Necomimi ears.

Started by Juju, May 31, 2012, 01:03:37 PM

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Juju

I saw these suckers EVERYWHERE around the con.  Regardless of how popular, I overheard some complaints about them from a few congoers and was curious as to what the consensus of the online community thought.

Cool and innovative, or inaccurate and not worth the money?  Let's hear it!
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weirderraindrop

I enjoy mine, and the friends of mine who also purchased them were pleased. My complaint is that it slides off to the left where the battery and power button sits, but maybe I have an odd head. It becomes a bit bleh on my ear after a while because of it. They're also a bit loud when you're in a quiet setting like an elevator or your room, but I don't plan on using them other than at conventions or Halloween.

On the plus side, the ears appear to be relatively easy to make with some foam and fur, so I will be making some different ones to fit on there. ;D While wearing the ears I noticed people smiling and looking at them in a curious manner. I even had a drunk guy come up to me in Safeway asking about them, which was a bit strange but whatever. Overall I like them, and don't regret buying them.

Siddy

I can't give my opinion on them without having tried them first. What surprised me was the number of people I saw wearing them, given the $99 price tag. Are both ears on independent motors and can both ears react differently?

Here is the official English site.
http://en.necomimi.com/

Kuudere

Quote from: Siddy on May 31, 2012, 01:33:33 PM
I can't give my opinion on them without having tried them first. What surprised me was the number of people I saw wearing them, given the $99 price tag. Are both ears on independent motors and can both ears react differently?

Here is the official English site.
http://en.necomimi.com/

Both ears can react differently, though it's more common that they're doing the same motion. When calibrating, one usually twitches to the side while the other stays put. It's kind of cute! I liked them and thought they were fun, but here are some downsides in case you were wondering:

1. Ours had problems calibrating, depending on the person. It would stay in calibration mode for nearly the entire time, in the case of my boyfriend. Adjusting the piece that touches the forehead appeared to help a bit, though.

2. They're not a good idea to buy if you get headaches from pressure on your head like I do. You will notice them, and the feeling of having them on your head doesn't really go away with time (or at least, that was my experience). It wasn't bad enough to actually induce a headache, but it got to a point where I had to remove them because it bothered me after about an hour.

3. That piece that touches your forehead was terrible for me. It has to maintain contact, so it's pushed pretty strongly into your forehead. When I remove it, I have a red mark and a small indentation where it was, which remains for about 10-20 minutes.

Regardless, they were definitely fun to pass around our group and mess around with. Just a warning: no one can take you seriously when you wear them; they're just too adorable.

And yes, the ears are removable, so you can customize or make your own coverings.

weirderraindrop

Quote from: MeowDesu on May 31, 2012, 01:50:56 PM
Just a warning: no one can take you seriously when you wear them; they're just too adorable.

^This. When I first put them on someone in our group would say something, look at me, and laugh. Hours of giggles and blushing were had.

ewu

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Siddy

Quote from: MeowDesu on May 31, 2012, 01:50:56 PM
Quote from: Siddy on May 31, 2012, 01:33:33 PM
I can't give my opinion on them without having tried them first. What surprised me was the number of people I saw wearing them, given the $99 price tag. Are both ears on independent motors and can both ears react differently?

Here is the official English site.
http://en.necomimi.com/

Both ears can react differently, though it's more common that they're doing the same motion. When calibrating, one usually twitches to the side while the other stays put. It's kind of cute! I liked them and thought they were fun, but here are some downsides in case you were wondering:

1. Ours had problems calibrating, depending on the person. It would stay in calibration mode for nearly the entire time, in the case of my boyfriend. Adjusting the piece that touches the forehead appeared to help a bit, though.

2. They're not a good idea to buy if you get headaches from pressure on your head like I do. You will notice them, and the feeling of having them on your head doesn't really go away with time (or at least, that was my experience). It wasn't bad enough to actually induce a headache, but it got to a point where I had to remove them because it bothered me after about an hour.

3. That piece that touches your forehead was terrible for me. It has to maintain contact, so it's pushed pretty strongly into your forehead. When I remove it, I have a red mark and a small indentation where it was, which remains for about 10-20 minutes.

Regardless, they were definitely fun to pass around our group and mess around with. Just a warning: no one can take you seriously when you wear them; they're just too adorable.

And yes, the ears are removable, so you can customize or make your own coverings.

Thank you for the information.

mdarkpoet

I was a bit skeptical of whether the ears actually DO react to your brain waves or if this is just clever trickery. I watched the ears on other people and they seem to move independent regardless of brain waves.

I dunno... really skeptical. Especially for a $100 price tag. Furthermore I don't know where else I'd wear the ears other than to cons and for costumes. I might've purchased for a lesser price.

Either way, those people made a LOT of money off those ears. For that I give them hats off. They were well-marketed and in the right place.

Xanreo

I really wanted to purchase a pair but decided not to at the last moment.

I still don't know how they work but the main theory of many attendees I asked is the whole temperature thing.

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Tsu

#9
I'm pretty confident that it does scan your brain waves. Neurosky, the company behind the scanning apparatus itself, is also behind "The Force Trainer", a toy with a similar device, and a couple versions that allow you to play simple computer games, learn how to meditate better, etc by scanning your brain waves (alpha, beta, theta) and translating that into workable data. If it was just a temperature reading/forehead-scrunching-reading-device its other incarnations would've been shot down a long time ago. And as someone who used the necomimi, the first time the ears perked on me was when the phone in our hotel room rang unexpectedly. The ears sprung up less than a second after having never done so before. You can also see how they work if you're a gamer. The ears would perk and twitch on my friend while he was focused playing Soul Calibur V, and as soon as he'd finish his final move or the round ended they'd relax into the laid-down position. I imagine he was feeling intense concentration followed by relief/a rush of dopamine, so...

Regardless, they're fun. I just wish they had a chargeable battery and not AAAs.

Neurosky's wiki page for more info: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeuroSky
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Xanreo

Hmm, you've piqued my interest in them once again.

Maybe I'll buy a set if they have them at AX.
I just hope they have different colors since I've seen some official black necomimi.

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Evaunit01berserk

#11
We have proved that these work on multiple people using certain words and actions. You can't control the ears right off the bat at your own free will unless you have some practice. We had people talking to someone and the ears were in a relaxed state and when we called their name, they perked up.

During a photography shoot, a female friend of mine was doing a bit of a sexy pose and the photographer told me "Do you realize what your ears are doing?", I was like "No, what?" He goes on to say "They are constantly twitching in the perked up mode" :P

They do work, you just can't up and get them under your complete control, its more of an involuntary response

I will be wearing mine for pre-reg during Otakon and also guessing the Necomimi crew will be there. Expecting a massive response since they only just came out and are mainly concentrated on the west coast. I know the south east cosplayer community where I live is going nuts trying to get mine.

Quinnton117

I love my pair. I wore them for several hours after I bought them then let my friend wear them while I was running around in costume. He fell asleep in a chair wearing them and one ear was twitching while he was out. I of course made a priority to point him out to anyone walking past.

I'm looking forward to wearing them out more. Just need to find the right places to wear them.

Touya no Miko

IMO, they're a cute novelty toy, but I would not dish out $99 for them if I'm not gonna use them half of the time. As for scanning brain waves, one of my friends has a theory that what it's actually reading is your body tempature. Almost like how a mood ring work. My friend was contemplating on getting one, but after borrowing one from one of my friends he quickly grew bored of them. I tried them on and it was only fun for the first couple of minutes. But if you really want one, I would say wait until the prices go down or see if you can find one at the Swap Meet for cheaper.
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Tsu

Well, you could wait til prices go down, but I doubt it'll happen anytime soon unless people get sick of theirs and want a quick sale. Ebay's are all around 190-200~, so Fanime was a steal in comparison. I really don't think they're reading temperature. Neurosky probably would've been found out as being bogus before now. But if you really wanted to test that, you could always have someone stand in a refrigerated room or run a few laps first, and see if performs drastically differently. I'm convinced, though. I don't think temps could spike significantly or quickly enough to trigger the ears when names are called or phones ring. Either way, it really is like a 21st century mood ring, lol.
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sioda_mactiir

I regret not buying them, but they are on sale again on their site. so I shall be buying mine as soon as it is feasible

weirderraindrop

I've heard they're being sold currently at the Tech Museum across the street from the convention center. I haven't had a chance to verify this personally as I'm in irvine at califur. I'd imagine they're selling for around the same price as fanime and not double like eBay.

Admiral Donuts

Quote from: weirderraindrop on June 02, 2012, 09:08:20 PM
I've heard they're being sold currently at the Tech Museum across the street from the convention center. I haven't had a chance to verify this personally as I'm in irvine at califur. I'd imagine they're selling for around the same price as fanime and not double like eBay.

Definitely saw them being sold their during the con, not sure about now.

Aoiro

They're cute, I can say that. But I don't believe they're worth the money. I was wondering why I saw everyone wearing a pair of Necomimi and when I found out the price tag, I couldn't believe it. Even I have a difficult time deciding to dish out $50 on a figurine of my favorite character! I do wish they were more customizable. But hey, it's a new thing. We'll see what happens with the Necomimis~
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Maskenlav

I liked how the ears helped make this even more anime-ish and kawaii! Nothing like having kitty ears tell you that you were at a convention! Or playing Fiesta lol
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