The Art of Killing Time Online

[thomas]

J@panInc on Western markets replicating Japan's wireless revolution:

No one does wireless entertainment better than the Japanese; that's why American carriers are taking pains to copy the Japanese model, and why transpacific alliances are all the rage.

The remarkable popularity of downloadable wireless entertainment in Japan has not only changed the way Japanese people wait for trains and otherwise kill time, but its active inertia has carried overseas. Western markets have, in varying forms, begun to attempt to replicate Japan's wireless revolution. Japan's runaway success has been one of the main inspirations for the fledgling US market, which seeks a strong Japanese flavor. [...]

The idea that Japanese content can succeed in Western countries runs counter to a popular opinion that Americans won't take to Hello Kitty downloads and content based on Japanese tastes. While cultural factors have to be accounted for, most wireless gaming experts believe great games are universal and should not be dismissed as cultural aberrations. "Sure, there are some cultural flukes, but I don't know that I'd include cool mobile games in that group," says Nokia's Wright. "A cool game is a cool game in almost any language or culture." US carriers, despite the inherent differences they have with Japanese carriers, are subscribing to this theory to some degree as well. Sprint signed on Japanese game developer Namco, which has a US subsidiary, to supply a wireless version of its video arcade classic, "Ms. Pac-Man," along with several popular titles that have succeeded in Japan.

=> http://www.japaninc.net/article.php?...ID=1018&page=1

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