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Asylums, nurses, and gore: Dementium's awesome Japanese launch event
Dementium: The Ward launches in Japan today, and Japanese publisher Interchannel-Holon could not have found a more perfect venue to promote Renegade Kid's horror title*. "Alcatraz E.R." is a novelty restaurant in Tokyo's Shibuya ward with a mental asylum theme where patrons must announce their blood type before entering. They are then handcuffed by girls dressed as nurses who serve up food in surgical trays and drinks in hospital drips.In other words, it's a totally amazing and ideal place for a Dementium promotion. Hit the break for more gory pics of the press-only event (our invites must have got lost in the mail). * Admittedly, they could have used an actual abandoned psychiatric asylum, but that probably comes with its own issues.%Gallery-4929%
Japanese English trainer offers up real scholarship money
This is one of the better promotions we've ever heard about. DS title Moe Sta is a game geared toward the folks that can't speak English, but want to. It teaches, and it's in that spirit that the developers of the title, Mirai Shonen, are going to hook up two lucky students with some education assistance.If you use the title to learn English and pass the Tokyo University entrance exam, they'll hook you up with ¥500,000 (US$4,600) to go towards your education. While that may not be much to most of you, it might as well be a mountain of gold to college students. See also: DS takes Kyoto, education style[Via Kotaku]
Ringtones for dogs coming to Japanese cellphones
Just when you think you've given your dog everything it could ever want (gold plated water dish, rhinestone collar, a copy of Tegan and Sara's "The Con" on vinyl) the Japanese go and one up you. A Tokyo-based content provider named Dwango announced today that it would start selling specialized ringtones which can be heard only by dogs. The service, called Inu ni shika kikoenai chakushinon (ringtones only dogs can hear) will make free downloads available to current DoCoMo i-mode subscribers. No word on whether the company will provide Bluetooth headsets and holsters suited to our canine friends, but we understand plans are in the works for a line of bacon-themed wallpapers. [Warning: read link is a PDF, and it's in Japanese][Via CrunchGear]
Sakurai to spill beans on what makes games fun
The obvious choice aside, we can't think of many game designers who are better qualified than Masahiro Sakurai to discuss how to make fun videogames. Which is a good job, really, because the Smash Bros. and Kirby creator has been booked by DiGRA, Japan's Digital Games Research Association, to deliver a talk on what makes games enjoyable.Don't go getting excited, though. Sakurai's speech, entitled 'Game-ness,' will be delivered at the Fukutake Hall Running Theatre at Tokyo University's Hongo campus, and to an audience of only 150 people. If by some chance you are located near to the venue, know that DiGRA members get in free, while student non-members pay ¥500 (roughly $5) and all other non-members ¥1000 (approx $10).We wonder what games he'll use to convey his message? Bringing up Brawl or Kirby might seem a little conceited, but those are two of the titles we would use.[Via Develop]
Tokyo's Kasai Station gets robotic bicycle-parking contraption
We've seen a couple of robotic car parking garages in the past, but Tokyo's Kasai Station seems to have found another use for the same idea, with it now employing the services of an enormous bicycle-parking contraption that can store some 9,400 bikes. As you can see for yourself in the video after the break, the system is able to gobble up your bike and pull it down into the bowels of the garage with slightly terrifying efficiency, and at a cost of just ¥100 (about a buck) no less -- or ¥1,800 for a monthly pass. No word if they've had anyone try to stay on their bike and take a ride into the beast, although we'd assume there are some sort of safeguards in place to prevent those sorts of shenanigans.
Nintendo pressures Akihabara vendors to pull R4 carts
If you've ever been to the Akihabara district in Tokyo, you probably know that stores there stock R4s. Well, at least they did stock them. Many Japanese retailers, including the online ones, have been pressured by Nintendo to discontinue their support for R4 carts. The extent of Nintendo's threats weren't made clear, but it's likely that they would no longer provide their products to these stores if the retailers didn't remove R4s from their inventories.Nintendo is being naive if they think this is going to help alleviate piracy issues. People who want to pirate games will find a way to pirate games, whether the equipment to do so is out in the open or not. The R4 cart is also not the only means for people to download games -- we're sure Nintendo knows this.All the same, we can sympathize with Nintendo. The fight against piracy is an uphill one, at best, and since there's not much that Nintendo can do about it, they're doing what they can.[Via Kotaku]
Tokyo Game Show 2008 is 'Ready for Game Time' on Oct. 9 to 12
In the midst of GDC comes word from Japan that this year's Tokyo Game Show has been dated. Get ready for October 9 to 12 at the usual home of Makuhari Messe in Chiba City. Organizers have already announced this year's theme: "Ready for GAME Time!" (sic). As opposed to every other year when they were just practicing for game time. Seriously, we're having a hard time grasping at this one. Previous themes include "Link up, Reach out, To the World" (2007) and "New Excitement. New Sensations. A New Generation" (2006).
Contactless hybrid bus put into service at Tokyo airport
Japan's world's fastest maglev train may still be quite a few years away from becoming a reality, but it looks like the country can now brag about another slightly smaller but similarly contactless vehicle, with a new suitably futuristic bus now making its debut at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. As if that bit of technology wasn't enough, the bus is also a hybrid vehicle, and promises a sixty percent reduction in carbon emissions compared to those old 20th century-style buses. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of other details at the moment (and what is available is subject to the wonders of machine translation), but it looks like the first bus is already in service, and covering a 4.2 kilometer area around the airport.[Thanks, kaztm]
Square Enix dates The World Ends With You for April 22
Square Enix has finally nailed down a firm US release date for its upcoming, dare we say original action-RPG for the DS, The World Ends With You. While Nintendo listed the game among its spring releases last month, the calender jockeys at Final Fantasy proper have announced that the game will make it to North American retail outlets on April 22. Developed at the hands of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories developer Jupiter, the game has certainly been on the minds of those of us partial to Nintendo's touchable handheld, as as well as those with a thing for big feet and Japanese culture. The World Ends With You is set within Tokyo's "trendiest youth culture center," Shibuya, and takes "major influences" from the area's cultural bearings, from food and music to fashion and design. It all sounds great, but honestly you had us at original.
The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, part 2
This is the second of two parts to the Fireside Chat between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part two of the chat. You can hear and read part 1 here. Enjoy![Mp3] Download the MP3 directly[Thanks, Celebrity!]
JR Tokai plans maglev railway for Japan, won't open until 2025
So here's the good news: Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai) has announced its intentions to construct a swank maglev railway in Japan. The bad news? It's not scheduled to open until 2025. Reportedly, JR Tokai will be coughing up around ¥5.1 trillion ($44 billion, give or take a few mil) of its own change to build the system that will stretch between the "Tokyo metropolitan area and the Chukyo region, with Nagoya at the center." Of course, we're all going to be cruising around in personal flying saucers in a decade anyway, so we wouldn't be too worried about the wait.[Image courtesy of FYS]
Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP
As much as we have grown tired of having games developed for this generation of consoles referred to as "next-gen entertainment," that ire is evidently not shared by all. Ignition Entertainment, publisher of Mercury Meltdown and the adolescent undead romp Teenage Zombies, today announced the opening of not one, but two new studios committed to so-called next-gen game development. The new studios will operate out of both Tokyo and Florida, and according to Ignition will focus on creating "new IP specifically for the next generation formats," but which formats exactly remain a mystery. In fact, no details about upcoming projects from either Ignition Tokyo or Florida have been announced, though in looking at the company's subsidiary Digi-Guys, which has been working on WarDevil since well before the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that these studios are not in a hurry.
You're not invited: Japan's Monster Hunter party
Capcom is celebrating the uber-success of their PSP Monster Hunter game by throwing a party in Tokyo. The event, which will span two days (February 9-10) will give 1600 lucky registrants of the official Monster Hunter website a chance to mingle with other Monster Hunter fans. In addition, they'll be the first members of the public to try the upcoming 2G game, to continue fueling their addiction.It's great to see Capcom engage their fan community with so much commitment. We may not understand the Japanese fascination with the Monster Hunter franchise, but we certainly are jealous of the perks they receive for their fandom.
Your MMO, your brain and your computer
Brain Computer Interfaces - these last 15 years or so, they've carried the slick acronym of BCI. Over at Keio University in Tokyo, the Biomedical Engineering Lab they're working on non-invasive BCI systems which may 'eventually' become mass-market input devices. The question is - does the gaming and MMO world actually want them? Lord knows, gamers didn't back in the 1980s when a variety of these devices were on the market.
E-books get massive subway ads in Tokyo
Nintendo wants Japanese subway riders to read more e-books, apparently, as these giant ads for software DS Bungaku Zenshuu are popping up in the Tokyo underground. The above Shibuya advertisement shows that Nintendo is committed to the Genius Sonority-developed title, which hit Japanese retail shelves last week.Would you find an e-book reader helpful on your DS?[Via Game | Life]
Engadget Reader Meetup: The Aftermath (part VI, Tokyo)
Listen, we've just got to say thanks. We got shown some serious love at our Tokyo reader meetup this week, and we're not only really grateful for the 200+ readers who came out to hang out with Engadget (and who took a ton of photos and almost 100 videos), but for the variety of guests we had, including Mr. Yamamitsu (CEO of Thanko), who participated in a live interview, as well as the "lightning talks" round of hackers, homebrewers, modders, researchers, and all around Japanese über-geeks. So, much love to everyone who came out and helped make our Tokyo event pop off!P.S. -Oh, and check out some videos after the break. And stay tuned for further details on the SF Engadget reader meetup this week.%Gallery-8202%
Send in your pics and video from the Engadget Tokyo event!
Tokyo: thanks for coming out! Over 200 people came to hang out Engadget style tonight -- so it's probably not too much to expect you'd have documented something, eh? Send in your pictures and video, we'll throw it up on the site tomorrow in our aftermath post.Please add your pictures to the Engadget Flickr pool here.And please add your videos to YouTube as a response to our meetup video (which is posted after the break), or with the tag engadget2007tokyo.Once again, big ups to our hosts and sponsor Google Japan!P.S. -Our apologies to those that didn't make it in. We had limited space, but we're extremely grateful you made the trip out to see us, even knowing you might not make it through the door. Let us know who you are next time, we'll hook you up with the VIP treatment.
Reminder: Tokyo reader meetup tonight, October 4th!
We're all the more excited to see everyone at our Tokyo reader meetup tonight! That is, tomorrow-tonight -- Japan lives a day in the future, remember? Ok, specifically: the event's in Tokyo October 4th, starting around 7:00PM, Japan Standard Time.However, we do have to warn those considering coming: space is tight, and due to the overwhelming response we've had we may not be able to guarantee everyone's admission -- our apologies in advance!Tonight's event is ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION. We'll also be serving food and bevs. Tokyo - October 4th, ~7:00PM - 9:00PM, Cerulean Tower (7th floor -- OFFICE section, not hotel)If you're Nihongo-inclined, please check Engadget Japanese for more information.English directions (thanks Umijin!) Exit the JR Shibuya station from the "minami" or South exit. Cross the expressway with one of the stairway overpasses. Look for the mammoth building, as above. If you get lost, just ask anyone where Cerulean Tower is -- also, check out the Tower's English site. Remember, you want the business entrance to the 7th floor, not the hotel entrance! We'd also like to thank our host in Tokyo, Google Japan! [Image by NGU]Setup video after the break!
Engadget event locations: Tokyo (Oct. 4th) and San Francisco (Oct. 10th)!
Tokyo, San Francisco! We're coming to town to hang out, so please join us THIS WEEK in Tokyo as we host our first ever Japanese readup in Google / YouTube Japan's offices. Next week in San Francisco we'll be at Mighty. Directions and info below.Both events are ALL AGES and FREE ADMISSION (as usual).Tokyo - October 4th, ~6:30PM - 9:00PM, Cerulean Tower (7th floor) [map]Please note we have limited capacity, but we will do our best to accommodate everyone that shows up!San Francisco - October 10th, 7:00PM - 10:00PM, Mighty [map] We'd also like to thank the premium event sponsor of our San Francisco event, the Bluetooth SIG, as well as our host in Tokyo, Google Japan!Note: If you're thinking of coming to the Tokyo event please let us know in comments! It helps when we're figuring out catering and all that stuff. (Don't worry about San Francisco, we'll have more reminders on that one soon. And for everyone else who wants Engadget to come to your town, we'll do our best next time!)
The Joystiq Weekend: September 15 - 17, 2007
Having also been in situations where we've missed flights due to lost essentials (e.g. plane tickets, photo ID), we can only express deep sympathy for Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb, who is not going to Tokyo Game Show this year due to a missing passport. Unfortunately, the Major didn't find out until he was in the terminal. Ouch. If you find his passport, be sure to let him know. Otherwise, check out the highlights for the weekend:JoystiqueryJoyswag: 10 invites to the Call of Duty 4 BetaPodcast Rodeo for Sept. 16: Yes, earReminder: win the ultimate Halo 3 setup from X3FToday's cuddliest video: LocoRoco Cocoreccho trailerToday's seriously 32-player Wii FPS: Medal of Honor Heroes 2Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: DIY Omegathon editionNewsBreaking news: Racer Colin McRae dies in helicopter crashItagaki shows off Ninja Gaiden II aqua city levelNew games this week: Eternal Sonata editionYoshi Story, Super Thunder Blade, World Class Baseball on Virtual ConsoleFuture Weapons to feature Halo 3 tonightIntel picks up Havok for $21MTurboGrafx-CD games coming to Virtual Consoles worldwideSony unveils Karraker replacement Scott SteinbergGrade-grubbing GameStop manager gets suspended Chinese online gamer dies after three day stintDave Perry: PSP Lite a 'head in the sand' move for SonyWoW character sells for nearly $10,000Xfire shows off their latest XstaticsNintendo shuts down official forums "indefinitely"Oklahoma violent game law overturnedRumors & SpeculationReuters: Sony in talks to sell chip manufacturing to Toshiba Rumor: Rumbling Sixaxis to debut at TGSRumor: Halo 3 ending leaked onto netCulture & CommunityDon't move, just listen: Automatic Mario goes anime musicSealed game collectors hoarding all the cool toysBook critic plays BioShock, says it's not quite "art" Cliffy B: BioShock is my game of the yearPimp your Wii with Talismoon's new casesMTV drops new Multiplayer blog (plus BioShock Vs. Mode)
