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Resort Attracts Men With Virtual Girlfriends
disco_tracy writes "Long a favorite of lovers and honeymooners, a Japanese beach town with fading sparkle has found a new tourism niche in the wired age. A resort based on a game called 'Love Plus,' encourages players to develop long-term relationships with virtual women. From the article: 'Local souvenir shops in the resort town have caught on and capitalized on the love-struck new clientele, selling Love Plus-themed souvenirs, from good-luck charms to steamed buns and fish sausages. The local Ohnoya hotel even offers traditional rooms to the unusual couples, which feature two sets of futon beds and another barcode panel that allows the men to visualize their girlfriends in a flattering summer kimono.'"
What happens when the AR wears off and rogue LovePlus boys start kissing real girls by mistake? Find out tonight on VR-Smackdown.
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
Oh no, they must have never seen the film:
DON'T DATE ROBOTS!
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Are those steamed buns real, or just virtual. I'm guessing they'll be a popular room-service item.
I need trepanation like I need a hole in the head.
Please tell me about the CAN'T EAT MORE. (Would you like to take 5 minutes to register me?)
Well, it is Japan we're talking about, right? Therefore, there's nothing weird about it.
is WTF. Large quantities of WTF
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
do the local shops sell inflatable virtual dolls?
Would a power outage result in a scene that was sad, or genuinely horrifying?
ROR
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Love Plus [something =] fish sausages
Where have I seen this equation before? Oh yeah, in my pants! I love you, Japan! Keep up the weird work!
This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
...but I have to believe the rooms come with a large, king-size box of tissues in every room.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
The hotel (or maybe the town itself) is named "Ohnoya"
As in Oh No Ya gotta get a real girlfriend?
--Joe
I can't imagine why Japan is having a population problem with low birth rates.
Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.
If you have so utterly given up on the hope of ever actually forming a relationship with a female, yet are emotionally dependent on such a relationship to the point where you are willing to entertain the concept of voluntary insanity by trying to convince your mind into thinking that a "virtual girlfriend" is real, then you should just kill yourself.
What's the matter, Japanese men? Japanese women not good enough for you? They are widely held by many cultures as the best women in the world. It reminds me of that ancient joke that goes:
Heaven is:
an American salary,
a Chinese Cook,
a British Home,
and a Japanese Wife.
Hell is:
a Chinese salary,
a British Cook,
a Japanese House,
and an American Wife.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
I mean, really. Words aren't enough to describe how sad (and pathetic) this is.
Cause that's not creepy at all...
No. /. poster
Though I would expect it to appeal to the average
"Resort ATTACKS Men With Virtual Girlfriends".
The Luddites were ahead of their time.
So the new euphemism for jacking off to internet pr0n at home is "staycation"?
I'm just guessing, here, no research done (hey, a /. tradition) but I suspect that if your culture continues to have a deeply-embedded prejudice for treating women like crap, and wives in particular as servants for yourself and her mother-in-law, it could be tough finding a wife.
This problem exists to varying degrees in Asia, and is already being hugely exacerbated by a plummeting female/male ratio in some countries due to selective abortion and even (quiet) infanticide.
A whole generation of men the size of the whole US population won't be able to find women in the coming generation.
And if you aren't sympathetic, maybe you will be later. Because that's also the generation that's going to enjoy a whole new level of industrialized prosperity - enough to basically come bidding for women from other countries.
Women from America's growing underclass, as rich and poor grow further apart might find a nice condo in Bangalore and a (pathetically) grateful south Asian hubby more attractive than a trailer park...
Virtual girlfriends may be better than none. How advanced is the software controlling their behavior and communication?
Did anyone else misread "wired age" as "weird age"? :)
...we'll get Kingdom Hearts III soon?
Love Plus hand lotion and tissues are the biggest sellers at the gift shop.
Japan is undergoing a huge cultural shift. In the past corporate loyalty was a big concept in Japan; workers expected to work long hours for their entire lives for a single employer, and in return they would get paid well and never get laid off. The economic problems of Japan have led to this culture going away. For most older workers it is still in place (although some have been laid off), but for most young people the situation is pretty awful. There is huge unemployment among young people, and the jobs available are mostly contract positions that don't pay well and may end with little notice. A particularly harsh problem for a country that puts a large emphasis on employment as a basis for personal success and has relied on the corporate benevolance that was present in the past instead of creating extensive social safety net programs.
This has led to poverty and disillusionment, with many younger people reacting by withdrawing from society to various degrees. This is presumably why Japan has some of the lowest numbers in the world for children born per capita and frequency of sexual contact. The virtual girlfriend is an attempt to capitalize on those withdrawn young men who are still active in society but do not have the interest or self-confidence necessary to pursue a human female. It isn't so much a rejection of Japanese women as a reaction of despair to a society that treats them as if they have no value. It's a cautionary note for the United States too. The fact that the corporate loyalty culture here is much weaker probably means that the impact won't be as bad, but the potential for a generation that is poorer, less motivated, and less active socially is definitely present.
BTW, make sure your Chinese cook is a gourmet--a great Chinese cook can make lots of great food, but an ok Chinese cook makes food that is very greasy and salty, which tastes great once in a while but is monotonous (not to mention very unhealthy) if eaten regularly. Contrast that to an ok French or Italian cook, who makes food that isn't inspired but is still good to eat any or every day.
Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Coincidence? I think not.
Judgind by the picture, the resort is located in the picturesque Uncanny Valley.
No sig
Virtual Pet Groomer
Because JAPAN that's why!
Wasn't there a Futurama on this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Dated_a_Robot
Marilyn Monroebots are not for dating...
L053R
I think by this you mean "most tolerant of male bad behaviour." This is not a feminist definition of "best". In terms of overall national achievement, I think the French might want to make some claims.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Every disease they've ever encountered, every sore, cut, bruise, concussion and contusion is there for the same low asking price.
YUCK! (As apposed to Yuki. ;-)
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Well, anything that has Sakura Tange as a voice actress is worth all of my money and then some. But really, it's not that surprising. There's a reason this stuff is popular over there (and gaining popularity elsewhere), and that's because it has a huge appeal to the kind of recluses that develop from a culture that demands perfection
As a male, I wouldn't mind poking some steamed buns, but I can't imagine any woman who'd want to toy with fish sausages.
why I don't go to restaurants anymore.
The choice is extremely expensive or FDA approved. (Greasy, salty preservative laden crap filled with unpronounceable components [I don't dare call them ingredients.])
I'll stick to my organic veggies.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
...with cowboy neal.
I've learned some good tricks and skills over the years, but NO MAN can make his dick do what some of these things do...
Let me help you with that.(not safe for work)
http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.1106
Need I say more?
"The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget." -Thomas Szasz
Anyway, if this works, they need to roll it out in the Middle East and Utah, to placate all the men who can't lure multiple wives and are thus left with none. :P
They should create "virtual" people based on their customers, have them date each other's avatars while communicating with each other - and if they like each other, hook them up in real life...
The MAFIAA is a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes
Slashdot nerds now have a place of their own. Rosie Palm move over.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
Fuck virtual girlfriends. We need to restrain these guys Clockwork Orange style in front a 10' plasma screen that continously replays Fight Club.
Since this is not a gay resort, its lack of female customers would put a serious crimp into your plan.
And in some ways, I think the customers don't want a real woman. Contrary to what some think, women are available. Just not on the terms these guys want. Real women got real brains, their own opinions, their own desires.
And AI with a mood can be easily satisfied because that is how it has been programmed. The puzzle is solvable and not all that hard to figure out because else the puzzle (love sim) wouldn't sell.
It is part of why MMO's work so well. We all like to accomplish someday, level up. In real life that is hard and very unpredictable. But log into WoW and you can see exactly how many minutes of grinding you have left to next promotion.
Same with love games, they got little hearts that fill up if you do it right (or so I am told). there are walkthroughs, cheats but most of all, the computer program can be shut off.
Real women not so easily. Well not without the police starting to ask questions and as for restarting them... you just can never get a thunderstorm to pass over when you need one.
And frankly, all this is nothing new. When you read older books or watch older tv-shows it is fairly common to have a character who lives with his/her sister for ever. The unmarried bachelor. The spinster. Tons of people never get married. A large percentage of males never reproduces. It just doesn't fit with the image modern media serves us, but society on the whole has done quit well with a lot of people not taking part in reproduction.
In a way, modern media makes it even harder. Everyone is brought up with this vision of true love and rampant passion between beautifull people who live in spacious houses and never have to work a boring jobs all hours of the day just to make ends meet.
People see one reality on tv, see their own reality and choose the fake one. Sad but the human race will survive.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
this is going to be the first time a real world location is slashdotted!
This facility is designed to identify men who should never reproduce.
CLAMP's Manga/Anime Chobits shows possible relationships between humans and "persocoms" or personal computers shaped like human beings.
In one scene, a wife finds herself locked out of her home by her husband, because he was so "involved" with his female persocom that he locked the door to the apartment for the night because he forgot his wife hadn't returned home yet.
... An ugly stock photo. See the official game site:
http://www.konami.jp/products/loveplus/info.html
I assume vibrators feel better. What's the difference between a girl using a vibrator and a man using a robot?
FAP FAP FAP!!!
Now I can always tell myself: Hey, maybe I'm a lonely American guy (sadly true these days), but it could be soo much worse: I could be a lonely Japanese guy! Wow, that sounds depressing as hell! The saddest thing I do is... post on Slashdot, I guess! I thank the Japanese for helping me realize just how far from the rock bottom I really am!
No thanks, I'd rather stay here and make out with my Monroe-bot.
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
And the worst part is, when all is done, you are left with virtually nothing.
chemicals and a bunch of crap that gives agribusiness near eternal shelf-life while giving me nothing but tasteless greasy, salty pap in return.
Remember eating real bread? (I'll be baking my own bread again when the weather gets cooler.)
Remember eating "Wonder Bread"(TM)®?
The only thing I wondered about is "What the fuck is this tasteless white congealed spooge?"
Then again, I only have to think about what passes for beer in America and I know that American taste buds are hopelessly deficient.
They eat homogenized peanut butter that consists mainly of salt. Read the indredients list on a jar of Skippy's(TM)® and get depressed.
Then read the ingredients list on a jar of Schmucker's Jam(TM)®. WTF is in that shit?
Peanut butter should consist of peanuts and jam should consist of fruit and a little sugar.
But no! ... The FDA says that's not good enough because the shelf life into the next millennium.
So what if its no longer bears any resemblance to the original food?
Penn Gilette can kiss my starfish.
If the fat fuck keeps on eating FDA recommended shit, I'll out live him by decades and have more fun doing it too.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
I'm so glad.
I even have a little folding cash left over for travel to Dallas in winter and Montréal in summer.
P.S.Its a lot easier if you take care of the biggest expense (mortgage) first.
Its becomes easier to live on a pension and do your own cooking.
The spouse you can still stand after 30 years just requires some diplomacy.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Love Plus is actually a pretty interesting phenomenon. Not only has this game induced at least one player to marry one of the characters, it has also managed to destroy existing real relationships, as the player gets too absorbed into the game to give attention to their significant other. You should be able to find descriptions of such occurrences, with a bit of Google use. This game seems like it has been very well engineered to be addictive. If my Japanese was a bit better, I might try it, just out of curiosity... Or maybe not. I mean, I wouldn't try heroin either...
The thing is what's at issue here?
I personally don't eat based on what the FDA says (its not aimed at me anyway.)
But I find it reprehensible that people delude themselves into thinking that FDA recommendations are honest (FDA: "This stuff is good for ya...") when they're anything but (FDA: "Here ya go Cargil or Koch or Monsanto, your shit will keep on a shelf even longer.")
Its the same kind of stupidity as thinking that Kilby and Noyce got their Nobel prize for inventing the silicon chip. Wrong!
They got it for solving the interconnection problem. The components, resistors, capacitors, transistors can be silicon, germanium, whatever... The substrate can be silicon, germanium, whatever. They deserved and got the Nobel prize for figuring out how to vapor deposit wires between them.
And don't get me started on data objects. The data objects play exactly the same role as IC components. A data base should be both the data objects AND the connections (and the relationships) between them. Do databases have anything for keeping connections and relationships? NO! You're lucky if they even have stored procedures (the wrong of implementing these by the way.)
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
Fine, as long as you are happy with A cup.