Well, it would be very easy for westerners and Japanese alike to see whether the traditional glyphs for chess pieces are printed upside down
Only for westerners with enough experience using Japanese pieces. For beginners or for players who choose to stick with western pieces, not so much.
And space is more cramped on a computer (or telephone!) display than on a newspaper page
Yes, space is cramped on a phone. Even when I loaded Jocly into my iPad earlier today, the display of the board and pieces was too small. However, the issue I raised was not that newspaper pages were cramped. It was that everything printed on a newspaper costs money to print. My desktop monitor, while still smaller than a newspaper page, is more than large enough to comfortably play Shogi.
Simulating the experience of playing across the board helps???
I should say simulate or enhance with a preference for enhance. Computers can enhance the experience of playing Shogi by enforcing rules, showing legal moves, and letting each player use a set he is comfortable with. But using evenly-sized half-Kanji characters without wedge shapes is not an enhancement unless that is how a particular player prefers to play, which might help on a phone, though it's harder to imagine anyone would have a preference for them on a larger display.
Only for westerners with enough experience using Japanese pieces. For beginners or for players who choose to stick with western pieces, not so much.
Yes, space is cramped on a phone. Even when I loaded Jocly into my iPad earlier today, the display of the board and pieces was too small. However, the issue I raised was not that newspaper pages were cramped. It was that everything printed on a newspaper costs money to print. My desktop monitor, while still smaller than a newspaper page, is more than large enough to comfortably play Shogi.
I should say simulate or enhance with a preference for enhance. Computers can enhance the experience of playing Shogi by enforcing rules, showing legal moves, and letting each player use a set he is comfortable with. But using evenly-sized half-Kanji characters without wedge shapes is not an enhancement unless that is how a particular player prefers to play, which might help on a phone, though it's harder to imagine anyone would have a preference for them on a larger display.