Japanese piggy bank helps savers enjoy romance
You can't buy love, but with a Japanese piggy bank that combines thrift with virtual romance, you can at least save up for it.
You can't buy love, but with a Japanese piggy bank that combines thrift with virtual romance, you can at least save up for it.
"Ikemenbank," or "handsome men bank," is a heart-shaped electronic piggy bank with an LCD screen that allows its owner to conduct a virtual affair with a cartoon character while watching the coins pile up.
The love story ends when the bank is filled with 100 pieces of 500 yen coins. Whether it's a happy ending or a heartbreaking one depends on how well users communicate with their virtual lovers, said manufacturer Bandai Corp, a toy-making unit of Namco Bandai Holdings.
"We wanted to provide a 'flavor of life' to women in various generations," said Bandai's spokeswoman Kasumi Nakanishi.
"To help users experience the reality of having butterflies in their stomach, this time we sought advice from a 'love-life psychologist'," Nakanishi added.
Bandai triggered a global craze with its "Tamagotchi" virtual pet game in 1996. "Tamagotchi," an egg-shaped device that beeps when the pet needs feeding, sold 74 million units worldwide.
"Ikemenbank" first asks the user to choose between five different types of men: "cool model," "witty comedian," "gentle, public-school boy," "young athlete" and "older man with patience."
As the user inserts coins, the men talk back, saying "you are the best," and "you are looking prettier these days."
But to achieve a happy ending, the user needs to choose strategic answers when the men ask questions such as: "I see my friend had a crush on you... doesn't he?"
The men also need constant attention. If the handsome model is neglected for 5 days, he disappears, leaving behind a farewell letter.
The piggybank is set to hit Japanese shops on September 6 with a price tag of 4,935 yen ($45.76), said Bandai.
金錢買不到愛情，但有了日本推出的一款能讓你在存錢的同時享受虛擬浪漫的儲蓄罐，你至少可以為愛情存點銀子。
“帥哥儲蓄罐“”是一款心形的帶有液晶顯示屏的電子儲蓄罐，它的主人可以在存錢的同時與里面的卡通人物發(fā)展一段虛擬的戀情。
據(jù)“帥哥儲蓄罐“”制造商、南夢萬代控股公司下屬的萬代公司介紹，這段戀情會在儲蓄罐存滿100枚50日元硬幣的時候結束。至于結局是喜還是悲就得看主人跟她的虛擬戀人交往得怎么樣了。
萬代集團女發(fā)言人仲西香須美說：“我們想給各個年齡段的女性帶來一點‘生活的味道’?！啊?
她說：“為了能讓用戶體驗到那種真正心跳的感覺，這次我們還特地咨詢了一位愛情心理學家?！啊?
萬代公司于1996年推出的一款名為“拓麻歌子“”的電子寵物玩具曾風靡全球，全世界總銷量達到7400萬件。 “拓麻歌子“”外形酷似雞蛋，里面的寵物需要喂食時會發(fā)出“嘟嘟“”的聲音
“帥哥儲蓄罐“”首先會讓用戶從“俊酷模特“”，“幽默喜劇演員“”，“溫柔小男生“”，“體育健將“”及“從容長者“”五種不同類型的男性卡通人物中選擇自己喜歡的一種。
用戶往儲蓄罐中插入硬幣時，這個人物就會說“你是最好的“”，或者“這些天你更漂亮了。“”
但如果你想讓這段戀情有個美好的結局，在回答這位“男士“”提出的類似“我覺得我的朋友愛上你了，是不是？“”這樣的問題時，可要講究策略。
此外，你要一如既往地關心他。如果你五天沒搭理這位帥哥，他會在留下一封告別信后消失。
萬代公司稱，這款儲蓄罐計劃于今年9月6日在日本上市，售價為4935日元（合45.76美元）。
