1. Language and culture.

Posted at 9:28AM on Sep 30th 2007 by Nobody Fugazi

2. I am curious about the statement about the Japanese being "well-behaved and conformist" especially in relation to their forms of entertainment. Every Japanese video game I've ever played, as well as most of the manga and anime I've ingested over the years... The protagonists have not fit into that categorization, whether they are simply not conformists or if they are total dicks.

Though that would boil down to how the majority of the users view avatars. If they are simply an online 3-d representation of the user and the user does not desire a fantastic setting (ie: sci-fi/fantasy/whatever), then meet-me is super in theory. If the Japanese public decides it likes to interact on a space station or have a - what could we call it - a second life, perhaps, then meet-me is boned.

Posted at 3:33PM on Oct 1st 2007 by Shini

3. The only way I could see this as a detractor to SL is the fact that SL is somewhat Euro-centric as far as language and useability.

However, there are a ton of Japanese in SL making amazing sims and builds that are much more authentic than the "we're white kids that like Naruto" style that most faux-japanese sims have in SL. There are also a few decent translators geared towards the japanese speakers out there that help bridge the gap somewhat between us and them...at least to the point where one could complete a transaction!

I don't much like the "conformist" comment because of the underlying ignorance it implies. Anyone that has been exposed to even the most basic of Japanese entertainment would know the difference between "conformism" and "duty and loyalty" in Japanese culture. Plus there's the fact that Japanese entertainment is anything BUT plain and conformist. It could cause seizures in some cases!

Posted at 5:11PM on Oct 1st 2007 by SqueezeOne Pow