Happiness Controller

Sony announces a sims-like game where you where you decide the happiness of 100 people.

Sony Computer Entertainment, along with its new fish simulating game, recently announced Koufuku Sousakan, which translates as "happiness and prosperity controller." The goal of Happiness Controller is to make 100 people that you control happy. The kinds of characters the player needs to keep happy drastically vary, from the white collar average Joe to a social recluse. Each character has their own daily cycle, enabling you to control interactions at home, in the workplace, or outside. Some of the types of people you need to make happy include:
  • Happily married businessman, whose company is about to go bankrupt
  • Manga artist
  • Party animal with an utter disregard for everybody around her
  • A child whose father is a slob, and whose mother comes home late at night drunk
  • Bar club hostess, who gets paid to listen to rich Japanese businessmen talk
The story behind the game is just as eccentric. It is sometime in the 22nd century, and the Japanese people are "lacking in happiness." In response, scientists create the CLOVER, which automatically makes people happy while they sleep. It does this by taking 100 people and sticking them into a virtual reality world, distributing their happiness and sorrows. However, the CLOVER malfunctions, and the government hires one of the development scientists to act as the Happiness Controller.


Takashi breaks the shattering news to his lover that he actually wears a wig.

You take on the role of the controller, distributing that happiness that is shown by either a heart or skull mark. If a person is very happy, the player can "suck" some of that person's happiness (or sadness) and give it to some unhappy sod by rapidly hitting the circle button. When over 71 people are happy, a 101st person appears, whose mission is to do nothing else than making others miserable (sadly, there seems to be a lot of people like this in real life too). When the 101st Rastafarian guy attacks, the game enters a mini-game mode where the player fends off attacks by rapidly hitting the circle button when the Rasta character attacks one of the 7x7 panels.

Given the vary Japanese nature of the 100 characters, if a North American release is planned it would likely have different characters, since an American audience wouldn't connect or comprehend why some people have hugging pillows.

The game is slated for release in Japan on April 14, 2004.


Mr. Saotome loves his huggable pillow, "Ai." Perhaps a bit too much.

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