More in our J-GAMES report: http://www.eurotechnology.com/store/jgames/
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Category: games
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Why are keitai so hot in Japan?
Innovations in Japan’s mobile phone sector
Why is Japan’s telecommunications sector leading?
Seminar announcement
The European Institute of Japanese Studies (EIJS Academy in Tokyo) of the Stockholm School of Economics will hold a seminar in Tokyo-Marunochi on Thursday, February 16, 2006:
Topic: “Why are Mobile Phones (Keitai) so hot in Japan? – and How European companies in all sectors can profit from Keitai”
Speaker: Gerhard Fasol
Gerhard Fasol “Why are keitai so hot in Japan?” Embassy of Sweden Agenda:
Japan created the most passionate and most advanced mobile communications (keitai) market in the world. Recently, almost all innovations in mobile communications have been developed or brought to market first in Japan. Fasol’s talk will explain why this is, and how European companies in all fields, from retail to publishing can profit by building keitais into their business models.
Date: Thursday, February 16, 2006
Time:6.15 – 7.00 p.m. Drink and Snack (served before the lecture)
7.00 – 9.00 p.m. Lecture and Discussion
Place:
Marubiru Conference Square, Room 2 (Tel: 03-3217-7111)
8th floor of Marubiru, 2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
One-minute walk from JR Tokyo Station, Marunouchi South ExitFee: JPY2,000 per person, payable at the door
Free for students, please bring your student ID
Free for those who are from sponsoring companiesAdvance registration required: Please sign up (via email) or fax to (FAX 03-3212-1530) for the attention of Ms. Futagawa (EIJS Tokyo Office.)
Japan telecommunications industry report
Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved
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PSP’s wLAN connection
SONY‘s PSP includes wLAN connectivity – this image shows our company homepage displayed on a PSP’ internet browser
PSP with wLAN showing the Eurotechnology Japan homepage SONY’s PSP can be used as a VOIP telephone – and has a variety of other disruptive functionalities… more in our J-Games report. At the moment PSP is being outsold by Nintendo’s DS.
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XBOX 360 Japan launch in Tokyo on Dec 10, 2005
Very small impact for XBOX in Japan to date
XBOX 360 Japan Launch makes a new attempt for breakthrough in Japan
by Gerhard Fasol
Microsoft launched XBOX 360 in Tokyo today Dec 10, 2005:
XBOX launch in Tokyo Shibuya on Dec 10, 2005 The original XBOX made only very small impact in Japan’s console market, which is dominated by SONY’s Playstation series and Nintendo’s Gameboy series.
As we show in our J-Games report the structure of Japan’s game software market is very different to that of the US and Europe. While in US and Europe shooting and action games are popular, in Japan role playing games in sophisticated phantasy worlds dominate. Microsoft has learnt this lesson, and has made far deeper preparations to gain cooperation by Japan’s mainstream software houses for the XBOX-360, so that we expect increasing XBOX market shares. Microsoft is also supporting the XBOX-360 introduction with a compaign including the XBOX-360 Lounge in Tokyo-Aoyama.
Sofar Microsoft does not have an equivalent for the very popular handheld DS and PSP.
Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved
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XBOX 360 Japan Lounge Tokyo Aoyama
No breakthrough for XBOX in Japan yet
XBOX promotion in Tokyo
XBox has not yet achieved the breakthrough in Japan’s competitive game markets – and Microsoft is relentlessly working to make XBox a success in Japan.
Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
The new “XBox 360 Lounge” in Tokyo/Aoyama
XBox 360 Lounge in Tokyo Omotesando 
XBox 360 Lounge in Tokyo Omotesando 
XBox 360 Lounge in Tokyo Omotesando Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
Copyright 2013 Eurotechnology Japan KK All Rights Reserved
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Tokyo Game Show TGS2005: Playstation vs Microsoft XBOX vs absent Nintendo DS
Nintendo wins on mindshare despite traditional absence from TGS
Tokyo Game Show TGS2005: Battle of the console and handheld platforms, while native mobile game applis on the path to disrupt
by Gerhard Fasol
Here some highlights of this year’s Tokyo Game Show TGS2005:
SONY vs Microsoft.
At last year’s TGS2004 Microsoft’s XBOX exhibit was pretty low-key in a secondary hall. This year, at Tokyo Game Show TGS2005, Microsoft moved with a much bigger exhibit up into the prime position of the main hall right next to (current) market leader SONY Computer Entertainment (SCE)… While in 2004 and before, SCE was the uncontested leader of the market, Microsoft is not accelerating efforts with XBOX-360. While SONY’s PSP is fantastic, it’s being outsold in Japan by Nintendo’s DS…
XBOX at Tokyo Game Show 2005 Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
XBox as a broadband home entertainment machine:
XBOX home entertainment system at Tokyo Game Show 2005 wLAN hotspot for PSP (SONY PlayStation Portable) for game sharing and
download. However, with a little bit of software, PSPs could be used to hold VOIP telephone
calls via these (or other) wLAN hotspots:
SONY Playstation WiFi spot at Tokyo Game Show 2005 Japan’s game industry consolidates
This year is the first appearance of merged BandaiNamco, which used to be separate companies until recently:
Bandai and Namco merged – at Tokyo Game Show 2005 The following figure summarizes some of the recent mergers in Japan’s game software industry:
Consolidations and mergers in Japan’s game industry (Tokyo Game Show 2005) SONY staff greeting customers at the end of the first day of the show
(while greeting customers there were facing Microsoft’s impressive Xbox360 exhibition area…):
SONY at Tokyo Game Show 2005 
SONY at Tokyo Game Show 2005 
SONY at Tokyo Game Show 2005 For a summary, see: Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
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Japan game software industry consolidation
Japan’s historically grown game companies are global superpowers
Shrinking traditional home video game software market and paradigm shift to online games, network games and mobile games forces consolidation
by Gerhard Fasol
Japan’s mobile game software companies are global superpowers. They are all historically grown and linked to other industry sectors, such as characters, arcade games, pachinko (pinball parlor) machines. Japan game software industry consolidation is driven by an emerging paradigm shift from traditional home video games to a new world of online games, network games and mobile games.
For details read our Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
Landslide shift underway to network games, online games and mobile games
While the market for traditional home video gamesoftware is rapidly shrinking, a landslide shift is underway to network games, online games and mobile games.
These changes bring consolidation. Some recent mergers are:
- Bandai acquires Namco
- SEGA (game arcades) and Sammy (pachinko) merge
- Takara and TOMY merge
- Role playing game leader Square-Enix (itself a merger of Square and Enix) acquires the larger TAITO
Consolidation of Japan’s games sector The Square-Enix deal is particularly interesting because it underlines the Japanese preference for role playing games.
Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
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Ig Nobel Prize for Peace to the inventor of Karaoke
There is a saying the that the Prophet is not recognized within his/her own country – and I think that the inventor of Karaoke, Inoue Daisuke (井上 大佑) is not as famous in his own country as he deserves – but he was now recognized for his outstanding invention by the “Ig Nobel Prize” committee in the PEACE category.
This years Ig Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on September 30, 2004 to Inoue Daisuke, for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.
“Karaoke” means “empty orchestra” (KARAOKE = KARA (= empty) + OrKEstra).
The Ig Nobel Peace Prize is one of the IG Nobel Prizes, awarded annually by the Journal “Annals of Improbable Research” at MIT.
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Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 (Sept 24-26, 2004): breakthrough for native mobile games
Mobile phone games at the center of TGS2004
by Gerhard Fasol
Docomo at the center of attention with JAVA native mobile games for i-Mode
The annual “Tokyo Game Show” sets trends and is a must for game professionals and fans. More than 100 companies exhibit.
This years highlight is the SONY “PlayStation Portable” – PSP – to be introduced towards the end of 2004. SONY prepared a huge arena with an gigantic models of a PSP hanging overhead where visitors to the show could try out advance models of the PSP.
SONY also displayed the new “Gran Turismo 4” game, the release is scheduled for Dec 3, 2004. “Gran Turismo 4” was not the only car racing game at the show, we counted at least three more in this hugely popular category.
Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
Docomo dominates Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 with JAVA native mobile games for i-Mode
The DoCoMo pavillion highlighted 15 of the most important i-Mode game partners. These 15 were selected from over 4000 i-mode content partners. Games are one of the most important sectors on the i-mode menu – many customers are driven by games to buy the next handset upgrade. Therefore DoCoMo has a great interest in mobile games. DoCoMos focus at the game show were games for the 900i FOMA/3G series.
SONY previews PSP – Playstation Portable:
SONY PSP mock up for Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 In a stunning arena around a gigantic hyper-real model of the PSP PlayStation Portable (PSP), visitors try out the PSP. PSP is announced to be released towards the end of 2004.
SONY PSP arena previewing the PSP at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 SONY offered a preview of “Gran Turismo 4” representing the enormously popular segmet of car racing games with realistic landscapes and surroundings.
SONY’s Gran Tourismo at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 DoCoMo presented an intense show of 15 key i-mode partners focusing on games. The map immediately below shows the lay-out of DoCoMos exhibition area, together with small pictures of the main display of each of the 15 DoCoMo partners
NTT DoCoMo exhibit at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 One of the most important DoCoMo game partners is Square Enix with the best selling Final Fantasy series. Final Fantasy is a “role playing game” where the player joins a group of fighters. This photograph shows the Square Enix presentation in the DoCoMo display. Square Enix also had its own presentation area – complete with models, preview area, shows etc.
SquareEnix at DoCoMo’s exhibit at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 “Rumble rose” is the most spectacular representative game of sexy games – Rumble Rose is about women wrestling…
Rumble Rose at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 ATLUS shows stunning color and illumination effects.
ATLUS at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 
ATARI at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 
ATI at Tokyo Game Show TGS2004 Japan game market report (398 pages, pdf-file):
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