon. The DS case has a repeating light blue Doraemon pattern that we think is pretty nice, and the card case features three Doraemons (Doraemen? Doraemans?) in cute poses.NCSX is taking preorders for this $23 accessory kit from Hori, to be sent out when it releases on March 6th. If you're looking to protect, clean, write on, and carry games with your DS, it seems like a good option.
Take me out to the robot cat ballgame
There is a noticeable dearth of robot cat baseball games on the DS -- or robot baseball games, for that matter. Or cat baseball games. Luckily, Dorabase will fulfill that obvious need for the Japanese audience, at least. It also fulfills another desire of ours. In addition to its wacky concept and equally wacky stylus control scheme, Dorabase will feature some nonstandard tactics. For example, a robotic-penguin-looking hitman can trip a runner by firing at him with a rifle. Kuroemon seems to be able to spin his bat so quickly that he creates a vortex, sucking the pitched ball towards his bat. An item called the "Big Light" increases the ball to an enormous size, so that it crushes any fielder who tries to catch it. As fans of wacky superpowered baseball, we wholeheartedly approve.
New Doraemon DS Lite accessories
Are you a fan of earless cartoon robot cats from the future? What are we saying-- of course you are. Hori is releasing a new suite of DS Lite accessories in a blue checkerboard theme with Doraemon adornments. 980 yen ($8.42) gets you a pack containing decals for the inside and outside of the DSL, an extending stylus, and screen covers. A soft cloth carrying case with pockets for DS and GBA cartridges goes for another 980 yen.Those are surprisingly reasonable prices for DS accessories! Hopefully NCSX or someone will pick these up for sale in the US. That case looks exceptionally handy to us, with all the pockets.
Doraemon DS shows up in Sega promotion
Blue, time-traveling robotic cat manga news now, with Sega annoucing a raffle tied in with their upcoming game, Doraemon: Nobita no Kyouryuu 2006. If you purchase the game, you'll get a non-golden ticket which can be mailed off to Sega in the hopes of winning a limited edition Doraemon DS. There are 100 of these up for grabs, along with a bunch of DS stickers that accompany a pre-order of the game.Now, not living in Japan may quell your chances of winning somewhat, but we're sure you'll find some of these on Ebay once the DS Lite launches. We've personally run into (and away from) many a Doraemon fan who would likely commit several illegal atrocities in order to obtain this cute DS. [Thanks Siliconera]
