Pico Perfect: How-to: Register for Ameba Pigg

A few people have asked how to create an Ameba Pigg account since we first started posting photos of Pigg on Pico Perfect.

For those who don't know, CyberAgent Inc. is a Japanese online marketing and media services agency that, amongst it's many products, created Ameba Pico. A year or so before launching Pico, CyberAgent created Ameba Pigg, a Japanese-language social avatar community that became the inspiration for Pico.

There are a lot of great things about Pigg. It's been around longer, so, it's more developed and has many more clothing, accessory and furniture objects. Not to mention licensing for virtual versions of BAPE, Doraemon, and Sanrio (including the ever-popular Hello Kitty) products.

Many non-Japanese players who use Pigg particularly enjoy the relaxing fishing game.

Pigg even brings real life into the game, inviting local and international musicians and other celebrities to answer questions from their fans in Pigg. Avril Lavigne, AKB48, The Black Eyed Peas, Moa, Ne-Yo, and others have appeared in Pigg. For events like this special promotional items are available to purchase for a limited time.

It's a lot of fun ... but it can also be difficult to get past the first step of registering on the all-Japanese site.

We have put together a "How-to" to help people register and get their feet wet. This post will cover:

Using a translation tool to assist you in registering your account
Taking you through the steps of filling in your account information
Creating your Pigg character, getting dressed and picking a room layout
Going through the tutorial before entering Pigg
Things to initially help you as you begin your Pigg life

Please read carefully. If you do not understand how to do something ask your parents, an older sibling or a friend for help. The Pico Perfect bloggers do not read Japanese and can not translate anything further for you. We stumble around ourselves. :-)

Once you have successfully registered your account and created your Pigg avatar, you are essentially on your own within an all Japanese language interface. For help, read the official Pigg blog posts translated to English by ten.ten..

Before you start, please remember that by creating an account you are bound to the to fill out your personal information ... before you agree to the Ameba Pigg Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Let's begin.

1. Use a translation tool to help (optional).
The Google Chrome browser will automatically detect and translate pages for you. We highly recommend using this browser.

If you do not want to use/download Chrome, we suggest that you use a translation tool to translate the text at the URL from Japanese to English. The translation will not be exact, but it will give you enough info to be able to fill in the registration form and be able to make it into the game.

Step 1: Visit an online translation tool like Google Translate or Yahoo! Babel Fish.

Step 2: Copy-and-paste the login page URL for Pigg - http://pigg.ameba.jp/ - into the appropriate text area (Yahoo! Babel Fish shown below). You will return to pigg.ameba.jp each time you want to log into Pigg.

Step 3: Select options to translate the URL from Japanese to English and click the 'Translate' button.

Please note that online translation services, like Google Translate or Yahoo! Babel Fish:

will only translate text and not images with text on them.
can sometimes be glitchy or buggy and do not always work properly in translating Pigg. If you try to use the Google or Yahoo! translation services and they do not load the page you can either wait and try again later or try and follow along and reason your way through the language problem.

In Japanese (left); translated to English (right)

Using the online translation tool

2. Register by email and fill in your details.
On your newly translated Pigg login page click the orange button to be begin the 3-step sign-up process.

Step 1.1: In the PC Email text box, type in your correct email address. Once you click the 'Transmit the verification email' button Ameba Pigg will send you an automated message with an activation link.

Step 1.2: Sign into your email account and open the message from Ameba（アメーバ）. If the email does not arrive in your inbox within 5-1o minutes ...

check your Junk Mail folder;
search your inbox for Ameba（アメーバ）; or
check back in your inbox within the next 24 hours before the link expires.

This email basically says ...

This email is automatically sent to the email address you provided.

Please click the URL below to continue creating your membership.

[Your unique registration URL will appear here.]

This URL expires in 24 hours.

If you click the URL and your screen does not display it correctly, please copy and paste the URL into your browser's address input field.

If this is your email address and you did not register for Ameba, please ignore this message and the URL will expire.

Contact: http://helps.ameba.jp/inquiry.html
Ameba: http://www.ameba.jp/
Company: CyberAgent, Ltd.

Step 2: Once again, copy-and-paste the URL into Google Translate or Yahoo! Babel Fish to translate from Japanese to English.

You will be taken to a registration page.

Line 1: A Pigg ID. Use letters, numbers and/or the hypen symbol (-).

All letters must be lower case.

No spaces

Your Pigg ID will be used to form your online user profile and blog URL; example: http://ameblo.jp/picoperfect

Line 2: A password. Use letters, numbers and/or the hyphen symbol (-). Make sure it's memorable without being too simple (example: 12345678 is too easy)

Line 3: Re-enter your chosen password. This will help to ensure the password you have chosen has not been mistyped.

Line 4: A nickname. Use up to 30 letters, numbers and symbols (including spaces). This is the name that will appear in your game profile when people click on you. Just like in Pico, this can be changed through settings.

Line 5: Your gender. The Female (女性) option is first, the Male (男性) option is second. Your birthdate. Use the year/month/day format. Keep in mind that - unlike Pico - Pigg is intended for people aged 18 and older.

Click the 'You verify' button to finish up the sign-up process.

Note: If you get an error, try viewing the page in Japanese without the translation service.

You will be taken to a page where you can review the information you have entered.

If the information is correct, type in the captcha text at the bottom of your information summary to confirm that you are not an automated spam bot and click the button on the right to continue to the final step in the sign-up process.

If the information is not correct, click the button on the left to go back and fix your information.

Step 3: You will now see a confirmation page that tell you your account has been created. It also says that your newly created Ameba ID can be used to sign into Ameba Mobile services (like Catmid over on Pico Freaks has done). Click the dark pink button to begin customizing your Pigg character!

3. Customize yourself!
Just like when you registered for Pico, you will be taken to a menu that lets you customize your avatar. You must first choose a gender which you can not change afterwards. Again, customizing yourself takes 3 easy steps.

Step 1: Choose your:

Tab 1: face shape and skin tone
Tab 2: eyebrows and eyebrow color
Tab 3: eye type and eye color
Tab 4: nose type
Tab 5: mouth type
Tab 6: front hair style and hair color
Tab 7: back hair style and hair color
Tab 8: (optional) beauty mark placement
Tab 9: (optional) facial hair for boys / eye shadow, lipgloss and cheek make-up color for girls

Once you are satisfied with the results of your look click on the 2 button to move on to ...

Step 2: Get dressed in (all optional) ...

Tab 1: a shirt
Tab 2: a pair of pants for boys / a skirt for girls
Tab 3: a pair of shoes
Tab 4: a wristwatch for boys / earrings for girls
Tab 5: a pair of eyeglasses

Once you are satisfied with the results of your look click on the 3 button to move on to ...

Step 3: Choose your room layout.
You can select 1 of 3 floor plans+designs.

Once you're satisfied, keep clicking the the dark pink buttons to confirm and head into Pigg.

4. Complete the tutorial and start your Pigg life.
Next, you will see a pop-up message that welcomes you to Pigg.

Just like in Pico, take a few moment's to follow the prompts of the bouncing dark pink arrow that will take you through a tutorial to get you started in Pigg. Don't grumble about it. There's a big pay-off for you in the end.

Hitomi, Pigg's version of Chloe, will take you through the necessary steps.

You may not be able to read Japanese, but pay attention to where the dark pink arrow (it says "click" / クリック) is leading you, click and you'll breeze through it.

To complete the tutorial you will be required to:

sit on your chair
use the "Hello" action

[At this point a pop-up menu will appear with images of accessory clothing items and scratch cards. Once again, click the dark pink button to move on.]
prop Hitomi
click on Hitomi's profile, click her room icon to go to her room, and ring her room sit on her sofa
eat/consume a mug of green tea (Ryoku-cha / 緑茶)
[Once you eat the food you will see a pop-up with George, Pigg's version of Thomas, on the left and Hitomi on the right; between them images of a token with a x 10. This message tells you that for completing the tutorial you have received 10 tokens you can spend in the shop catalog and various shops in Pigg. Click the dark pink button to continue. Hitomi will send you back to your room.]

Once you are in your room another pop-up will appear on your screen with George, Hitomi and other Ameba characters that you may recognize from Pico. This image tells you [///]. Once again, click the dark pink button.

5. Voila!
You are now free to enter the world of Pigg. Feel free to explore.

Since everything is in Japanese from here on in, to find your way around use your knowledge of how things work in Pico. Many of the menu buttons (example: Travel, Buddies, Closet, Decor, Pocket, Shop, etc.), travel destination icons (example: casino rooms, game rooms; China, Japan, and New York rooms, etc.) and the placement of layout items are the same.

See a list of travel room icons and where they will take you here.
See a list of Pigg commands (example: /heart) here.

We'll share some information that will be helpful for you are you get started.

Buying items. There are 4 types of currency in Pigg:

Currency Name	Pico Equivalent	Can be used to buy items in ...
Ame (アメ)	Gummies	a few vendors; particulary in Park areas
AmeGold (アメG)	Ameba Gold	a majority of vendors throughout Pigg
Coupons	Tokens	select items sold in vendors
Casino Dollars (C$)	Casino Dollars	Casino Shop

The main think to keep in mind is that Pigg was created for people who are 18 years of age and older ... and have their own money to spend. As such, most of the items must be purchased with Ameba Gold - even most foods.

There are fewer products to buy through earned Gummies. This doesn't mean you have to live a pauper's life in Pigg. It just means you may be more reliant on daily or special/rare redeemables like Tokens, the Daily Scratch Card and the Casino gift dollars.

Earning Gummies. The number of Gummies you can earn is drastically less in Pigg.

Each prop (called "Gupigg") will earn you 1 Gummie
Each ring (called "Kitayo") will earn you 1 Gummie
Changing your clothes will earn you 2 Gummies per day

You can earn a maximum of 40 Gummies per day through props (20) and rings (20).

Buying items. Luckily, when you open your Travel menu in Pigg to view all the rooms, those that vendors with stuff you can buy in them, just as in Pico, say Shop in English right underneath their icons.

When you enter a room and see a vendor character or robot in Pigg with the word "Shop" floating over it, the items sold by the vendor can be purchased for Ameba Gold.

When you enter a room and see a vendor character or robot with Japanese letters

アメ floating over it, the items sold by the vendor can be purchased for Gummies.

Daily Scratch Card. You can do this once every 24 hours and will cost you 20 Gummies each time.

Press the menu button on your screen with the little panda-dog creature. When the Daily Scratch Card menu pops up, click the dark pink button to spend your 20 Gummies. The allowable scratch areas will be highlighted in yellow . Click a scratch bubble to reveal a random gift that is waiting.

When you start a new card, the only area you will be able to scratch is in the middle. As you return and scratch more, additional spots will become available for you.

You can change the scratch card you are using at any time, but clicking the gray button at the bottom of your card menu and choose another color.

Daily Casino Dollars. There is very little difference between the casinos in Pico and Pigg. The way they operate is almost exact. If you visit the Casino Shop or gambling rooms each day, you will be greeted by pop-up that allows you to choose a card that will give you a random amount of free C$.

If you have gone to the casino in Pigg, you will experience deja vu.

Star Book Challenge Card. You may not be able to read the Star Book, but plenty of the tasks are the exact same - especially the basic ones like ...

Go to Closet and dress up your Pico
Move your furniture
Go to Catalog Order Shop
Go travel
Take a photo
Use your "Hello" action
Give Pico Props
Go visit someone's room

You will get 2-30 Gummies for each task you accomplish.

Menu buttons. Many of the icons on your game menu will be familiar to you from playing Pico.

The top right menu has many "new" and different icons:

Button	Purpose
Row 1
	Harassment info. Opens harassment information page on the official Pigg info blog.
	Contact page. Opens the report abuse / user feedback page on the official Pigg info blog.
	Log out. Logs you out of Pigg.
	Help. Opens the help page on the official Pigg info blog.
Row 2
	Info posts. Opens a pop-up window of the most recent items from the Pigg info blog posts on your screen.
	Settings. Opens a pop-up window of your user settings so you can change your name, status, room settings, change your avatar and more.
	Volume. Adjusts the volume of the Pigg game.
Row 3
	Refer-A-Friend. Opens a pop-up window with information on how Pigg's friend referral program for which you can receive exclusive prizes.
	Home. Takes you back to your room.
	Rings ("kitayo"). The green number shows the amount of room rings you have received for the current day. Click the number and your ring list will open.
	Props ("gupigg"). The orange number shows the amount of props you have received for the current day. Click the number and your prop list will open.
	Gummies ("ame"). The pink number shows the amount of Gummies you have received for the current day.
	Star Book. The blue number shows the amount of Star Book tasks you have completed to date. Click the number and your Star Book will open.