NEXON enters LINE GAME in Japan: Maple Story became the mobile game in LINE

Today, Korea's MMO major company NEXON released the mobile game of the Maple Story in LINE GAME. The name is "LINE MapleStory Village". However, this is not an RPG.

Well, LINE MapleStory Village is a simulation game to build the village. Players develop their villages and taking care of monsters. onsters are pets not an enemy here.

There are about 40 kinds of monsters, and a motion and character are different from  each.

This game does not have an element of battle with friend and somebody at all. Anyway, it is upbringing and a building. It is different from the original Maple Story, but is a genre keeping steady popularity in Japan. This was not the first time that Maple Story became the mobile social game in Japan, and there was it several times in the past. However, to our regret, they were forgotten without becoming the topic. This is a re-challenge of Maple Story.

In addition, this was released in the countries except Japan, but is not released for some reason in China, Korea, the US.

App Store
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id660645019

Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.naver.SJLGMV

LINE GAME broke through 200 million downloading

When LINE's game platform LINE GAME was released in July, 2012, who might predict this? Now, LINE GAME sweeps over a Japanese mobile game market. LINE announced that LINE GAME broke through 200 million downloading. They achieved this from service release in about one year and two months.

36 games are contributed now in LINE GAME(Of these 28 games perform global expansion). Particularly, LINE POP and LINE Bubble are very popular. They are simple puzzle games and to be frank, there is not the novelty. However, they appointed LINE characters in these. The LINE character is extreme popularity in Japan so that many physical goods are sold. Now, LINE POP breaks through 34 million downloading, and the LINE bubble breaks through 26 million downloading. Following these, LINE Pokopang and LINE wind runner breaks through 15 million downloading. Surely, LINE characters are popular, but the popularity of games except it seems to be increasing in LINE GAME.

Gamification of the agriculture: agriculture game for iOS "Sanchoku!"---which can buy genuine farm products

Japanese mobile game developer Zoysia released agriculture game for iOS "Sanchoku!" which linked real agriculture.

This is a simulation game to be able to do simulated experience of the agriculture at the virtual farms of 50 partner farmers. All the farms in the game link with a real farms. Players help with farming and bring up rice, vegetables, fruits and stock raising animals according to the advice of farmers. After all work was over, players can get "stars" from farmers. Stars are virtual currencies, and players can buy farm products which themself brought up using this.

Game system of this is almost not different from other agriculture simulation games. However, this can be called gamification of the agriculture in a point linking real farms and farmers.
After 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, interest in agriculture increases in Japan. The reason is radioactive contamination. Many Japanese want to manage the safe food by oneself. However, all people cannot engage in agriculture. Particularly, the city dweller cannot have even a private vegetable garden. Therefore they are curious about farm products in detail. This game plays a role to narrow the distance of country farmers and the city dweller.

mixi released native game apps after LINE

mixi was social networking service most popular in Japan once. However, it's down and out now. They lost in the social game in GREE and Mobage and lost in the communication in LINE. Therefore they bet revival on native game apps.

Today, mixi released first native game apps for smartphone "spinan".

spinan is the casual cards game that adopted the rule of "speed" and "solitaire". Time for one game is 90 seconds. Players can compete with a friends for score and present items each other. Interestingly, we can play a game with a friends in Facebook as well as a friends in mixi.

You might notice. Well... this looks just like game apps of LINE and Kakao Talk. To be frank, there is not the novelty at all. The number of the active users of current mixi is miserable. When there are not some active users on a platform, the social game does not become active. I think that more different measures are necessary for mixi's games.

Exciting News: Japanese major publishing company holds licensing examination of Cthulhu Mythos

A Japanese is eager in qualification and a licensing examination. Penmanship, calculation on the abacus, musical instrument performance, the martial arts, etc...the people challenge various examinations since the days of a primary schoolchild. And Japan will have very rare licensing examination. This is "Cthulhu Mythos".

Japanese major publishing company NIPPON SHUPPAN HANBAI INC. holds licensing examination of Cthulhu Mythos in Tokyo and Osaka in December 1.

The works of H.P. Lovecraft are very popular in Japan. Many artists were affected by him. Arts, games, musics, movies, novels, comics, figures... they produced the many works which assumed Cthulhu Mythos a motif. They form one end of the J-pop culture surely.

The level is two kinds of the second grade and the third grade. NIPPON SHUPPAN HANBAI examines the basic knowledge of Lovecraft works by a examination. The questions form is mark sheet of four person choosing one.They publish a official text on August 24.

Examination summary is here
http://www.kentei-uketsuke.com/cthulhu/

By the way, I have one question. Will the level of this licensing examination be useful for anything? Usually, levels of qualification and licensing examination list these in resume(and they are useful for job hunting). What is the occupation that a level of Cthulhu Mythos is useful?