Showing posts with label appmon chip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label appmon chip. Show all posts

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Appmon's Target Demographic is "10~12 Years Old," Digivice Specs

To accompany their main announcement and toy trailer, Bandai distributed a press release on June 9th via their official website on the upcoming Appli Monsters series. Intended for Bandai's business partners rather than the general public, it reveals some key information about the toys including their dimensions, battery requirements, target audience and some of the technology being implemented. According to Bandai, the "main targets are boys 10~12 years old, and the route of distribution will be toy stores nationwide, department stores, consumer electronics and volume sellers [...] among others."

The Appli Drive's specifications are as follows;
Launch date: First ten days of October 2016
MSRP: 4860 yen with 8% sales tax/4500 yen without tax ($47.40 with tax/$43.89 without)
Suitable for: Ages 6+
Dimensions: 70mm x 135mm x 43mm (Width x Height x Depth)
Batteries: 3 AAA batteries (sold separately)
Screen: 16x48 pixel monochrome 2-tone screen, 3-color LED backlight
Set includes: 1x Appli Drive, 2x Appmon Chip (Gatchmon, Navimon)
Distribution route: Toy stores nationwide, department stores, consumer electronics and volume sellers, internet mail order among others.
The LCD screen is two-tone, but the backlight LED displays in red, blue, or green.
It should be noted that the screen dimensions are exactly the right size to display three 16x16 sprites shoulder-to-shoulder. Digimon's traditional LCD sprites are 16x16, with shot sizes being 8x8. A 16x48 screen could display two 16x16 sprites with two 8x8 sprites between them, one traveling on the upper 8-pixel register and the other traveling below it.

The Appli Drive may have an additional mode that has yet to be made public, as previews show it being able to connect to the 7code Pad in its "7code Refill" configuration via a special connector. This connector was also observed at the 2016 Tokyo Toy Show. (see below) It appears that it fits into the thin space between the Pair Ring cover and the Appli Drive's surface, locking in over where an Appmon Chip would normally go, so that the 7code Pad reads to the Appli Drive as if it's a chip.

This does open up the possibility of the Appli Drive being able to connect to other devices. Close examination of the 3D model shown in the initial trailer reveals that the Appli Drive has no visible pronged connectors, and the only room for another connector seems to be a slot on the front of its white grip parts--which would likely be a space for an infrared port, rather than traditional prongs.

However, Bandai has recently been using NFC technology in their Tamagotchi toys, and some past Digivices like the D-3 and D-Ark have included additional connectors covered by side doors. Taking into account the 16x48 LCD screen, the connectivity with the 7code Pad, and the Drive's ability to store information about different chips' power scores, the Appli Drive may have a battle mode.

The press release also addressed the Applink Mode, Ranking Mode, and information on the Appmon Chips:

Applink Mode
A mode where by reading two Appmon Chips, two Appmon can be connected to "Applink" and borrow the powers of their partners, or fuse them to evolve into a new Appmon via "App Fusion." Players can figure out various combinations of Appmon Chips.
Ranking Mode
Continuously updates to display the top 5 highest power levels on the LCD screen from the Appliarise and Applink Modes, with the LCD screen's animations changing in proportion to the rankings.
Appmon Chip ver. 1.0: Awaken! Application Lifeform!
MSRP: 259 yen with tax/240 yen without ($2.53 with tax/$2.34 without)
Release date: First 10 days of October
Suitable for: Ages 6+
Dimensions: 38mm x 38 mm (Width x Height)
Batteries: Not needed
Set includes: 1 pack of 2 chips (28 types in total)
Distribution route: Toy stores nationwide, department stores, consumer electronics and volume sellers, internet mail order among others.
The links given below are eBay affiliate links. These are hyperlinks which redirect the reader to products on eBay; if a reader accesses one of these listings through one of the links below, and/or purchases the item listed, the editor is provided a referral fee and/or commission fee.

Tamers can preorder Appli Drive SP Set--comprising the Appli Drive, Appmon Band, three R-rarity chips and a Premium Rare Scopemon--for $83.98, and a set of three Appli Drive Pair Ring covers together for $44.98.

Friday, July 1, 2016

Bandai Introduces Newest Digivice: the Appli Drive

07/02/16 Update: Some of the specs for the Appli Drive were found in Bandai's press release.


To coincide with their introductory video to the Appmon TV anime, Bandai uploaded a movie detailing several upcoming products that will accompany the series. Among these are the newest Digivice, the Appli Drive, and the complementary Appmon Chips that allow Digimon tamers to Appliarise their Appmon, link them to share powers, and fuse them into a higher-level Appmon.

According to a simultaneous press release by Bandai, Appmon products are being distributed nation-wide in "toy stores, department stores, consumer electronics stores [...] among others." This is the first time that Digimon will be available in traditional brick-and-mortar shops since the Xros Wars era toys ended in late 2011-early 2012. While not stated outright, one of the most obvious points in the trailer is how clearly Appmon's merchandising takes after that of Yo-kai Watch. Bandai produces the entire line of Yo-kai Watch DX watches and accompanying medal sets in Japan, and appears to be implementing the same model they used in Yo-Kai Watch; the retail prices and set sizes for medals are very close, and the company has good reason for wanting to reuse its past strategies. Back in 2014 Bandai's production lines were unable to keep up with the demand for Yo-kai Watch DX toys.

The Appli Drive will retail for 4500 yen, comparable to their previous Yo-kai Watch Dream toy. (4400 yen.) Appmon Chips will go for 240 yen per pack, which is exactly the same as Yo-kai Watch's latest medal sets. We don't yet know what bulk prices will look like for Appmon, but boxes of 20 Yo-kai Watch packs retail for 4200 yen before tax, so expect something similar.

Whether or not the Appli Drive and its accompanying products will see a western release is unclear. In the past, Bandai has usually produced watered-down versions of their Digivice toys for foreign markets. (See the Xros Loader versus the Asian Fusion Loader and the American Fusion Loader.) In the United States their Yo-kai Watch toys are licensed out to Hasbro, and seeing as a proper 1-to-1 localization of a Digimon toy hasn't taken place since the Digital Monster pets 1997, we may never see the Appli Drive overseas without outside intervention.

The links given below are eBay affiliate links. These are hyperlinks which redirect the reader to products on eBay; if a reader accesses one of these listings through one of the links below, and/or purchases the item listed, the editor is provided a referral fee and/or commission fee.
 
Already, the first international web listings for the toys have gone up on eBay. Taiwanese seller matrix-king is taking preorders for the Appli Drive SP Set--comprising the Appli Drive, Appmon Band, three R-rarity chips and a Premium Rare Scopemon--for $83.98. This is approximately a $25 markup from the base value of the set (6000 yen = ~$58.52) but accounting for Japan's staggering 8% sales tax and the increased cost of EMS shipping beginning June 1st, this increase is closer to $20. That's par for the course for a proxy purchase service; the only way to get lower prices is to buy from a Japanese toy shop that can do international orders, as they order straight from wholesale distributors to get their stock for less.
The same seller is also selling a set of three Appli Drive Pair Ring covers together for $44.98, another $20 markup. (2400 yen = ~$23.41) These include the blue Dokamon ring, orange Musimon ring, and black Hackmon ring. Introduced in lieu of alternate Digivice designs, the covers allow tamers to add a degree of personalization to their Drives, and come with additional Appmon Chips.

The first booster set, Appmon Chip ver.1.0: Awaken! Application Lifeform! will contain 28 Appmon Chips, comprising a total of 15 Commons, 6 Rares, 3 Super Rares, 2 Premium Rares, and 7codes. Note that while all of the other rarities have a star rating denoting their rarity, 7code chips have no associated stars. A full list of set 1 chips gleaned from the 2016 Tokyo Toy Show is given below.


Commons: 15
Callmon
Mailmon
Dougamon
Dougamon (Virus)
Watchmon
Weathermon
Roleplaymon
Reviewmon
Perorimon
Shotmon
Messemon
Messemon (Virus)
Dressmon
Sukashimon
Viramon

Rares: 6
Gatchimon
Navimon
Cameramon
Hackmon
Musimon
Dokamon

Super Rares: 3
Dogatchimon
Doscomon
Scopemon

Premium Rare: 2
Dogatchimon
Doscomon

7codes: 2
Mailmon
Roleplaymon (B01-016)