TOKYOMANGO

Get your hand-printed limited edition TokyoMango t-shirt now (2 weeks only)

My friend Ben and I made a test run of TokyoMango t-shirts on Saturday. They're really nice, do you want one? If so, you can buy one here. Below are the details:

- All shirts are 100% cotton.
- Each t-shirt will be hand-silk screened by me and Ben on his Yudu machine. The shirt logo was custom-designed by Ben. Mango design courtesy of my web designer James.
- The Women's tees come in a t-shirt style (pistacio and white) and a spaghetti strap ribbed tank (yellow).
- The Men's tees come in orange and white. In the pic above, Ben is actually accidentally wearing a girl's tee, but you get the idea... the sleeves will be more manly on the one you get.
- You can choose a custom colored tee for $25. Just shoot me an email with your preference after you place the order.
- The sizes tend to run a little big (except for the tanktops). They might shrink in the wash.
- Some of you will receive a free surprise Japanese toy or gadget with your t-shirt! I'm just gonna randomly stick them into bags, so keep an eye out.
- We're taking orders over the next two weeks only, at least for this first printing. They'll ship at the end of those two weeks, when Ben & I will silkscreen them by hand.
- Last day to order is Monday, October 5th.

UPDATE: T-shirts are no longer for sale. Maybe we'll do another round sometime!

Desktop balding salaryman golf game

In this funny web-based golf game called Eki Golf, you're a balding business man waiting for the train with an umbrella, practicing your golf swing.

Play the game

Love Plus, a new dating sim, spawns online discussions about virtual cheating

There's a lot of buzz about this new dating sim for the DS called Love Plus. This one takes the virtual girlfriend idea a step further than most — getting the girl is one step, but one you're officially an item, you're supposed to engage with your new girlfriend in real time by taking her out on dates, making plans, and planning things together. Some men have become so hooked on it that their wives are complaining publicly about it — one husband even sleeps with Love Plus near his pillow, and takes his virtual girlfriend into the bathtub with him. On online discussion boards, these complaints have spawned debates on whether "cheating" with a virtual girlfriend is the sign of a bad husband or not.Very interesting...

Love Plus main page (Japanese)
IT Media article in Japanese titled "Which is more important, me or your Love Plus?!"

How to recreate a scene from Zelda in your lunchbox

There's a wonderful cookbook in bookstores & on Amazon now called Face Food:The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes. It's a bento book that teaches you how to make delicious, nutritious meals that resemble your favorite anime, video game, or zoo animal. The art is simply amazing — here are Astro Boy and Zelda.

Face Food:The Visual Creativity of Japanese Bento Boxes by Christopher Salyers

More book reviews & recommendations on TokyoMango

Japanese snack-matching game for when you're bored

TokyoMango reader Ian S. just sent me this silly web-based game he made, where you have to match Japanese snack cards with each other. The ones you acquire get skewered on the left. It's pretty basic but may be fun if you're bored at work and like to think about eating Japanese food.

Link

Cell phone strap makes Street Fighter sounds

This may just be the most awesome cell phone strap ever. It looks just like a basic video game controller, but it's actually a toy for Street Fighter otaku, or for people who want to practice their gaming moves while on-the-go. Every time you perfectly replicate the combo of moves for Ryu, Ken, Dhalsim, and Chun-Li, it makes the corresponding sound. Just imagine, you could be busting out Hadokens all day.

Product page (Strap-ya)

Super Mario chess set

I am not the best or most avid chess player in the world, but this makes me want to have a chess set in my house. If only because I will have every single Mario character at my disposal, in a box, whenever I need them.

F4F via GizmoDiva

Muscle March for Wii comes out this week

A new Wii game that debuts on 5/21 lets you pretend you're a bodybuilder, and makes you run through holes in the wall in funny muscle man poses.

Imaginary video games featuring Bush and a drunk guy

Offworld has a fun post about a new exhibit at game store Meteor in Tokyo, where dozens of designers imagined retro video games that were never invented. Like the one above, in which you play ex-President Bush trying to save NYC. Brandon writes:

The one game most after my one true heart is Cap's vino-red King Drunk (which appears to serve dual purpose as pun on the shop name, Meteor [Mei Tei Oh]), in which players are given several attempts to clear stages "while enjoying the state of drunkenness," and which prides itself on its "inability to control game action":

See the imaginary 8-bit games of Famicase 2009 [Offworld]

Annual human chess match held in Yamagata

An interesting game of Japanese chess, or shogi, took place in Yamagata prefecture a couple of weeks ago. In this match--played by two female professionals--high school students dressed up as warriors and courtesans and posed as pawns on a human-sized board laid out on a grassy field. It's actually an annual event and is held on a mountain when cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Must be beautiful to watch.

via Mainichi

Classic video game cupcakes are amazing

These PacMan cupcakes are amazing! I want this to be my cake substitute for my next birthday, please. Mario version after the jump.

Video: New DS rhythm game ad featuring Beyonce

I just spent a bunch of time playing Rhythm Heaven, a new quirky rhythm game for the DS that comes out tomorrow in North America. It has all these funny mini-games, like filling a robot up with fuel or making monkeys clap to a dancing idol or making a choir of little boys sing. Anyway, I was googling around and found this ad for the game, featuring Beyonce sprawled out on a white couch playing the game.

Gaming cufflinks for stylish geeky men

Ok, so how geeky would you think a guy was if he showed up on a date wearing these PlayStation cufflinks? There are Nintendo Wii ones too, but I think these are prettier.

via Gizmodiva

New cell phone game pokes fun at the drunken ex-finance minister

A hilarious new invention by Tokyo start-up Liveware Inc parodies Shoichi Nakagawa's drunken stupor at the G7 conference in Rome in a silly but addictive cell phone game. The goal is to try to keep Nakagawa awake during the press conference by "poking" him with the 5 key at the right timing so that he doesn't miss any of the reporters' questions. If he does, you lose. His approval ratings are displayed in big white print at the top of the screen--I don't think they ever get super high, but the idea is to try to keep it from falling to zero. Pretty funny, and a quick and witty reaction to Japan's most recent obsession on the part of Liveware.

Press release (Japanese) via the Japan Times

Related posts:
Ex-finance minister Nakagawa accosted Vatican statue, set off alarms
Finance minister's public intoxication signals need for change

Super cute Nintendo DS purse

Most of the things I buy at Best Buy are really bad. Like the DVI-to-MiniDVI adapter that the guy in the laptop aisle pointed me to—it didn't work on my new MacBook. Or the DLO IntelliTune iPod dock for my car. I almost crashed twice listening to Obama reading me Dreams from My Father (yes, he voices his own Audiobook. Awesome!) because other radio frequencies kept butting in. I returned both. But there is one good thing I bought at Best Buy, and that was this super cute Nintendo DS carrying purse. I love it. It fits all my cartridges, the charger, some lipstick, a credit card, keys, cell phone, and my DS, of course. And it was only $10.

New version of Game of Life caters to the hellish economy

Ever feel like The Game of Life was too cookie-cutter for your much more morbid lifestyle? Toymaker Takara Tomy is coming out with a new "super spicy" version of The Game of Life, which includes stops like shotgun weddings, gambling sprees, and the sudden and unexplained disappearance of family members. The economy sucks, people are stressed, things never go as planned. By the time you're done playing a round, you might be thankful for what you have. The game is based on a Japanese idiom called 人生は波瀾万丈 (jinsei wa haran banjo)—life's a roller coaster ride. It comes out in April, and will retail for about $40.

via Impress Watch

Jigsaw puzzles shaped like Japanese snacks

Japanese snacks give a whole new meaning to the English language. Carl is just an ordinary name in America, but in Japan, it connotes the most delicious cheese snack ever (better than Cheetos or Cheez-its, by far). Apollo is not a spaceship, but a delicious nipple-shaped strawberry chocolate. Black is not a color, but a flavor (chocolate again).

The snacks in this photo are actually not real; their jigsaw puzzles packaged and shaped like their edible counterparts. They remind me of the Jenga game made of gum wrappers.

Arcade Mania, a book about Japanese video game culture

I hung out in Shibuya a lot during middle and high school. It was just the place to be—cheap food, Tower Records, sticker pictures, karaoke, and yes, before any of that stuff existed, there were the video game arcades. My favorite was a five-story little building in the middle of Center-Gai on the left side. I don't remember what it was called. It was tiny and narrow and smoky but that was where most of my friends and I met, so that if somebody was late you could just play games until they showed up.

Fellow Wired writer Brian Ashcraft and blogger Jean Snow have a new book out called Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers in which they neatly dissect the world of Japanese video gaming. It talks about rhythm games (BeatMania came way before DDR or Rock Band. I swear. I remember playing it every weekend when I was a kid); dating sims (dating in-game can be much more passionate than in real life); and UFO catchers (these days you can win everything from ice cream to blow fish). Gaming is a big part of Japanese mass culture—and was, even before the Wii—and I found this book to be a delightful peek back into that part of my history. You should check it out!

A fashion magazine based around video game culture

Apparently, there's a fashion/lifestyle magazine in France that is themed around video games. It's called "Amusement" and includes beautiful editorial photography of things like modern consoles and scenes from MMORPGs.

via PingMag

UFO catcher jeopardizes lives of prize blowfish

Why pay a 1000 yen for a baby blowfish when you can win one with your UFO catching skills? Blogger sosonko found this fugu UFO catcher in a Shimokitazawa game center. I agree with his sentiment that the existence of this UFO catcher is very wrong. For starters, blowfish are very sensitive creatures and need careful handling. They are easily agitated and even minor changes in the environment, such as switching off lights in the room can cause stress. When they are stressed, they may react extremely by blowing up or attempting to jump out of water. Even though it's cute, blowing up is not a good thing because it takes an extreme toll on their bodies and shortens their lifespan. (by Emily Co)

Link

Related stories:
Ice cream UFO catcher
Another ridiculous UFO catcher scenario

16-year old wins Japanese chess championship

This is Kana Satomi. She's a 16-year old high school student who just won the national title for best female shogi player in the world. She beat out 39-year old defending champ Ichiyo Shimizu in the Okayama tournament on Sunday. The youngest girl ever to win this title was Naoko Hayashiba, who was 14 when she kicked everyone's butt in 1982.

Previously, I blogged about Beni Takeyama, an expert shogi player who is only eight years old! She is probably still making her way up the ranks of Japanese chess. Or maybe she's way too young to compete.

Link

I'm playing Super Obama World

Since today is election day, I'm going to sit at my desk and play Super Obama World. I've always loved Mario, but this is even better. The new (maybe) president jumping over pigs and gathering American flags. Whee!

Play Super Obama World online (Thanks, Jenna!)

Another ridiculous UFO catcher scenario

And while we're on the topic of silly food you can win from a UFO catcher, here are some fake fried fish (or is it squid?) cakes made to look like the non-existent 100 million yen bill.

Ice cream UFO catcher

It makes sense (kinda) to go to a video game arcade and spent 1000 yen (ten bucks) trying to win a stuffed Pikachu. But this takes claw catchers to a whole new inexplicable, nonsensical level. Why would you spend more than 100 yen to try to win an ice cream cone that you know is 100 yen at the store across the street?

Prime Minister Aso to be featured in an erotic video game

A new erotic video game that's coming out next year called "Love me seriously!" is rumored to have a character modeled after our new Prime Minister Taro Aso. As you can see here, he looks a lot like the guy, and his height (175cm) and hobbies (shooting guns) also match the PM's profile. I think his job is specified as prime minister, too.

Of course, there's a disclaimer saying that any similarities to real characters are pure coincidence. Fair enough. But this rumor has triggered a lot of buzz on 2channel, and I think it's fair to say it surprises nobody that erotic game makers would want to celebrate the anime-loving politician in this way.

Link (Japanese)

Takahashi Meijin, the first gamer geek ever

Before gamer geeks became a dime a dozen, there was Takahashi Meijin. Takahashi was hugely famous and all over TV from the mid-to-late 80s because he was so good at every Family Computer games. Game software company Hudson actually hired him under the title "Meijin" (or expert)—his job was just to be really, really good at all their games. He can push a button with his finger 16 times per second. If you watch him play, he has absolutely no wasted movements—not even an extra blink, ever!

In this video, he says: "I'm actually pretty clumsy. It's possible that you might be better at the next new game than me." It shows his life story—born in Sapporo, dropped out of college, got a job at a supermarket, then eventually became a game software salesperson in Akihabara. He decided it would help him be a better salesman if he was good at the games, so he went home and practiced until he became the world's first gaming expert. (Thanks, Baker!)

New Wii Game Turns You Into a Food Fighter

Major League Eating is a new Wii game coming out in Japan on October 14. It's like any other sports game, except the contestants must compete in an eating contest. The idea is to use the Wiimote to carry food to your mouth as fast as you can; along the way, you can pick up items like farts and burps.

The star of the game? Takeru Kobayashi, of course. Joey Chestnut, the dude who beat him for the last two years in a row at the Coney Island hot dog eating contest, is in it too. It's the first video game ever featuring the world's best food fighters.

No word yet as to whether you can shoose to be 22-year old cutsey super eater  Gal Sone. She's my favorite.

via Impress Watch (Japanese)

Silver Heart-Shaped DS Stylus for the Fancy Gamer

Are you a glamorous-at-heart game addict who wishes there was a little bit more flair to your console? I've seen people put fake diamond stickers all over their DS Lite, but this silver heart-shaped stylus takes fancy to a whole new level. You have to admit that the light blue box with the off-center heart and leather strap is reminiscent of a gift from Tiffany's.

Real Bricks Shaped Like Game Boys

Hard core gamers might want to consider building their next house out of these meticulously carved Game Boy bricks. Each one costs about $30, but it's the exact same size as a Game Boy. More pics after the jump.

Tezuka's Phoenix Manga Now Available on DS

I've always wanted to read Osamu Tezuka's classic manga anthology, Phoenix, but it goes for volumes and volumes and would take up too much room in my bag. Well, now, a company called Compile Heart has collaborated with Tezuka Productions and Nintendo to create a DS software that includes the graphic novel in its entirety. It's in Japanese, of course, but what a genius idea to put novels on a DS cartridge, right?

If you prefer the English version in print, it's been published by Viz Media.

Link

New: Customizable Game of Life

Starting in April, board game geeks in Japan will be able to order their very own customized Game of Life from Takara Tomy. Several themed boards will be rolled out over the course of the year. The first will be the Bridal Version. You can put a big picture of you and your sweetheart on the board, and decide what 56 of the 99 boxes on the board say.

Example:
"Taro buys an engagement ring for Hanako. Pay $50,000."
"Taro and Hanako have twins. Collect $1,000."
"Taro cheats on Hanako with his hot young secretary. Pay $2,000 for an apology ring."
"Hanako leaves Taro, and takes all his bank funds with her. Taro pays Hanako $100,000."

The release is timed in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Game of Life in Japan—with less board game competition here, it's really pretty popular. The custom board takes a month and a half to make and costs about $350.

Link (Japanese)

Mole Bashing Game

This is a pic of me playing mogura tataki. What is this game called in English again? I can't remember. Mole hunting? Anyway, these arcade versions are alright, but by far the best mogura tataki game ever is on the New Super Mario Brothers cartridge for Nintendo DS Lite. It's one of the mini-games, and in addition to trying to hit as many moles as you can, you have to avoid the Luigi heads that occasionally pop up between them. Tricky!

Sega's New Samurai Game for PS3

Sega's new PS3 game titled "Ryu Ga Gotoku" is action-packed warring samurai goodness. It features the faces and voices of some pretty big-name actors and music by hip-hop artist Zeebra. It comes out March 6, 2008 in Japan. More images after the jump.

License Plate Number Game

When I was a kid and my dad would take us on road trips up to Karuizawa, my brother and I played the license plate number game. The rules are simple: Using basic math, make the four digits on the license plate equal 10.

In this case, you could do:

1+2+3+4=10

or

1x2x3+4=10

or

2x4+(3-1)=10

and so on.

Did anyone else play this game? Is it just in Japan or worldwide?

Raise Your Own Poop Desktop App

The latest variation of electronic pet is a piece of shit on your desktop that you have to feed, take care of, and watch grow. Pretty much the same as a Tamagochi, except it lives on your computer and it's not conventionally cute. (Although a LOT of Japanese people will find this kind of swirly poo—called makiguso—"cute," which is why this app exists in the first place."

If you can somehow guess your way through the instructions (it's a simple download), you can get your own baby poop here.

via Zaeega

Mario Music Art Made With MIDI

Some guy used electronic music protocol MIDI to make art out of Mario music. Awesome!

Link

Happy Belated Birthday PlayStation 3!

Sony's PlayStation 3 console turned 1 yesterday. To celebrate, the PR people sent all the tech journalists a giant PS3 sheet cake. Lucky me, I got to eat from two PS3 cakes, one at Wired and one at Gizmodo HQ. My homeboys at Giz, Adrian and Brian, even had a b-day party for theirs. (They invited Xbox and Wii, lol.)

New Wii Ski Game—Awesome!

I haven't played it yet, but somehow I just feel that I am going to love this game. It's a ski game for the Wii developed by Bandai Namco, called Family Ski. Using the Wiimote and nunchuck as poles, you can zoom down all kinds of terrain—glaciers, moguls, half-pipes. And you even get to customize your avatars—pick one of 24 faces and combine them with your own look: cool t-shirt skier, the trendy matching ski bunny, or the serious slalom racer.

More pics after the jump.

Truth-or-Dare Meets Pick-Up Stix in a Champagne Bottle

Need a fun game for your next adults-only party? This beautifully designed game from Takara Tomy combines two classic party games—Truth or Dare and Pick-Up Stix—into one, then puts it all together with retro Keith Haring-esque figurines and a bottle of champagne. Here's how it works:

1. Put all the figurines inside the champange bottle.
2. Detach the bottleneck and pour out the figurines into one pile.
3. 1st player must remove one figurine without activating the clicker that's embedded in each one.
4. 2nd player does the same; and so on.
5. If the player makes a figurine click, he must answer the question written on it.

The questions range from deeply personal (What's the worst thing you've ever done? Describe your first love—what was it like?) to constructive and opinionated (What's one thing the opposite sex does that you can't stand? What do you think we should do after this game?).

Right now there's only a Japanese version, which hit stores in October for just $13.

Product page (Japanese)

Robot Rock Paper Scissors

Pop Quiz: Who do you think won this janken (rock-paper-scissors) match?

A. The human, because scissors can't cut rock
B. The robot, because robot hands can cut anything
C. Neither

Photo courtesy of Yahoo! News

Street Fighter IV Trailer

Wow! Street Fighter IV is coming out—Capcom just announced it. Look how cool it is! Apparently it isn't going to hit stores til late 2008 (at the earliest!) but still... the trailer was enough to get me excited.

I used to play a lot of Street Fighter II back in the day. I even named our family dog Ryu (he passed away this year).

(Thanks, Ken!)

DS Health Game to be Sold in Drug Stores

For the first time ever in world history, a video game will be sold at drug stores. Starting November 15th, Drug Segami, a drug store chain, will be carrying a Nintendo DS Lite game in stores all over the country. It's called "Kenko Kentei" and it letts players log their health info and recommends exercises and dietary regimes. The software was developed by Yudo, a company started by the guys who created Beatmania and DDR.

Link (Japanese)

Test Your Japanese News IQ On a Virtual DS

What was Shinzo Abe's catch phrase? Where's the newest, coolest airport in Japan? Test your knowledge of the Japanese news online on this virtual Nintendo DS Lite game created by Mainichi and Sega.

It's in Japanese, but if you're up for the challenge, click here.

 

(Thanks, Rog!)

Air Guitar Game With Cool Songs Now Available in the US

Remember our reigning Air Guitar champ, Mr.  Yosuke Ochi? (Check out his award-winning performance here.) Well, now you can aspire to be just like him with Takara Tomy's Air Guitar game. It has 10 popular American and Japanese songs—Aerosmith, Deep Purple, The Blue Hearts, Southern All Stars—and tracks your performance using infrared rays coming out of the bottom of the controller.

And the great news is, you can now buy it in the US.

If anyone does end up buying it, send me some videos of you playing so I can put them up on the site!

Product page
Related story

Social Networking Site for Mahjongg Fanatics

There's a new social networking site in Japan called "Nani Kiru," which is aimed specifically towards mahjongg fanatics hoping to bond across the fuzzy green table and online. You register, log in, and then you answer a series of questions related to the game (i.e. what moves you would make when faced with specific situations). You can even make your own questions for others to answer, and then see how people respond on message boards. It sounds simple and very niche, but apparently tons of people have been anticipating the launch of such a site. More features and apps to come as the site ages.

Link (Japanese)

Statetris: Tetris Game Tests Your Geography Skillz

How well do you know your prefectures? Try your hand at Statetris Japan, the online Tetris-meets-geography game. It's really fun! As you can see from my feeble attempt above, I am having trouble figuring out where Saga Prefecture is supposed to go.

Play the game (Thanks, Raymond!)

Air Musician = Megahouse's New Portable Air Guitar Game

OMG! I'm not entirely clear on how this game works, but toymaker Megahouse is releasing its first Air Guitar player at the end of the month. It comes in three colors combos—silver and pink, blue and white, red, and gray—and has songs like Lenny Kravitz' Are You Gonna Go My Way and Deep Purple's Black Night on it. How cool is that? It's only $15. I want one!

Product Page (Japanese)

New Red & Black DS Lite

Look! A red and black Nintendo DS Lite, coming October 4th.

Product page (Japanese)

Hentai Anime Sex Video Game (?)

Here's a trailer to an alleged hentai sex video game. As the YouTube commenters intelligently point out, it gives you no clue as to how you play the game. But the music is good, and so are the angled shots of giant animated boobies.

Arm Wrestling Game Breaks Arms

This arm-wrestling game might look harmless, but watch out! The whole series has been recalled by its distributor, Atlus Co., because several overenthusiastic gamers broke their arms trying to beat their plastic competitor.

The AP reports:

Players of "Arm Spirit" advance through 10 levels, battling a French maid, drunken martial arts master and a Chihuahua before reaching the final showdown with a professional wrestler.

Hmm. Maybe you don't need to twist your arm so hard to beat a Chihuahua, guys. In any case, Arm Spirit has been taken off the market, for now, as a precaution.

(Thanks, James!)

Paint-by-Sudoku Puzzle Book

I thought the Sudoku craze might have peaked and subsided by now, but no. I was just combing through Vertical Inc's catalog when I saw this book, titled: Oekaki: Paint by Sudoku. It works exactly as it sounds—by solving Sudoku puzzles of varying degrees of difficulty, you end up drawing pictures of things like geisha girls and the Statue of Liberty. Sound like something you or your Sudoku-obsessed mother would want for her birthday? You can buy the book here.