Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Living in a dream world

We all know people who fall in love without having their presence - let alone feelings - acknowledged by the object of their love. The 21st century offers these people - at least men - an opportunity to at least have their presence acknowledged and in many cases to have a date. The problem is that the girl exists in the computer, not in real life. Yet, at least in Japan, there is money to be made from people who are happy to date phantoms. In fact, Atami, a town in Japan that has fallen on hard times, is betting that the town can enjoy a resurgence if it becomes the center of romantic getaways for the virtual couple. 1500 Japanese men have come to the town to spend money with their girlfriends.

These guys come to town with their Nintendo device and play a game called LovePlus+, where their girlfriends "live". Some are so involved with the game that they register as a couple and pay for their virtual girlfriend to have a bed to sleep in. It's sad.

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