Mobile Gaming In Japan: The City of Anal Torture

What do you get when you mix the launch of a spicy junk food with mobile savvy Japanese teens, QR Codes, and multi-level marketing?

The answser, of course, is a mobile game that pits two armies of darkness against each other on fields of battle like "Ouch, The City of Anal Torture".

Yes, this is for real. And apparently it was a huge success. Check out the video.



Anybody else think that the US needs to forget about the war in Iraq and focus on important stuff like how to motivate young kids to buy snack food by recruiting their peers via mobile phone to wage terror in "Sweet Suckers Execution Hall"?

In all seriousness, this level of mobile engagement blows my mind and should serve as a reminder that while the m class may be but a whisper on the wind in the US it is bigger news elsewhere.

(and coming soon to a vending machine near you...)

mobile is stupid. and i don't want any.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

--

I've come across a barrage of stuff lately that tells me Americans don't quite get this m thing yet:

- One third of Americans don’t use SMS
- Two thirds said nothing would motivate them to listen to music on a mobile
- QR codes are failing at a campus test at Case Western

I'm also catching flak from some thoughtful readers, including Ted Theodore Logan (Esq?) who points to a recent study that says although iPhone users are generally happy, many still carry another phone and that the primary activity most use their phone for is a rather pedestrian "checking email".

So what's the deal?

Well. To be blunt, Americans are behind. If you had conducted a survey in 1995, I'm sure a third of Americans weren't using email and that two-thirds would have said that they would never store their music collection on their computer. And that a campus test of online social networking would have failed. Consider 2008 mobile's 1995. or maybe even 1998.

We're not there yet, I acknowledge that. But that's also part of the point of this blog: to help those beyond the early adopters understand why it may make sense to give the m class a shot. Why bother preaching to those who don't get it yet? Because being connected is more fun when somebody else is on the other end of the line.

We are getting closer. And, the good news is we have two good road maps for how mobile will evolve:

1) The adoption curve of the internet in the US
2) The adoption curve of mobile in the rest of the world

I'm not going to rehash point one. If you're reading a blog you understand what I'm talking about. And no - mobile won't perfectly parallel the way the web evolved because a mobile device is fundamentally different from a desktop or laptop computer.

The adoption curve of mobile in other part of the world, particularly Asia, and especially in South Korea - where mobile networks are faster, data rates are cheaper, and mobile payments are commonplace - is what I think is really worth paying attention to. Did you know:

That in 2006, South Koreans sent an average of 268 text messages a month. (US: 18.5)
One third of the SK student population sends over 100 text messages a day
40% of SK cell phones were 3G in 2006. (UK: 6%)
45% of all music sold in SK is direct to cellphones
46% of SK use their cell phones to make mobile payments

Clearly South Korea is ahead. And that's okay -- it gives us a sense of where things are going.

As I've said before, I think two big barriers are the cost of data and the quality of handsets. Both of these are changing. To that, I'd also like to add another element that is a barrier to m2 & m3: the speed of networks.

Again, the US is behind here. 3G networks are just getting rolling here and they've been widespread in Europe and Asia for awhile now. The iPhone will lead the charge here by driving consumer demand - but we'll have to wait for the next gen 3G model for the carriers to get their act together and enable primary usage to move beyond email.

(It's true -- consuming content that hasn't been optimized for the iPhone is slow. The idea of doing something as simple as posting a blog from my phone is a little silly. And no, flash doesn't work. )

So you can say you don't want any. Just like you didn't want email. And like you thought the internet was a fad.

Rain on my parade as you like, but I'll see you in the m class sooner or later. And it will be via video chat on our phones.

(hopefully not while driving)

who's hungry for data?

You know you're tempted to jump on the m class bandwagon with the US carriers offering new flat rate data pricing.

Wait - you're not tempted? You say you don't care? That you only use your phone to call and maybe to text? That even if it's not that expensive, it's still a pain -- and who needs to figure out how to do one more thing. Not you, right?

I hear you. It took me awhile to convert to the m class. I was one of the last holdouts among my friends to get a cell phone. I didn't want to be on-call, always available 24-7. I didn't like the idea that the world required me to have a mobile phone.

Then I got one as a present. And it changed my life. Maybe you've had this experience? All of you that use your mobile phone to stay connected via voice services while you are on the go - imagine your life for a second without this. It's hard, no?

This is how it works with mobile data services as well. I don't need it, you say. I don't care, you say. It's expensive, you say. Then -- once it's integrated into your life, you wonder how you ever lived without it.

You can wait. You can listen to your friends who check it out and share what they learn.

Or, you can just dive in. Mobile search, Yahoo Go, and Google Maps are great starting points. It's so nice to be able to find answers or driving directions on the go. You may also come to love getting Twitter or FriendFeed updates on your phone -- no matter where you are, the people you love are right there with you.

That's not such a bad thing, eh? Especially with no hidden charges or fees.

So what's holding you back? Jump on in to the m class. It's fun - you'll see. Before you know it, you'll be buying stuff from your phone, wondering how you lived without that option..

Please Don't Stop The Music

So yesterday I complained that AT&T didn't get it. It being the fact that consumers are not interested in paying to move their music from the computer to their phone, or in paying hefty monthly service charges for a few songs. No word yet from AT&T, but according to Moco News, it sounds like Nokia gets it:

"Tero Ojanpera, EVP of entertainment and communities, took the stage to discuss a number of Nokia’s upcoming content plays, but dove deep on its recently announced “Comes With Music,” service in which consumers will get unlimited music downloads for a year with the purchase of a phone."

This is forward thinking. Give consumers what we want -- easy access to lots of music on our phone, and that becomes a meaningful point of differentiation when selecting a handset or a carrier. Hmm -- let's see -- do I pick the phone where I pay for every song? Or the one where all of my music is included?

Assuming all other factors are equal -- which one would you pick?

Loopt Now Available On Verizon

The problem with attempts at mobile social networking right now is lack of crticial mass -- social networking is only fun if your friends are there, and there simply aren't enough people engaged in the services to make them truly useful - yet.

Mobile versions of Twitter and Facebook are one way this might change.

Another way this might evolve is if a mobile social network gets to critical mass. For this to happen, it would need to be available independent of the carrier you are on.

Think about it -- if online social networking was segregated based upon your ISP how useful would it really be? Not very.

Until recently, a pretty cool location-based mobile social network -- Loopt -- suffered from this.

Today, Loopt announced that it is now going to be available on Verizon as well as Sprint and Boost.

The value of Loopt - finding your friends in real space in real time on your phone -- is only relevant if your friends are part of the service.

By itself, adding Verizon won't be enough to make this service relevant -- but it is definitely a step in the right direction. More access should (could?) lead to more subscribers and that should (could) lead to more value in the service for all of us.

Are you on Loopt? Comment if so -- I am all signed up and would love to know who else is out there..

paying for mobile music content? really?

AT&T has two new musical offerings and one in the works:

1 - Make UR-Tones allows customers to customize ringtones from their favorite part of a song (1-30 seconds), right on their handsets. The mSpot Make-UR-Tones is available for a monthly subscription of $6.99 for three ringtones, with additional customized ringtones available for purchase on an a la carte basis for $2.99.

2 - Remix gives customers access to their PC-based music collections directly from their phones. For $9.99 per month you get a monthly subscription that allows 75 song downloads. Remix is compatible with the Samsung SYNC, A737 and the LG SHINE phones.

3 - Napster (coming next month) wireless, over-the-air downloads at $7.49 per five songs, or $1.99 for a single track-download

(thanks to Into Mobile for the details on theses services)

These offerings confuse me. Are we realy going to pay an additional 7-10 bucks/month for music on our phone? When we also have to pay 15 bucks for unlimited data? And when, in the case of Remix, we also have to pay to get the music to our PC in the first place? Or, in the case of Napster, that I will pay MORE money to get music on my phone than I will to get in on my iPod? REALLY?

Why is it so hard for the powers that be to understand that consumers don't want to pay every time we shift our music from one device to another or change a file format from one kind to another?

My bet is that these new AT&T services will fail. Not because they doesn't add value -- but because the pricing model is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Don't misunderstand -- I think people will continue to listen to music on their phones. Ringtones are fun! I've got Lupe Fiasco, Timbaland, and A Beautiful Mine bumping from my phones. But I think that services priced like this make consumers (people like me!) feel like we're getting nickel and dimed to death.

If anything, it seems like carriers should be using music as a loss leader to build a relationship with a customer and/or a tool to get people to a moment where they can then sell a higher ticket item.

Anyone else want to disagree and tell me that you are excited about the chance to spend 7 to 10 bucks a month for something like this?

::cricket:: ::cricket::

(I'm not expecting many responses on this one...)

Obopay

Obopay is trying to make m payments real.

With Obopay, you can:

- Send money immediately from your phone to friends
- Get paid on your phone
- Buy stuff on your phone

Basically, it turns your phone into a prepaid Mastercard -- you transfer money to your phone, and then you can spend it as you like.

The costs?
- 2.5% to add money to your phone from a credit card or debit card
- Free to add money directly from your bank account
- 10 cents every time you want to send money somewhere
- Free to get paid or receive money

Compatibility?
- Works via SMS on all carriers except AT&T
- Also works from the mobile web: wap.obopay.com

Secure?
- PIN-based every time you send money
- Multiple layers of encryption algorithms so transmitted data cannot be compromised


Sounds pretty cool. It's not brand new, but still somewhat in its infancy. I'm going to try and report back in.

Anyone else actually using this? Do you like it?