<p>================================================================<br>
J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:<br>
M U S I C M E D I A W A T C H<br>
Commentary on Japan's music technology news<br>
================================================================</p>
<p> Issue No. 118</p>
<p> Tokyo<br>
------Metropolis Magazine Valentine`s Glitterball-------</p>
<p>Glitterball is back!<br>
Tokyo's favorite party makes its triumphant return on<br>
February 14, 2008-Valentine's Day.<br>
An institution for nearly a decade, the Metropolis-hosted<br>
Glitterball was on hiatus this year due to the closing of<br>
Velfarre nightclub, but 2008's version promises to be better<br>
than ever.</p>
<p>Roppongi hotspot Alife will host over 1,000 V-Day revelers<br>
for a night of eating, drinking, dancing, making friends-and<br>
who knows what else.<br>
Prize drawings, swag bags, and Tokyo's funnest crowd will make<br>
the reborn Glitterball the highlight of the Tokyo social calendar.</p>
<p>CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br>
<a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball" title="www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball">www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball</a></p>
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<p> ----------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>CONTENTS</p>
<p>++ FEATURE: The Roots of Guitar Hero</p>
<p>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS: </p>
<p>** KDDI to broadcast concert live on all FM radio stations in<br>
Japan<br>
** Yamaha starts Y-TV service to promote products and events<br>
** Roland to debut new products at Sound Spark 2008 event<br>
** Sony's NetJuke software to work with KDDI's LISMO service<br>
** NTT DoCoMo makes Melody Call trial previews available for<br>
non-subscribers</p>
<p>++ FEATURE: The Roots of Guitar Hero</p>
<p>On a recent trip back to the US in January, I was somewhat<br>
surprised and impressed to see just how big the 'Guitar Hero'<br>
phenomenon has become. Friends, relatives - almost everyone I<br>
knew it seemed - had bought at least one of the three versions<br>
of this console game and/or its new full-band counterpart,<br>
'Rock Band'. I also had the chance to play the game myself for<br>
the first time, and experience firsthand why it is so addictive.</p>
<p>Guitar Hero is a rhythm game in which players strap on a plastic<br>
toy-like guitar controller with different colored buttons that<br>
must be pressed in time with the music. The first version of the<br>
game was developed by Harmonix and released in the US by Red<br>
Octane (later sold to Activision) in 2005. It became a surprise<br>
hit that year, and has since spawned two subsequent versions,<br>
as well as the 'Rock Band' game, which includes controllers for<br>
bass, drums and vocals. On January 21, Activision announced that<br>
sales from the Guitar Hero series in North America had exceeded<br>
US$1 billion, with over 14 million units sold.</p>
<p>The game has also attracted quite a bit of attention in Japan,<br>
albeit for a different reason. Guitar Hero is very similar to a<br>
much earlier rhythm game released by Konami in 1998 called<br>
GuitarFreaks, which also features a plastic guitar controller.<br>
GuitarFreaks is primarily known in Japan as an arcade game,<br>
although several console versions have also been released for<br>
the Sony PlayStation 2. As part of Konami's popular Bemani<br>
(shorthand Japanese for 'Beat Mania') series of rhythm games,<br>
GuitarFreaks has had modest sales in Japan, but nothing on the<br>
order of Guitar Hero in the US.</p>
<p>Indeed, as far back as six years ago, the whole rhythm game<br>
genre was considered to have peaked in Japan, and it seemed<br>
unlikely that anyone would try to export a game like<br>
GuitarFreaks to the US. In addition to GuitarFreaks, another<br>
Japanese guitar-based rhythm game called 'Guitaroo Man' had been<br>
released by Koei in 2001, and experienced similarly lackluster<br>
sales. In 2002, a programmer at iNiS (which developed Gitaroo<br>
Man for Koei) remarked to me that 'nobody is interested in music<br>
or rhythm games anymore, and publishers don't think they can<br>
sell much at all outside Japan.'</p>
<p>Apparently, Harmonix and Red Octane didn't get that message, and<br>
proceeded to create a game that was in most respects identical<br>
to GuitarFreaks, but with an element of humor and an attention<br>
to visual detail that was missing from the earlier Japanese<br>
games. Now the Japanese companies who pioneered the music game<br>
genre are scrambling to play catch-up in the US market. Konami<br>
is rumored to be hard at work on a new game to rival Rock Band,<br>
while iNiS resurfaced in 2006 with 'Gitaroo Man Lives!' for the<br>
PS2. Indeed, it seems that without adding much in the way of new<br>
ideas, Guitar Hero has nonetheless managed to breathe new life<br>
into a genre of games that was believed to be in decline here.</p>
<p>A large part of Guitar Hero's success can be attributed to its<br>
simplicity and accessibility. Anyone can get started on the<br>
'easy' level and within minutes feel like they're playing a<br>
guitar (or at least something shaped like a guitar). It is also<br>
packed with music that's recognizable to the over-40 crowd,<br>
making it interesting for the parents as well as the kids. And<br>
then there's the addictiveness factor - as soon as you complete<br>
one song, you immediately want to try another one. It's very<br>
hard to put down once you get going.</p>
<p>Some proponents of the game have also suggested that it helps<br>
players with basic rhythm skills and the kind of finger<br>
dexterity needed for real guitar playing. However, the direct<br>
music training/education benefits appear to be fairly minimal,<br>
especially after the first few days or so. What the game has<br>
done instead, though, is to revive interest in guitar-oriented<br>
music and inspire a new legion of young people to try their hand<br>
at playing a real guitar. Again, I was able to witness an<br>
example of this firsthand on my trip to the US, meeting a<br>
talented and enthusiastic 11-year old who was drawn to guitar<br>
lessons (and making extremely fast progress) after playing<br>
Guitar Hero. Real guitar makers have also benefited from the<br>
game's popularity - Fender is now selling its Squier 'starter<br>
guitar' under the slogan 'Stop pretending and start playing!'.</p>
<p>It seems just a matter of time, though, before there are more<br>
games on the market that not only foster an interest in music<br>
but also help train people to understand and play it. One of the<br>
major complaints about most music- and instrument-learning<br>
software today is that it is not sufficiently interactive or<br>
interesting. Now that Harmonix have shown that music games can<br>
have worldwide mass-market appeal, we are likely to see a<br>
renewed effort on the part of Japanese game makers like Konami<br>
to introduce new and innovative games to the genre - hopefully<br>
with even more emphasis on the music component.</p>
<p>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS</p>
<p>** KDDI to broadcast concert live on all FM radio stations in<br>
Japan<br>
In brief: As part of its 'Meet the Music 2008' initiative to<br>
promote mobile FM radio in Japan, KDDI announced that it will<br>
broadcast a special concert on all 53 FM radio stations in Japan.<br>
The concert will be held on March 23, and will feature Keisuke<br>
Kuwata, leader of the Southern Allstars.<br>
Source:<br>
<a href="http://www.kddi.com/corporate/news_release/2008/0124a/" title="http://www.kddi.com/corporate/news_release/2008/0124a/">http://www.kddi.com/corporate/news_release/2008/0124a/</a></p>
<p>** Yamaha starts Y-TV service to promote products and events<br>
In brief: On January 30, Yamaha Corporation launched a new<br>
website to promote its instruments, live events and other<br>
products/service. The new site is called Y-TV, and consists of a<br>
library of videos pertaining to various products and events.<br>
Source:<br>
<a href="http://www.yamaha.co.jp/movie/" title="http://www.yamaha.co.jp/movie/">http://www.yamaha.co.jp/movie/</a></p>
<p>** Roland to debut new products at Sound Spark 2008 event<br>
In brief: On Feb. 6 in Osaka and Feb. 9 in Tokyo, Roland will<br>
hold 'Roland Sound Spark 2008', a 5-hour event in which<br>
attendees can try out products that have been announced but not<br>
yet released. The event will also feature seminars and live<br>
performances by artists using the new Roland instruments.<br>
Source:<br>
<a href="http://www.roland.co.jp/event/" title="http://www.roland.co.jp/event/">http://www.roland.co.jp/event/</a></p>
<p>** Sony's NetJuke software to work with KDDI's LISMO service<br>
In brief: On January 28, Sony announced an upgrade to the<br>
software for its NetJuke series of music players that will work<br>
with KDDI's LISMO service for mobile music. With the new<br>
software, users can transfer songs downloaded to au phones via<br>
the LISMO service and store them on the NetJuke player.<br>
Source:<br>
<a href="http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/103/103984/" title="http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/103/103984/">http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/103/103984/</a></p>
<p>** NTT DoCoMo makes Melody Call trial previews available for<br>
non-subscribers<br>
In brief: Earlier this month, NTT DoCoMo announced that it would<br>
make free previews (trial listening samples) for all the songs<br>
on its Melody Call ringbacktone service available to all users,<br>
even those who are not subscribed to the service.<br>
Source:<br>
<a href="http://melodycall.com/" title="http://melodycall.com/">http://melodycall.com/</a></p>
<p>----------------------------------------------------------<br>
STAFF<br>
Written by: Steve Myers (<a href="mailto:steve@thetamusic.com">steve@thetamusic.com</a>)<br>
Steve Myers is president and chief enthusiast of Theta Music<br>
Technologies, which specializes in the development of<br>
music-related software applications.</p>
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-----------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>----------- NEW OFFICE SETUP OR RELOCATION ---------------</p>
<p>SETTING UP AN OFFICE EARLY IN 2008?<br>
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<p>Come see PBXL in action at Cisco Japan HQ:<br>
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<p>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
Start a Company in Japan</p>
<p>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 1st of March, 2008</p>
<p>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>
find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>
Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>
will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>
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This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>
and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>
in business books.<br>
All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.</p>
<p>For more details: <a href="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/" title="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/">http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/</a><br>
-----------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>--------------- ICA Event - Feb 21 -----------------------</p>
<p>Event: Round Table Discussion - Successful Growth<br>
through Planned Execution</p>
<p>Speakers: D. Forncrook, J. Glasser and J. Gabriella</p>
<p>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" title="http://www.icajapan.jp/">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>
(RSVP Required)<br>
Date: Thursday, Feb 21, 2008<br>
Time: 6:30 Doors open includes open bar (sponsored by Skillhouse)<br>
and light buffet<br>
Cost: 3,500 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)<br>
Open to all - venue is The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan</p>
<p><a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map" title="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a></p>
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------</p>