Okamiden: Chiisaki Taiyou (Okami Chronicles: Tiny Sun), the Nintendo DS sequel to the beloved-but-undersold Okami, will shine down on the Land of the Rising sun on September 30. But not before Capcom Japan promotes it with a string of celebrity endorsement videos.
Every Thursday since August 12, Capcom has been uploading videos of Japanese celebrities demoing Okamiden to the game’s official site. The banner splashed across the site’s cherry-blossom-whirlwind background reads, “We’ve played it, too! The Okamiden Celebrity Preview Report!! Celebrities from many different fields report their experiences.”
I don’t know if “many different fields” quite cuts it. The 32 celebrities featured so far include members from a geek girl band, comedians, soccer players, singers, an actor who’s a former Ninja Warrior, and a 
transsexual TV personality/fashion model. Of this odd mix, 21 of the celebrities are female. Beyond that, it’s hard to guess what kind of audience they’re targeting with this campaign. Geeky females in Japan?
If your WTF juices aren’t flowing through your brain yet, the following will certainly give them a healthy kickstart….
The videos are hosted on Capcom Japan’s YouTube channel, which has more than 5,000 subscribers. With Okamiden’s release less than two weeks away, the number of hits on the celebrity videos could be higher — most hit meters only register around 100, with a handful around 500-600. The three members of AKB48, a girl theater group that performs in Tokyo's biggest electronic district, seem to be doing the best — Ayaka Umeda and Sayaka Akimoto have around 3,000 hits and Sae Miyazawa has 6,000. (Because we all know the Internet is a giant contest for pageviews right?) I’m not saying that hit counters for an online video campaign are accurate forecasts of commercial success, but I can’t help but picture Okamiden suffering from insufficient sales as its console predecessors did.
Celebrity endorsements are a very effective way of promoting a product in Japan. They’re plastered on posters at train stations and shopping areas, and saturate the airwaves of every television station. Female Japanese celebrities are often featured on the cover of Famitsu magazine (which is definitely a good marketing move — Famitsu’s typical cartoony covers are pretty strange). It turns out that Japan loves celebrity advertising.
“Seventy percent of all Japanese commercials feature a celebrity, and 90% of ads that Japanese consumers rate as likable, popular, or memorable feature a celebrity (Kilburn, 1998). Another reason that endorsers are so prevalent in Japan’s advertising is that Japanese are especially receptive to advertising messages that convey a sense of trust (Melville, 1999).”
Celebrity Endorsements in Japan and the United States: Is Negative Information All That Harmful?
Hit the list below for a selection of the videos that have been posted so far. Most of the videos recycle the same gameplay and demo footage and just show different people playing them. While there are no subtitles, the following paragraphs wil hopefully give you the gist of things.
Sae Miyazawa
AKB48 member, Team K. (6,800 hits)
[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9FOswJlz40&feature=channel ]
“I don’t really play games, but this time I’m going to try an action-adventure game…Okamiden: Chisaki Taiyou,” Sae Miyazawa says uncertainly at the beginning of her video. She quickly adapts to the controls and easily has some of the best reactions among the celebrity videos.
Sae’s closing comments: “I can see playing this with friends and talking about where to go in the game next. A game like this is something I would definitely end up staying up all night playing. “
Shoei
Actor (best known for being on this ridiculous show), competed in Ninja Warrior in the early 2000s. (59 hits)
[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-4gJScSBU ]
He might be able to scale Mount Midoriyama, but gaming is not his strong suit. Good thing the DS is pretty easy to use once you figure out which one is actually the touch screen. He’s very enthusiastic about the gameplay and enjoys the Japanese-style graphics. At the end he adds that it would be a good game to play with your family.
“I can see having mom, dad, and the kids play this together and say things like ‘Try cutting here — no there!'”
Now, gathering the family around the dinner table for dinner is one thing. Crowding them around a DS screen is definitely another.
Ayana Tsubaki
Transsexual TV personality, fashion model (155 views)
[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8VyCRCW4c4&feature=player_embedded ]
Ayana says she has been gaming for about 22 years and that her son loves to play games as well. She mimics the sound the in-game text makes — “nyah nyah nyah nyah” — which is reminiscent of Animal Crossing’s Animalese. The cuteness of the game appeals to her, and she also likes the teamwork and puzzle solving aspects.
“Its frustrating to not be able to solve some of the puzzles, but when I do solve them I think, 'Wow this game is really the best isn’t it?'”
Tetsuya Yanagihara (right)
Yoshiyuki Hirai (left)
Comedians (715 views)
[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L52Xhv_usSY&feature=channel ]
WARNING: This could be the most obnoxious self-introduction in a YouTube video. Turn down those speakers! You’ve been warned.
My Japanese definitely isn’t skilled enough to keep up with the fast-talking, quirky comedians’ whole conversation, but Tetsuya Yanagihara does a pretty good imitation of the in-game characters about a minute into the clip. Yoshhuku Hirai watches Tetsuya play.
At the end of the clip Tetsuya praises the ease of control and says he wants to play more (and gives it 100/100 on his personal ratings scale), but laments that he actually has to buy it to play it. Guess those celeb perks only go so far.
Yoko Inui, left
Kyoumoto Yuka, right
Nakano Fujoshi Sister performers (1,278 views)
[embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7ADPYfDJuo ]
(Warning [or a hint, depending how you look at this]: Google searching their names is NSFW! I saw much more of these ladies than I wanted to.)
Another piece of Akihabara subculture, the Nakano Fujoshi Sisters is a seven-person otaku idol group (each girl has her own “otaku” personality). They have theater performances, but also have shows where they dress in drag and perform as the Fudanjuku, a group of young boys. How has this found a foothold in Akihabara? Japan Today’s Phillip W. Gailbraith writes:
“Fans of Fudanjuku see the girls as closer to the ideal male of shojo manga, especially the hunky heroes of male-on-male 'yaoi,' or 'boys love.' Moreover, the fan knows that the 'beautiful boy' is actually a female in disguise, which reduces tension and makes interaction easier. The same way the NFS share the otaku hobbies of their male fans, Fudanjuku is plugged into the 'fujoshi' fantasy and accessible to women. They have something for girls, boys and everything in between.”
Kyoumoto Yuka: “Anyway the (game) world is very pretty, the characters are cute, and the controls are very fun.”
Yoko Inui: “Yeah, when you draw a circle and the flowers bloom like 'Pwah!' It’s very pretty, and was really fun seeing everything turn pink.”
So you heard it here first folks. Japanese cross-dressing performers’ thoughts on Okamiden. If you dare to read more about the Nakano Fujoshi Sisters, I suggest here and here.
Although the videos themselves are clearly staged, the reactions of many of the celebs seem genuine. Their engrossed expressions remind me of how I felt when I first came across Okami on PS2 — enchanted and excited to tear through the whole adventure like a middle schooler with a Twilight book.
Capcom Japan is trying to encourage trust in its Okamiden brand through these celebrity endorsements. From the celebrities that have been featured so far, Capcom is really reaching for the Akihabara otaku nerdcore group. That and whichever demographic in Japan likes the handful of soccer players who also demoed the game. Although celebrity endorsements in Japan are incredibly effective, this smattering of videos probably isn't going to swing sales drastically in one direction or the other.
So after perusing this seemingly nonsensical listing of Japanese celebrities, which celebs from your country do you think would hawk Okamiden well? Are there any videos on the official site you'd like to hear more about?