Curse you SBG (Softbank Black Guy)!!!

You've certainly heard of Softbank Black Guy by now. Softbank Black Guy is this black dude who appears in all the Softbank commercials. He plays Aya Ueto's brother. Aya Ueto's dad is played by a talking dog.

The point of the commercial is "unexpected." This is my own theory, but I think the unexpected for Softbank Black Guy is not only that he's not Japanese, making it unexpected that he should be Aya's brother, but that he also speaks Japanese in the spots.

On the one hand, I admire Softbank Black Guy because he got to get close to Aya Ueto, whom I love. On the other hand, I hate Softbank Black Guy because he got to get close to Aya Ueto, whom I love.

Akina in Metal Gear Online's in-game magazine earlier this year.

Today, Softbank Black Guy, whose name is actually Dante Carver (I seriously didn't know that until today -- I also found that he was born in 1977, just like me!) rose three levels on both my admiration and hatred scales as he appeared next to Metal Gear pinup idol Akina during a Metal Gear Solid Touch event.

I didn't attend the event, but here are links to some Japanese sources that are full of pics:

• Famitsu.com
• Dengeki Online

The event was held at the Softbank outlet in Omotesando (Softbank is the iPhone carrier here in Japan) and featured, in addition to the two celebrities, appearances by Hideo Kojima and MGST creative producer Yasuyo Watanabe (details on Watanabe here).

The two opened up with comments about the game. Kojima said, "iPhone is not a game machine, but a pop, fashionable tool. I want Metal Gear to be touched by sensible, fashionable people, and I'd be happy if it serves to get them to try out Metal Gear Solid 4 as well."

Watanabe said that she was happy that the game reached number one on the domestic App Store paid charts following its release yesterday.

[Checks iPhone... finds game listed at 45... realizes that iPhone connects to American App Store]

Akina and Carver, both apparently big Metal Gear Solid fans, appeared on the scene and gave flowers to both Kojima and Watanabe, then demoed Touch live in front of the crowd.

The event closed off with Kojima reminding that eight additional Touch stages are still on the way. He promised that players wouldn't have to wait too long for the additional content. He also reiterated that buyers of the current incomplete version will be able to upgrade to the full 20 stage version for free.

The Famitsu.com story also has a look at some Metal Gear Solid iPhone and iPod touch covers. These are available in 24 varieties at 4,500 yen each.