Saturday, November 24, 2012

Balloon Party in 15 minutes!

"Up, up, and away!" party invite; November 24 @ 3AM GMT

Party starts in 15 minutes!

Sunday, November 25 at 3AM GMT*
In the room of <MissLindaK>
Let all of your hand-held balloons go!

Some friends are hosting a balloon party. Why not join us and let go some of those hand-held balloons that are clogging up your pockets? :-)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Repost: Today is 'Contact Norishige Nagase Day'

Norishige Nagase photo @ cyberagent.info/people/nagase

Source: savemypico.blogspot.com

Let's all make an effort today to send an email, Facebook, G+ or Twitter message to Norishige Nagase today. He is the general manager of Ameba., the game company that created Ameba Pico.

Copy and paste the messages below* ...


私はアメーバピコをプレイしています。このゲームでたくさんの友だちを得ました。ゲームが閉鎖されるとコンタクトの方法も彼ら自身も失ってしまうでしょう。私の時間、お金そして感情をこのゲームに何ヶ月も投資しました。どうかもう一度考え直しピコを継続してください。
(Translation: I play Ameba Pico. I have many friends in the game. I will lose connection with many of them when the game closes. I have invested my time, my money and my emotions in this game for many months. Please reconsider your decision and continue Ameba Pico.)
By Twitter to @lionbaby

@lionbaby: アメーバピコを守る嘆願書にサインしました。これを読む時間を作ってください。 http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO http://chn.ge/Snq9Gn #AmebaPico #petition #SavePico
(Translation: I have signed #petitions to save #AmebaPico. Please take the time to read them: http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO http://chn.ge/Snq9Gn #SavePico)
* Warning: Do not be rude, offensive or harassing in any of your messages to Mister Nagase or any Ameba Staff.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Repost: Today is 'Contact Susumu Fujita Day'

@susumu_fujita profile pic

Source: savemypico.blogspot.com

Let's all make an effort today to send an email, Facebook, G+ or Twitter message to Susumu Fujita today. He is the president of CyberAgent, Inc., the creators of Ameba Pico.

Copy and paste the messages below* ...


私はアメーバピコをプレイしています。このゲームでたくさんの友だちを得ました。ゲームが閉鎖されるとコンタクトの方法も彼ら自身も失ってしまうでしょう。私の時間、お金そして感情をこのゲームに何ヶ月も投資しました。どうかもう一度考え直しピコを継続してください。
(Translation: I play Ameba Pico. I have many friends in the game. I will lose connection with many of them when the game closes. I have invested my time, my money and my emotions in this game for many months. Please reconsider your decision and continue Ameba Pico.)
By Twitter to @susumu_fujita or @FujitaSusumuBot

@susumu_fujita, @FujitaSusumuBot: アメーバピコを守る嘆願書にサインしました。これを読む時間を作ってください。 http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO http://chn.ge/Snq9Gn #AmebaPico #petition #SavePico
(Translation: I have signed #petitions to save #AmebaPico. Please take the time to read them: http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO http://chn.ge/Snq9Gn #SavePico)
* Warning: Do not be rude, offensive or harassing in any of your messages to Mister Fujita or any Ameba Staff.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Norishige Nagase; Picture © cyberagent.info/people/nagase

Meet Norishige Nagase. He is the General Manager of Ameba.

You may have signed the petitions (http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO and http://chn.ge/Snq9Gn) to save pico. But you also have the ability to contact Mr. Nagase directly through:

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Tell him what you think by sending him a BIG message.

Find out how to contact Norishige Nagase on the RO80 : Type Mag blog. »

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

So long, farewell to Pico life?



Dear Readers,

Yesterday, after a lengthy maintenance break, Ameba announced it will close Pico on December 17, 2012.

If you would like to try and save Pico, please sign read and sign petition: http://bit.ly/SAVEPICO

Thank you, Benry, for posting this on your FB fan page.
 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Re-post: A friendly reminder to never give out your password to anyone



Ameba Pico's support team will never contact you to ask for your password. This is an important message that needs to get out to players.

There have always been attempts by players to scam others out of their accounts - especially players who have many premium items.

There's a new scammer among us
This month a player named Pico Sυpport™ has popped up and is contacting many people under false pretences. "She" is claiming to be an Ameba official. Alert!: this person is not a member of Pico's support team. Do not send your password information to this person if you are contacted.

Ameba Pico says:
  • Change your password and ID frequently
  • DO NOT tell anyone your password and ID
  • DO NOT type in your password and ID in other applications
"Account information should be kept in the utmost secrecy, the Ameba Pico team will never ask for their passwords or account information." - Parent Friendly Guide: We have key safety tips for our players


Protect yourself
Many players with blogs are getting word out about this scammer. Chimikat, Lavi Shieru, the Pico Grammy Awards team, TLA Family, and the Sakura Sisters are a few who have posted on blogs or Facebook about it. Please do the same in your own way. You might want to consider warning those you know and care about. In fact, if you receive this letter, take a screen cap of it and send it to the real Pico Support at support@ameba.net.

People will always set their mind to scam your out of your account; they'll find new ways to be devious. Scammers will use phony web sites, bogus Facebook accounts/pages and even approaching you in the game to make themselves look "official" and convincing. Be aware.

- AF

Source: RO80 Type Mag: A friendly reminder to never give out your password to anyone

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

TMI, shuuji1984.



I saw the most ... unusual profile last month. Of course, Pico has all types of profiles. But this one was what I would say had way more info than you need/want to know about someone. Too much info. TMI.


Take a look. Judge for yourself. →

I don't know about you, but I don't need to know about the sex lives of strangers who appear on my screen as kawaii characters.

Since the profile update shuuji1984's information has changed. He no longer publicizes the depressing details of his life to the world and his blog address has changed.

[Update] Shuuji has since left Pico. So, if you want insight into the psyche of a 28-year-old virgin you're out of luck in this case.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Ameba raises the profile



It's been a while since I posted ... but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to comment on the new profiles.

Hate 'em.

Why?

Too jumpy
They ... jump! I hate that! When I say "jump" I mean that when I click on one person to another the position of where the profile is on my screen changes. It jumps.

With the old profiles the position stayed steady. I could place the profile window anywhere I wanted and it would stay ... just like a well behaved dog.



In the end ...
I will admit that I don't mind how the information is laid out. The addition of when the player's account was created and their last login date is a great addition. Ameba gets a point for that. Although I don't like the placement of the URL in the 'Details' tab. It should be visible straight away in 'Basics' tab.

And that's how I feel about it.

It's a good change, it just needs some tweaking.



Photo Credit: Pictured (header): ♠MiNoBoo♠, toyo(旬)

Saturday, May 5, 2012

700 AG Later...

Screen Shot 2012-05-04 at 10.29.54 PM

Just to prove that Ameba is taking advantage of the innocent youth of today, I spun the Ribbon premium gacha 14 times at 50AG per spin.

700AG blown in a matter of seconds and six ribbon cushions later.  I wanted to sock whoever decided to give out a ribbon cushion almost every other spin!  WTF?!

Did this happen to anyone else??  Did ANYONE actually get the blond wig?  I think not!

Ameba, the jig is up... you guys have hit an all time low.  Stop with the premium gacha already.


Friday, May 4, 2012

Really? I mean, REALLY?!

Screen Shot 2012-05-03 at 11.51.23 PM

I wished I could say that I'm all that surprised but I'm not.  Having been quite busy, I've neglected logging onto Pico for about a month (I'm sorry Instigator! May will bring lots of blog posts!).  Keeping my fingers crossed... I logged onto Pico tonight hoping (more like praying) that Ameba would wow me back into submission.  I even purchased AG thinking I might review some new items...

Well, I'm going to have to be a little bit more patient and sit on most of the AG I purchased.

Screen Shot 2012-05-03 at 11.52.13 PM

Looking at the news bulletin I could tell right away that Ameba is mainly still premium gacha orientated.  I'm disappointed.  Why can't we just buy the stuff we want?  I know I sound like a broken record but it's ridiculous that because our demographic is mainly children Ameba feels like they can take advantage.  Yeah, I said it, I think Ameba is taking advantage of children!  Granted, there has been increase in premium gacha machines in Pigg as well but at least they get a chance to spin once for free... which to me screams that the Japanese Pigg players are not diggin' on the premium gacha either.  No one likes to give anything away for free if they don't have to.

Screen Shot 2012-05-03 at 11.54.34 PM

Ameba, you couldn't even create some new sakura items?  I call bull***t!  Stop being lazy and greedy! Create some items that aren't for premium gacha that are new and exciting.  I'm disenchanted and utterly underwhelmed at this point.

Screen Shot 2012-05-03 at 11.57.59 PM

Anywho, I'll try to end on a positive note.  The newly released wigs at the sakura room are actually kinda cute.  I'm going to get a lot of use out of this one!

Hopefully, next time my post will be filled with fun new things to see and buy but for now I'm left with quite a bitter taste in my mouth.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Petition: Keep Timelordess in Pico



How would you feel if you went to Pico World Support (support@ameba.net) for help and they turned around and said they may ban your account? Well, that's what's happened to Timelordess.

Here's what happened:
Timelordess noticed some fishy activity with her account's Gummies balance. She was threatened by a someone who claimed to be a hacker in a GM Games area. Then overnight it changed to a very high amount. She contacted Pico World Support and was told that she might never get access to her account again ... even though she did no wrong.

Timelordess's character:
Those who know Timelordess, know that she's fun and caring ... and hasn't the first clue how to be a hacker or scammer. She reports those who bully and threaten to Pico World Support, and encourages her circle of friends to do the same.

For Timelordess to now face the possibility of being permanently banned simply in asking for help is incredibly unfair. Who's next? You? Me?

Sign a support petition:
If you feel the same, please join the Friends of Timelordess and sign this petition to support her cause. Fill in as much of your personal information as you care to give (you don't have to put your address and if you un-click the 'Display my signature publicly' check box your endorsement will only show to the petition's administrator).

http://chn.ge/timelordess


Each time the petition is signed an email is sent to Ameba (support@ameba.net) and CyberAgent America, Inc. (contact@cyberagentamerica.com).

The letter:
Dear Ameba and CyberAgent America:


Recently, Pico ID Timelordess (also *Timelordess*) reported to Pico World Support (support@ameba.net) that she noticed some suspicious activity with her account. Her Gummies currency balance had ballooned to a very large amount. This happened after an incident in the GM Games area; she was threatened by a players who claimed to be a hacker.


Being a responsible player, Timelordess came forward to you seeking help. Instead, she was told that because of this strange account activity she may be banned.


This would be incredibly unfair and unjust.


As a friend of Timelordess and a concerned Pico player I want to give her my support.


I vouch for Timelordess's character and want to tell you that she:
  • is not, nor has she ever been, a hacker or scammer. She does not support this activity and has, in fact, posted anti-hack/scam messages to readers of her Pico blog.
  • is a mature and responsible person who does not invest her time in hacking/scamming or the abuse of other players.
  • is a positive, encouraging and inclusive member of the Pico game community. She is accepting of people of all ages, genders and cultural backgrounds into her friendship circle.
  • encourages all those who come within her influence to resolve their in-game issues by reporting them to support@ameba.net -- instead of taking matters into their own hands.
  • supports your organization through purchasing Ameba Gold and deserves a proper investigation into the account activity she has brought to your attention.
Ameba Pico needs to invest in proper safeguards to protect innocent players, like Timelordess, and catch those who carry out wrongdoing through hacking, scamming, abuse and other exploits of the game.


Please assign the blame where it lies.


Please do not ban the accounts of Timelordess.


Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Will Gummies be our downfall?



Written by: The Advocate, guest writer
with contributions from [VE]ςђєzкιє♡

Lately, some Pico players have an abnormal a mount of Gummies. Very high amounts. They can buy all gummy items they want! It's nice to have a lot of Gummies that didn't come from cheating, isn't it?

Some people get millions of Gummies through cheating. Of course, they're very happy .... but they don't know that they might be banned.

Some  users with huge amounts of Gummies are so happy that they are taking photos of their balances to post to Facebook.

When I go to the GM Games areas I see long lines forming at the game stations. It's nice to see ... but not so nice to our Pico accounts. For more reason than one: if you lose or if the game makes you the victim of a hacker.

I assume that a lot of hackers entered Pico this year ... because hacking activity seems to be on the rise. More innocent Pico players are falling victim.

Some hackers have made a home in the new GM Games area. The hackers approach you in GM Games and say they will give you one-million to one-billion Gummies through game play. This is when they make their move. Somehow, they can give you a negative (-) amount of Gummies ... or a huge amount. Either way, this can draw the attention of Pico's community managers ... and you could get banned.

So dont play with strangers. Be careful. If you have an "abnormal" amount of Gummies you'll be in big trouble.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Where did Pico go?



Looks like it's lights out for Pico again. We're not talking about the usual unscheduled maintenance mayhem. It's a blackout as of 7:00AM GMT.

(Thank the gods! I had just finished the secret spy theme Casino Challenge 5 minutes earlier.)

Not even the official blog is working. It's disappeared. This might be a major server problem. The granddaddy of server issues.

Remember the epic maintenance break from two weeks ago? How could you forget? It was almost 36 hours. I have a feeling this server meltdown will put it to shame.

That's all folks. I'm back to watching reruns of Torchwood.

With Pico out of service it's probably a good idea for you to watch reruns of something ... or discover a new Facebook game to enjoy. I'm thinking about The Hunger Games social game app. What about you?

Sunday, April 15, 2012

New Changes





It looks like the new Gummies betting function isn't the only thing Ameba has added to Pico.

Changing buttons
This is the most obvious change: the 'Travel' icon has been changed to 'Navi' - short for navigation, of course. I don't really see any benefit for changing this. What if the player doesn't know what the word "navi" stands for? There are other players than just English speakers in this game.



In my opinion, the 'Travel' was more suitable and easy to understand.

I don't even know why they did this. Well, dear me! I mist be going blind to not see the tabs at the top of the menu that say 'Travel', 'Park', 'Games' and 'Event'. Ameba decided to make them even bigger for us.

Get productive, Ameba!
These changes are really harmless. But they also don't benefit any of us either. Or, even more, they are a complete waste of time. Why can't they use the time that they put into these useless adjustments to create something productive? - like a trading system. Yes! A desperately needed trading system for all the doubles and triples in my 'Closet' from Gachas. They give me pain every time I look at them. (Of course, I am too money-loving to recycle any of them for as little as 10 Gummies.)

New language park
But don't get me wrong. Not all the changes are bad.

For example: Ameba added a new park area to World Community Parks - Vietnam Park - and I give them credit just for this one. There are more than just a few Vietnamese-speaking Picos here. I have actually seen quite a few myself. Creating Vietnamese Park is indeed a good idea.

Bugs in the system
Well, there are not only a little changes that have been made by Ameba, but an error has been going on for a very long time now. We can only wait for the day that Ameba notices this annoying little bug and fixes it.

Here's the error I'm talking about:



Oh, a ring error! Just fantastic! (Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)

With this error, whenever people ring you the "An unknown error has occurred" bubble pops up. This means the person who rang you won't show up on your 'Today's Rings' list ... unless you reload your browser.

Whew! Enough said. It is indeed a pain in the neck.


Scarlett has her own blog, Scarlett's Pico Life. Check it out!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The Gummies Fashionist



Written by: The Advocate, guest writer &

In the Pico world, it seems that some people are Gummies Fashionists and others are Ameba Gold Fashionists.

For us - Rica and Alexa - it's better to be a Gummies Fashionist  'cause we won't waste real money for our Picos. Some people think that when Picos wear clothing bought with Gummies (sometimes called "newbie" clothes by condescending people) it means that they are poor. The people with this attitude are what we call AG Elitists.

An AG Elitist is someone who always wears clothing purchased with AG and they think they are the best. Not everyone who wears AG clothing is an "elitist"; only those who put down players who don't. Only those who feel and act as though Gummies clothes - and the people who wear them - are worthless.

Gummies clothing is absolutely worth it! Even decor and foods.

Putting together outfits with Gummies fashion requires a lot of creativity. It takes imagination to create a set of clothes out of the simplicity of Gummies items.

How do you know if you are a Gummies Fashionist?
  • You prefer to wear items purchased with Gummies instead of AG clothes.
  • You take time an have great pride in creating fashionable styles with Gummies.
  • You're not not interested in wearing AG clothes.
Are all Gummies Fashionists poor? No, because they have to have a balance of money - earned money - to buy their Gummies items. If Gummies Fashionists were poor they'd be naked.



Don't be afraid or ashamed. You too can make your own sense of fashion sensibility by using clothing items bought with Gummies. While you're throwing together a look, don't forget to set a good example for your fellow Gummies Fashionists: don't be arrogant, be polite and treat others with fairness.

Not all "rich" Picos are bad to Gummies Fashionists. But many do act arrogant and put down others who aren't "rich". Sometimes we have seen this happen.

You can't judge a person by his or her clothing. Get to know the person behind the appearance.

What you wear isn't who you are. Your words and actions tell the kind of person you are.

If you ask us which is better - Gummies Fashionist or AG Fashionist - we would pick Gummies. We like it because we earn the money and don't any real cash. Not to mention Gummies fashion is colorful, challenging and fun.

Photo Credits: Pictured:
  • sweety 0.<
  • M.A.R.C.E.L
  • l é  d e r p
  • ♥нαιℓєч♠αиgєℓ♥