Japanese piggy bank helps savers enjoy romance

You can't buy love, but with a Japanese piggy bank that combines thrift with virtual romance, you can at least save up for it.

"Ikemenbank," or "handsome men bank," is a heart-shaped electronic piggy bank with an LCD screen that allows its owner to conduct a virtual affair with a cartoon character while watching the coins pile up.

The love story ends when the bank is filled with 100 pieces of 500 yen coins. Whether it's a happy ending or a heartbreaking one depends on how well users communicate with their virtual lovers, said manufacturer Bandai Corp, a toy-making unit of Namco Bandai Holdings.

"We wanted to provide a 'flavor of life' to women in various generations," said Bandai's spokeswoman Kasumi Nakanishi.

"To help users experience the reality of having butterflies in their stomach, this time we sought advice from a 'love-life psychologist'," Nakanishi added.

Bandai triggered a global craze with its "Tamagotchi" virtual pet game in 1996. "Tamagotchi," an egg-shaped device that beeps when the pet needs feeding, sold 74 million units worldwide.

"Ikemenbank" first asks the user to choose between five different types of men: "cool model," "witty comedian," "gentle, public-school boy," "young athlete" and "older man with patience."

As the user inserts coins, the men talk back, saying "you are the best," and "you are looking prettier these days."

But to achieve a happy ending, the user needs to choose strategic answers when the men ask questions such as: "I see my friend had a crush on you... doesn't he?"

The men also need constant attention. If the handsome model is neglected for 5 days, he disappears, leaving behind a farewell letter.

The piggybank is set to hit Japanese shops on September 6 with a price tag of 4,935 yen ($45.76), said Bandai.

金钱买不到爱情，但有了日本推出的一款能让你在存钱的同时享受虚拟浪漫的储蓄罐，你至少可以为爱情存点银子。

“帅哥储蓄罐”是一款心形的带有液晶显示屏的电子储蓄罐，它的主人可以在存钱的同时与里面的卡通人物发展一段虚拟的恋情。

据“帅哥储蓄罐”制造商、南梦万代控股公司下属的万代公司介绍，这段恋情会在储蓄罐存满100枚50日元硬币的时候结束。至于结局是喜还是悲就得看主人跟她的虚拟恋人交往得怎么样了。

万代集团女发言人仲西香须美说：“我们想给各个年龄段的女性带来一点‘生活的味道’。”

她说：“为了能让用户体验到那种真正心跳的感觉，这次我们还特地咨询了一位爱情心理学家。”

万代公司于1996年推出的一款名为“拓麻歌子”的电子宠物玩具曾风靡全球，全世界总销量达到7400万件。 “拓麻歌子”外形酷似鸡蛋，里面的宠物需要喂食时会发出“嘟嘟”的声音

“帅哥储蓄罐”首先会让用户从“俊酷模特”，“幽默喜剧演员”，“温柔小男生”，“体育健将”及“从容长者”五种不同类型的男性卡通人物中选择自己喜欢的一种。

用户往储蓄罐中插入硬币时，这个人物就会说“你是最好的”，或者“这些天你更漂亮了。”

但如果你想让这段恋情有个美好的结局，在回答这位“男士”提出的类似“我觉得我的朋友爱上你了，是不是？”这样的问题时，可要讲究策略。

此外，你要一如既往地关心他。如果你五天没搭理这位帅哥，他会在留下一封告别信后消失。

万代公司称，这款储蓄罐计划于今年9月6日在日本上市，售价为4935日元（合45.76美元）。