Ginza’s famous brands, fancy restaurants, and fashionable boutiques may appeal to many adults. But for a gang of young boys, none of them can hold a torch to the trusty old Game Boy Advance.
Ginza gaming
Games
Lineage lover loses out
A woman in her 30’s has been reported to the Fukushima District Prosecutors office for deleting her ex-boyfriend’s online game data. A crime she committed by obtaining the necessary username and password without consent.
Whilst the man didn’t suffer financially, he did lose lots of data that he’d collected over countless hours sat in front of his computer. Items such as weapons, clothes, and, erm, other such things. The game in question is “Lineageâ€, which includes characters like knights and magicians. Meaning I probably don’t need to go into anymore detail regarding the kind of data we are talking about here.
But as interesting as this is in a geeky kind of way (well, it is to me anyway), an added twist is that the man and woman actually met through the game. Although sadly their respective character names and status weren’t revealed.
Unfortunately the relationship didn’t last long, and has now resulted in this sorry state of affairs. Apparently the, ahem, magic just wasn’t there.
PSP passion
Yesterday saw the release of the Sony PSP, and as widely expected, the initial shipment was sold out by the end of the day. Perhaps even more predictable (despite a relatively low-key promotional campaign) were the lines of game enthusiasts lined up outside stores way before opening time.
The dedication of these people is shown in this picture I came across. The dark, cold, and ungodly hour appear to be only a minor hindrance compared to the shiny new handheld waiting inside.
And this young man’s beaming face proves that for him at least, the waiting and effort was undoubtedly worth it.
So with the PSP and the Nintendo DS now both out of the bag and enjoying equally brisk sales, it will be very interesting to see how the battle for handheld supremacy develops. Whilst I think there is room for both machines (as they appear to be targeting different audiences) there is also a great deal of overlap.
And with its sleek black design and surprisingly large screen, my money (for what it’s worth) is on the PSP.
PSP preservation
After a surprising lack of hype up to now, the Sony PSP bandwagon seems to be finally gathering a bit of speed. And at some of Tokyo’s busy stations, PSP’s are on rather prominent display.
Now it has to be said that whilst I was in Tokyo station, people weren’t exactly moving en masse to get a look at Sony’s new baby. But presumably wild and unruly crowds were expected, as security was tight.
X for Xbox
Microsoft’s first foray into console gaming might have been successful in other parts of the world, but in Japan the green and black machine has died a slow and agonizing death. Massive promotion and numerous price-cuts have done nothing to slow the consoles rapid fall.
Microsoft at least seem ready to accept defeat (for this generation of consoles anyway), and with very good reason too. It turns out the mighty PlayStation 2 has sold 48 units to every 1 Xbox. Now I’m no economist, but I’m guessing that’s not good for business.
Will the Xbox 2 fair any better? I guess that’s the question Xbox Japan must be asking. Lets be honest, it can’t do any worse. But personally I can’t se it doing that much better either. Time will tell…