NHN Japan uses half-man statue to promote mobile game

For most western mobile games publishers, marketing continues to be focused around carrier decks and, increasingly, a bit of D2C advertising.

In Japan, one company is trying something a little... different. NHN Japan is advertising the Hangame mobile games portal with a series of 'half-body' statues, according to Textually.

Designed to look like people embedded in walls, they're spread around Tokyo's shopping districts:

When passers-by touch the statue's arm with their mobile, it automatically opens the Hangame portal in their browser, with a prize draw as an incentive.

Could this work in western cities? We're not sure, but if EA and Glu have any promotional budget left over for games like Spore and Transformers: G1 Awakening, we can see it going down well in Covent Garden...