Shopping on the other side

A friend of mine was recently telling me about her vacation in Japan, and one of the things she saw was a game for the Wii called Taiko no Tatsujin. It's basically a rhythm game similar to many others which are popular these days such as Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Tap Tap Revenge, and so on. What makes this one unique is that the instrument used is the traditional Japanese drum called the Taiko, so it combines popular culture with a traditional instrument.

After some research, I found out that the wii version is exclusive to Japan, and there are currently no plans for an American release. There is also a version for iOS, but this is also restricted to the Japanese iTunes store. I really wanted to try this game on iOS, and it turns out that there are many others outside Japan in the same situation. In fact, there is even a website, jbox.com, that sells Japanese iTunes gift cards to those who want to download music and apps from outside Japan. The product listing even includes instructions on how to set up and activate a Japanese iTunes account with the gift card.

The iTunes store has localized versions for many countries, but I always thought that the American store was the one with the largest selection of music, movies, TV shows, apps and podcasts. In stark contrast, the Singapore iTunes store only has iOS apps and podcasts; no music, videos, TV shows or movies. However, in the case of the Japanese store, there is a large variety of music, videos and apps unique to that store. This time, the tables had been turned: instead of the American iTunes store being the place to be, it was instead the Japanese version!

I followed the instructions for setting up a Japanese iTunes account, which basically involves entering user information, including an address and phone number in Japan. For the payment method option, I selected the “none” option. This limits you to free content, but for the purpose of trying out the app, this was sufficient. After the download is complete, you can log of out the account, and then sync your iOS device. I was then able to install the game on my iPhone. Score!

Although the instructions are all in Japanese, I was able to figure out how to adjust the settings and some of the basic options.The game itself is very straightforward: you follow the music and tap on either the drum or rim depending on the color of the cue. At the same time, there are characters on either side of the screen dancing to the music, and as your score increases, more and more dancing characters appear. It's silly and whimsical, but it's funny and entertaining. At the higher levels, the game gets really challenging, and you really need to have a good sense of rhythm to be able to keep up.

The game has been pretty fun, and I will probably get tired of playing the same demo songs over and over. I may eventually be sufficiently tempted to actually buy the Japanese iTunes gift card, or perhaps see if I can pick one up at the Tokyo airport the next time I transit there. We'll see...