Wired Top Stories  -
1 days and 20 hours ago
img src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/pl_games_stack_t.jpg'/img: p Since the
arcade heyday of citeSpace Invaders/cite and citePac-Man/cite, coin-op machines have coaxed kids
into forking over their pocket change. But once it's GAME OVER, what are you left with? Empty
pockets and your initials on the high-score table? That won't buy those Warhammer figurines.
/ppWell, now one of the hottest toy trends out of thrifty Japan is piggy banks that turn
stockpiling yen into a game. In 2006, the Tomy company launched its Jinsei Ginko ("Life Bank"), a
coin repository with an electronic version of the board game Life. It was such a hit that today
there's a range of increasingly sophisticated banks, tailored for both genders and encompassing
several genres. /ppHere's a look at a few piggys that are gobbling up the nation's yen, and the
gameplay you get when you drop some dough. /p img
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/white_bank1_t.jpg'/img: p This high-tech
piggy bank started it all. The LCD screen is inhabited by a stick-figure avatar who can have
various jobs like businessman or musician or president. He is your pet, sort of like a Tamagotchi
that you have to feed with yen. /p p Let's play it safe, join the work force as a corporate
warrior. Our young salaryman starts out in a one-room dilapidated apartment, eating bowls of cheap
noodles. Five days in, he has only saved a mere 500 yen. Pathetic. /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/white_bank2_f.jpg'/img: p Work, work, work.
Endless! Our businessman races back into his office, briefcase in tow, only to end up hunched over
a desk late into the night. /p img
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/white_bank3_f.jpg'/img: p Here comes the
bride, the stick figure bride! (Isn't she a knock out?) We've dumped thousands of yen into the
Jinsei Ginko, and our avatar is moving up in the virtual world. With enough money in the bank and
ample stick-figure charm, the salaryman is able to convince a fetching young lady to accept his
hand in marriage. /p img
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/white_bank4_f.jpg'/img: p As you move closer
to maxing out the bank at 100,000 yen, your avatar moves out of his urban shoebox into a penthouse
apartment with a beautiful view of the city. Raise your glass, salaryman-san. You've hit the 2-bit
LCD big time! /p img src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/tower_bank1_t.jpg'/img:
p The worst part of Japanese RGPs is grinding through the damn game, looking for money. Here's a
thought: Look in your wallet! Instead of using in-game currency, BankQuest uses emyour/em coins. /p
p Still wet behind the ears, our hero enters the Tower, but he's brought an ax to a sword fight
mdash; not to mention a stupid-looking hat. Let's plunk some cold hard cashola into the bank so we
can level up. Whenever players put change into this role-playing lock box, the gargoyle's mouth
glows red and the in-game hero gets credit. /p img
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/tower_bank2_f.jpg'/img: p Once you've
converted real money into virtual money, your avatar can buy weapons, armor and even health mdash;
regeneration potions in the village shops outside the castle walls. "Welcome!" says the shopkeeper.
/pimg src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/tower_bank3_f.jpg'/img: p As you
toggle through the goods in the shop, you'll spot cool merch like this blade that looks like it
could cut a swath through hundreds of tiny LCD monsters. Must-have. /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/tower_bank4_f.jpg'/img: p Back in the Tower,
our hero's brandishing his new gleaming sword and fancy hairdo. Just like in a standard RPG,
leveling up changes the characters' appearance, and right now you look pretty darn good. /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/tower_bank5_f.jpg'/img: p Just like in any
standard RPG, enemies pop up asking for a butt-whoppin'. Ack! There's a globby one. But with a
badass sword in hand, that monster is so toast. The hero roams dungeons killing monsters and
amassing treasure before he faces down the final boss, the dastardly spendthrift Devil Warudollar
(emwaru/em means "bad"). /p img
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/heart_bank_hunk_t.jpg'/img: p Why drain your
purse on dates with real men? Following schmaltzy romance novel plot lines, Ikemen Bank is a vault
you can fall in love with. Literally. This heart-shaped vault is a emrenai/em (dating game) that
lets frugal gals find romance while saving money. emIkemen/em is Japanese slang for "handsome guy,"
and there are five hunky suitors to select from: the cool dude, the TV star, the rich kid, the buff
athlete and the sugar daddy. Just look at that dreamboat. He's so, well, dreamy. /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/heart_bank_rice_t.jpg'/img: p Cool guy is
hungry, and when cool guy is hungry, you damn well better feed him. Tonight's din-din is a
traditional meal. "Delicious!" he says, emptying another bowl of rice. /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/heart_bank_holdclose_t.jpg'/img: p What. An.
Evening. Tonight was truly a date to remember forever and ever. That is, until the next one. But
before parting, cool guy pulls you close, whispering sweet nothings. Each time a coin is inserted,
he'll say things like "I want to smooch," or "You really look great today," or "Let me give you a
shoulder rub." Swoon! /pimg
src='http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1612/heart_bank_sayonara_t.jpg'/img: p Great date
aside, you're totally busy with real world stuff! And you totally forget to insert money into your
Ikemen Bank for a whole working week. Your greedy hunk writes you a letter that simply says,
"emSayonara/em." No translation needed. /pbr style="clear: both;"/ a style='font-size: 10px; color:
maroon;'
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border='0' title='Add to Facebook' alt='Add to Facebook'
src='http://www.pheedo.com/images/mm/facebook.gif'//a a style='font-size: 10px; color: maroon;'
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border='0' title='Add to Reddit' alt='Add to Reddit'
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src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=b4b35ae1016f5298984a0ee52bcdec06p=1"//a img
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src="http://feeds.wired.com/~a/wired/index?i=geW5eI" border="0"/img/a/pimg
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