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Flipnote Studio moving to Europe this Friday [Update: it's out in North America right now!]
[Baffling update: Hatena announced that the site and the software are available in the US and Canada today, which is totally not a Monday!]One of the DSi's killer apps will finally be available outside of Japan. Nintendo announced that Flipnote Studio, the DSiWare animation tool, will be released in Europe this Friday, for the price of zero DSi Points. The app, called Ugoku Memo-chou in Japan, allows users to draw "flip-book"-style animations, add sound, and share them via a special site, "Ugomemo Hatena," run by Japanese blog service Hatena.Delightfully, the site has already been relaunched as "Flipnote Hatena" for European users -- we were a bit worried that not all aspects of the service would make it, but you'll be able to upload your animations and watch and rate others' right away!For more on the development of the game and the Hatena connection, check out the "Iwata Asks" interview with staff from both Nintendo and Hatena, and a special Iwata Asks with animator Yoichi Kotabe. And after the break, see a Flipnote animation based on Rhythm Heaven's DJ School.
Preview the Flipnote Studio site
The Japanese version of Flipnote Studio, called Ugoku Memo-Chou, integrates with a special version of Japan's Hatena blog site, allowing users to upload, share, and view videos made using the DSiWare animation app. Soon after the launch of the Japanese site, Hatena put up a partially translated version of the Ugomemo Hatena site as a preview of the eventual North American version.The site has been somewhat of a work-in-progress since then, with some extra pages translated, including the explanation of the premium Ugomemo Hatena Plus service, and some content remaining in Japanese. It's a sign that we'll be able to share our insane sprite sheet flip books and cute Mario animations immediately after the service launches, whenever that happens.[Via GoNintendo]
