Sony informed Kotaku today that the UMD Passport program, first instituted in Japan, would not be available for North American users.

This program allowed gamers to put UMD games in their PSPs to register them, then download them at a discount on the Vita.

Unfortunately, this means that when Vita launches in North America, you’ll have no way to play the UMD games you’ve collected over the PSP’s lifespan — and you’ll have to keep your PSP if you ever intend to play those games again. Any PSP games you’ve downloaded/purchased digitally will still be available.

No reason has been given (as of yet) for not offering the program. It’s possible that, for some reason, it’s just not popular and therefore not worth offering in the U.S. and Canada.

Does this change your opinion of the device? I’d say I was bummed out, but I never owned a PSP, so it doesn’t really affect me that much.

Last week I received an invite to watch a free concert. Live Viewing Japan is a distribution group that is bringing Japanese Entertainment to theaters near you. The events seem to be worldwide showings but for only one day. I didn’t know what to expect on this adventure. Would there be an audience? A further niche is that this wasn’t your average band we would be watching. It was a concert put on by virtual pop star, Hatsune Miku.

Hatsune Miku was developed by Cyrpton Future Media as the world’s first synthesized star. The voice samples are taken from voice actress Saki Fujita and then put through a digital synthesizer. Even though she was an animation with a synthesized voice, she became incredibly popular in Japan. Crypton started playing with some alterations creating different personas for Miku: Soft (gentle, delicate voice), Sweet (young, chibi voice), Dark (mature, heartbroken-like voice), Vivid (bright, cheerful voice), Solid (loud, clear voice), and Light (innocent, heavenly voice). At this point she has at least 10,000 songs recorded.

When I read that Hatsune Miku has actually performed in many concerts I was extremely curious as to how. Do concert goer’s just watch a theater screen? Basically watching an anime for an hour? Well I can assure you that the creators of Hatsune Miku in concert do a MIND BLOWING job of making a semi-realistic performance for concert goers to enjoy.

First, the concert we watched was Hatsune Miku Live Party 2011 39′s LIVE in SAPPORO which took place in August 2011. A live band played to a packed house of fans with glow sticks. In between the live band were a couple of tall but thin screens. These screens would be where Miku would perform.

I have to say that I was astonished at how good it looked! They kept Miku at a realistic height and when the camera pulled back, you could have thought that was a real pop star. Miku’s dance moves were fluid, and her long pigtails flowing with her moves. She was incredibly expressive too.

The night started with a line to get in. Didn’t help that I wasn’t on the guest list, although they added me because of the email I had. It actually seemed like many people were having problems with being not on a list. Then the screen showed an error and after a few unsuccessful tries, the show got started. About thirty minutes late. I was starting to consider leaving at the point it started. I’m not sure if this is the first event for Live Viewing Japan at the theater in LA, but it sure felt like it. It was a disorganized mess.

So what is a crowd like that comes to watch a film of a virtual pop star performing in a concert? It turns out a WIDE array of people. First, I didn’t feel like the oldest one in the room. There were many older adults there. A couple next to me were playing on their DS before the show (about my age). The two rows in front of me were freshmen in high school. The kids came in costume, giggled the whole time and brought their own glow sticks. They were ready to party. In fact, through most of the show these kids danced, sang and twirled their glow sticks just like the audience at the real concert.

Overall it was entertaining. I’m definitely now a fan of Hatsume Miku. I feel like Live Viewing Japan has some work to do to make it a better organized event. I was also very surprised that there were no subtitles. So expect to actually know Japanese if you attend an event. You can check Liveviewing.jp (but select English) for information about their future shows. I believe L’Arc～en～Ciel is their next show.

Here’s some video I found on Youtube from the original concert:

This morning (well, Japan’s morning, anyway) saw quite a bit of interesting news. I’ll hit it in bullet form, if you don’t mind. (My less-than-rudimentary remembrance of college Japanese classes did come in handy.)

• Apparently, enough women aren’t playing the 3DS. What do we do to fix that? Release a pink one, of course. It goes on sale in Japan on October 20.
• Kid Icarus: Uprising‘s been delayed. Again. What was supposed to be a launch title for the 3DS is now coming out in 2012. Maybe it’s secretly for Wii U.
• 3D video capture is on the way for the system! Nintendo showed off some very odd video to accompany that. You may be able to superimpose Mii faces on actual people. Yes, it looks as creepy as it sounds. This update, coming in November, also adds additional puzzles to the Mii Plaza. So yes, you do have a reason to start carrying your 3DS with you everywhere once more.
• Square Enix is rolling out a game with the actual title Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. This is not a joke. The game does involve using the system’s augmented reality features, and comes with its own AR card, if the video shown following the conference is any indication.
• Other titles on the way for 3DS? Animal Crossing, Culdcept, Fire Emblem, Mario Tennis and Paper Mario.
• Nintendo of America have confirmed release dates for Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land: Dec. 4 and Nov. 13, respectively.
• Monster Hunter TriG is officially official. Know what else is? Monster Hunter 4. The entire country of Japan let out a squeal at that moment, I think. It looks like 4 may be 3DS-exclusive. Check out the trailer:
  
• That weird circle pad add-on has also been priced and dated: 1,500¥ on December 10. The Frankenpad was never mentioned during the conference itself. It is priced to move, however, and several other upcoming games also support it (but don’t require it) — Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D and Resident Evil: Revelations. So, get ready for that thing to come over here to North America — and for a possible fragmentation of 3DS games. The circle pad will also require a single AAA battery, so it won’t add anything to your battery, but it also won’t take away. I guess that’s the least we could ask for.

This new category of “PSP Remaster” titles will not only get a visual upgrade, but they’ll also add some new features, like SIXAXIS support and 3D. You’ll also be able to use your PSP filesaves on your PS3, then continue the game while you’re on the road. The PS3 will be adding an “ad hoc for PlayStation Portable” application.

Since Japan’s getting the new titles first, it makes sense that the first release will be a very Japanese one — Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD. (They could bring that to other shores, but I’m doubting it, personally — Monster Hunter hasn’t really taken off here.)

What PSP titles would you like to see make the jump to the console big brother?

Rating:

BUY

Japan may have slipped from the news cycle, but it is ever present in my mind. The inner self dialog, an allusive perforation narrated by Anthony Bourdain, sentimentalizing about Hokkaido or Osaka. Moments, fragments, evoke emotions that weren’t there before. A photograph of a Japanese classic beauty, wearing a blanket, standing amid a flattened ruin. An almost empty bottle of sake with a label that says “Forgotten Japanese Spirit”. There is indeed a spiritual presence from Japan that reaches out to us so strongly, so tangibly, that we will digest any scrap of its culture that we can obtain. If you have felt this, then you will adore, even love, this classic game. It is a flashpoint, a moment reflected. The Before Time, if you will.

Yakuza 4 is PlayStation 3 exclusive. For once it is the Sony side that got something before the 360. Although it may have been a superior machine to begin with, in light of all of Sony’s recent problems, it is not without a dose of nostalgia that I got into this review. We may be witnessing the PS3′s unintended swan song as I write this.  Like Zaza Gabor’s baby, the publishing is also born from the aging and perhaps soon to be irrelevant Sega. It gives me no pleasure to predict any demise. But the signs are there to be read.

Yakuza 4 can be said to be everything it should be as a fourth offering in the franchise. All the quirks that you have come to embrace or despise about the series are here. As well as the flaws. I don’t find the intermittent blank black screens, while the PS3 loads scenes from this game particularly endearing. It may not be reasonable to expect young gamers to have patience with the not -so-much improved game engine.

For the value, you are getting lots more acreage and many new areas this time. Though again you can’t be in a rush to get anywhere. This game invites you to try the twenty-five year old scotch, go fishing, and buy jewelry for your hostesses. The designers want you to indulge. Following the big earthquake, Japan may experience a phase like the 1930′s American Depression, the gold chain wearing, clubbing and fast lifestyle of the Yakuza stereo-type might become a character of the past.

This is not Grand Theft Auto. You can’t jack cars, murder pedestrians, or beat up the call girls. Everything in Yakuza 4 has been crafted to reflect a specific Japanese Yakuza movie stereotype. A similar game was Mafia 2, and even though they are both about crime families the similarities end where the cultural aspects begin. If you haven’t played one of these before, don’t go into Yakuza 4 with any expectations, and you won’t be disappointed.

You can’t steal a motorcycle that is right in front of you in Yakuza 4. However, you can pick up that motorcycle, or a sign, or a tree, or anything else that happens to be around, and clock your opponents in the head with it. Yakuza 4 has the same aspects of a fighting game as the other versions did, but with improvements. It is still awkward and a chore to get the characters to turn around and face the enemies they are fighting. There is auto-targeting, but the characters still don’t seem to recognize the different parts of an enemy. It is an inelegant bit of programming to find in what appears to be primarily a martial arts fighter game. A better combat fight engine would have been handy in this game.

The four main characters are all equipped with a wide range of fighting skills; each character has his own style of fighting and special moves. There are many special moves and combos to perfect. As the guys fight, their Heat level increases and as it does, the character’s ability to make more and more deadly hits grows. Some of them are very funny and humiliating for the defeated.

The game does tend to stop your progress at inopportune moments, another familiar quirk from past versions. There is no rushing through this game. You need to slow down and take time to smell the expensive perfumes in the boutique. Gangs of thugs, rival yakuza, and random thieves will come up and challenge your character. Then you give them a sound beating with fists, feet and whatever is handy. The battles do yield some drops. You’ll get drinks and occasionally weapons from these guys. Though the bonuses from fighting don’t exactly make it very rewarding.

This isn’t really a shooter either. It is more of a … third person sightseeing tour/game. Did you ever want to wander around in downtown kabukicho, the infamous red light district north of Tokyo? This birthplace of host and hostess culture, age-jo and Shinjuku street fashion holds a fascination like New York or Hollywood. The fast paced life style, the complex underworld and the combination of high end pleasures gives the game a thrilling, constant anxiety.

Set in the backdrop of the long narrative of the extended Tojo family clan, this time Yakuza 4 leaves off the annoying babysitting missions. Instead you will play as four of the male members of the family. But women are not left out entirely either. Femme fatal, the beautiful and elusive Lili, whose name Yuri, can be translated as both “pure” or “lesbian” leads the males in the game on, and spearheads the plot.

Still an exciting twist would have been to have at least one female “nee-san” or ‘older sister’ in the game. If you read GTO Fourteen Days, you might remember the pivotal scene when the twins are arguing and the lady of the house comes out, impeccably garbed in traditional dress, with few words and an arresting look, she appears more delicately deadly than any of the men with rifles. Or I can just imagine one of the heroines from Soul Calibur 4 such as the dignified, umbrella carrying Satsuka, or the warrior woman Taki in that role. These suggestions would have brought a whole new excitement to the game. When playing Saints Row 2 it was outstanding being able to create a female gang leader, with full character customization, that should be included in every single game to make it fair and open to all players. So much for playable female avatars in a game designed for the male Japanese market. The point, and it is a compliment, is that this game is novel-like enough for women to enjoy it too.

Taking place in the fictional Kamuro City, three new areas were added. It isn’t as huge as Dirt 2, or some of the other open world games. There are several places where you can run up against invisible walls. The single player experience can be as short as a mere twenty hours. If you play side missions, and the mini games, you can spend tons more time in the game. The red light district which was slashed from Yakuza 3 is present this time. You can also access the roofs. Though again something weird happens with that. Instead of being able to make the characters freely walk down stairs, there are edit points. It will go off to a blank load screen, and bring your character back at the bottom of the stairs. Sometimes things which should be simple, such as basic navigation have been made either far more complicated than they need to be, or simply don’t function.

The back streets of Kamurocho known as Rojiura were included this time. And the intriguing underground or “Kamuchika” provides more opportunities for fights of course. To entice your curiosity the seedy underbelly offers players sewers, parking lots and shopping arcades to delve into.

One of the biggest differences from the previous games, is that this time, you play as four different protagonists. The original main character Kazuma Kiryu, the unwilling kumicho and unlikely hero is there, but not until the end. The others are Masayoshi Tanimura the tarnished cop, Shun Akiyama the loan shark philanthropist, and Taiga Saejima the ex-con. That may seem interesting, but keep in mind that every time you get a new character you have to start over. You loose the inventory he had, and all the skills. It isn’t like they are successively stronger either. That seems like a missed opportunity.

Rather than dubbing the dialog into English, the voice acting is all in Japanese. There are two schools of thought on this. Some gamers enjoy a great english voice acting experience, like in Mass Effect 2. Others who watch lots of anime in Japanese, will find this decision to be preferable. The immersiveness of the game is further preserved with the use of captions. Oh yes, there are lots of them.

At that fork in the road you will either find yourself diving in past the innumerable fights to discover just what the heck is going on, or you won’t care.

The lighting effects are almost blinding on a large hi def screen. There is lots and lots of neon. There are signs on buildings which seem to be piled one on top of the other. Each glaring and clashing vividly against the other. Flashy strobe lights, and disco balls inside and out of the clubs throb with virtual electricity.

The ambient noises in the game are very realistic. Music and announcements blare from the shops. You can hear construction going on, guys are trying to solicit girls to work as hostesses, the
ball bearings fall down inside the machines of the pachinko parlors adding to the jangle of the cacophony of noise. What you don’t hear are the incessant sirens that are the ever present back-up to a Liberty City scene.

Lest we forget and tend to over romanticize, these four Yakuza characters are dangerous fighters, who would as soon knock a guy’s head off as talk to him. They are brutal and the fighting is violent. It is over the top in a way that does make it humorous. There is something about the impenetrable fortress of these men that will make you want to get to their core and understand their motivations, thanks to the convoluted story. They aren’t particularly sensitive guys, but some of the conversations they have may surprise you. They are not unthinking one-dimensional characters.

In typical Japanese fashion, the plot isn’t handed to you easily from beginning to end. Laden with murders, betrayals and red herrings, you’ll be drawn into its world. The consciousness and code of honor among thieves that attracts Americans to underdogs, and dark heroes is at play here. It is deeper than Heavy Rain, more realistic than Mafia 2 and on par with the sarcastic sense of humor you had with GTA 4′s Niko Bellic story arc.

In a complicated fashion some families see themselves as the decendants of samurai. The unemployed soldier class declined after their glory era. The word Yakuza today originates from gambler or ‘bakuto’. The three smaller words ya-ku-za, or 8-9-3, is a sardonic metaphor referring to a losing hand in Oicho-Kabu, a form of Japanese blackjack.

In the game, gambling offers numerous distractions. There are several mini-games such as the addictive pachinko, the relaxing yet predictable fishing, bowling, pool, batting cages, Blackjack, darts, (real) mah jong, shoji, and even ping pong. Other luxuries are the onsen baths, massage parlor, hostess club, golf and karaoke.

Does Yakuza 4 objectify women? It most certainly does, unapologetically. There is no pretense used. The women in the game are either non-sexual hostesses, the modern day Geishas that pour drinks and provide enchanting conversation for men, massage parlors and sex workers are also there for the entertainment of men. The hostess girl dress-up mini-game permits your character to buy women’s clothing and accessories. Your male character that is. He can purchase items and have the hostess try them on while he watches her. You win by creating the number one earning hostess for your club.  The ping pong game has frequent gratuitous camera zoom ins on the women’s chests. Then there’s the weirdo wearing panties on his head hanging off a fire escape by a bra. That believe it or not is another mini-game. A panty otaku.

Fishing controls are simple and fun. Your character will have to pay for bait though. You will catch equal amounts of non fish items. An empty brief case, or the poorly translated “cylindrical trash”, think they meant “tin can”? The golf isn’t as easy to control as the Tiger Woods games of course but it’s a full golf course with your choices for clubs to use.

Yakuza 4 leaves plenty of room for improvement. In all honesty it needed a full overhaul to bring it up to date with its peers. The combat engine, navigation, camera, and level design all could have been reworked. At any given point you can compare it to the leaders in its genre and finding it lacking. The one thing that this game does right it to be itself. Sega could have invested some resources in making this a better built game and didn’t. Perhaps too much emphasis was made in the mini-games that should have gone into the perfection of other aspects of the game. In the end the game was left old school like the Yakuza themselves. That in itself is hardcore enough for most gamers who buy brawler video games, and watch martial arts movies with sub titles.

Like the WWII era kimono that you find at the vintage clothing store that has a ripped lining, when you look down and see, “Is that real gold thread? OMG!” You clutch it possessively to your chest and take it to the check out line, Yakuza 4 is a Buy.

You may have already chosen your side in this battle, but in Japan, it won’t matter soon enough. Gamasutra recently reported that PSP Go production is going to be ended in Japan completely, with all focus shifting to the more traditional PSP-3000 handheld.

This is a move that makes sense given that Sony’s NGP is due to make its appearance in that country sometime this year.

However, North America’s supplies should remain fresh, as the company will not be stopping production on this side of the world.

Do you find it interesting that Sony appears to be abandoning its latest PSP, or is it more like a good riddance to you? Sound off in the comments.

We heart Japan. Don’t you? We heart Japan is also a charity event that is happening at Meltdown Comics tomorrow from 8pm to 11pm.

The charity event is to raise money and show support for the residents of Japan. All proceeds will go to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund. There will be a silent auction that will feature art from Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe, Sweet Streets LA, Cathy Clark, Zane DeGaine, Kevissimo, Dekker Dreyer, Aaron
Bjork, Shibuya Girls Pop, Sam Randazzo, Sawdust Bear, Sasha Palacio, Sara Tea, Patrick Smith, Eron Rauch and many more!

Music will be featured by Count Ninjula. Food trucks will also be on site. And they have an amazing list of special guests which do include voice actors that have worked in games as well as anime.

Stephanie Sheh (Naruto, Bleach, Eureka 7)
Troy Baker (Generator Rex, Bleach, The Avengers)
Richard Epcar (Ghost in the Shell, Mr. Men, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe)
Wendee Lee (Cowboy Bebop, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Bleach)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Naruto, Ghost in the Shell, Silent Hill)
Daran Norris (Team America, Fairly Odd Parents, T.U.F.F. Puppy)
Liam O’brien (Naruto, Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy, X-men: Destiny)
Ellyn Stern (Blue Dragon, Noein, Bleach)
Michelle Ruff (Gurren Lagan, Digimon Data Squad, Gungrave)
DC Douglas (Resident Evil, Mass Effect 2, Kyo Kara Maoh!)
Crispin Freeman (Hellsing, Blood+, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,
Slayers)
Sam Riegel (Naruto, Yûgiô,Texhnolyze, Fallout: New Vegas)
JB Blanc (Darksiders, Iron Cross, The Unit, CSI: New York, Nikita)
Tony Oliver (Bleach, Robotech, Lucky Star)

Find out more details on the website here.

This big quake came after six others measuring magnitude 5.0 or above which churned beneath the ocean east of Japan Friday morning. There was also five on Thursday in the area of the same scale and 17 on Wednesday. In the past seven days, there have been 53 earthquakes of at least 5.0-magnitude around the world, according to the US Geological Survey. Of those, 28 struck near Japan.

Japan’s latest quake places it in the Geological Survey’s top five largest earthquakes to strike anywhere in the world in the past 111 years. The last time a powerful quake rocked Tokyo in 1923, it claimed more than 147,000 lives, many of them in fires.

Another intense factor is that one of Japans electricity producing nuclear reactors is not responding to shut down cooling functions.
A ripple effect is now expected as the tsunami wave bears down on the US West coast.

Seen as an embarrassment by some, there is an influence to clean up anime. Its place in Japanese media, can cause cultural misunderstandings when anime is often seen as sexually promiscuous and degrading towards women. What they really want to get rid of are the ones that sexualize underage young girls.

Criticism has come about now due to the vagueness of how the bill was written. An over broad description of what is taboo could mean that anime in general could have to become more censored.

Ishihara and the new law are feared to be a ticket to anime’s demise. Like video games in the USA which are trashed by people who never play them, it would seem that stereotypes against anime exist inside and outside Japan. Some people believe that anime is just cartoon porn. In reality anime covers just about every age group and type of interest.

Anime that contains sexual content is usually called hentai. Lately more sex has been used to dress up thinner story lines to get it to sell. Because sexual content has been crossing the line between mainstream anime and hentai, it has drawn the attention of politicians like Ishihara. As boundaries continue to be pushed and sexual subject matter increases, there is certain to be a battle between both sides on the issue.

The Bunraku “Nihonjin No Wasuremono” or the “Forgotten Japanese Spirit” is a fine natural Yamahai Junmai Saké. It feels as though a precious genie is in the bottle that I don’t want to let out.

More than just being about getting drunk, the making of rice wine is still an almost sacred, and revered process. It involves the purest of cool water as it comes from the mountains. This one was made in the Saitama Prefecture. It is a Yamahai, which means that the brewer uses native yeasts, those just floating in the air of the brewery. It is a very tricky process which not many modern brewers use any more.

There are various “paths” or “ways” in Japan for mastering a discipline. Such as the tea ceremony, Ikebana flower arrangement, traditional archery, or working with incense. Shudo or the “Way of Sake” appeared at the end of the Ashikaga Shogunate around the fourteenth century.

Sake can be works of art. The Way of Sake has a special path each month, said to purify the soul. It is an elegant way that the flowers and the seasons are incorporated in a ritual – like fashion. Even the cups and the method of pouring has significance, and the beauty of such gestures is said to enhance the experience, elevating it from merely intoxicating to enchantment.

Shudo for February is called the “month of reviving plants,” in the lunar calendar. In February in the old Japanese calendar, ume sake is made with Japanese apricot blossoms which were in bloom at that time. According to the Japanese traditional calendar, February 4th is the first day of spring.

In the manga xxxHolic they celebrated by drinking sake and floating chrysanthemum petals, on September the ninth. That sake is for wishing for longevity and exorcism. The delicate fragrance infuses the sake’ with chrysanthemum flowers.

The mystical confluence between people and bacteria is brought to life in the anime called Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture. Where the “Forgotten Japanese Spirit” is the Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an air borne bacteria which creates alcohol out of sugars.

Tadayasu is a gifted boy who has a type of clairvoyance that allows him to see the little micro organisms. He goes to the university with his good friend Kei Yūki whose family runs a sake brewery. There he is able to witness the magical process of dancing bacteria that everyone else would need a microscope to see.