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Alter Mikuru
This 1/8 scale figure of Mikuru by Alter just came out and you can get the reviews at FooBarBaz and ( more » )
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Japanese Haircut
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Wonfes Hatsune Miku
Mikatan has more pics of the Hatsune Miku that will be on sale at the Wonfes next month. Love the triangle minamike-sty... ( more » )
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Choose Your Destiny 2
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Machine Gun in Akihabara
Knives are not the only thing you need to watch out for in Akiba... A man was given a spot check in Akiba after "lookin... ( more » )
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NicoNico Douga
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日本語/Japanese  Mon 01/21 08:11 JST
A quick going over the latest media stuff I've been in since the last update.

Below: First up is the Jan 15th issue of the entertainment weekly magazine SPA. They ran a feature on Second Life and asked me to say a few words about what I think of it.

My views on the graphics are that they look quite bad compared to other online games. I'd probably pay more attention if it had graphics like Mabinogi and more moe characters like Nao in it.
As for the monetization aspect of the game, I'd rather spend time building a web application that I know for sure is going to generate money (and available to anyone using a web browser) than building something in Second Life thats only available to a limited number of users.

I probably should explore more of the online gaming world though. Do you play online games? If so which ones do you recommend?
 
Below: And heres the full text for those who can read Japanese.
 
Below: Was also in the August 14th edition of SPA talking about dannychoo.com and monetization. For some reason they call me the most knowledgeable gaijin on Akiba lol ^^;

Here I talk about my affiliate story which you may have read before in this article.
 
Below: And here is the larger version - click to view.
 
Below: I also write for Monoqlo magazine where I have my own figure column. Talk about figure displaying, maintenance, sizes and how you shouldn't put them in the refrigerator or they may start to smell of food stuffs when you sniff their panchu.
 
Below: Larger version wo dozo.
 
Below: Was invited to speak on a panel at Imprint Culture Lab in Los Angeles last year where I got to meet and network with top bloggers including Brian Lam of Gizmodo, Jeff Staple, John Jay, Josh Spear and Rob Heppler.
 
Below: The talk was written up by Josh in a recent edition of Giant Robot magazine - thanks to 0ne for the cover photo and Brian Lam for the scans.
 
 
 
 
 
Below: On the front cover of Asahi Newspaper - taken at the YouTube Mix. Thanks to Eddie Wong for sending this in.
Below: made it to the top page of Yahoo.com - my stormtrooper dance video in Shibuya.
Categories
Polls
Arekusu in The Lost Woods
Dai Gurren Dan member
[f] 
Registered on 2006/12/31 18:24
Oooh, if you want to explore the online gaming world more then I can suggest a few things to get you started.

Seeing as you ahve a PS3, download Burnout Paradise demo, it lets you go online, and if your into driving about doing crazy stunts in cars, then its alot of fun online. Otherwise, get Unreal Tournament 3 on either PC or PS3 (if you get it on PS3 then i can play you sometime ^_^) because, although the story isn't said to be all that, the online gameplay is unrivaled. And for geenral PC online gameplay, Guildwars is good fun, you don't have to pay for it like World of Worcraft, and its good fun once you get into it.

Ofcourse there are millions to choose from, but, these are the 3 that popped into my head right off.
(ID #70255) Posted on 2008/01/21 07:52
nya-chama in London, United Kingdom
Student/Freelance Programmer
Registered on 2007/10/31 09:18
Haha, I've played loads of MMO's during their beta stage and then quite once you have to pay a monthly subscription XD.

My fave beta game probably was Ragnarok Online, so damn cute and very addictive. Loved it when you could catch monsters and make them your pet. I tamed a Peco Peco with a fat chubby earthworm, yay~.

After that I played Guild Wars a lot since it was practically free and people kept giving me accounts left and right.

I heard they were making RO Online for the DS though, I hope we hear something about that soon.
(ID #70257) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:15
djet0 in Not so Sunnyvale, Teh Golden State
High School Graduate... Now what?
Registered on 2007/01/08 20:06
Woo, DC's got lots of coverage. Now if I can get my friends to see this rather than having them give me weird looks when telling them what this guy named Danny Choo runs across overseas. I'm glad to say that I at least have a VERY trusted source for "other underground" information. Please keep it up! 
(ID #70258) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:15
ケヴィン in Sacramento California, USA
High School student
Registered on 2007/11/13 15:04
The most notable of online games would be no doubt World of Warcraft... its fun for maybe a few months then after you play so much youll notice it gets a little old... but people still are addicted and will keep playing.. its time consuming but fun for quite a bit and can be stressful.. theres other online games alot are copies of one another..  Id prefer not to play them anymore since their time consuming, stressful at times, can get you angry, and get reptitive.. stick to the wii thats at least some exercise
(ID #70259) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:17
becky lee of KNC in pasadena, sokal
webmistress/ ceo
Registered on 2007/03/17 11:19
lol!

i picked up my copy of giant robot magazine today at a local mart.

i looked inside, and too my suprise, an article about danny @ imprint conference.

more suprised to see it here on the same day!

congratulations danny!
(ID #70260) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:19
ornehx in Penang, Malaysia
dannychoo.com no aidokusha
Registered on 2007/12/25 23:02
used to played alot of online games. alot of time and money was invested.
its gets you excited when your level is still low (fyi i play MMORPG), then as you level goes up - its start to suck away you time like a leech. So yo start wasting money to buy good items hoping to be stronger..then u get fed up and start using bot - wat the heck... then comes the point of screw it..i am outta here...
So in the end i quited online games and prefer wasting my time reading dannychoo.com, oggling at maids, mirai, idols, pantsu, oppai, ........
(ID #70261) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:49
Student
Registered on 2007/10/06 21:21
That's an interesting article from Giant Robot. Like most readers, alas, I'm not quite proficient in Japanese and can't read the Japanese newspaper scans, but I think they would be interesting if I could. Anyway, thanks for posting these.
(ID #70262) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:53
Tanario in Esbjerg, Denmark
Study
Registered on 2007/11/03 03:50
i guess when talking online gaming ofc you have to mention the classics like warcraft 3: TFT and counterstrike: source, they are both great fun and by now they cost pratically nothing and even though the eye candy is lagging they are still much better than any of the newer games i have tried.
For MMORPGs i suppose you should mention world of warcraft as it playerbase is unrivaled some 7 million + if im not mistaken, get old real quick though and require very close to 0 skill.
For the xbox 360 there is always halo 3 and gears of war.

(ID #70263) Posted on 2008/01/21 08:58
Neil Duckett in Yoyogi, Tokyo
Software Engineer
Registered on 2007/11/06 13:37
Very impressive resume you have there Danny.
(ID #70264) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:08
Akiba-Kid in California, USA
Online Shop
Registered on 2008/01/17 11:35
I've played Everquest, Final Fantasy XI and now World of Warcraft.  I do believe what makes me want to play online games is that how pretty my characters can look by getting them gears and what not.  And yeah, games like Mabinogi is attractive since it has cute character like Nao and others.
(ID #70265) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:09
silent1134 in California
Student
Registered on 2007/08/22 14:33
Oh wow, I just went to Little Tokyo like last week to see the Giant Robot exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum a day before it ended...Good stuff...I knew I shoulda bought the 51st issue at the gift shop for a souvenir...oh well got the meat of hit here at least... 
(ID #70266) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:24
Elozt E. Elric in Singapore
Pre-Enlisted NS(Army)-men
Registered on 2007/08/12 19:44
Hmm, Ragnarok 1 would be nice, other than that, I'll just recommend people to stick with stick with Mabinogi (Well, I've been playing Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars quite frequently after I've decided quit Ragnarok 1).

Other than these two, not much good mmos out there I'm afraid.
(ID #70267) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:25
Last{[0]}Raven in ☆DANNYCHOO Site ☆
Raven, AMV & MAD maker, Otaku
Registered on 2008/01/02 12:55
oh gosh danny your famous  XD
(ID #70268) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:27
hendrik in jakarta,indonesia
student
Registered on 2007/06/01 04:39
monster hunter frontier if u living in japan

i want to play that game so bad >_< hope capcom/ someone from my country will brought it here
(ID #70269) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:34
Wolfblitz in Pretoria, South Africa
Senior Software / Systems Developer
Registered on 2007/11/02 16:10
"sniff their panchu." lol :D

I know a furry who might actually do that.
(ID #70270) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:45
hendrik in jakarta,indonesia
student
Registered on 2007/06/01 04:39
if some1 interested in monster hunter frontier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmO4GB9xdQ&feature=related
japan only for now though >_
(ID #70271) Posted on 2008/01/21 09:57
Tempest in Germany
Student
Registered on 2007/11/07 06:56
I'd also recommend Ragnarok. I like the anime style of it and I had lots of fun with the community. I played it for 2 years but the european servers got too empty :( 
If you want a game with less action and more thinking then you should try EVE Online. You can travel a huuuge universe and be a pirate, miner, trader, fighter, whatever ^^
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SjTfutSmEOs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3jOJR5Xauf0
2 awesome trailers with awesome music ^^
(ID #70273) Posted on 2008/01/21 10:32
Cutkillavince in Kr, Nl, Fr
MI Manager, Blogger and Newswriter
Registered on 2008/01/19 02:09
Quite impressive, good work Danny
(ID #70274) Posted on 2008/01/21 10:37
andra in Singapore
Secondary Student~
Registered on 2007/11/06 14:19
didn't really play games every now and then.. but recently just started playing anicent maplestory again =.=;

visual novels and single games (eg. Command & Conquer, Final Fantasy) are my cup of tea. *Click* *flips dictionay* when playing japanese visual novels lol 

(ID #70275) Posted on 2008/01/21 10:41
tetrflare in Singapore
Spellcaster
Registered on 2007/11/24 18:34
No time for online games. Wish I was young again and have all the time in the world. =(

The manabi straight figure in your page in the magazine, that's my desktop wallpaper!!
(ID #70276) Posted on 2008/01/21 10:59
CrazyAnimeTuga in Portugal
Student
Registered on 2007/01/03 02:12
For online games if you like RPG and don't want to pay for them I recommend Granado Espada
(ID #70277) Posted on 2008/01/21 11:13
XSportSeeker in Brazil
Hikikomori
Registered on 2007/08/22 05:30
Wow... nice Danny! Reaching printed media is a whole other level... :D I envy you! :P

Never played Second Life... but I tried several MMOs recently. You know, I'm studying to become a game developer (though I don't know if this is gonna happen), so I felt I needed to try a bit of everything.

I played lots of WoW, and tried Dofus, DOMO, Hellgate: London, RF Online and some others. Quite nice, but not my cup of tea.

I'm more into shooters... quicker to play, you don't have all the leveling and other stuff that forces you to play everyday, and I like 'em.

Second Life might be a great thing to several people... but it's kinda dated by now, lots of MMOs has better graphics, and playing something without any objective... I'd personally get bored.
(ID #70278) Posted on 2008/01/21 11:14
Final Fantasy Freak Ein in London, Japan , Malaysia, Taiwan
Game Designer
Registered on 2007/10/28 16:52
Tried several online games before...

Final Fantasy XI
World of Warcraft
Ragnarok online
Silk Road
Mapple
Rappelz
..
..
..
And i found out that....
I prefer stand alone games..
so i quit all of them
although i got many valuable stuff..
gordon in 新加坡 Singapore
宅男 Otaku/ 工程师 Engineer
Registered on 2007/06/11 14:57
i never touch online games. they are sinful, they eat your life.

the level of addictiveness is hard to put down. you will find yourself playing and playing and soon your life is gone. you have no life. ('~')
(ID #70280) Posted on 2008/01/21 12:49
bob-san in Madison WI
Administrative Assistant
Registered on 2007/02/22 23:27
I got myself into MMOs just over a year ago (Well, only 1 MMO) and if you're looking for something Free, I recommend Anarchy Online.

Has a fun social atmosphere and the Froob accounts give you a lot of access to the game.
(ID #70281) Posted on 2008/01/21 13:07
Henry in Makati, Philippines
anime/cosplay events organizer
Registered on 2006/12/25 19:17
Danny has conquered the blogsphere, he's now conquering the print media lolz

i've played MMOGs but i instantly get bored of it. for me, MMOGs are pointless and monotonous ^^;;;;; 
(ID #70282) Posted on 2008/01/21 13:13
koja in The Net
NEET
Registered on 2007/06/14 00:31
kingdom of loathing
www.kingdomofloathing.com

not very nice "graphics" though.
(ID #70283) Posted on 2008/01/21 13:46
Student
Registered on 2008/01/19 22:27
Though some of these MMOs out now (like WoW and Guild Wars for instance) may be extremely popular, I just don't have the patience to get into one. They do get monotonous after the first few hours.

I don't know anything particular about Japanese MMOs, but I imagine they are no different than the mainstream online games.
(ID #70284) Posted on 2008/01/21 14:07
Sabas in Minnesota, USA
Student
Registered on 2007/03/20 06:35
Currently playing Mythos.

Mabinogi and Cabal Online are starting their closed betas here in the States soon.
(ID #70285) Posted on 2008/01/21 14:24
Registered on 2006/12/24 23:42
Wow! Congratulations Danny! out to conquer the world eh?
(ID #70286) Posted on 2008/01/21 14:25
lostandfound in a UFO... catcher...
Part human, part student, 100% loser
Registered on 2007/10/22 02:10
"Knowledable gaijin in Akiba"
Wow, you've even got a title now Danny... I will follow in your footstpes master!
You're getting quite popular now huh? Maybe you'll appear in movies next, oops... You already did, in Starwars episode 1,2,3,4,5 and 6! LOL, joking~
About games... I like FPS like Halo and RPGs like Final Fantasy and I don't mind trying out new games~
(ID #70287) Posted on 2008/01/21 14:49
PoWeR in Your Spawn
Spawn Camper
Registered on 2007/08/28 05:12
try World of Warcraft lol, or basically any game -_-

but I prefer FPS types lol
(ID #70288) Posted on 2008/01/21 15:08
kintaro in Pineville North Carolina
Student
Registered on 2007/04/24 20:19
Next step is to be on the little scrolling text at the bottom of CNN's screen ^^

Although I do game on my computer a lot, mainly Steam FPS games, I've come to hate pretty much all the random people in servers and what not. It seems a good majority of gamers have no respect or decency. Which would lead me to believe theres not much to profit from gamers, as there are fewer and fewer mature players these days. It wouldn't hurt to try though. Whatever you plan on doing with gaming, I'd definitely try to help out.
(ID #70295) Posted on 2008/01/21 16:54
Edward in Michigan U.S.A.
Troubleshooter, Universal Exports
Registered on 2006/12/24 12:02
I've never tried on line games.  I'm not very good at games and just haven't had the time.  I have been paying more and more attention to what sells in the otaku world.  I should make time to check it out more.

What!?!? 

 "...how you shouldn't put them in the refrigerator or they may start to smell of food stuffs when you sniff their panchu."

A box of baking soda should solve that problem... ^^;

"Most knowledgeable gaijin on Akiba" now you have an official title. ^^;  We joke but that is an important thing in Japan.  Always glad to see you getting recognition for your hard work.

Thanks for including full size scans.  I will be sure to read them.
(ID #70296) Posted on 2008/01/21 17:03
Benjamin Takeyo in Lieu de la batille decisive
ひきこもり/Hikikomori. Suits my current state more than a 大学生/University Student. ^^
Registered on 2007/12/04 23:16
Tanario,

Warcraft III TFT, DotA and other custom games or official games? ^^

(ID #70297) Posted on 2008/01/21 17:16
Freya in 東京都 台東区
専門学生
Registered on 2007/01/11 20:46
WoW or FFXI only if you have lots time playing it, if not u will throw the game early 

if u want to taste mmorpg, try FantasyEarthZero, its SquareEnix MMORPG licensed by gamepot, the reason i suggest this game :
1. this game free (well u pay if u want to buy orbs, orbs used to buy premium equipments, but even without that equipments u still can enjou the game with Ring that u earn from war)

2. This game is really simple, its War Games (mass PVP) so 50 player vs 50 player, so u will learn at no time and enjoy the game, plus u can quite anytime u want (each war spend around 30mins though)

http://www.fezero.jp/
(ID #70298) Posted on 2008/01/21 17:59
Asian_Ethics in Toronto, Canada
Ninja
Registered on 2007/10/20 11:34
WoW and WC3 Dota....
Wooo Danny and Jeff Staple cool stuff!
(ID #70299) Posted on 2008/01/21 18:19
maikeru in Oregon
Replenisher
Registered on 2007/12/06 23:29
I have been playing FFXI since it came out in the U.S.  I've really enjoyed both the graphics and the battle system in it.  FFXII was really a single player version of FFXI.  So, if you played that, you should have a good idea of how FFXI works.  It is a real time suck though. 
(ID #70300) Posted on 2008/01/21 18:34
Requiem in Mars
Web developer
Registered on 2007/11/07 18:18
Danny
      YOU.ARE.MISSING.DA.POINT
The web doesn't let you create interactive 3D objects and environments where people can bring their fully customized and scripted selves to admire and interact with.

 Not everybody is in it for the money. Are you? 

 There are no moe characters because the users are mostly gaijin, and the graphics aren't top notch because the world is huge and there aren't many prebuilt block saving memory, something has to give off.

 Now seriously, are you in this for the money?
(ID #70301) Posted on 2008/01/21 19:12
-XYZPDQ in Pennsylvania, United States
Student Engineer
Registered on 2007/01/01 14:12
I am not playing any online games at the moment (college), so my answer would be "no", however I have played online games before so my answer to a "have you ever played?" question would be yes.

MMORPGs as of late have not curved my appetite and I think the industry as a whole is sort of losing its appeal (when talking about Sony Online Entertainment or Blizzard).

I have heard World of Warcraft is a great game, but I have also heard there is not much to do after level 60. I am also abhored by the graphics style- it just isn't my style and while World of Warcraft is a great realm to play in, there are A LOT of 12 year old idiots (no offense to the intelligent youngsters) there too- probably the biggest culmination of them anywhere in the MMORPG sphere. Can't say much on World of Warcraft other than that.

I played Guildwars for a while too and liked the "bang for a buck" effect. The story was great, the graphics were gorgeous (still are) and the 1 party per instance thing was great. I no longer play it but I recommend it for a gamer's budget. Free to play, costs to buy.

I played City of Heroes/City of Villains for a couple of months too. I enjoyed the game and recommended it, though they could have used more storyline in the early stages. Having superpowers is fun!

I played Star Wars Galaxies for four years, almost five. The game was centered around the Star Wars Universe and for the first three years or so the game was excellent and a lot of fun to play. I had a second family on there- but Sony in all of their brilliance *BLEEPED* up this game, real bad. The game is still alright to play, but in my opinion the game is not worth the $14.99 per month to keep me playing. If they lowered it to $10.00 USD or lower I would reconsider on resubscribing. The server I was a part of, Eclipse is now practically dead and void of people- the last I heard of a count was 100 or less on the server, and elss than about 4,000-5,000 game wide. There used to be around 300,000 subscribers when the game was at a premium. There is no one to play with and it isn't worth my money.

I recommend playing EVE online with the little time I had to dive into it. It is way too large of a time comittment for me since I am a college student but the game is spectacular, graphically and gameplay wise.



(ID #70304) Posted on 2008/01/21 20:00
Amiantos in Illinois USA
Student/Part-Time Worker
Registered on 2007/11/30 13:45
Been playing FFXI on and off for about 4 years now.  Fun game.  At one point I had at least 150 hours a week logged into the game playing.
(ID #70306) Posted on 2008/01/21 22:04
JapanAnime in Hilversum, Holland
Student Business Economics
Registered on 2007/08/05 18:23
I don't play online games anymore. They are too addictive, just like gordon said. I played my last online game 5 years ago, it was Dopewars, a game on www.drunkmenworkhere.org where you had to deal drugs (cocaine, heroine, XTC, LSD, etc.) in New York or Rotterdam. The game had no graphics, but it was nonetheless, just like drugs, really addictive. ^^"

LOL, one must have a terrible lack of space if it would ever consider to store it's figures in the fridge. =P
(ID #70307) Posted on 2008/01/21 22:21
Sam in San Francisco
Student
Registered on 2007/03/30 11:44
Join us Danny.. play Counter Strike 1.6 
The only FPS game with play-doh weapons.
Forget source and it's good graphics.
Go old skool.
(ID #70308) Posted on 2008/01/21 22:30
Darkness in London, UK
CS Student
Registered on 2008/01/14 21:19
Oops, I think they misspelled 'Digg.com' (l_media20080112.0.jpg, 1st column) ^^. 

Congratulations on all your media coverage.
(ID #70309) Posted on 2008/01/21 22:53
Ryonea Raizo in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
College Student
Registered on 2008/01/06 07:51
I only played Counter Strike and currently playing Rising Force Online, a Korean MMORPG.
(ID #70310) Posted on 2008/01/21 23:05
NPC in Rocklin, CA
Student
Registered on 2007/12/06 15:31
Excellent points on Second life Danny!
(ID #70311) Posted on 2008/01/21 23:52
lin-da-kenobi in Long Beach
college student
Registered on 2007/08/16 02:56
well i play Counter Strike and Billiard online 
(ID #70312) Posted on 2008/01/22 00:07
Quentin aka Q in Hong Kong
Registered on 2008/01/07 04:35
Impressive media cover. There's a lot I need to learn from you.

On the other hand, you can let the readers to enlighten you on other aspects.

In terms of online gaming, I don't do that much, but a few of my friends played a variety of games. It's hard to say what kind of online games you would like until you try it first hand. Some may like FPS like Counter-Strike, or war-themed ones like Battlefield series and Call of Duty series (like my friends do). On the other hand, some prefer to play online RPGs. My cousins play Guild Wars and they recommended me the game.

Or you may like RTS (Command & Conquer, Company of Hereoes, Age of Empire etc), or maybe miscellaneous games such as Audition Online/Dancin' Paradise.

I don't play a lot of online games, mainly because my computer has mediocre specs, and I don't get to have good Internet access all the time. Try some yourself to see what you like, or get a 'preview' of what it's like from other people.

Hope that helps.
(ID #70313) Posted on 2008/01/22 01:40
necrophadian in a van down by the river
Stigmata Martyr
Registered on 2007/04/22 12:13
WoW is pretty much the only MMO I've ever played. At first I thought it was boring and avoided it entirely, but I gave it a chance late on because I've always been a Blizzard fan and WoW was their only game I haven't played yet (anyone remember Blackthorne and Lost vikings?). Turns out its I actually found it quite enjoyable.

 I'm in an adult only guild and we raid lightly, no crazy daily late night schedules and no guild drama and absolutely no one under 18 allowed, though there are exceptions made. 
(ID #70315) Posted on 2008/01/22 01:55
gordon in 新加坡 Singapore
宅男 Otaku/ 工程师 Engineer
Registered on 2007/06/11 14:57
"the most knowledgeable gaijin on Akiba" sounds like a pretty cool title. ('~')
(ID #70317) Posted on 2008/01/22 02:34
D_Blade in Montreal
Non-profit org. volunteering work addict
Registered on 2006/12/31 22:48
gordon, online games are a powerful drug, if simply said.
Just play them with moderation. ^^;
(ID #70319) Posted on 2008/01/22 04:55
FatBastard in over his head
Meat Puppet