SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - September 7, 2010) - TinierMe, the virtual world focused on Japanese animation, today announced that it has reached more than 500,000 U.S.-based users since launching in October 2009. The popular virtual world focused on Japanese anime and culture has already reached more than one million users worldwide and is growing in popularity with teens and young adults across the U.S., Asia and Europe.
"We listen to our users and are constantly working to improve TinierMe -- this work, driven by community feedback -- has gotten teens around the globe excited and active in our online world," said Masaru "Nogi" Ohnogi, CEO of TinierMe. "Users are coming to our virtual world over others because of TinierMe's cute and creative avatar fashion items and weekly quests and events featuring classical Japan to modern-day punk rock themes. We will continue to focus on providing new ideas and activities to keep fans engaged and coming back for more."
Since launching the U.S. site in October, TinierMe has:
- Established partnerships with the popular virtual pop star Hatsune Miku, and the Gloomy Bear character.
- Built new games including Doki Doki IQ High School, a challenging brain training game, and Sevens, a fun card game you can play with friends.
- Launched a Facebook app that has already gained more than 180,000 users.
- Added new features such as Complete Sheets and Poker Gacha that award bonus items.
- Partnered with DJ HeavyGrinder, top Japanese pop-artist Stephanie Yanez, and popular cosplayer Mari Watanabe as official TinierMe sponsors.
"It was a risk to launch TinierMe in the U.S. because of the many other established virtual worlds in the market, but our site stands out because of the value we place on image and usability," said Kiyoshi Nagawasa, TinierMe founder and executive director at GCREST Japan, Inc. "With the world's fascination with Japanese culture, we aim to make TinierMe an online world that represents the Japanese-anime community worldwide."
TinierMe is a free-to-use virtual world where you can create a customized, tinier version of yourself -- letting you play and communicate with others online. Anyone can create their own "Selfy" avatar which can be used anywhere in TinierMe to interact with others though online events, chat, games and community forums. The TinierMe world consists of Selfy Town, TinierMe Games, Selfy Shop and Forum/Groups. To learn more about TinierMe or to create your own Selfy, visit: www.tinierme.com.
About TinierMe:
TinierMe is a fun virtual world based on Japanese anime and culture. With users around the world, the site lets you build a tinier version of yourself so you can chat, play and create online. TinierMe includes: Selfy Town, a virtual world; Selfy Shop, where you can get everything you need to create and build your character; and Tinier Games, a place to play card games, interactive challenges and brain teasers with other users. TinierMe lets you experience Japanese culture easily and escape from the doldrums of the real world through your imagination and creativity. GCREST America, Inc. is the company behind TinierMe, and is a fully owned subsidiary of GCREST, Inc. in Japan. To create your Selfy and join the fun, come to www.tinierme.com.