1995
Electric Arts, Inc.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual"
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In this award-winning
CD-ROM, "I've discovered two in Data's quarters and one in Picard's. I think there may even be one
in Troi's but I'm not sure if it's a real plant or some fake interplanetary type. Are there any
others I should watch for?" (Originally brought to RJB's attention in posting to
rec.arts.bonsai by Jim D. Robertson, September 27, 1995)
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2002
Nintendo
"Animal Crossing"
Gamecube video game
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"In the ... game, you can actually decorate your house with Bonsai. I remember
having a Mugo Pine and an Azalea!" (Per edwardorino from Bloomington, IN in
posting to
bonsaitalk.com on August 11, 2005 and seconded by Misspeled_Name from Ohio on Sept. 5, 2005)
There are actually ten different trees you can use as indoor decoration only: Mugho,
Pine, Ponderosa, Azalea, Hawthorn, Holly, Jasmine, Maple, Plum, and Quince. The Maple
is in a low brown hexagonal container, the soil mounded above the pot's edge. The tree is a
formal upright, perhaps equivalent to 12-15" in height, with oranhish-brown leaves on three main
side branches and one or two at the top. (Additional details per RJB's son Andrew.)
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2002
Ubisoft Entertainment
"Tom Clancey's Splinter Cell"
video game
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"There's a bonsai on a table inside the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar..." (Per malhomme from Austin, TX in
posting to
bonsaitalk.com on Apr. 2, 2005; confirmed by RJB's son Andrew.)
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2002, 2003
Electric Arts, Inc.
"James Bond 007
TM
nightfire
TM"
interactive computer game
"unexpected guest," 3rd mission
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In a large ground-level room in the two-story Japanese house, there is
what would be a very nice 3' tall straight-trunked slightly leaning
juniper (?) with excellent taper and texture at the bottom of the
trunk. It is in a rounded-oval pot, olive green with wide corner
feet on a redwood stand on the tatami mat. In closeup inspection,
the pot is actually twelve-sided with a lip and having mossy ground
cover. A square columnal paper lantern is on the tatami mat on
each side of the tree, an island scene is on the paper screen behind
the tree. This is not a tokonoma.
When James Bond is later scaling the
outside of a high-rise building, through the window we see on the
inside left facing away from the window two similar bonsai, each in a
large olive oval pot with wide feet on the carpet. It seems that
there are identicle copies of these trees on each of the first through
fourth floors, and also on the eighth (?) floor of this office
building. Entering that top floor and around the corner can be
seen a shorter tree with a thin trunk and masses of five-petalled
grayish flowers, in a similar pot but with more moss on the soil
level. This is the floor with the offices of Matthew and
Mayhew. Further around the corner are a pair of curved planters
along the walls. Each holds ferns and three of the same evergreen
and two of the same flowering trees. The planters appear to be
teak on the upper half and marble tile on the lower. The hallway
then goes to the Meeting Room. Release date 11/01/02.
(Brought
to RJB's attention by son Kenny.)
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2003
Rockstar Games, Inc.
"Max Payne 2"
video game
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"...they are mentioned ... near the end, and are also in the police cheifs office."
(Per spoonman from Victoria, Australia in
posting to
bonsaitalk.com on Sept. 6, 2004)
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2004
Electric Arts, Inc.
"The Sims 2"
life simulation/strategy computer game
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When playing as a family, inside the "Buy Mode" catalog, located inside
the "Decorative" section under "Plants" there are two bonsai
possibilities. "Blue Sky" Bonsai Tree (costing 99 simoleons --
Sim currency). "Description - From its
origins in China over a millennia [sic]
ago, the concept of growing miniature 'pun-sai'
trees spread to Japan in the late 1100s. There they became
renowned as symbols of harmony and prized by the upper classes.
Nowadays, even the lowliest of citizens can appreciate these little
tree's gnarly beauty."
"Juniper" Bonsai Tree (costing 120
simoleons). "Description - The ancient art of the bonsai tree
lies in the representation of the larger, natural tree forms in a
diminutive scale. Bonsai, literally translated as 'potted tree',
can be made from almost any type of tree, though juniper has long been
heralded in the modern age as the most receptive to the bonsai
'training.'" (Brought to RJB's attention by son Andrew.)
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2002, 2005
BioWare Corp.
"Jade Empire"
XBox video game
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At the top of Pirate's Island is Gao the Greater's tower. On a
floor in the back against the wall and about 15' back from the open
balustrade is a bonsai. It is in a long (equivalent to just a
little more than 3') but narrow, light blue rectangular pot with
indented center panels on each side. This rests on a low bamboo
or wooden table which slightly longer than the pot. The 3'H tree
is very large trunked -- planted to the left side, perhaps 1/3 of the
left-to-right length of the pot and almost the entire front-to-back
depth. An informal upright deciduous of unknown species with long
narrow leaves, its lower right branch extends just over the right-hand
lip of the pot. The soil seems to be raised in the middle along
the long axis of the pot, almost resembling a baked loaf of bread in a
pan. The label "Bonsai Tree" appears in the lower right corner of the screen.
When your character kicks once and totally
shatters the tree, pot, and stand you receive one of the gems as a
reward (such as the Aura of Calm gem or the Inferior Intuition).
Arrrgh, Boldly Grow! (Brought to RJB's attention by son Andrew.)
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2003, 2005
Sega
"Worms Forts Under Siege"
XBox video game
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In the "No Go Dojo" level, at least six similar bonsai are seen around
the courtyard. Each sits in a somewhat deep, thick-walled, light
gray concrete-like rectangular container resting on a 6-piece flat
brick-like "mat." The trees do not have much detail in close-up,
the thin brown curving trunks each going into three almost topiary-cut
foliage pads of greenish splotches. Each tree also has a 3-clawed
surface root in the orangish-brown coarse soil mix.
(Brought to RJB's attention by son Andrew.)
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2005
Natsume Inc.
"Harvest Moon,
Another Wonderful Life"
Ninetendo Gamecube video game
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"A very well pruned and cared for bonsai" is what the caption reads. Inside an elderly couple's home
is a small tightly multi-layed conifer in a brown bowl pot. The tree is in need of serious pruning to
better define the top growth. It rests on a two-level TV-stand-like piece of furniture against a wall
and just away from a window. (Brought to RJB's attention by son Andrew.)
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2008
Glu Mobile
"Bonsai Blast"
iPhone, Android, Facebook game
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"This puzzle game has ninety increasingly challenging levels set in a beautiful 'Zen garden' theme."
It appears that the name is the most striking thing about this game -- but that is
the main reason for mentioning this reference.
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EA Redwood Shores
"Dead Space"
MS Windows, PS3, and Xbox 360 video game
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"I have had the pleasure of playing an awesome 1st person shooter called 'Dead Space' on PS3... .. and lo and behold .. what do we find in
the 'mall'..? A bonsai shop... " In the image included in this post we see a fat base of the trunk with foliage on two branches going
up and on top. The tree is in a large deep dark brown rectangular pot. (Posted by Matt Jermy, 14 Feb, 2011,
http://www.ausbonsai.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6224&start=30#p85567.)
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2009
Zoonami
"Bonsai Barber"
Wii video game
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Per
Wikipedia,
"The game places players in the role of a barber who must groom and style the foliage of their plant, fruit and vegetable customers
in similar manner to the art of bonsai pruning. Using the Wii Remote, the player uses tools such as scissors, hair clippers,
combs and hairspray to work on the requests of up to five customers per day and try to achieve a professional five star rated cut
for each."
Again, it appears that the name is the most striking thing about this game, with moving
the hand-held Remote in a pruning action a distant second. None of the reviews RJB has seen show anything remotely
resembling a bonsai or even Ming Tree. However, there seems to be some widespread appeal to this, such as even a
Facebook
page. Strange mention of "bonn-zai" is better than no mention...
(Brought to RJB's attention by son Andrew.)
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2012
"Bonsai Defense"
Mac or Windows video game
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"In Bonsai Defense, a free game made in the Unity3 engine for a college graduation thesis, the
player takes control of a tree -- that, is becomes the bonsai -- fighting against the invading insects and parasites that are after your nectar.
Fruit grow on the branches of the tree, and are the 'towers' of the game, used for both attack and resource collection. Money is replaced by an idea of
juice, created by generators that take up valuable tower space that could be used instead for a turret. Juice is used to power turrets though, so an
over-abundance of weapons on your branches will merely lead to inefficiencies, as there will not be enough juice to power anything.
"Also gone is the concept of fighting off a set number of 'waves' to progress to another level. Progress is made by collecting nectar, produced by flowers,
which like generators require their own fruit. Nectar degenerates with time so allowing your supply to increase as the game progresses will require
expanding your tree just to break the maintenance cost of nectar."
(Brought to RJB's attention by son Kenny and his friend Brandon.)
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2015
Ubisoft Entertainment
"Tom Clancey's Rainbow Six series, Siege"
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
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In this tactical shooter video game, when one is on the Skyscraper map in Nagoya, Japan inside the mansion,
to the right front of the bar there is a bonsai on the left edge of a desk. In a deep dark brown rectangular pot is a
fairly thick-trunked tree perhaps the equivalent of 18" tall. The trunk has a wide reverse-'S' shape. This
is a conifer with gray green foliage clumps. The background is a screen-like wall which does not make for good
contrast. Perhaps some moss is on part of the whitish substrate at the base of the tree.
(Brought to RJB's attention by daughter Raechel.)
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2016
Rooted Concepts
"Bonsai"
Microsoft Windows 7 and above
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"Bonsai is a game about curiosity and life. Grow your tree, prune it, and watch over it as it matures into adulthood.
The tree will become what you train it to be - you are the mastermind behind it's path in life.
"Each tree is unique and procedurally generated to be as authentic and realistic as possible. Grow an unlimited number of
tree-friends using different strategies and masterfully sculpt their shapes. Be aggressive and hack your tree down or gently
guide it each step of the way, how you tend to your tree is up to you. Since every tree and every species is unique, each
play through will be different from the last!"
The relatively very tall trees are shown in a deep
square pot. Clicking on a point on a branch highlights the branch to its tips and makes that section disappear -- completely
removed by pruning.
(Brought to RJB's attention by daughter Raechel.)
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2019
Ubisoft Entertainment
"Tom Clancy's The Division 2"
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
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This is a post civil unrest game where the US is lawless and overrun with paramilitary groups.
Taking place in Washington, D.C., part of the game involves rescuing "relics" from museums by purchasing
them. Technically, we are able to rescue bonsai (with histories given along with their digital avatars
here) from the National Bonsai Museum's collection. Ubisoft is known for going above and beyond for
accuracy in games. They use historical references to be precise. (Brought to RJB's attention by
son-in-law Michael Bruner and his sister-in-law, my daughter Rae.)
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