K-News

Bon Giorno

2011-04-25T19:54:00.002-04:00

Nearly 5 months since I last posted anything on here.

I've bought a shedload more games, including 2 (yes, two) 3DS systems - one Canadian and one Japanese. I shall NOT be without my 3D SRW fix!!

Picked up Conduit 2 earlier, might post some opinions if I can find some.

Toodles.

Linkage

2010-12-04T01:14:00.000-05:00

TV Tokyo

Whu...?

2010-06-18T14:20:00.001-04:00

So today I got a bunch of blurays in the post from Criterion.

...I didn't order these.

What the hell???

Draino

2010-06-08T20:31:00.001-04:00

Don't use it, get someone in to clean your drains instead.

That is all.

The Quantum Strikes Back!

2010-04-21T17:21:00.002-04:00

Not really.

Quantum properties of light being used to send encrypted data? Sound like the perfect thing for P2P software!

News Scientist

The Lord of Elemental remake -> DS

2010-03-13T17:34:00.004-05:00

Ah sweet news, released under the title Super Robot Taisen Gaiden Masoukishin on the SNES (or SFC more accurately), Super Robot Taisen OG Saga Masoukishin - The Lord of Elemental is coming to the Nintendo DS on May 27th 2010.

Not up for pre-order on Amazon Japan yet :(
Perhaps this is one that will make it out of Japan?

Neppuu! Shippuu! Cybuster!

Famitsu, official site.

GTSdll and Media Player Classic

2010-03-09T01:01:00.002-05:00

Bloody annoying. Trying to get GTSdll to work with MPC so that I could use /mpcaud to output details of what I'm playing on MPC to mIRC.

Problem: GTSdll outputs to EVERY channel I'm in. I don't want that, I only want it to do it to the channel I type it in.

/aud -c [channel|window] = nothing
/mpcaud -c etc. = nothing
Helpful hints on the support site? No.

Solution? Yes.

/vid

Me: happy.

Hope this helps someone else out there too.

Zelda Hints #3

2009-12-12T01:15:00.002-05:00

In the top of the tower, floor 20, place the one shooter pointing at the target on the wall to the right and climb on zelda to place the second one on the wall where the door opens when triggered by the target. Timing is everything. Stand on the outcrop near the target and shoot the closest shooter, then guess and shoot the second one. This will open the door.

When fighting Byrne, link AND zelda must dodge his claw to start, then zelda must grab it and pull him down for link to hit him. When Byrne attacks at floor level, he'll pull back and lunge for you. Block this attack with zelda and hit him from behind again.

Zelda hints #2

2009-12-10T23:53:00.002-05:00

In the Fire Temple, position the diagonal shooter on the bottom jet facing the righthand jet, the straight shooter on the righthand jet facing the target, and the platform - and yourself - on the lefthand jet. Shoot the switch with an arrow, then the diagonal shooter, then the target in front of you.

Zelda hints #2

2009-12-10T17:02:00.002-05:00

Cuccos are bought from the guy in the castle town and sold to the guy in Aboda village.
The kids from Aboda village who wants to "fly like a bird in the sky" will go off with Beedle.
The Anouki who makes Mega Ice needs to go to Wellspring station.
You get the wood for the fence in Anouki village from Aboda village.

More trains

2009-12-09T00:24:00.004-05:00

Now then, to get to the Snow Temple, you have to go to the house near Wellspring station and check the map on the table. Then go and find the photographer (listen for the shutter noise) who will show you the correct route traversing the tracks through the blizzard to get to the Snow Temple.

動画の最後に着いた駅に行って、ある家に入って、机の上にある地図を見て。電車ヲタクに居る場所を分かる。カメラのシャッターの音が聞こえるところに止まって、彼は吹雪を抜けて道を教えてくれる。

Zelda: spirit tracks

2009-12-08T22:28:00.000-05:00

PSP2 account suspension

2009-12-08T10:48:00.002-05:00

SEGA, nice work. This notice is warning to anyone in breach of online terms and conditions that they will have their account PERMANENTLY suspended.

HA-HA-HA! [/no_sympathy]

Space Invaders Extreme Z

2009-11-04T00:45:00.003-05:00

woo! Looks like I don't have to bother tracking down SIE2 as this is coming to DSiWare in the near future.

http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1229154_1124.html

Phantasy Star Portable 2 demo

2009-10-31T19:53:00.002-04:00

Yep, it's up:
http://dl.segaonline.jp/PSP2_special_trialware.zip

And not bad at all. I'm kind of tempted to go back to the first one now...

Nintendo's Annual Report

2009-08-25T22:05:00.000-04:00

Direct link. Right click and save.

Phantasy Star Portable 2 online!

2009-08-25T14:38:00.001-04:00

Now 100% confirmed my SEGA Japan.

Now let's start calling it PSP2O just to be confusing.

SEGA

Super Robot Taisen NEO video

2009-08-22T23:17:00.002-04:00

Banpresto/BandaiNamco have put up a promo video for the first SRW game on the Wii.

Watch it here.

Phantasy Star Portable 2

2009-08-22T22:06:00.002-04:00

Oh yes, and looking much more like PSO of old. Which can only be a good thing.

Famitsu

Out December 3rd in Japan. The rest of the world? Probably <8 months if the first one is anything to judge by.

MH3 confirmed for Europe and North America

2009-08-03T12:31:00.003-04:00

On the official Capcom Europe site there is now confirmation that MH3 WILL be coming out in English next year. Will they be charging for network play like they do for the Japanese version? Probably (not). Who knows.

I'll be well pissed if they don't.

Thanks to InvisibleKid on the NTSC-UK forums for pointing that out that news.

Funny wifi

2009-07-24T19:18:00.000-04:00

Nice names guys, really.

Capcom HATE/love

2009-07-20T15:43:00.003-04:00

Yep, they're charging for MH3's online mode.

Just to tease us they also give purchasers 20 days of free online play. That's 33% more than we got for MHGii.
The prices are the same as Gii too,
30 days for 800 points*
60 days for 1500 points*
90 days for 2000 points*

*Unlike other places, in Japan Nintendo points equate exactly with money.

Let's break that down:
26.7 yen/day
25 yen/day
22.3 yen/day

So let's be honest, there's very little difference between signing up every 30 days or every 60.

As much as I hate the idea of paying to play online, I'll probably be doing it. At least for the free 20 days.

Official site (click the 20)

Ha-ha! I'm back!

2009-07-12T10:26:00.001-04:00

Left Japan, moved to Canada.
Shame I won't be able to buy all those cool games at such good prices anymore but that's okay.
I still have a good friend sending me a copy of Monster Hunter 3 after it comes out.

Black Wii! MH3!

2009-06-04T01:54:00.002-04:00

So on the 1st of August the second Wii colour will appear in Japan, but probably sell out VERY quickly - it's bundled with Monster hunter 3 and a matching black Classic Controller PRO.
The DS, DSlite and DSi have done it many times before, but this is the first outing for a special colour Wii.

33'000yen

Importers will need even deeper pockets this time...

Famitsu

There will also be two different CCPRO packs available - black and white. Get whichever you want to go with your Wii. 8490yen a piece with a special monster head. Grrreat.

Super Robot Gakuen

2009-05-15T07:51:00.003-04:00

Hmm. Interesting one this.
Announced in Famitsu today and apparently 90% complete, it's a school adventure game with Super Robo-battles.
How that's going to work is anyone's guess. Naturally I'll be buying it.

Famitsu

Monster Hunter 3! August 1st! CONFIRMED!

2009-05-14T20:21:00.004-04:00

Yes! It's true! The long-awaited and much-anticipated MH3 will be available to Japanese gamers from August 1st.
Currently occupying 1st- and 5th-place on Amazon.co.jp's games sales ranking with the Classic Controller PRO pack and standalone games respectively.

Both come with a monster head figure. Nice.

e-Capcom also has a special edition with a CD of the music performed at the recent 5th Anniversary concert and a "Making of MH3" DVD.

Famitsu
MH3 Official Site

And the bad news...Network play WILL be chargeable. Thanks Capcom.

TTGL Guren-hen

2009-04-28T14:56:00.002-04:00

Happy days for me!
I've just finished the TL for AnCo^2's release of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Guren-hen (天元突破グレンラガン：紅蓮篇)
Hopefully the team will be able to time and encode it in a few days/a week.
I'm looking forward to it!

Monster Hunter 3 demo! VIDEO!!

2009-04-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

I rock.

Wii no Ma

2009-04-22T22:16:00.003-04:00

Nintendo just released the date that their "Wii no Ma" service will begin in Japan.

May 1st.

The DSi version will also be downloadable from the DSi Shop on the same day so that you can transfer...whatever it is across. Videos. That's it.

Yay?

Looks to be completely free, and sponsored by various companies who will also send you free samples when you request them (also via the service).

Next week might be interesting...

Linky

MHGii Countdown: 2

2009-04-21T08:26:00.004-04:00

Yep, only 2 days left! I just went to Lawson to pay for my copy.
4230yen well spent. I love Amazon sometimes. SOMETIMES.

Though it is rather annoying that they don't send you the notice that you should go to the combini and pay for an order until long after it's ready.

My advice to you all: check you order history page with undispatched items. If your item is ready to go, the payment code will be there.

Mugen Kouro - Infinite Space

2009-04-20T19:56:00.003-04:00

One I've had my eye on since it was announced. The preview at TGS was rather interesting too:

Out on June 11th.

MHGii Countdown: 4...3

2009-04-20T08:45:00.002-04:00

Er, posting a little late today...sorry.

Any new info? Not really...I'm waiting for my paying code for Amazon Japan so I can walk to the Lawson down the road and pay for it.

Oh, it is compatible with USB keyboards for multiplayer chat apparently.

Takoyaki!

2009-04-19T09:48:00.003-04:00

The wife bought me this today.
Not bad for a thousand yen.
It does list one of it's features as an on/off switch though...hmm...

たこ焼き食いてぇなぁ！

MHGii Countdown: 5

2009-04-18T20:04:00.003-04:00

5 days until Monster Hunter Gii, and more importantly the trial version of Monster Hunter 3 hits the shelves in Japan.

In the meantime I'm keeping busy by playing MH2ndG on my PSP. And churning out some translations for the Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass manga.

Rock on.

MH Gii adverts

2009-04-13T19:04:00.001-04:00

An update to the Monster Hunter Gii website yesterday gave us not one, not two but three CM spots with Puukii and Airuu yapping about the game.

Clicky.

Hurrah for SRW K!

2009-04-10T10:32:00.002-04:00

Forgot to mention that Super Robot Taisen K was the best selling game on the week of release according to Famitsu/Enterbrain.

...Then got bumped down to #2 when MS Gundam Senjou no Kizuna Portable was released for the PSP. Typical.

Takt of Magic

2009-04-08T07:53:00.000-04:00

Appeared today on Nintendo of Japan's release schedule for May 21st.

From: Nintendo/TAITO
Genre: Magic/Action/Strategy
Price: 5800yen
Wifi compatible.

Main site.

Oh and...

2009-04-07T19:57:00.001-04:00

15 days to Monster Hunter Gii!!

http://www.capcom.co.jp/monsterhunter/G/

To be honest I'll probably play the 3 demo first...

SRW:K fall out...

2009-04-07T19:52:00.002-04:00

Damn it. It always happens.
Super Robot Taisen W is directly responsible for me watching (and thoroughly enjoying) Yuushaoh GaoGaiGar and now K is having the same effect. This time I'm starting with The Legend of Daiku Maryu Gaiking and Soukyuu no Fafner.

...Next I'll be watching SEED Destiny again...

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2009-04-07T19:49:00.003-04:00

May I present...The Banana Keeper!

Found that in my local Shop99. Designed to protect your banana from getting bashed about in your bag!

Phantasy Star Zero-mini

2009-03-19T10:36:00.003-04:00

Oh. Interesting idea SEGA.

PSZ-m

A chopped-down version of PSZ for DSiWare that only costs 200yen. Users can challenge the first level of the real thing using one of the characters from the storymode.
That means:
No character creation
No rare weapons/etc.

Also:
No co-op with PSZ players...and no download play either.

And no online.

Shame.

Still, 200yen...

Nintendo of Japan's May Release Schedule

2009-03-17T08:53:00.002-04:00

Hello!

Wow. What a crap month. At least "Ougon no Kizuna" is looking good right now...Roll on May 28th.

More Gii info

2009-03-11T22:19:00.000-04:00

I was just looking over the main site and they have a tiny amount of actual detail about the network mode.

So there will be several areas that hunters can go to depending on their level and ability and from there you can gather other hunters or search from friends.
The screenshots show a "friend list" option but no "add friend". Fingers crossed you can just hook up with randoms and go hunting.

Monster Hunter Gii online charges

2009-03-11T10:23:00.002-04:00

Prices made clear:

30 days = 800 points
60 days = 1500 points
90 days = 2000 points

Famitsu.

So that's how much you'll have to pay to play with your friends. Assuming you have some.
Friend codes? Maybe not. We'll find out in April I suppose.

Macross Ace Frontier - extra missions

2009-03-03T17:07:00.002-05:00

http://b.bngi-channel.jp/psp_macross/

Extra missions. Hurrah.

SD memory!

2009-02-26T20:44:00.003-05:00

Wow! Hot on the heels of the new Classic Controller PRO comes even more accessory news from Nintendo!

A 2GB SD card (yes! 2 whole GB!) is being release sometime in March.

Perhaps this is to coincide with the promised update to let us have more memory!?

New date for SRW:K

2009-02-26T00:37:00.001-05:00

And no, it's not Excellen...

It's March 20th!

Thus we can be enjoying more SupaRobo goodness 2 weeks sooner.

Happy days!

Classic Controller PRO

2009-02-25T23:21:00.004-05:00

Yes. We NEED more controllers. Thanks Nintendo.

Announced today, due in the Summer. Price TBA.
Kryss is guessing 2700yen or thereabouts.

Linky

SRW:K Site up

2009-01-22T05:30:00.002-05:00

Was actually on the 19th but I must have been asleep.

Official site

No movie yet, so no confirmation of any character voices yet...Sadly.

Monster hunter G update

2009-01-20T08:23:00.002-05:00

Amazon Japan is now taking preorders on the standard version for 3222yen.
The special pack with the controller has yet to be put up for sale.

Gurren Lagann: Gurren-hen DVD!

2009-01-20T08:17:00.002-05:00

Official news.

Today GAINAX confirmed that the first of the two TTGL movies would be released on DVD 3 days before the second movie opens on April 25th.

For the calendar-impaired, that means April 22nd.

The Special Edition will set you back 7000yen(ish) and the standard is 5000(ish).

Another case of wallet-rape.

An epic week

2009-01-16T08:09:00.004-05:00

Not only did this week see the confirmation of the release date of Monster Hunter G for the Wii as April 23rd, but Famitsu also had a 5-page spread on the latest Super Robot Taisen game - K - for the DS, and reported it's release date as April 2nd.

April is going to be a busy month.

Monster Hunter G official site

The only downside (as I posted on NTSC-uk) is that Capcom seemed to have made the online play chargable.

*sigh*

Hisashiburi ~ !

2008-11-03T20:15:00.003-05:00

Back!

Been absent for a while, couldn't really be bothered with blogging to be honest.

Recent news:

Got a new PSP-2000 (piano black) and Avalon Code for DS arrived. Currently enjoying both.

News-pinching and other stuff

2008-07-24T20:07:00.002-04:00

So...who was the first to post about the new Datel retro controller for the Wii?
Google it and find out. Odds are the blogs you find will lead back to VCReviews. I wonder where they got the information from?

The joy and curse of the Internet is the anonymity it bestows. This means you can pass off others' hardwork/research/lucky finds as your own. Pricks.

Do I care? Not really, I'll be selling a few of these to make a little cash on the side and this is only publicity. Nice one guys, I can hear the money now...

PSO the Return

2008-06-23T19:59:00.003-04:00

You know I mildly dislike Facebook (see here) but for once it has proved worthwhile. Via it I've managed to hook up with my old PSOlife forumites and we're planning to get our GameCubes back online and playing.

Should be good!

Wall-crawling car

2008-06-21T06:24:00.006-04:00

Very pretty eh?

This RC car uses a fan to suction on to walls or the ceiling and can then drive along them quite happily. Just be sure to be there when the batteries are running out...

Amazon Japan has it priced at 3950yen (MRP 4725yen) and slated for an October 2008 release.

Via Ota-suke

42 days!

2008-06-19T10:52:00.001-04:00

...to the new incarnation of Phantasy Star comes out on the PSP!
I'll be placing my order tomorrow...

(spent today on Mugen no Frontier again btw)

Mugen no Frontier stole my day off

2008-06-18T07:44:00.002-04:00

Well what can I say? I was starting to get into it and BAM! I'm addicted. Even managed to kill the battery in my DS lite today and it's only just finished charging...back to it in a min!

Rune Factory 2 update

2008-06-15T05:35:00.003-04:00

I was just reading some past posts and realised that I hadn't actually updated my current play-status on RF2.

Well, I go married a few days ago. My bride is Mana, the daughter of Douglas, the guy who owns the shop and who lent me the farm.

I'm not exactly new to the Harvest Moon games, but I've never really had time to play them to infinity. However, I'm kind of surprised that I managed to get married on the 19th day of Summer in the first year of my farming life. But there you go.

Otaku

2008-06-14T19:41:00.003-04:00

This is a response to this thread on the Gamplay.co.uk forum, as the bloody forum won't let me post it for some reason:

The article on Wikipedia explains it well.

otaku = house
Also used as an old pronoun similar to "you" (some characters in Animal Crossing use it)

Japanese otaku-subculture = Single man, works too much, can't get a girlfriend so obsesses over a certain (or many) anime character/series. These are the people who are more likely to play adult computer games.
Because of the wide appeal of video games, I believe it's only recently that the word has become associated with video games and technology due to the presence of all of these things in Akihabara - the place where many people say otaku go because that's what TV told them and so it became true. Otaku are still looked down on in Japan, not that they would say that to their faces though.

Otaku in the rest of the world = technogeek

I did once briefly consider explaining this to Kotaku when I was trying to get a job there, but I decided they'd never listen to me.

On a language note, it's interesting that this word has been slightly corrupted as there are many many more examples in Japanese where an English word has lost it's original meaning and now means something completely different.

Rune Factory 2

2008-04-16T09:25:00.001-04:00

Finally broke this out today and did more than just watch the opening sequence -
I named my character and farm.

It's a start anyway.

Smash Brothers

2008-01-30T22:09:00.000-05:00

Managed get a copy after queueing outside BIC Camera in Kashiwa for about 20 minutes. Not bad.

The game is great fun. Naturally I lost my first Wifi game...but won the first bet I put on a game - nice. A return to Japan's obsession with gambling.

From my youtube site:
www.youtube.com/kryss101010

The hour approaches...

2008-01-30T09:56:00.000-05:00

On the way into work today I swung by my local BIC Camera to look for any Smash Bros-related nonsense to be greeted by a "Reservations no longer being taken" sign. Actually it read: 予約は終了致しました = Reservations finished.

I obviously jumped to the conclusion that it wasn't a good sign for my chances of getting a copy tomorrow.

Bugger.

I'll still be trying as if I didn't I would never be able to forgive myself. Well, I probably could, but it would take at least 3 hours and a good go on the new Advance Wars game that arrived from Canada today.

So now I go to bed, anxiously awaiting the morning and the coming disappointment...

Wind Waker Manga

2008-01-29T07:56:00.001-05:00

On a non-video games related note, I finished the translation of the final chapter of the Wind Waker 4koma manga earlier. AnCo^2 will be releasing chapter 8 in the next month or so.

o-tanoshimi kudasai!

January 31st cometh

2008-01-29T07:52:00.000-05:00

...as does 大乱闘スマシュブラザーズX (SSBB) on the Wii. And happy I shall be if I can get my not-so-grubby hands on a copy on release day.

I will be having to mug someone in the early hours of the morning to pay for it though, so sorry in advance to whoever is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Rest assured your money will be used for good.

March releases

2008-01-16T06:17:00.000-05:00

Great news folks! Well, for me anyway. The release schedule for March is now up on Nintendo Japan's official site.

Highlights
March 6th: Metroid Prime 3 (Wii)
March 13th: Transformers (Wii)
March 19th: House of the Dead 2&3 (Wii); Sim City 2 (DS)
March 27th: Nitro Bike (Wii); Kidou senshi gundam 00 (DS)

Me wa happy desu.

Same old story...

2008-01-16T06:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I knew it was too good to be true

No delays on SBX...until 10 days before release.
10 days!

Now we have to wait an extra week before it's out. Ah well.

Where the hell have you been?!

2007-12-16T20:57:00.000-05:00

Ah, a good question.
Troubles with work have kept me busy for a few months but now it's all settling down in time for Christmas. Yay!

So what will I be up to over the Christmas period? Working. Christmas day and Boxing day off, back to work 27th, on holiday from the 28th and back at work from the 4th of January.
I still have a HUGE number of games I haven't played yet and even more that I haven't completed. First on the list of games to complete is of course Mario Galaxy. Then I have to start No More Heroes (which is actually a Christmas present hence why I'm not already playing it).

Busy, busy, busy.
That brings us to January's releases... The only two really worth mentioning are Rune Factory 2 and Smash Brothers Brawl, or 大乱闘スマッシュブラザーズＸ in Japanese (dairantou smash brothers X) out January 3rd and 24th repectively.
Was I just going to let SBX come out and not get a good go on it? Hell no! I arranged for the day off work so I can spend it honing my skills and posting videos on youtube to make everyone want the game even more.

But let's enjoy Christmas first eh?

True and CHEAP global roaming

2007-09-18T01:47:00.000-04:00

Cubic Telecom (Ireland) have announced the MAXroam SIM card which can be linked to up to 50 local numbers and so can be used anywhere in the world. The best part is that they claim to have negotiated the cheapest prices in any country you might find yourself. The handset that they are also pushing is both GSM and VoIP capable.

Sounds cheap but will it work in Japan?

Engadget

Media Center remote access upgrade

2007-09-18T01:40:00.000-04:00

If you have a Media Center PC then you need WebGuide in your life. By linking to your MCPC via the internet WebGuide lets you programme your TV recordings and watch them back wherever you are. It was $18 dollars but now it's completely free...to MC users.

CEPro via Engadget

SILVIA, make us a coffee...

2007-09-18T01:23:00.001-04:00

The days of robot maids are still far away, but every day we get closer. SILVIA is an "artificial intelligence platform", i.e. software-robot, created by Cognitive Code. The firm is working on adapting the software for many different devices, such as some high-end cell phones and PDAs. Engadget hopes for robots, but I think AI chat-lines will come first.

Engadget

Big Brother helps out

2007-09-18T00:40:00.000-04:00

Not really the same as what we saw in the book/movie 1984, but a little more helpful. Sprint Nextel has said it will be offering Microsoft a user-locale based search program to make finding shops/etc locally easier. By using the location of the cell phone relative to nearby antenna it can give users more relavent results. Couple this with the use of voice recognition technology, where a person need only say "beer" to find a convenience store for example, and you're onto a winner. Probably.

This all depends on the area the user is in, so some places will be better than others. If they could also link this to navigation guide you be going that one step further.

REUTERS

Triops takes your picture

2007-09-18T00:10:00.000-04:00

The Triops is certainly an interesting idea. To have three cameras 120 degrees apart so you can take some wonderful panorama shots when you're off on vacation...though it has yet to be released (if it ever will be).
It doesn't only take pictures when you push the shutter button though, it also responds to movement and sound. So you could leave it on in an old house and hope to catch some ghosts, get a 360-degree view of the living room while you and the wife/husband argue, or throw it at an annoying neighbor and capture the look on their face just before it hits.*
The Triops was a finalist in this year's BraunPrize.

* I cannot condone this kind of behaviour.

BraunPrize via Engadget

Wifi cell home

2007-09-17T23:40:00.000-04:00

Sprint Nextel are releasing a wifi device called the Airave in order to boost the signal area of cell phones. How? By using customers' broadband internet connections and sending the calls over the internet. This will improve signal quality in homes because the signal doesn't have to travel through brick or concrete. It works for up to 3 handsets. They are also working on a model for businesses which would support more simultaneous calls.
The catch? $50 for the box and either $15 per person or $30 for the family package.

Perhaps this is what the subways should be looking into? Though you would need a compatible handset for it to work.
Yahoo via bbGadgets

Boosting US online digital music sales

2007-09-17T22:10:00.000-04:00

As the number of CDs sold gets fewer and fewer, record companies are getting friendlier and friendlier with the idea of selling tracks by their artists online - and even giving them away.

For those living in the US and Canada, Spiralfrog launched on Monday September 17th and promises free downloads. The site is ad-supported and has a deal with the Universal Music Group, promising to pay them $4.4million this November.

Amazon is also apparently launching a music download site sometime soon.

This is all to compete with the iTunes service, which dominates the legal downloads at the moment.

Greener Britain

2007-09-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

Well, this proposal will help towards that end at least. Monday saw a recommendation that the UK should aim for "carbon zero" and that all cars that use fossil fuels would become extinct by 2040.

Though the Liberal Democrats have not been in power in the UK in the last century, opposition parties should realise that it is not a problem that will go away and take notice.

BBC

Water-powered batteries

2007-09-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

Weird Asian News reports these as "pee-powered" batteries, though I can't see anywhere on the packaging the sign saying you HAVE to pee in them. "To use you just have to put water in" it says. It's nice idea, but they're only intended for use in small radios and LED lights.
Another fantastic Japan-only item.

Weird Asian News via Coolest-gadgets

Ice Cream for the depressed

2007-09-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

An excellent idea for cheering people up - an ice cream vendor that gives you a portion directly related to how sad you are! The sadder, the more ice cream you get.

So far there's no word on a release date or pricing for this but perhaps with these in an around Tokyo we'll be able to see some happier businesspeople.

WeMakeMoneyNotArt (E) via UberReview (E) via
Gizmodo Japan (J)

Bluestring pulls the strings together

2007-09-17T20:37:00.001-04:00

AOL, owned by Time Warner, are testing a new site which gives you a set disc space and lets you bring all your photos, music and videos from a multitude of sites and keep them together.

To view the site and peoples media on there you would not need an account, though obviously to gather all your bits and pieces you would need a (free) account. AOL has confirmed in a roundabout why that it will not be compatible with Youtube to start with.

REUTERS

Interactive websearching

2007-09-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Think beyond what we have now and to those computer systems they use in the movies. A prime example would be the computer from the recent film "Sunshine" which understands spoken English and responds in kind. It's perfect for searching for information and refining searches as you go.
A similar system is the dream of Powerset, a company hoping to bring us the next generation of search engine.

By learning from what it reads, the program will be able to locate the desired information much more efficiently than a standard web search. At least that's the idea. Powerset have yet to release the finished version but the public can sign up to their website for more details.

REUTERS

Gaming death

2007-09-17T20:05:00.000-04:00

After an apparent 3-day gaming session on the internet, a 30-year old man in Southern China collapsed and was declared dead at an internet cafe. The other customers in the cafe left soon after, shocked by what they'd seen.

CNN

Yahoo enter social-networking

2007-09-17T19:57:00.000-04:00

Yahoo is currently testing out a new social-networking service titled "Mash" and is hoping to break into the scene currently dominated by Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and others.

Will they have something up their sleeve to beat their rivals is the real question.

REUTERS

Microsoft hit by EU ruling

2007-09-17T07:53:00.000-04:00

Question: How many copies of Windows Vista can you buy for $689,900,000?
That's the fine that a European Commission slapped on Microsoft today for "anti-competitive conduct".

In brief:

Microsoft wouldn't release certain technical information about Windows, other companies had difficulties running it properly on their servers.

MS competitors felt it was unfair that the Windows operating system came with Windows Media Player. The EU court agreed and asked Microsoft to sell a version of Windows sans-WMP.

REUTERS

Non-stick chewing gum

2007-09-17T07:42:00.000-04:00

No, there is no teflon in this chewing gum...as far as the company developing "Rev7" have told anyone.
In an effort to help keep the streets cleaner, Revolymer, a company born out of Bristol University in England, have been working on a chewing that will come off things easier. It's claimed the result won't stick to anything.
The polymers used for this have yet to be approved by EU health and safety, though if completed with no problems it's possible that the gum could hit the shelves in 2008.
The question everyone will be asking is "How does it taste?" and apparently it tastes very similar to the chewing gum currently available.

BBC

SNES-PC hybrid nightmare?

2007-09-16T09:01:00.000-04:00

It's an interesting idea. Take a Super Nintendo, pull out the insides, slap in the workings of a PC...the put a SNES emulator on it...makes you wonder why eh?

Can't say that I wouldn't mind giving it a go myself, and there are enough secondhand consoles hanging around Akihabara. Just got to get onto translating the instructions...

Via Gizmodo Japan (Japanese) DIY SNES-PC (Japanese)

$100 Laptop...isn't

2007-09-15T06:36:00.000-04:00

It was a nice price in theory. The One Laptop per Child Foundation admitted back in May that the "$100" XO would cost $176 a piece. This has now been raised to $188.

The XO runs on the LINUX operating system and uses an AMD processor.

If they ever sell these directly to the general public I for one would be interested in buying one.

Japan Pic of the Week

2007-09-15T06:09:00.000-04:00

Yes, it does.

I've been trying to take this picture since I saw this on the train a few weeks ago.
This was taken on the Tsukuba Express (TX), one of Japan's newest trainlines, which opened in August 2005. It is the only trainline to and from Tsukuba (つくば市) in Ibaraki Prefecture, the scientific research capital of Kanto. It runs from there to Akihabara in a little as 38 minutes.
Just as the train pulled into Moriya (守谷) station the opportunity presented itself.

Super Mario Galaxy Japan Release Confirmed

2007-09-14T10:52:00.000-04:00

Finally.

Wii owners (although it was technically a week or so before the launch date) that played Super Mario Galaxy at Nintendo World in November of 2006 and that read today's Famitsu rejoiced* when they saw Nintendo has confirmed the Japanese launch date as November 1st.

Happy days are indeed here again, or will be from November 1st.

* This assumption was based on my own feelings of exuberant bliss when I stumbled across the less-than-half-an-A4 page article this afternoon.

Japan launches lunar probe

2007-09-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

4 years after the initial launch date, the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) have finally got "Kaguya" off the ground and into space.
Designed to orbit the Moon and gather a variety of data about it, JAXA hopes it will help to shed new light on its origins.

BBC JAXA

Japan video game sales for August 27th - Septmeber 2nd

2007-09-13T22:21:00.000-04:00

Let's have a look...

Hardware sales:

DS lite  101110 units
Wii       47639 units
PSP       21810 units
PS3       16816 units
PS2       15835 units
Xbox 360   2062 units
GBM         489 units
GBA SP      407 units
DS          138 units

Software sales:

DS      54.0%
PS2     20.8%
Wii     11.4%
PS3      7.5%
PSP      4.5%
Xbox 360 1.0%
Other    0.7%

Famitsu (graph on the left is software, graph on the right is hardware)

Robot maids soon-ish

2007-09-13T22:09:00.000-04:00

The aging population of Japan is a big problem. The Government is having to deal with both the falling birthrate and the increase on retirees. Without the future taxpayers how can they deal with all the elderly drawing pensions? A very difficult problem to deal with, as is finding a workforce to replace those people retiring.
Step in the robot maids. They clean at night - no overtime or extra pay. They don't ask questions, or complain, or take sick days (not that Japanese workers do anyway). They also don't get paid - and don't pay tax. Currently in use at Fuji Heavy Industries, and of course being researched by more companies than I care to name.

Reuters

UK game sales up 46%

2007-09-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

First I should say: nothing to do with me. My money goes to the Japanese video games market.

Sales of video games in the US were up 46% this August compared to last year. Recently, Sony cut the price of the P$3 but $100 to "just" $500, and Microsoft cut the Xbox 360 by $50 to $350. This saw sales fo the 360 up 63%...but sales of the P$3 down 18%. Sales of the Wii were down 5% from July but were still the same as the P$3 and the 360 combined.

Reuters

Growing AIs

2007-09-13T20:57:00.000-04:00

In the real world we learn by interacting with objects, people and the environment around us, so why not let Artifical Intelligence learn from interacting with a simulation of the real world?
A US firm called Novamente has developed software that does just this, but only for virtual pets at the moment. They're confident that there'll be a market for intelligent pets in life-simulation games like Second Life.

Transferring your Aibo's personality to and from Second Life anyone?

BBC

New Kohjinsha SA series

2007-09-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

I love Kohjinsha (工人舎), I really do. They make some really cool mini-laptops like the SH6KP10A which I paid ￥119'800 for at the end of July. 2 weeks later they released a version identical except for swapping out the 100GB HDD for a 32GB SSD and the price tag went up by ￥80'000.
Then they released a version with a faster processor and 120GB HDD. ￥129'800.
Now they've updated the older SA series (which uses XP rather than Vista) with a touch screen, faster processor and 120GB HDD for only ￥109'800.
Are they going to realise it's getting too difficult for consumers to choose? Why not just have a customisable laptop like DELL/etc. will make you?

Kohjinsha Official Site (Japanese)

Google Moon

2007-09-13T19:16:00.000-04:00

It was bound to be suggested by someone. Google and X-Prize have announced a $20million prize for the firm that lands a rover on the Moon, drives it around a bit, takes some video and a couple of nice pics.

There's a bonus if they can get to the Apollo lander, and if they can survive the Lunar night.

Time to start strapping your off-road RC cars to rockets boys.

BBC

iPhone i(partial)Refund

2007-09-13T19:08:00.000-04:00

Steve Jobs (great name) announced that people that paid $599 for their iPhones will be getting $100 store credit to spend at any Apple store.
Apple received hundreds of complaints after Apple cut the price of their 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399. Another case of the early bird that catches the worm gets burnt unfortunately.

I wonder if they sell stuffed Steve Jobs toys in Apple shops...

CNN

Sony actually sells some PSP (games)

2007-09-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

It took the release of Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core to do it but they may yet catch up to Nintendo's DS sales...

Famitsu has some good pics taken around Yodabashi Camera's Shinjuku Nishiguchi Honten in Tokyo. Hardly the queues we saw for the Wii or the PS3's release but not bad none the less (this is only a game remember).

The launch of the remodelled PSP is next week, and it'll be interesting to see the queues. I'll be watching avidly from the comfort of my sofa, wondering how many of the people queuing overnight will actually be Japanese...

Great use of Alka-seltzer

2007-09-13T09:29:00.000-04:00

Why use it to get rid your hangover when you can use it to study the behaviour of spherical water globules in micro-gravity?

I'm looking forward to the experiments involving beer...I personnally would LOVE to see what happens to the bubbles when there's no gravity to escape from.

Suckered in...finally

2007-09-13T09:19:00.000-04:00

Hardly breaking news.

I joined Facebook.

Now people I've happily avoided for years can pretend they like me from afar.
I can hardly wait.

Atom art shines

2007-09-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

IBM immortallised themselves more than a decade ago by writing their company logo in atoms. Now, 17 years later, to demonstrate their latest printing technique they've created a copy of Robert Fludd's Sun using 20'000 gold particles.

The smallest counterfeit reproduction ever? At 0.00000006 metres (60nm) in diameter, I think so.
There's no price tag for this image yet, though I highly doubt that IBM would sell it anyway.

BBC News