What do you get when a dying Japanese resort town casts a popular virtual dating game as its last hope for survival? That’s right, a ton of single, pasty Japanese men with money to spend flocking to the town of Atami. Though they prefer tapping on their mobile computer screens to interacting with real people, they might ask you to snap a photo of them with their virtual girlfriend at one of the video game’s featured landmarks (thanks to some major brains, QR code, and the augmented reality capabilities of the Nintendo DS system). The girls, all Japanese schoolgirl characters, can even change outfits to suit occasion!LovePlus+, the matchmaker behind the madness, aims to simulate “real relationships” that one has to maintain and cultivate. After choosing from one of three (teen-aged) girlfriends, men can earn “boyfriend power” points by completing homework and exercising in order to become more fit, along with remembering important dates (birthdays, holidays…anniversaries). These high school girls are demanding though, in the WSJ video above, one man reports that his girlfriend was giving him the silent treatment for not spending enough time with her.In the game, once a player earns enough points, he is rewarded with a virtual trip to Atami, a real-life Japanese resort town on the decline. But the tourism-savvy businesses in Atami caught on to the possibilities—now the virtual trip can be experienced in real life, and the town is customizing its offerings to their virtual clientele—with offerings like romantic hotel suites for two to the tune of $500/a night. How’s that for some good, clean (possibly socially destructive) fun?!
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