Or more likely, have someone shout at you from it. The SimCity street team is making their way across Japan in a little van to promote the touch-screen version of the classic. No doubt the release date, 22nd February, will be one of the many things emitting from the portable Tannoy system. No date has been set for the game to be released anywhere else in the world at the moment, but I’m pretty sure it’ll happen at some point.

Via Destructoid

Japanese idol, Haruna Anno, decided to test, for some reason or another, how robust Street Fighter II Super Famicom cartridges really are. Taking 3 carts and marking one Freeze, one Heat, and one Collision, she began her tests. “Freeze” was thrown into her freezer for five hours, “Heat” was burned on a gas stove, and “Collision” was thrown down a flight of stairs. “Freeze” and “Collision” worked fine straight away, but “Burn” didn’t quite fit the console’s slot, so was trimmed accordingly. And guess what? That worked too. Well done Nintendo, well done Haruna.

View Haruna’s original blog posting here.

Via Kotaku

Well, the Wii came out in Japan 3 days ago, and Nintendo has already sold 370,000 machines. Obviously people buy games with their console, so here are the top five games sold in Japan with sales figures:

Wii Sports - 176,880
Wii Play - 171,888
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 145,068
WarioWare: Smooth Moves - 63,086
Super Swing Golf - 12,673

Via Kotaku

I’ve received numerous emails regarding the Tekuteku Angel Pocket Pedometer for Nintendo DS, asking about availability or a possible worldwide release. YesAsia has just let me know that they are now taking pre-orders for this item online. I’ve not used it myself, so I’m not sure how easy it is to use for those who can’t speak Japanese. Both the pink version and blue version cost $45.49/£23.47.

Sony’s pink PlayStation Portable hits Japan on Wednesday, and what better way to sell a product than to advertise it. Anyone know who does the music?

Also, if you’re a girl gamer you should check out GamingAngels, a new website for the female gaming community.

Via Japan Probe

Sony is set to ask owners of their new PlayStation 3 console to help out a Stanford University medical research project. By leaving the machines on and connected to the Internet, the university will be able to connect to the consoles and use them to analyze “vast amounts of raw data on human protein structures”, which is believed to help find effective drugs for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. Apparently, the PS3 has been chosen as it can perform 218 billion calculations per second - “about 20 times faster than a high-performance personal computer available on the market now”.

To participate, users will be required to download specifically designed software by connecting their PS3’s to the Internet.

Source: Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Hudson Soft has created a new pedometer game where the weight of onscreen characters fluctuates depending on the number of steps taken. As additional encouragement, Tekuteku Angel Pocket, displays messages of its screen such as “Nice walking!” if you’re doing well. Furthermore, the pedometer can be hooked up to your Nintendo DS using the DS Tekuteku Diary in order to keep track of walked steps along with calorie info and other health data. The pedometer and diary will go on sale on 21st December for 5,229 yen (£23/$44).

Source: Nikkei

Update: YesAsia are now talking preorders for this item. It’s available in Blue and Pink.

Well, slight chaos. Sony’s PS3 was released in Japan today, and Kotaku reader Dirk ‘Faceman’ Benedict sent them his account of the console’s debut. He also posted the above video. I like the guy with the coffee who’s so shaken that he has to calmly put out his cigarette.

Go-touchi Kentei DS, is a new Nintendo DS game for Japanese gamers to help aid their knowledge of their own country. Through a bombardment of questions, “a better knowledge of the dialects, famous products and tourist spots of all the various regions of Japan” is the aim. Play a taster of the game online here.

Via Pocket Gamer

The National Museum of Western Art in Ueno, Tokyo, is providing visitors with a Nintendo DS Lite and special cartridge that allows the console to be used as a portable guide to the museum. Using various access points (below), the DS can detect when a person moves from room to room, and can therefore display new and relevant information onscreen. If the user happens to see a painting that they like in the museum, then they can simply browse to it on the console and hit ‘print’. The printout will then be waiting for them when leave the museum.

Via Newlaunches

Bit Generations is the banner in which certain Nintendo Game Boy Advance games fall under. The games are simple, stylish and have great soundtracks. They’re currently only available in Japan at the moment, but luckily, you can grab the soundtracks here. Worth noting that the soundtrack to Coloris was actually written by Cornelius.

Love and Berry is a cross between an arcade game and a collectable card game by Sega, and since launching in 2004, has become very popular with particularly girls aged 6-12. As a result, Nintendo have produced a Love and Berry DS Collection; a kit containing a CD soundtrack, ten limited edition cards, and of course the Love and Berry pink DS Lite. The special item is rumoured to become a rare collectable, and is priced 23,730 yen ($199/£106).

Via Siliconera

The 2nd commercial for the Nintendo Wii has hit the Japanese small screen, with the message being as equally simple as the first.

For those who can’t afford a DS Lite but would love to have one, follow these instructions to make your own. Out of paper. Games won’t work on it, but you can still open and close it!

Via Kotaku

Tired of playing video games? You like the characters and everything; it’s just that you’re a bit bored with staring at a screen? No? Ok, never mind, bad intro. Start again. Here are some Kirby things to stick on your fingers! There are 10 of them to collect, one of which is a secret (my guess, Kirby in a magician outfit or something equally bad), plus they come bundled with free candy. They cost 100 yen (£0.45/$0.84) each, and are available to those who can read Japanese, or to those who just like clicking things and seeing what happens. Get them here.