Technabob » yen

Space Invaders Piggy Bank Only Saves Yen

Technabob — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:00:22 +0000

Space Invaders fans, here’s a fun way to save your spare change – if you happen to live in Japan, that is.

This Space Invaders piggy bank looks just like a miniature cocktail table version of the classic arcade shooter. The 1/6th scale game has a tiny little version of the game on a built-in LCD screen. Just drop a 100 yen coin (between the size of a nickel and a quarter) into the slotto kick off the fun.

Each coin you drop into the slot adds another alien to the display – all the way up to 80 invaders. It also plays the familiar sounds of the retro classic. My Japanese isn’t very good, but from what I can tell from this press release, you might actually be able to play the game on the tiny LCD screen (please, oh please say it’s true!)

Scheduled for release later this month at a price of ¥5775 /$59 USD, the bank holds just enough to cover its own cost with a little bit to spare. No word on where you might be able to find these stateside, but if you’re willing to read a little Japanese, you can find more info over on the TakaraTomy website.

[via GamOvr]

Game Banks Make Saving Fun

Alisha K. — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:20:08 +0000

It’s a good week for saving money while playing games. If Tetris and Breakout aren’t your bag, you might want to try something even simpler, like Bankquest or Jinsei Ginko.

It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days. These simpler banks offer a variety of money-saving experience for the gamer who doesn’t need much razzle-dazzle. The Jinsei Ginko, shown above, is like a Tamagotchi or other virtual pet: you “feed” your tiny stickman your cold, hard cash. The more he “eats,” the more he succeeds. When your little guy gets enough money, he’s rewarded with a sweet crib and a loving sticklady. If only real life were so simple.

If the idea of a virtual pet makes you want to bury your money in the backyard instead, you could try Bankquest, a simple RPG, or Ikemen Bank, a heart-shaped bank with a dating sim.

Of course, in order to actually use these banks, you’ll probably need to convert all your money to yen. At least that will make you less likely to spend it… unless you happen to be in Japan.

[Wired via Kotaku]

Just a Few More Yen…

Technabob — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:39:07 +0000

This rather silly invention out of Japan lets you count individual one Yen coins so you can save them up.

The TakaraTomy Life Bank One Yen Counter screws on the top of any bottle, and lets you count up your change.

Now keep in mind that a single Japanese Yen coin is worth just a bit less than a penny, so you might not even be able to find a bottle big enough to save up the ¥999 (appx. $8 USD) to pay for the device.

[via plasticbamboo]