Mugen Peri Peri opens boxes forever without papercuts
Written by: Michael Keferl on October 6, 2008 at 10:56 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 3 CommentsUPDATE: Mugen Peri Peri now available online.
Bandai has done it again, and we’re slowly learning how many enjoyable small tasks there are that we want to do forever on a little toy. Popping Bubble Wrap…pinching out soybeans…now we’re opening packages?
The Mugen (infinite) series of toys from Bandai Asovision has now brought us the Mugen PeriPeri, a keychain toy that aims to replicate the pleasure of opening a package for the first time. Snacks, boxes, and other tear-open packages tend to reveal good things, so perhaps experiencing this sensation boosts endorphins and sends us into pleasure mode.
Now that we’re over the novelty of these toys (not that they aren’t fun, mind you), what does it say about Japan? Foreign press would likely spin these toys as “weird, wacky Japan” items that show how crazy Japanese people love to pop bubble wrap and open boxes so much that they want to carry them around. These videos certainly don’t help to dispel that idea:
For us, these toys have much simpler and innocent secrets to success. Clearly, the Mugen PuchiPuchi bubblewrap simulator was a creative stroke of genius, but what pushed it into critical mass was the power of the internet, bringing 30,000 visitors to the product page on the first day and catapulting it into the press without needing a massive ad campaign. This is highly unusual in Japan, but is a boon for manufacturers in a world of declining ad budgets.
Either way, our next product suggestion would be for the Mugen Apple, a toy that allows you to recreate the feeling of opening Apple products forever. We might even stand in line for it!
Tags: Asovision, Bandai, gadgets, Mugen PeriPeri, Toys
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Mugen Edamame (Infinite Soybeans) from Bandai Asovision
Written by: Michael Keferl on April 3, 2008 at 8:34 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 3 CommentsSo, the Mugen Puchi Puchi just wasn’t enough for you, eh? Puchi Moe too geared toward the Akiba crowd? Do you really like preparing for dinner and then never getting to eat it?
Coming on April 26th, the Mugen Edamame (Infinite Soybeans) from Bandai Asovision are another spinoff from the hugely popular Mugen Puchi Puchi (infinite bubblewrap) toy that was introduced to the English-speaking world by this humble website way back in the summer of 2007.
Mugen Edamame isn’t virtual bubblewrap, and you can’t eat it, but it’ll still go on forever. By pushing the beans inside the pod, each one pops out individually and shows one of twelve random faces (faces are pre-set of course, but randomly packaged) with a variety of characters from “old man bean” to “surprised bean”.
Of course, the same people who will buy the infinite soybeans would probably throw a fit if their moms asked them to peel some REAL soybeans for dinner, yet they’ll happily peel them all day long for “fun”. Kind of reminds me of a certain “yard work simulator” on a certain TV show…
Via Yoko Higashi - Celestial Fortune
Tags: Asovision, Bandai, Mugen Edamame, Mugen PuchiPuchi, Toys
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Puchi Moe brings anime love to virtual bubblewrap
Written by: Michael Keferl on February 8, 2008 at 10:01 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, MARKETING IDEAS | 3 CommentsRiding on the success of their hit 2007 “Infinite Bubblewrap” toy, Bandai is pushing the Puchi Puchi even more this year with the upcoming release of the new Puchi Moe versions.
Puchi Moe has four new color schemes, but also four distinct female anime characters to go along with them, obviously to tap into the lucrative market of otaku that like to spend money on such things.
The characters represent four major archetypes in Japanese anime:
• Osonanajimi: The childhood friend, loyal and at your side.
• Meido: Your stereotypical anime maid, at your service.
• Tsundere: A character type that is tough on the outside, but vulnerable.
• Imouto: The adoring younger sister.
While the original Puchi version (and subsequent color varieties) were complete media creations from the get-go, Bandai is taking the publicity for Puchi Moe into its own hands. Each character has her “own” blog (ex. Osonanajimi) and even downloadable promo graphics to decorate your geeky desktop.
There are also the obligatory “blog parts” (see below) of embeddable html character clocks to put in any of the millions of Japanese blogs out there…
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…and this is just the marketing campaign! The actual Puchi Moe are just like the original PuchiPuchi, but instead of fart noises and dogs barking (between pops of course) you get character-specific expressions like “I really like you big brother!” which might be a little weird for those of us without younger sisters, but is a nice compliment nonetheless.
Puchi Moe will be available on March 8th and, if it gets the same attention as last time, will be out of stores and dangling from laptop and PSP cases before nightfall.
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Tags: anime, Asovision, Bandai, moe, Mugen PuchiPuchi, otaku
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Bandai’s Mugen Puchipuchi set for release, is not packed in itself
Written by: Michael Keferl on September 18, 2007 at 1:23 am | In DIGITAL LIFE | No CommentsThe most anticipated small toy of the Japanese summer, Mugen PuchiPuchi infinite bubblewrap, is set to be released soon. How quickly (and in what quantities) it will actually make it to stores is yet to be seen, but these things are always unpredictable with Japanese toy makers. However, they’ve re-done their website a bit with pictures and video.
If you’ve ever wondered what Bandai or their ad agency’s office looks like, it seems you can get a glance below. The series of pictures on the PuchiPuchi site go through the various situations where PuchiPuchi use is ideal, including getting babes, quitting smoking, and being a hit with your favorite foreigner.
I don’t know how many girls PuchiPuchi will get ya, but it’s worth a shot to see if they’ll “puchipuchi together” like the suave geek above obviously did. Just give this a whirl to your favorite J-girl and see what she says:
一緒にプチプチしませんか。(issho ni puchipuchi shimasenka)
I guarantee she’ll at least laugh, which (if you’re like me) actually isn’t all that different from what normally happens.
Pre-order PuchiPuchi HERE
Tags: Asovision, Bandai, Mugen PuchiPuchi
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Puchipuchi Virtual Bubble Wrap toy from Bandai Asovision
Written by: Michael Keferl on June 24, 2007 at 8:14 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 43 CommentsIt’s a compulsion, and a secret pleasure. We lost track of the times we’ve either hoarded or had bubble wrap snatched right out of our hands to be popped mercilessly, either one-by-one or by the impatient “wring-out” technique. It’s a natural law that man loves to pop bubble wrap.
In comes Bandai to take all of the fun out of the pop by making it fun, with the new PuchiPuchi (プチプチ) infinite bubble wrap toy. Puchipuchi in Japanese is the sound of a little pop as well as the name for bubble wrap, so the toy basically named itself! Designed to mimic both the sound and feeling of popping little plastic bubbles, PuchiPuchi can be carried around as a key chain for popping. Their slogan “Anytime, anywhere, forever…you can puchipuchi” basically says it all.
You may think that popping bubbles is boring, but the toy makes a sound effect every 100 pops, including “door chime”, “barking dog”, “fart”, and “sexy voice”. To add even more excitement to the craziness of Puchipuchi, there’s a 1:1000 chance that you’ll get a “puchi lucky” toy that has a heart-shaped bubble. Is there a better way to make your friends jealous?
Bandai designed the toy with the Puchipuchi bubble wrap company, so it’s almost guaranteed to be the most realistic bubble wrap simulator on the market. Pop.
**UPDATE: June 28th, 2007***
We went to the Tokyo Toy Show today and got some great pics of the real Mugen Puchipuchi. Enjoy!
Press release from Bandai
Due to popular demand, now you can Order Puchipuchi in the Online Shop
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