日本前財務大臣醉酒失態 成手機遊戲主角

Japanese who watched footage of their former finance minister slur his words and appear to nod off at a Group of Seven press conference can now try to keep him awake in a new cell phone game.

Shoichi Nakagawa -- who resigned last week blaming cough medicine and jet lag rather than alcohol for his drowsy performance in Rome -- has become the latest target of Japan's mischievous Internet game industry.

In the new phone game called "Drowsy Presser by Drugged Minister" players can wake a likeness of Nakagawa as he fields questions at a press conference, or allow him to sneak in short naps to build up his energy levels.

Players gain points if they boost Nakagawa's "support rating" by having him answer journalists' questions, but it's game over if the minister sleeps while he is asked a question, and the game ends with him falling off his chair.

The game from LiveWare Inc. can be downloaded for 52 yen (55 US cents) on to the Internet-enabled handsets of three major Japanese carriers.

"We were seeking to produce a new type of game, featuring news topics," said Evan Kojima, a manager at LiveWare Inc. "The news of the press conference emerged with a great impact when we were trying to come up with an idea."

In December, a British Internet firm launched a game where players could emulate the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at then US president George W. Bush in protest against his administration's Iraqi policy.

日本前財務大臣在不久前七國集團會議的一個新聞發佈會上昏昏欲睡、語無倫次，看過他這段錄像的日本人現在可以在一款新的手機遊戲中讓他保持清醒了。

於上週辭職的日本前財務大臣中川昭一已成爲以搞怪而著稱的日本網絡遊戲業的“新寵”。中川辯解稱自己在羅馬出席會議時的昏睡狀態源於咳嗽藥以及時差，而非醉酒。

在這款名爲“別讓大臣睡着” 的最新手機遊戲中，玩家可以讓遊戲主角“中川”在新聞發佈會上回答記者提問時處於清醒狀態，也可以讓他打個盹，養足精神再回答提問。

如果“中川”回答了記者的提問，他的支持率就會上升，玩家的得分也會相應增加；但一旦他在回答提問時睡着了，就會從椅子上摔下來，遊戲就此結束。

這款遊戲由LiveWare公司推出，用戶只要擁有一部可上網的手機，花費52日元（合55美分）即可下載。目前日本有三家運營商提供這種能上網的手機。

LiveWare公司經理Evan Kojima說：“我們一直想推出一款新品種、新主題的遊戲，正當我們冥思苦想時，發生了這一十分轟動的新聞事件。”

英國一家網絡公司於去年12月推出了一款鞋砸布什的遊戲，這款遊戲是根據伊拉克記者用鞋砸時任總統布什，以抗議其對伊政策的事件開發出來的。

Vocabulary:

slur:含糊地發音；口齒含糊