Mainichi Issyo, the quirky daily news and entertainment update hosted by Japanese favourites Toro and Kuro, is over. The two characters are now homeless, evicted in a rather sad final ne broadcast which was captured on Youtube below (presumably via the in-game Youtube capture). Why it was the player’s avatar, dressed complete with yellow hard hat, that had to do the evicting is beyond my grasp of Japanese, but the responsibility still lies and presumably it’s to make you feel bad about what lies ahead for the duo.
What does this mean for the much loved mascots? Well, after 1,088 episodes the software will be replaced by Weekly Toro Station – a less updated but presumably much more substantial download. Again, the initial download is completely free from the 11th of November onwards, but will only be updated every Friday night as opposed to every day. The format will remain – Toro and Kuro will still read the news – but there’s now an arcade, a garden and more space for customising your room.
Although the initial download is free, expect lots of micropayments to eat up your Yen, from clothing to posters, although we assume the news reports will still yield the odd freebie as before. The real money making idea is that the two characters, despite their news anchor jobs, are actually homeless, and for ¥800 a month you can buy them a house. This will give you Platinum status, including the ability to watch past episodes, members-only news updates, earlier access to the news stories, more items to buy and access to the in-game fashion show.
Make sure you download Mainichi Issyo if you haven’t already, it will cease to be available as from the 11th.
