Tweets from the collection Ebooks and Games on tweetlibrary.com. http://tweetlibrary.com/gabeglick/ebooksandgames http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156394038256349184 @mehdi_eff Exactly. One file, preferably infinitely re-downloadable, available on everything with a reader app. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:16:59 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156394038256349184 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156393843934232576 @gabeglick as you said before, it should be like the music market now, where every store sells you drm-free mp3s Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:16:12 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156393843934232576 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156393757514809345 @mehdi_eff Now, yes. I'm saying they shouldn't be :) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:15:52 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156393757514809345 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156393603067953152 @gabeglick yeah you have a point. ebooks shouldn't be dependent on the hardware (as games are), but they are unfortunately. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:15:15 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156393603067953152 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390993883701248 @mehdi_eff As I said, almost anything with a screen can show a book. The internal hardware simply doesn't matter as much as it does in games Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:04:53 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390993883701248 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390986753380352 @mehdi_eff (also, e-ink can totally display comics and images: remember how @sprsk wished he could have comics on Kindle just today?) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:04:51 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390986753380352 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390974132727808 @mehdi_eff Yes, tablets and smartphones make them a lot better and more convenient, but the content itself has never really changed. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:04:48 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390974132727808 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390967988068352 @mehdi_eff reader was made in 1992. People have read books on their computers, dumbphones; maybe even TVs for all we know. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:04:47 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390967988068352 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390961029722115 @mehdi_eff ebooks have existed for years before any kind of tablet. Project Gutenberg has been around since 1971(!). Sony's first ebook Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:04:45 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156390961029722115 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156387285288501249 @gabeglick e-ink can only display books, LCD can display books and comics, add a touchscreen and you have textbooks, etc... Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:50:09 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156387285288501249 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156387054186541056 @mehdi_eff For books, almost anything with a screen can show a book, so the different philosophies are about which screens to show them on. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:49:13 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156387054186541056 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156386936813137920 @mehdi_eff The difference is that game hardware directly affects the types of games that can be made. Just look at Nintendo's history. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:48:45 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156386936813137920 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156386631279058944 @gabeglick you have publishers (books and games) and HW makers, and everyone has a different philosophy. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:47:33 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156386631279058944 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156386382670086144 @gabeglick this is really where I don't think I agree with you. ebooks aren't that different from games Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:46:33 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156386382670086144 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156386371592929280 @mehdi_eff That's my hope too. Japanese consumers may be used to it, but things can and should be better. Hopefully Rakuten gets it. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:46:31 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156386371592929280 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385997964324864 @gabeglick oh, I thought revenues from the iTunes store (especially music) were bigger than that Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:45:02 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385997964324864 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385988631986177 @mehdi_eff That's why they encourage low-price content and make sure it works on everything they sell: to make their devices more attractive Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:44:59 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385988631986177 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385755839741953 @mehdi_eff For Amazon, yes, but that is not the case for Apple. Apple makes (roughly) 90% of their money from hardware. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:44:04 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385755839741953 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385630396485633 @gabeglick that's what Japanese companies need to understand. Maybe if (when) Rakuten finally enters the ebook market people will understand Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:43:34 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385630396485633 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385601267044352 @mehdi_eff Come now, surely you remember Mario is Missing and Mario Teaches Typing as fondly as I do, right? ;) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:43:27 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385601267044352 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385486770929664 @gabeglick Apple and Amazon understood earlier than everyone else, and most of their revenues come from contents and not devices right? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:43:00 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385486770929664 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385432924459008 @mehdi_eff But books are not games, and the expectations are not the same. This is why I think the current ebook situation is a mess. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:42:47 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385432924459008 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385164753244162 @gabeglick well for me, a PC that can't play Mario is like an ebook reader that doesn't have One Piece Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:41:43 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156385164753244162 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385121635794944 @mehdi_eff Anyway, my original point still stands. For better or worse, disparate devices has defined video gaming since forever. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:41:33 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156385121635794944 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384907214598145 @mehdi_eff (heh, indeed. I can only hope our mutual followers enjoy these kinds of discussions ;) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:40:42 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384907214598145 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384713131569152 @mehdi_eff Not everything, but if you need one platform that can play almost all the non-exclusives the PC is it. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:39:55 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384713131569152 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384479311699968 @mehdi_eff the kind of service that Japan needs. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:39:00 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384479311699968 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384451205668865 @mehdi_eff After all, Steam succeeded because the original market for PC games was so diverse and scattered. IOW it's another example of Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:38:53 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384451205668865 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156384445023256577 @gabeglick yes and not. You can't play XBLA or PSN games on PC, so in the end for the user it's still a mess! Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:38:51 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156384445023256577 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156384185651699713 @gabeglick (also, it's when it becomes interesting that ideas become hard to express on twitter …) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:37:49 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156384185651699713 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384105746006016 @mehdi_eff The PC is unique and I'm not sure it fits your examples. It's the closest we have to a single box that can run everything. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:37:30 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156384105746006016 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383733610594307 @gabeglick it's really because different companies want their own device on the market Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:36:02 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383733610594307 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383655936274433 @mehdi_eff …and that this will not necessarily be a bad thing) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:35:43 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383655936274433 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383621693980674 @gabeglick the diversity in games stores (Stream, XBLA, PSN, etc.) is not related to a need for different controllers or better HW IMO Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:35:35 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383621693980674 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383609907982338 @mehdi_eff Glad you think so :) (and for the record, I think it's possible that there will be One Console To End Them All at some point… Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:35:32 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383609907982338 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383404374495232 @gabeglick (this is really getting interesting) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:34:43 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156383404374495232 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383220252942336 @mehdi_eff You also don't need different controllers to read books, nor can certain books only run best on the latest readers. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:33:59 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383220252942336 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383097699577857 @mehdi_eff How does that follow? Videogames are a wholly digital creation, ebooks are bringing something that was analog digital. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:33:30 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156383097699577857 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156382858519384064 @gabeglick it's not really the same comparing games and books, but games and e-books should be the same right? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:32:33 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156382858519384064 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156382665103253504 @gabeglick well keeping with the same analogy, for the same reason that there's no universal store for games that would run on any console Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:31:47 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156382665103253504 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382660489515008 @mehdi_eff Movies and TV in the US have consolidated around iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu. Music is now DRM-free. Japan is where the US was. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:31:46 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382660489515008 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382371350982657 @mehdi_eff Then why isn't there any Japan equivalent of Kindle or Comixology that runs on everything with a screen? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:30:37 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382371350982657 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382246666895360 @mehdi_eff Games have always required proprietary devices to play them. Books have been around and "interoperable" for ages. Not the same. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:30:07 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156382246666895360 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156381972611080193 @gabeglick it's not fair to put the blame on the Galapagos Syndrome of the JPN industry, same thing with western games, movies, music, etc.. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:29:02 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156381972611080193 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156381731665084416 @gabeglick "Different stores, different devices, different publisher deals, DRM galore… For gamers, it's a mess." :P Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:28:04 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156381731665084416 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156381284405481472 @mehdi_eff @johntv @sprsk Different stores, different devices, different publisher deals, DRM galore… For readers, it's a mess. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:26:18 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156381284405481472 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156381278814474240 @mehdi_eff @johntv @sprsk Right. The big difference is Galapagos Syndrome again (not the one partnered with Tsutaya). Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:26:16 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156381278814474240 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156380542944821248 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk Sony and Sharp have their own ebook stores, they have most JPN-publishers already, but they make their own devices Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:23:21 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156380542944821248 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156380322957754368 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk Apple and Amazon are US company, they only focused on bringing US publishers on board and now the US market is OK Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:22:29 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156380322957754368 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156379854021988355 @mehdi_eff @johntv @sprsk Oh, don't get me wrong, the US market is still far from perfect. But it *is* better than the situation in Japan :P Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:20:37 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156379854021988355 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156379458931130370 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk now that I think of it, it's not a JPN-only problem at all. Why can't I get Harry Potter on iBooks nor Kindle? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:19:03 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156379458931130370 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156367411933741056 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk as bad as John wants it to be :P ("won't see it in 5 years…") Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:31:10 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156367411933741056 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156367144194547712 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk I definitely agree that the ebook market in Japan has still a lot of catch up to do. But it's just not as bad as Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:30:06 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156367144194547712 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156366736420118528 @johntv @mehdi_eff @sprsk Yeah, Japan ebooks seem to still be caught up in lots of disparate incompatible platforms like US ones used to be. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:28:29 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156366736420118528 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156366734457188352 @johntv @gabeglick @sprsk the exact same app cant be on iOS (unfortunately). IIRC it's a deal between Tsutaya and Sharp (Android smartphones Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:28:29 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156366734457188352 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156366294793465857 @mehdi_eff @gabeglick @sprsk Dunno what that is (not an Android owner) - any idea if/when it's coming to iOS? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:26:44 +0000 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156366294793465857 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156366103801630721 @gabeglick @mehdi_eff @sprsk Jump SQ = bunch of manga you and I don't care about. :) Blows my mind that stuff like One Piece isn't on iPad. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:25:58 +0000 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156366103801630721 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156365630394744832 @johntv @mehdi_eff @sprsk Oh, yeah, that. I don't even know what Jump SQ is; I barely keep up with any manga these days. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:24:06 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156365630394744832 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156365537948090368 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk what Gabe said. I also know that the Tsutaya-Galapagos app (android-only tho) has almost everything (one piece,... Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:23:44 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156365537948090368 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156365439818153984 @gabeglick @mehdi_eff @sprsk Jump SQ, not Jump. Unless I'm missing something? Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:23:20 +0000 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156365439818153984 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156365129766797313 @johntv @mehdi_eff @sprsk The other one seems to have a spattering of popular stuff and a lot of lesser-known stuff. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:22:06 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156365129766797313 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156364871380910082 @johntv @mehdi_eff @sprsk The Jump app seems to just let you buy digital versions of Jump, so that's presumably everything that's current. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:21:05 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156364871380910082 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156361880301088768 @mehdi_eff @gabeglick @sprsk How many popular mainstream JP manga can you get for any of these apps? (i.e. stuff 99% of ppl want to read) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:09:11 +0000 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156361880301088768 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156351228723478528 @gabeglick @johntv @sprsk I'm not surprised that there are more than 1 app for that. Too easy to just always criticize JP publishers :P Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:26:52 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156351228723478528 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156349473818296320 @mehdi_eff @johntv @sprsk After a little more searching I also found this service: http://t.co/f0Mj0cMD Even has 進撃の巨人. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:19:54 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156349473818296320 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156346065514278912 @mehdi_eff @johntv @sprsk Interesting: hadn't heard about this. Here's the direct app link if you want to check it out: http://t.co/1KX82u1n Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:06:21 +0000 http://twitter.com/gabeglick/statuses/156346065514278912 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156344047420706816 @johntv @sprsk also on iOS http://t.co/XwjwAIXRジャンプのipadアプリキター！-たった115円で掲載漫画/ Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:58:20 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156344047420706816 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156342523453906944 @johntv @sprsk you can definitely get legal manga apps on the android store, from Japanese publishers, for what it's worth... Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:52:16 +0000 http://twitter.com/mehdi_eff/statuses/156342523453906944 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156280069340413952 @sprsk You can get English Viz manga on iPad, but that's about all I've seen. Prolly won't see it in JP for another 5 years. :p Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:44:06 +0000 http://twitter.com/johntv/statuses/156280069340413952 http://twitter.com/sprsk/statuses/156267349610205185 Reading manga for the first time in a while reminded me how stupid it is I can't really get it on any of my devices (would like on kindle) Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:53:34 +0000 http://twitter.com/sprsk/statuses/156267349610205185 http://twitter.com/sprsk/statuses/156264538717696000 Just finished vol 1 of 進撃の巨人(Shingeki no Kyojin) and wow, not what I was expecting. Not your typical shonen manga. Need Vol 2 ASAP. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:42:23 +0000 http://twitter.com/sprsk/statuses/156264538717696000