Tokyo, Sake, and Effort

Sometimes, despite all I've done with regard to my trips to Japan, i can't help but be disappointed in myself.. I've somehow managed to go to Tokyo five times now in the past six years, twice within the past 9 months. I would expect someone who has done this to, at the minimum, speak the language conversationally, but instead I still find myself muddling along, barely able to count to 10. 

Every time I went, I've envisioned blogging every night at my room, posting pictures and sharing details about my trip, and ever time I've posted maybe once or twice, and spent the rest of my time wandering. 

This is not enough.

It's not enough because I really want to share my experiences, i want other people to understand why i love that city the way that I do, and often, when i bring someone there, I accomplish that. It feels as if i drag them out to the other side of the world and say, "LOOK!"

Fortunately, the city tends to speak for itself, and out of the half dozen or so people I've been responsible for bringing to Tokyo, a generous number of them have decided that it's a place that they want to visit again.

I suppose by that measure, I've been successful. 

I'm also a bit of a sake ambassador to my friends, breaking stereotypes and introducing people to premium sake. I've helped many understand what sake really is and how it should be served...

But that's still not enough.

I want to find a way to spread this information more, to teach reach out and share what it is about Japan, about Japanese culture, about Sake with as many people as possible.  I've had ideas about how to do this, and now I'm thinking that maybe i need to start taking them seriously. 

My goal is to update my Sake Blog at least weekly and, in an effort to get my writing back up to snuff, update this blog daily. This is the first day, the goal is to make thirty, we'll see how I do in the next few weeks. 

NPD Madness

Normally, I look at the NPDs and I can, if I think about it enough, figure out what the driving factors behind the numbers might be. But this month...

PlayStation 3 214.5K
PSP 84.0K
Xbox 360 443.5K
Wii 253.9K
Nintendo DS 398.4K

I'm baffled.

I'm just going to leave this here

Learning from the master

Apparently...

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Voice of Reason

Sony execs tend to say a lot of dumb things, Ken Kuturagi made a career out of doing so  with the confidence of a man who firmly believes that he possesses a Steve Jobs-like Reality Distortion Field, unfortunately he sounded more like a lunatic to most, Kaz Hirai, on the other hand, comes off as an awkward spin doctor, desperate to peddle his wares, and lets not even talk about Jack Tretton.

Now entering the fray, SCEA's Director of Marketing, John Koller: 

"I think it remains to be seen where Nintendo goes with 3D on a portable... Having been in the portable space for quite awhile, I think it's an interesting move but one I'd like to see where they go from a demographic standpoint. 8 and 9 year-olds playing 3D is a little bit of a stretch given where some of our research is right now." 

 As usual, Bill Harris over at Dubious Quality had an interesting rebuttal to the idea that Sony should be opening their mouths at all about this particular topic. It's recommended reading.

If there was one image to sum up the last three years, it would be every Sony executive wearing a dog collar with NINTENDO stamped into the leather, walking on a leash behind Satoru Iwata.

This Exists

The Bill Paxton Pinball Machine... Some things you just can't make up.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/03/bill_paxton_the_pinball_game.php

Tokyo 2010

For the longest time, my plan has been to go back to Japan in May, for better or worse, a twelve week project at work is going to prevent that from happening. Since that became a reality, I've been working on alternatives, and this morning, I think I came to a decision.

Tokyo Game Show

Although now a shadow of its former self, TGS was once the worldwide flagship of game industry trade shows, and I think it's time I paid a visit.

I have until August to come up with a plan.

Oh Apple...

So now Apple's gone ahead and removed all WiFi finding applications from the app store, Carmi Levy from Betanews wrote up a very interesting article on the how and why of this sudden maneuver. It looks like more manipulations by Big Brother.

All this comes just as Apple gets set to begin shipping iPads to an adoring public. Retail availability in the US is now set for April 3, and sometime toward the end of April in Canada. This means potential buyers are already deciding how much hard-earned cash to bring along when they wait in line overnight to buy one. Will they cheap out for the basic Wi-Fi version, or will they go full-on for a 3G-enabled iPad?

The timing of the latest app takedown is no coincidence: Apple and AT&T clearly want to influence potential buyers to stretch for a 3G-capable version to at least hold out the potential of ongoing subscription-based revenue. Think of this latest move as a scorched-earth strategy for wannabe-Wi-Fi-only iPad users. I'm betting that around this time next month, Wi-Fi-only iPads will be only slightly more difficult to find than two-headed Lincoln pennies, as Apple's carrier-friendly/consumer-unfriendly supply chain strategy snaps into focus.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Suddenly-Apple-hates-WiFi/1268062591

The Rise of Apple

For years and, every time someone would tear into Microsoft for some alleged monopolistic behavior while simultaneously lauding how benevolent Apple is, I've felt compelled to point out to them that deep down, Apple is far more malevolent then Microsoft could be on their best day. Steve Jobs has always been a monopolist, and the company he created thrives on having absolute control over all aspects of the user's experience.

It's ironic that Apple once made a commercial likening themselves to some sort of savior that would topple "Big Brother," 1984's icon of an all knowing and all controlling government. As Apple grows in power, their fist grows tighter, and I keep seeing more and more articles likes these:

Apple has allegedly been pressuring music labels to ditch Amazon MP3's "Daily Deal" promotions, lest they be excluded from being promoted through the iTunes machine. According to anonymous executives speaking to Billboard, Apple has always been uncomfortable with the labels double dipping with both iTunes and Amazon, but the company has ramped up its complaints lately in an attempt to retain its lead in the online music market. Though Apple still remains in the number one spot among all music retailers, the move is indicative that Apple takes competition from Amazon very seriously.

Speaking about iTunes, another major label executive told Billboard that "[t]hey are . . . diverting their energy from 'let's make this machine better' to 'let's protect what we got.'"

Some of those threats have apparently worked: labels representing Corinne Bailey Rae, Lady Antebellum, and Ke$ha have all reportedly pulled out of Daily Deals consideration in favor of staying on Apple's good side. And, because Apple's distaste for the Daily Deals at Amazon has become widely known in the industry, other labels have decided not to play the game at all by holding back their online offerings on the street date and the day before.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/03/apple-stepping-up-pressure-on-music-labels-to-snub-amazon.ars?

The Fall of Sony

This is a fantastic article about the comedy of errors that have led to Sony's fall from grace. Recommended reading for anyone who's curious.

There's no better example of the arrogance of the modern Sony than the launch of the PlayStation 3. It was the last of the current generation of game consoles to market. It cost more than all its competitors. Kaz Hirai, then president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America and now the head of the entire ball of wax worldwide, said infamously, "The next generation doesn't start until we say it does."

http://gizmodo.com/5477633/how-sony-lost-its-way

Developer Quote of the Day

"There are lots of games where you shoot and kill people, so this time we wanted to try and see how we could convey the good feeling of shooting robots." -Shinji Mikami on his new project, "Vanquish"

Well That Was Brief

my Blog-a-day streak ended at.... 2

go me!

Bayonetted

I picked up Bayonetta on new year's eve at my local "we're not overly concerned with release dates" store and have (subtracting most of new years eve and new years day, along with the entirety of my evening tonight) logged in over 10 hours already. I'm seriously hooked on this game. Sure, the narrative is completely nonsensical and extremely eye-roll inducing, but the design is top notch and the action is genre defining.

More to Come...

The One a Day Project

Someone over at Neogaf suggested that the bloggers unite and try to write SOMETHING on their blogs every day between today and December 31st.

Today my something's going to just be that after being told for years about how amazing it supposedly is, I finally watched the first episode of Lost yesterday. Looks pretty damn interesting so far, but I was eager to get back to Bayonetta, which i'll talk about in more detail tomorrow or so.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383799

Back From Hiatus

Just took some time off to get my shit together following some turmoil in my personal life (truth be told, im still waiting for things to settle down, but life has got to go on), and just in time for the holidays, i'm looking to start updating again, lets see how that goes, eh?

Tokyo 2009!

After a hellacious trip that started with a 4 hour delay in my flight thanks to the typhoon, I finally arrived in Japan a little after 7:00 local time. I thought it would be smooth sailing from there, but that was not to be, the Narita Express train that we were on stopped about a dozen times and then eventually stopped a few stations shy of Shinjuku, leading to a semi-conscious trek through the Shinigawa train station to find something that would get me to my hotel. Ended up checking in at the hotel around 11:pm, and was in bed shortly thereafter. I just realized that rambling incoherently, time to get some lunch!

Sakagura (still not a) Liveblog!

The following is another one of my "liveblogs," wherein I visit a drinking establishment and record my observations as I become less and less coherent!

Tonight i'm at Sakagura, the best izakaya in all of New York, possibly the east coast. My guest to be got screwed at and is stuck at work, so i'm flying solo tonight. Can I has Sakagura Liveblog? You're damn right I can!

I'm trying a new sake called Dassai, it was recommended to me by a writer (though since she works for the brewer that makes Dassai, so she's not exactly impartial) who interviewed me at the Joy of Sake event last week.

Dassai 50, even the bottle looks cool

Fortunately, it seems that this recommendation was warranted, this is some damn good sake. Very smooth, a hint of fruit, and a clean finish. Just in time for my edemame!

I swear the edemame tasts almost buttery here, how the hell do they do that?

It's always a struggle to get seating here, and i've never seen the place anything less then completely packed, tonight is no exception.

Tonight I'm going with the soba and some Jagadango, since i'm not feeling particularly adventurous. I'll save that for my trip to Tokyo, and then only if im really drunk.

Speaking of... Since the Dassai was so good, i think i'll ask the staff here for a suggestion based on it they're usually very good with that.

The bartender/waitress reccomended Eiko Fuji, a Junmai Ginjo

Eiko Fuji, not the highlight of my night

OK, I've made a wondrous discovery... I do not like Eiko Fuji. Not very smooth and way too damn fruity. That's $13 i'm not getting back. Waitress Fail.

My guest finally confirmed that he can't make it, which is good in a way, since about a minute ago, I gave up and ordered my dinner, Soba is on the way!

Now that's some good soba!

Noting my displeasure with Fuji, the waitress just appeared out of nowhere with a glass and another bottle for me to try. This one came in what looks like an oil can, and goes by the name of Narutotai. Coincidentally, local Sake supplier, Sobaya's proprietor recently recommended the very same bottle a few weeks ago. It's not very smooth, however the flavor is quite good. It went very well with my soba. Waitress Redeemed!

Important Note: Jagadango, which is basically mashed potatoes coated in doughnut batter, then deep fried, and also happens to be my favorite dish at Sakagura, does absolutely nothing to make the Eiko Fuji any better.

That about wraps it up, time to pay the bill and hop the train, ciao!

Tokyo Shopping List

Macross Ultimate Frontier: I played the first Macross PSP game relentlessly up until the day my PSP was stolen (with the game inside of it). These days I'm sporting a cast away PSP-1000 that i'm very tempted to replace either here or in Japan. My decision will likely be closely related to the second item on my list



Japanese Xbox 360: There are quite a few games available in Japan that will never see the light of day here in the states, but that may change going forward. Cave, the maker of many of the games I'm interested in, is going to test the waters by making their next game region free. If going forward, Cave's games are region free, much of the reason for this purchase goes right out the window, what to do?

Plastic Crap: it's me, it's Tokyo, I'm going to be leaving with an embarrassing number of capsule toys, vinyl figures, and plastic robots. Contesting this would be like doubting the rising of the sun.

Another JRPG That I Won't Finish

I took a look at some videos from Tri-Ace’s upcoming RPG, End of Eternity, I’m a sucker for games with a more sci-fi-ish ascetic, and EoE looks like it may see my “Sci-Fi” and raise me “Dystopian Future,” which is almost guaranteed to get me interested. The combat looks absolutely bizarre, focusing mainly on people jumping though the air and stylishly firing dual pistols like gravity immune anime characters who just attended a seminar on Equilibrium’s Gun Kata.

Neutered Ninja!

The past few days I’ve been playing the hell out of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, which should probably be called "Ninja Gaiden 2 for people who don't enjoy getting punched in the dick." Ninja Gaiden is legendary for being uncompromisingly difficult, but success in that game was something you earned and in a sad sort of way, could be proud of. With NGS2, the series has lost its teeth; you can slice though most of the game without really getting that deep understanding of the combat system that you would normally need in order to progress.

That said, in one day, I progressed far further then I ever did during my first Ninja Gaiden 2 experience, where i was set upon and repeatedly mutilated by angry werewolves on the third stage...