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Japan's Suntory to conduct important space whisky research
We have a strong whisky bias, so when Suntory revealed that it would be sending products into orbit, we had to know more. The company will fire six samples of its beverages to the International Space Station (ISS), including its Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, aka the best whiskey in the world. It costs about $10,000 to get a pound of cargo up there, so launching booze may seem a tad frivolous. However, the company hopes to aid humanity by learning how a zero-G environment affects the mellowness of whiskey as it ages, according to the WSJ.
Syrupy Slimes refresh Japan this month, include in-game item
From Final Fantasy XIII Elixirs to Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory Syrupy Slime drinks, Square Enix and Suntory have Japan sugared -- with a side of hydration. The Syrupy Slime beverages go on sale in Japan on July 13 for about $3.25 and come in Hoimi Cider (blue) and Mera Tropical (orange) "flavors." As Siliconera notes, the item names are based on Dragon Quest spells for heal and frizz, respectively. The Slime drinks also contain codes for in-game avatar items, accessible using the Dragon Quest "Color Code Scanner" on the DSi. If it seems unlikely you'll ever have the chance to imbibe a slime, drown your sorrows by watching the slapstick Japanese commercial for the beverages on the Suntory site (press the blue button).
Final Fantasy XIII 'Elixir' beverage headed to Japanese inventories this winter
The release date, price, and reveal of a PS3 bundle for Final Fantasy XIII were big news, sure, but the real megaton out of the Final Fantasy XIII Party was the announcement of a tie-in beverage from Final Fantasy XII Potion partner Suntory.Like the Dissidia beverage, Final Fantasy XIII "Elixir" will come in 16 collectible cans, each with a different character on it. It will be available sometime this winter, either in single cans (of Lemon or Aloe-flavored Elixir), in packages with collectible figurines, or in a collector's box with all 16 cans. No, we don't know why the logo uses the Star Trek movie font.You may have noticed the repeated reference to collecting. Anyone who tried the FFXII Potion will tell you that these drinks are for collectors only -- as in, people who aren't going to drink them.
Japanese plastic dirt is half as dense as real dirt, over 100 times more plastic
We've seen quite a few efforts to use gardens and terrariums in cities to order to bring down overall CO2 emissions and reduce temperatures, but Tokyo's earthquake-prone location means that structures there have to meet strict load requirements -- so a company called Suntory Ltd., has developed a synthetic dirt substitute called Pafcal it says weighs less than half as much as real soil. The fake dirt, which is made of urethane, can reduce the internal temperature of a building with a roof garden up to 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course, there's considerable irony in trying to save the planet by covering concrete buildings in fake plastic dirt, but then again, such a solution is about as Japanese as it gets, no?
For role-playing times, make it Suntory time
Alright thirsty JRPG'ers, Suntory's official Final Fantasy XII Potion beverage is finally available in Japan as of today! The commercial promises it will replenish valuable hit points lost in battle and--seeing as how FFXII is still a ways off--watching people fight for Potion might be the only FFXII battle we get for awhile.[Thanks, Jago; via digg][UPDATE: Updated to better reflect that western gamers will be waiting awhile, while lucky Japanese gamers will be drinking their Potion and playing FFXII next week. Thanks, djSyndrome.]
