Speaking of lines

(tags game, web, MMFlash)

Line Rider. Light but deep gaming. This is for those people who like that Stair Dismount / Porrasturvat game. What can't Flash applets do? (thanks game girl advance)

Letting go of my Wii... pre-order

(tags Wii, game, hardware, pre-order)

How else can I say it.

Wii in 2007.

I gave my pre-order away to someone else who wanted it, through a friend. No profit, for real. As soon as I gave it away, I wanted it back, but only for a moment.

Only two more days until Japan gets the Wii. And I'm happy with what I have right now.

Covet pink: Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack: The unboxing (part 2)

(tags Dual Screen, hardware, unboxing, photo-expose, game)

Warning: pink overload. You have been warned.

So I lucked out and got a Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack. I didn't open it up immediately because for one I wanted to "unbox" it and take some extra care, so it was lying around for a couple of days.

The following picture is the box packaging with omake sticker set. Also in the picture is a related official goods hard plastic top side protector for the DS Lite, with another sticker set (not shown). No I'm not going to use the stickers. And lucky for me, pictures of the polygon princesses do not adorn any part of the hardware so my transit-game-playing self is saved from humiliation (d00d you forgot it's all pink).

Here we go with a photo-expose of unboxing proportions. Hey, it's my first DS Lite, so I'm excited. The little thumbnails are pretty much in chronological order. The box and opening sequence. The hardware itself and the new-to-me ports and interfaces. Apply the protection film fast before the dust settles. Not many bubbles, good. Size up the other accessories.

I want to highlight just two aspects in pictures: Here I compare my Pokemon DS to the Lite. I actually prefer the Pokemon DS's purple and white scheme. That would be really cool, a DS Lite in these colors. But size matters, so I'm putting the DS to rest. Thanks for the memories, you did good.

One thing I despise about the recent Nintendo is their hardware accessory/game cart size compatibility breakage. Like the GBA and GameBoy carts fiasco, the DS Lite and GBA carts is a mess. Just to exaggerate the issue, here we have the PlayYan Micro jutting out vulgarly. It's horrendous and unsightly. I decided not to cart around the PlayYan Micro anymore. I suppose the iPod fills in the gap here.

Also I was in for a rude awakening with regard to battery charging: I didn't know that the charging port is also different from past machines. Ugh. 3 different connectors for the 3 recent machine (DS, Micro, DSL). I went back to the store for the 500 yen, USB-powered spring retracting coil goodness.

There's one last aspect I don't have a picture for, but it bugs me to no end. I think the LCD display color is off and uncalibrated. It's like the color saturation is turned way up. I actually felt like throwing up looking at some old games. I have no idea why. It's it tuned for the Oshare game? Although Saga-san in the picture above doesn't look too off, the bottom screen is much worst. Maybe I have to train my eyes, because I spent mondo yen on this game console and I better like it the way it is, dang it.

Next related post will probably be about the Oshare Majo Love and Berry game itself. I have yet to break it open, honest truth.

Sending away for a DVD promotion special gift: Mushishi

(tags anime, DVD region 2, purchase, gift, figure)

I collected all 5 DVD boxes of Mushishi (「蟲師」) and I finally sent the special coupon this week, just under the deadline. Some DVD releases have the promotion where each box has a sticker or paper with the box's number. You then cut out and attach these strips of paper to the last box's coupon and send that in.

But most promotions are not free, but pretty much less than 2000 yen. Usually you have to send money in the form of a Japanese postal money order. These money orders are only available during Japan Post banking hours, which means 9:00 to 16:00 weekdays. It is a pain to get them because of my 9-to-5 "plus service zangyou (overtime without pay)" work schedule. Usually I line up the other stuff that requires going to the post office (like postal money orders for magazine offers for telephone cards, character goods, etc) and go during my lunch break.

In any case, the Mushishi promotion requires about 800 yen. Other than that, it's a piece of cake, just write down your Japanese mailing address, insert coupon and money into envelope, address the envelope and send it off with a 80 yen stamp. If it's in the post box, it will get today's stamp.

Speaking of Mushishi, I was on special alert looking for the last DVD release, Mushishi -Mushi Ourai- (「蟲師 -蟲往来-」). This is the sixth box. There are only 8000 units for the whole Japan, and I didn't make a preorder, I figured it might be a little hard to come by. But I was able to get it a day before (see picture below, "breaking street date" Sofmap FTW again).

Jeez the box is big. And no, it's not a case for the rest of the DVDs, unlike most big box pack-ins.

(The figure in the picture is Tomari from Kasimasi -Girl Meet Girl- (「かしまし -ガールミッツガール-」からの「とまり」))

Why blogs use {add to *|d*gg this!} buttons

(tags blog, del.icio.us, design, user interface)

Those "add to whatever" or "d*gg this!" buttons on most blogs are really annoying me. Call me a curmudgeon, but I don't like it. In particular, Coding Horror's Jeff Atwood shares this viewpoint in his "Excess Blog Flair". The connection of blog "flair" with stickers on a NASCAR car alone is entertaining in itself.

It didn't really dawn on me until I made the mental connection with another interesting Coding Horror article, "Office 2007 -- not so WIMPy". In it, he cites Jensen Harris's "An Office User Interface Blog: No Distaste for Paste (Why the UI, Part 7 [of 8])". According to the latter, the top 5 most-used commands in Microsoft Word 2003, based on opt-in statistics, are:

1. Paste
2. Save
3. Copy
4. Undo
5. Bold

I am a keyboard junkie, and I know the keyboard shortcuts for these in a myriad of programs, even ones that don't follow the Windows shortcut key guidelines, for example, cmd.exe, Emacs, Teraterm, etc, and other OSs. I don't need no stinkin' buttons. Then again, I'm not everybody. The blog above explains that the Office 2007 needs to keep these often used commands in the new UI "ribbon".

If I had to guess, for browsers, it would be:

1. Back
2. Reload
3. Home
4. Stop
5. Bookmark
6. Forward
7. Find

In the course of writing this post, I had to revise my list multiple times, just to be sure my preconceptions were properly accounted for. I use a multiple-tab GUI, most people use single windows. I don't ever navigate to a "home", most people probably want to start from a single page or don't even change the default.

The motivation seems clear enough. Flairful blogs are shooting for the hits and advertising revenue and what better way to do that than hook up with a bookmark or blog aggregator service. Make it really easy, easier than even a toolbar button, for people to bookmark or blog (hence the flair) and they will come.

I just see noise, though. No, the "this is a commercial site looking for hits" switch in my mind turns on. I'm considering adding Privoxy block rules for these things now.

That's why my blog will forever look like Web 1.5. No ads, no button flair.

Bookmark this!

And her father in hot water (part 2 of 2)

(tags game, Dead or Alive, sexual harassment, law, failure)

Another Dead or Alive game release means crank up the sex sells adverts. But the advertising push got an unexpected negative twist when it was reported that Tomonobu Itagaki (板垣伴信, producer and programmer of the Dead or Alive series and Kasumi's "father") was accused of sexual harassment from a former unnamed Tecmo employee (Kotaku, Gamasutra, Zakzak). Itagaki denied the charges but confirmed the relations as consensual sexual activity. Tecmo immediately and unconditionally demoted Itagaki from executive officer to corporate officer for the interim before the trial, which is ... a slap on the wrist? There were also salary reductions.

The more recent news which confirms the whole event (everybody was just pointing to the original Zakzak article) was Tecmo's official announcement about it (Kotaku, Gamasutra). In "A Statement Regarding Certain News Reports Concerning Ongoing Litigation" (訴訟に関する一部報道について), Tecmo reported its own internal "impartial" investigation findings. They basically claim that Itagaki was in the clear on sexual harassment charges, however the demotions were justified because the two employees disrupted the work environment. Itagaki is planning to counter-sue ("critical reversal"?!?) for defamication. It's not over yet, because the original suit is still on-going.

My first reaction was "should I stop buying Dead or Alive stuff now?". But who am I kidding? Just look at the last post.

But I grew more cynical and thought that in this world of hot-shot game creators, Tecmo is covering for their front-line human face for this multi-million dollar cash-cow franchise. The blogger reaction right now is muted (in the english-speaking world) on fire in Japanese blogs:

1. "Others are quick to condemn and don't ask Itagaki's side of the story"
2. "Itagaki has deceived fans and companies"
3. "It's also a hot topic in China and Korea"
4. "That Itagaki is still at the company after doing this awful thing is remarkable"

Come on! Where's the reaction from Game Girl Advance or the like? It's probably not an issue because these sites don't play "that bouncing breasts game". Would that IGN interview with Itagaki still run if published after the report? Why didn't Famitsu report it along side its breathless same-day report of Dead or Alive 4 selling 1 million units worldwide?

I'll be following this story for sure.

Kasumi in plastic... (part 1 of 2)

(tags game, Dead or Alive, figure, hardware, Xbox 360, faceplate, sexy)

I am a Dead or Alive Kasumi fan. I can say that it words, or show it in pictures. I can buy her figures. I can join the official fan club. Or I can buy a console based on her.

Or, I can buy a faceplate for the Xbox 360 even before buying the system:

Although the official web shop was "out of stock" (are they ever in stock?), Seiden/Tsutaya Kobe pulls through by placing the Xbox 360 Kasumi faceplate near the floor and unadorned or unadvertised (Do they even want to promote their merchandise?) I got it on the hellish 11/22 day. Personally the big minus for me is that she's looking away, but now I know which console orientation I'm going to use.

Behind it was a figure I got almost on release date (2006/06/18): Mon-sieur Bome Collection Vol. 14 "Kasumi White Ver. from 'Dead or Alive'". (MON-SIEUR BOME COLLECTION No.14 DEAD OR ALIVE かすみ KASUMI WHITE Ver. ( PVC塗装済完成品 )) It was scuplted by Bome and mass produced by Kaiyado (sold by Xebec and distributed by Organic). I like her cherry-blossom white costume and I always pick it (costume 2?) in DoA2, DoA3, and DoA Ultimate. I think the pose is from her Sakura Blossom taunt: Back Forward Back+F+P+K. What a lovely animation. Bome's figure set is kinda sexy-scary (hey its for 15 and older) but this figure is a real winner. The next figure in the set is her blue costume, but blue is boring and the pose is aggressive with weapon in hand. The Costco-style platic packaging is annoying, though.

Thanks to Mr. Costume Get for the interesting Dead or Alive Extreme Volleyball 2 costume-oriented review, which kickstarted my recent return to this universe. If you can believe it, I haven't played even the Xbox version of DoAX. I must not really be a real Kasumi fan. But it's in my stack somewhere. No trump card set, though, boo hoo.

Tekuteku Angel for the walking weight loss management with your DS

(tags exercise, measure, game, DualScreen, Japanese)

That companion at the Nintendo World 2006 Hudson booth shooed me away from the Sudoku and stuffed my hand with a flyer for the 2006/12/21 game package Tekuteku Angel Pocket with DS Tekuteku Diary (育成散歩計 てくてくエンジェルPocket with DSテクテク日記). This is a pedometer with some diet management software on the DS. I was hoping that the pedometer would contact the DS using wireless, but alas you transfer data by inputting the password shown on the device. The official homepage has some interesting developer blog info with lots of pictures.

I had fun with the Pokemon Pikachu Pedometer a couple of years ago. I also do a lot of walking (no more than the average Japanese commuter, though) so maybe this will be for the statistician in me.

It's Sugar season again

(tags anime, re-release, Japan, DVD region 2, kawaii)

I only knew about it after it hit the pre-order stands in Sofmap. A Little Snow Fairy Sugar (ちっちゃな雪使いシュガー) is getting a Japan DVD re-release. Probably no extras or omake but I want to get it all the same.

TV-Box 1 hits on 2006/12/22. 12,000 yen.

TV Box 2 hits on 2007/2/23. 12,000 yen.

Massive damage during the Northern Hemisphere Winter.

(verified from the official Geneon blog)

(edit: Added picture of the sticker sheet that I still haven't put away.)

Sudoku strikes again

(tags Sudoku, Rubik's Cube)

Unfortunately this is not a 3d Sudoku game but a Rubik's Cube-alike in Sudoku clothing. Sudoku Cube.

BTW, my first DS game on my new DS Lite was Sudoku. I am not done!

(via Wonderland)

Functional programming homebrew

(tags programming, Dual Screen, Lisp)

(Continuing my browser tab cleaning)

Here's a hacker with a Nintendo DS and Lisp homebrew bent. Nice. It's not yet real Lisp on a DS, since there's still assembly code written at the Lisp level, but it has enough parentheses to tide me over. Good hardware review as well and even mentions the often-quoted Jak-was-made-in-Lisp.

(Via PlanetLisp)

The power of the console

(tags video, PlayStation 3, Wii, Dual Screen)

Gotta get rid of some browser tabs. These are about a month old, so you feed-reading Internet junkies can just fast forward:

"PS3 Solves Rubik's Cube; Makes it explode": Rubik's Cube and PlayStation 3. Will the Rubik's Cube respawn?

"Red Steel TV spot aired, for the kids": I like the kung-fu theme and humor.

"Kirby Gets Tough in North America": Do not mess with this guy.

"PS3 disassembled on video": Add a new hard drive and you're you're now playing with power.

Covet pink: Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack: The deception (part 1)

(tags Dual Screen Lite, purchase, ECsite, deception)

So yeah, my main target was the Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack, not a Wii pre-order.

Armed with that Famitsu Magazine from last week, I started the horrid quest with Toys 'R Us. I asked the clerks if it was available and they answered yup. So I kept my place in the line. I then got a Wii pre-order slip then saw another bunch of people getting a different slip and I proceeded to ask again while pointing to my magazine, you know because it's a DS Lite. Yeah, you can buy that with no problem. Do I need that slip to buy it? No, they answered. So I got back into the main line without a regular DS Lite slip.

So the store opens and I'm thinking I need to get some kind of plastic case or slip in order for them to ring me up with it. I head to the back of the store trying to find the pile of Oshare games and I had to go back to front to one of the clerks who then personally shows me the display. But it gets ugly here because the cases are the normal version. Clerk is still standing there so I ask, "The system comes with this one right?"

"Yup".

So I head to checkout with a plastic box of the regular version. All the while the grown women behind me were laughing and knowingly saying to each other "Love and Berry, desho"? As if it wasn't for their daughters (did they even have daughters?). Hey whatever floats your boat. I can't judge you, I'm too far gone. I finally arrive at the register, the girl starts to ring me up, I confirm that I can get this special pack, and she says "whoa, OMG, exception, let me ask". People behind me are mumbling, let them eat cake. Finally some guy who wasn't manning the megaphones outside the store tells me that they're sold out because they only got 15. This is me at 10:02 ahead of a lot of people.  Ha. Figures. I never did verify if those were pre-orders or not, it doesn't matter because what's gone is gone. I don't lose it, but I am infuriated at those front line clerks. But I'm not wasting my breath and energy on them when I have a bunch of candidate stores lined up.

I jumped to the second store, Sofmap, and by golly it's there, 2 of them ripe for the picking. I scoop up one, which is a real box and not an empty, but the gal at the register reaches into some big box to hand me the one for sale. Hot diggdity. Sofmap FTW. The box is way bigger than the 40 boxes that I saw yesterday. I also grab a 5 sheet screen (and other) protector. Hm. Why was Sofmap open at 10:45 when it's normally open at 11:00? I have no idea. I exit the store and eye the clerk that gave me the 404 yesterday. I remember him as the guy that usually takes my anime/DVD purchases. Maybe I should be more friendly and end conversations with a laugh? "Arigatou gozaimasu mata o-koshi kudasaimase." "Ha ha."

Just because I have some time, I canvassed the rest of the stores on my now unneeded route. Gamers, no. Seiden, no. Tsutaya, no. Joshin, no. That small store in Sun Plaza with no one in the store, yes. Hm. Two stores in downtown Kobe, and both of them pretty easy to get the system. Crazy.

So am I angry enough to avoid Toys 'R Us because of the "bad treatment" and "deception"? No, I'm a tool, a maniac, a consumer , an "otaku". Anyways the one that got away will always show up in some used item display for 1.25x to 1.5x list price, and I don't have any qualms about picking it up for that. (Really? Liar. I balked at buying that limited edition Final Fantasy III DS Lite pack, only 40000 yen used and it's not question-my-masculinity pink.)

Next related post will be about the device and the game.

In line, instead of reading about it

(tags Dual Screen, hardware, game, purchase, pre-order, Wii)

Tis the season to be... waiting in line?!?

I don't know how to order this entry and the next one, so I'll just start with this one.

I was supposed to be trying to find the Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack. I picked Toys 'R Us as my first stop on this horrid day. I got there at around 08:50 and there was a whole gang of people. There were actually two lines, one short line of about 20 people for some reason (a PS3 crowd ? with mainly guys) and a hundred or two for the Wii pre-order and Nintendo DS purchase combined. Kinda like a Sony faction versus a Nintendo faction. The people in the latter line were of all ages, but not many kids on this school day. You know, mom types, NEET-alikes, doods in suits, people on their way to work.

Anyway, the clerks shunted me to this latter line. Later on when they head counted the Wii customers, I told them I want a DS Lite only. But I changed my mind and I got a Wii pre-order slip anyway.

The above picture shows my pre-order slip with the Famitsu Magazine from last week with the Oshare Majo Love and Berry DS Collection Special Pack blurb to show the clerks. You know, like ordering at a Japanese restaurant with glossy menus. "I want this one." Eliminate confusion.

Acutally I wasn't planning on pre-ordering the Wii, or purchasing it this year. Really. Luckily this slip allows me to think about it until Xmas. And I'm sure if I really wanted to get rid of this pre-order slip there will be someone in my circle that will want it.

The line was a frenzy after the slips were handed out. Once one got a slip, one could put down the deposit any time during the day, but still people lined up to pay as soon as they got in the store, just to make sure. Also the remaining would-be purchasers of a Nintendo DS Lite had to go to a seperate line to receive a DS Lite slip, then go back to the main line. There was no instruction for this one though, stupid clerks.

A lady next to me was alarmed with the two lines and asked me if this was the line for the Wii. I assured her that this was the line for the Wii, when it really was the line to get into the store and she would have no problems because she was holding a Wii slip. She perhaps was going to get it for her kids, because she didn't sound like she was all that knowledgable about it (「テレビの前でふるやつよね？」）. I tried to ask her what game(s) she would buy but she just laughed, embarassed. How can a laugh end a conversation?

It took about an hour to pay the deposit. I now know a lot about the baby goods just before the register. Just to make sure the store didn't pull one on me, I confirmed that I was finished for the day after I put down my deposit.

Hm. Wii in 2006, Wii in 2006...

Windows XP visual theming

(tags Windows XP, freeware, customize)

Mr. Alvin showed me his new laptop and customization session. I was intrigrued by the Windows XP visual theme and did some searching. Turns out Microsoft released some free updates to the XP "Luna" theme back in 2005 and again in 2006 for the Zune launch. The Wikipedia page for a limited release theme, Energy Blue, has definative entries about the Royale, Royale Noir, and Zune (black with orange Start) themes. Now we have 3 more official Luna styles other than the default 3.

Of course you can hack your own styles but I rather not replace any DLLs right now.

I've been using the official Luna "Silver" color for my Project Sugar for a long time, so I went to the other extreme to try Zune "Black". So far, I'm not rejecting it outright, but there are some thing I don't like about it:

• - Inactive window title bars have different, inconsistent color schemes. (Notice cmd.exe and the Windows Explorer inactive windows.)
• - Which window is active? Oh its the one with the gradient title bar and red Close Window button. Hard to see.
• - Japanese font on title bar is not ClearType'd like the roman letter parts.
• - The contents are now really bright against the dark frames. Bright!
• - Emacs/Meadow has some internal window framing with white that I never notice before until now. Ick.

The tray notification areas and pop ups around that area needed a little bit of changing, but it's not bad at all. Here we have TClock Light with the two line time and mouse-over display, and iTunesControl with a 5 second "now playing" display.

For now, it's a keeper.

The programming spirit

(tags programming, Ruby, webdev, WEBrick, dependency injection, Windows Automation, Excel)

I'm kinda getting back into the programming spirit. I'm doing some Excel and Internet Explorer integration as an experiment, so I'm trying to glue them together (at the server side) with Ruby (require "win32ole") and WEBrick. Maybe I'll have to go for Java though for interoperability and maintenance, though, as soon as I get more info about the specification.

I'm also trying to read a lot more blogs. My mind is getting blown away with "Abstraction cannot be taught" by Christian Neukirchen. Also I'm trying to wrap my brain around Needle, a dependency injection container (a related but not equivalent term is Inversion of Control). I'm considering trying Nukumi2 and Camping for a blog project.

I'm also amazed that WEBrick, the standard quick and easy web server for Ruby, can function as a proxy server. I've wanted a proxy server that I can quickly changes routes (in front of Privoxy, for instance) and maybe I can write a simple one using this article as a guide: "Make a proxy server with WEBrick for fun" (「WEBrickでプロキシサーバーを作って遊ぶ」) from the Rubyist Magazine. Great article.

Tell me when Ruby can support https easily, though. I heard it's in Ruby 1.9 (experimental). I want to backup my del.icio.us bookmarks like before.

Finally, I've been putting Ruby, Rake and some SQLite to work at generating this game score board at Shmups for Parsec47. Pretty neat. Pretty and neat. One touch post formatting, but the data input is still manual.

That's the ticket.

Actually I dread having to learn Python, Lua, Io, etc. Why can't Ruby just "win"? Then I tell myself it's just a tool, in a long line of tools that keep improving.

Confirming Oshare Majo DS Lite

(tags Dual Screen, ECsite, purchase)

At most of the shops I went to, I asked if they were getting DS Lites tomorrow (11/22 Wed). All of them were tight-lipped.

At Gamers I asked the store manager and he said "I dunna". Way to make a sale d00d. Their gaming shelf is empty in preparation for tomorrow. Maybe, just maybe? Anyways this is backup number 2.

Sofmap had a gangload of that Oshare Majo DS collection behind the counter. OMG. Is that the DSLite special version? It was about the right size. I counted about 40 boxes maybe, all pre-orders. Yes I know they weren't going to break street date on this, but could please answer my question about availability and if it is the special version? I suppose I may have been a little rude, though. Anyways this is backup number 1.

Because Toys 'R Us starts at 10:00, I'll start my camping there, and then hit the above two at 11:00. If worse comes to worse I'm going to try that small shop in Sun Plaza and Seiden and Joshin, in that order.

I think I will be fighting the moms of little Oshare Majo fans tomorrow. Total otaku mode, sorry.

Exciting pickups the day before 11/22

(tags ECsite, purchase, breaking street date, game, Dual Screen, CD, DVD Region 2, anime, Kobe, US)

I gotta say that canvassing the shops around Kobe the day before "da bombs" drop is pretty exciting.

Kobe Sofmap had Elite Beat Agents, the US version. Amazing. Usually it's only Nipponbashi's Sofmap Saurus with the import goods (how quickly I forget that Kobe also had Dead Rising). Anyways I had to get a pic.

Many items are "breaking street date" even if its just one day. Like the Aki Misato (美郷あき) best CD album "Sincerely" (LCHA-5060). I ripped and Musicbrainz that with teh quickness.

There was also the re-release of Unreal Tournament 2004, 6 CDs worth at about 4000 yen. I wanted to get it but then again, 6 CDs just plain sucks. Which reminds me I haven't played it since my CRT died (2006/04). I am deathly afraid of getting fragged by laggy LCD screen.

I even swung by Gamers and picked up my pre-ordered Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu (涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱) 5 DVD one day early. Not like I'm going to watch it right now.

Important dates: 2006/11/22, 2006/12/02, and random other stuff.

(tags purchase, game, ECsite)

11/22 Wednesday is this month's new game product day. Lots of things coming out. 12/02 is Japan's Nintendo Wii launch day.

I saw a Sony PlayStation 3 interactive demo with my own eyes at the Toys 'R Us store. It was playing a tennis game, something that looked like Sega's Virtua Tennis series. It looked very real, except for the ball which had trails behind it. The tennis game is not a launch title, right?

There are Wii displays all over the place, ready for the frenzy. I was able to get a flyer of Swing Golf Panya. The pre-orders for the system are sold out everywhere. This sign explains that the first shipment is sold out due to fulfilling pre-orders.

I played some Psyvariar 2 at a shop today. Wow did it feel fun. For a time I felt like I was in the zone, but actually I suck and I can't get to level 2 without dying twice.

I bought a lot of games today, all 2000 yen or cheaper. Games that I could live without, though. Since the Wii is compatible with Gamecube, the prices for used software won't decrease. That Super Smash Bros for the Gamecube is still around 5000 yen used, wow. Might as well buy a new copy. I also wanted Mario Tennis for the GameCube but that's full price.

That A-Too store in Nipponbashi has a lot of rare stuff, probably because the prices scare away the buyers. I saw some Tecmo Classic Collection game for the Xbox going for 10000 yen, unopened. I keep cursing myself for not buying it when it was available. Xbox games in glass cases. This seems new to me. I tore myself away and got a 500 yen Dreamcast keyboard (by some knockoff company?) there and that's the end of it.

GBA Micro is getting some of my attention. Recently I wanted to find my Mr. Driller A's becuase I need the feeling of speed. I haven't found it yet though. I'm playing Rhythm Tengoku and it still rocks. I cleared all the stages, but I don't have all the medals and perfects. The drum practice is frustratingly hard but I never seem to tire of it. I leafed through the official guidebook at a shop but reading the pseudo-sheet music notation won't help me pass this game. You can't cheat rhythm.

Trying to get a DS Lite now?

(tags Dual Screen Lite, ECsite, failure)

I was looking for the "Oshare Majo" special Nintendo DS Lite all weekend to preorder:

First off, I visited 3 Sofmaps today and only the software was available for pre-order. No mention at all of the DS Lite bundle. I doubled checked with some other likely shops including a Toys 'R Us and they too did not advertise the existance of it. Either it doesn't exist (but see the official home page) or it's already fully pre-ordered and those shops just don't want to disappoint anybody. But even the official flyers don't explain it. It's vapor hardware!

What is Oshare Majo? (おしゃれ魔女) I don't know. I mean, I know they are an entertainment product, a computer rendered pair of tweens that dance and fashion play and cast spell magic (?), with their own TV show (?) and card-activated arcade game (!). But (this is the honest truth dangit!) I've never watched it. You can compare it to Fushigi Hoshi no Futago Hime (ふしぎ星の☆ふたご姫）in terms of audience targeting and Toys 'R Us merchandise floor space. Seriously, this entertainment product is big.

Okay, another facet of trying to get a DS Lite here: I originally had the plan to buy that Pokemon DS Lite, but I just don't find the time to figure out how to buy it. Last time I checked you could buy it online at a special time. But on Friday I saw it used at the Sofmap Kobe for only 22800 yen (only 40% higher than the stock price for this used item). I let it go because I kept thinking I want a new one. But I decided to go for it on Sunday, but of course it wasn't there any more. I was also going to try to swing a pre-order of the above DS Lite, just in case. 0 for 2.

Finally, DS Lites are still in short supply, with sold out signs everywhere. You can buy used plain ones for like 20000 yen or something higher than retail price. Crazy. Toys 'R Us Kobe actually has a sign announcing the next DS Lites shipment and model breakdown on 11/22. They expect about 30 of each of the 5 color schemes. I'm not going for any of those plain ones, no sir. But wow, DS Lites are still selling like hotcakes.

A new subscription (official Wii commercials)

(tags video, official, commercial, Nintendo, Wii)

This is the first time I used the subscription button on YouTube. Nintendo now posts official Wii commercials as user "Wii". Nice. The first commercial is "We would like to play". (thanks Joystiq)

Osaka Games Japan Festa 2006 (and Nintendo World 2006) on the same day

(tags convention, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Osaka)

After Nintendo World 2006 spit me out at around 14:00 I started walking back to the station intending to go home but there was a steady stream of people leaving in another direction. Only after the flyer guy handed me the Games Japan Festa 2006 sheet did I figure that they were look for some Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 action. I headed over counting my lucky stars that I was still in the mood to play games.

So it was just a short 10 minute walk from Intex Osaka to the Asia and Pacific Trade Center. When I got to the event, I was underwhelmed. Sure there was a lot of demo units but Nintendo World 2006 used a lot more space. Plus it was dark and gritty while Nintendo's event was light and airy. There was a lot more "official" cosplay over here than at Nintendo World. I surveyed the whole room before settling myself in the Gears of War line. As a Unreal Tournament fan it was my duty.

Gears of War and two other games had the over-18 CERO Z rating, so the demos were curtained off. The Microsoft presence was decent and organized, pouncing on me as I entered the event. I saw the Blue Dragon line from afar and it was long. When I got into the GoW line, the HDTV in front of me showed a video of an chiseled-lean asian guy doing skillful capoeira and circles circles circles as is the Xbox 360 theme. It was then jarring to see screenshots of The Idolm@ster on the same screen. Thus wowed with the incongruity, I proceeded to finish off the Metroid Zero game (up to the 2nd to last boss).

I thought I warmed up my reflexes with the GBA Micro while waiting for 40 minutes, but when I got my turn and the guy handed me the controller with a minimal amount of instruction, I proceeded to humiliate myself by dying 6 times. I wasn't paying attention to the other visitors but they looked like college guys with freakin' FPS skillz anywayz press A to continue. The demo companions stepped in at a humiliating time to remind me to use the left trigger for zoom targetting but I didn't pick that up the first time. I then remembered that CliffyB demo way back during E3 2006 and I wanted to get some chainsaw action going but all I could get was punches and a drafty head. It just occured to me. Maybe they don't have the chainsaw for the Japan region? I mean, Dead Rising is censored and toned down in Japan, so... Naw, it's probably only my incompetence with the controls, and the demo was plenty bloody. Unfortunately the official home page lacks info one way or the other.

Anyway, I wasn't getting the hang of that wall-hug button. I wanted to do that "roadie camera" run but I didn't figure out the button. I tried to run towards my AI teammate at the end game but I was stuck to the wall. Definately I want the game, but it seemed like there was a lot to learn. When I finally cleared the demo, the guy thanked me. And I thanked the guy. And he gave me that sticker in the photo here so I was like Xbox 360 rulez yo.

I really gotta get me an HDTV. Truly.

I didn't feel like trying the other demos on the floor. I didn't even bother stopping to see the PlayStation 3 demos either. The only thing I looked forward to after that was the small game vendors outside and the cheap games.

I got that Love Complex (ラブコンパンチDEコント）limited edition PlayStation 2 game as new for 4000 yen (pictured way above). Cheap but this game wasn't selling at all so maybe it's a stinker. It's basically a game based on the hit love comedy manga. The game uses the so-called NBT system, which is nori-boke tsukomi (ノリボケ ツッコミ), which by crude and dangerously inaccurate summary means "Osakan humor" or straight-guy comic-guy duo stand-up comedy with the "nande ya ne" repeated over and over again. I heard it's an art form. I can just imagine it now, the zingers in the game going over my head.

Kotaku had a photo-expose of the event concentrating on the Blue Dragon. Only after starting to write this entry did I realize I went to the Osaka Games Japan Festa 2003. Geez time flies.

Nintendo World 2006 (and Osaka Games Festa 2006) on the same day

(tags convention, Nintendo Wii, Dual Screen, Osaka)

I went to Osaka for the Nintendo and stayed for the Xbox 360.

Nintendo World 2006 at Osaka was pretty much what I expected, long lines, short play time demos. Here's the meager swag I collected (excluding the game I bought at the top) from that event and the nearby Osaka Games Festa 2006 event.

First off on the left was the booklet that Kotaku exposed page by page. I spent a lot of time leafing through it, verifying various tidbits: yes you can play Gamecube games directly (Ikaruga lives again!), no I cannot continue to use my hacked Gamecube VGA cable on the Wii, Google Earth-like weather info "channel" is interesting, oh the price of the controllers is not too bad, etc.

The experience of the Wii's controller will be done over and over again on countless blogs, so I can't possibly offer anything new or insightful. I'm just writing this down so I remember my thoughts.

If I had to sum it up, it would be disappointing and promising.

I came in with high hopes on the Wii Sports Tennis game. There were 10 demo units, 2 people each, with a waiting time of 80 minutes. Between visitor changes, each white smock dressed companions wiped down the controller with a wet cloth and held the controller like it was on display. Finally I got my turn. I wanted to do big arm movements just like in real life tennis. But the constraints of the controller reminded me that I was playing a video game that was training me for its own virtual world. My forehand was good, but my back hand timing was too late. I got frustrated with the back hand so I tried playing with just a flick of the wrist with better results. I even successfully hit backhand shots with a forehand movement. It was then I realized I was experiencing Nintendo realism. It's not bad or good, it just is what it is. Unfortunately I was a loner playing a doubles game and the the companion cranked up the game difficulty so could they boot me faster. I left way before the other partnered visitors finished. That reminds me that in the same line for this demo, a guy had a nifty retro 80s shirts with the credits of Famicom Tennis game. Nice.

Then I found the Swing Golf Panya (スイングゴルフ パンヤ) demo. This one was a single player demo, 2 units, 70 minute wait. I loved the visuals, nice and colorful. I wanted to play that cute character "Arin", but her course was pretty complicated. Besides, the demo guy pre-selected the easy, straightforward course for me, darn him. This game is interesting in theory, but in practice, it seems the TV screen should be placed right where the golf ball should be so it feel like I'm playing golf. I don't have real golf skills, but isn't it true you have to keep you eye on the ball and your head down for the proper golf swing? With this demo, it would have been better to visualize playing baseball instead. This game requires the use of one button (A) for the swing, and the controller for the swing has to be pretty low (almost pointed directly down) to get good control. I got the only double bogey out of all the people I saw, because I missed a 1 foot putt due to button mashing or being an old fart or something. Swing Golf Panya. Cute, but do I really like (slow action) golf that much?

Right next door was Konami's Elebits (エレビッツ) demo, which grabbed me. I didn't know about this game at all, but that's the reason why you go to these events right? This one is a fast-paced, arcade like FPS game, but none of the gore or realism. It's a domestic, rid your home of the cute infestations "elebits" with the randomness of Katamari Damashii and the colorfulness of Fantavision. You had to zap the little critters with a bit of dexterity and they would disappear in a rainbow curved streak (pretty colors), but you could move objects around with the controller pretty wildly with some kind of light beam grapple. I got the "who ya gonna call?" (Ghostbusters!) feeling really quick. You end up with a home with a lot of clutter and junk just lying around, which is just fabulous. Plus no slowdown at all. They had two demo units, with a wait time of 80 minutes and it was my first nunchaku experience. Plus they were giving free swag, but it turned out to be a pop up booklet, cute but disposable. This demo had a daily score ranking, and I was hoping to place, but I'm all thumbs, or not because you use your thumbs to play this game and I was definately not using my thumbs correctly. I didn't get close. But it was immediately fun because of the controller: left hand nunchaku analog stick is movement, right hand is point and shoot. More PC FPS like than not. But A (top side) was the shooting button, not the underside trigger. I queried the companion about the button customability, but as far as I know she only knows the demo. Actually she was trying to get some conversation out of me: "What country are you from? ... Your Japanese is pretty good ... Keep playing more games to keep learning. Ha ha." I suppose she was bored out of her mind telling people how to play and what to shoot/smash/open, but I was too caught up with trying to get a high score to engage with her.

I wanted to try these other demos: Sudoku (数独, hey the wait time was only 30 minutes), Rabbits Party (ラビッツ･パーティ, as close to light gun shooting as far as I saw), Wii Sports Boxing. Red Steel. Zelda: Twilight Princess. But my patience ran out. Zelda's line was already closed for the day at 12:00, or before. Red Steel looked like molasses at some points. Please give me the constant frame rate goodness. What happened to the coolness factor I saw in that funny commercial for the USA market (thanks Joystiq)? Boxing, I never figured out if moving the nunchuk dishes out the left jab. Sudoku. Ah Sudoku.

I moved over to the DS area, but along the way there was a stage presentation of Rhythm Tengoku and a multi-talento guy named Kitayama who had tremendous drummer skill was saying all the right things about this wonderful game ("exercises both sides of the brain", ha ha yeah right). The only thing I wish they did on stage was to demo that samurai sword mini-game. That captures the Rhythm Tengoku essence for me like no other, and I would have like to have seen the crowd reaction to that.

The only DS game I actually tried out was Sudoku 2 Deluxe (パズルシリーズ Vol.9 数独２ Deluxe). Oh no, not Sudoku again, not after I said I would never play it again. But you know what, I really like it. I showed my mom the game a few weeks ago on Google Personalized Home Page and it started me thinking about it again. I came into the demo telling the companion that I finished the previous game so she was like uh can I kick your butt with the highest difficulty level so I said sure. I should have concentrated on asking her more questions about the new parts of the software, like the wrong guess highlighting and the new design. I didn't realized the official web page was going to be so low info. The controls are the same but the "spruced up" graphics are more bleary-eyed and annoying. She allotted me the five minutes and I saw here looking at my experienced play as if surprised, though I'm not sure because she asked me if it was too hard when I paused for thought. I was about 60% done but she told me to take a hike because there was one person in line. Ha ha. Oh yeah, the wait time was 5 minutes for the two unit demo. The consolation prize was the aluminum bookmark swag (middle of the picture). Heck, it's a buy, so here's to toting the DS again.

Nintendo World 2006 was about the games, but there were a lot less "hardcore" gamers (read: bad hygene otaku) there and more couples, family units and clans of women just having fun. There were amazing displays of real world DS usage, DS fully modded with stickers galore, etc. The young tweens behind me in the line to get inside were off-handedly calling me "o-chan" (middle aged loser) because I was playing my teensy GBA Micro but I didn't give a care. I left the event feeling a little bit more knowledgeable about the Wii and its lineup, but admittedly less enthusiastic about its current state. Sure it will appeal to a lot of people, and there's no doubt I'll be getting one sometime, but it's not the must buy for me right now.

Time to get my game on

(tags game, console, hardware, Dreamcast, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Dual Screen)

For some dumb reason, I wasn't playing my consoles. Recently I rectified this behavior by making it easier to play. I even bought a generic VGA "hub" that takes 4 inputs (connecting a PC, Dreamcast, Xbox, and other PC for right now) to 1 output. So that's why I have some posts about the Dreamcast and now my Xbox is getting the love, Halo 2 aww yeah shotgun.

Speaking of which, so I'm going to that convention tomorrow, so that means I needed to charge up my GBA (SP) and DS. I put some new-to-me games in there like Metroid Zero (GBA) and Ossu Tatakae! Ouendan (DS). Since today was a free day, I spent some time with Metroid Zero, impressed with the feelings of retro and new. I couldn't remember if map and features are from the original NES game or Super Metroid, but I am digging the new visuals and difficult gameplay. Why is this game 1000 yen at Sofmap? Old? It's quality.

Gotta go to sleep now. Early bird catches the worm.

crazed out wacked LOL: SMB "Air" ROM hack

(tags Super Mario Bros., video, replay-data, doujin)

I saw a speed run video of "AIR" (Super Mario Bros. ROM hack) on Kotaku's "The Most Wacked Out Super Mario Speed Run Ever". I couldn't help but laugh hysterically at the jumping and wall walking antics. It's supposedly a speed run, too. The official page for this game is ユウワン的自作改造マリオ「ＡＩＲ」 and is distributed as a "IPS" patch. The last release for this was in 2002.

Here's a static picture of comic gold hidden within this video. You really have to "think outside of the box" when playing this game. And since this is a speed run, it's a good example on how to play the game.

oops, it's not today

(tags convention, Nintendo, Wii, DS, Osaka)

I checked the Nintendo World 2006 homepage again for the map intending to leave the house today, but it's tomorrow!? I am teh st00pid. Time to crawl back into bed and/or watch the PlayStation 3 launch coverage (thanks EnthusiasTech @ NeoGAF).

Weekend of gaming events: I am not a (hardware) release date spender.

(tags PlayStation 3, Wii, convention)

I pretty much forgot that tomorrow is the Playstation 3 launch day for Japan. I only just remembered a few days ago. Today, the Weekly Famitsu had many pages devoted to FAQ-level info, and it's my first time to learn of the features. Also when I was going home I saw some 15 people lined up at Seiden/Tsutaya in Kobe at around 8pm, all guys. The store was done. I kept trying to reassure myself that it would be a waste of my time to try to buy it now (there's no games for me, I don't have a HD-TV, Sony hardware has problems first iteration), but a part of me knows that if I had the time, I would jump to be first in line.

The only memory I have of the PlayStation 2 launch in Japan (back in 2000) is the following: I got up at 4 am to trek to some no-name mom and pop store in the middle of Sannomiya Kobe but there were already 100 people there, huddled in the dark. I think I got a PlayStation 2 four months after that, a 10000 series. I also remember a recent retrospect picture in Famitsu of the launch day in Akihabara with a flood of people in front of a not-yet open denki-ya almost at the point of rioting.

So that means I'll get a PlayStation 3 late 2007. So much for thinking I'm "cutting edge".

If we had the blog phenomenon back in 2000, it would be like this: Kotaku's man in Japan is covering Osaka's Yodobashi Camera. I keep telling myself that I should be reading this stuff in Japanese but I am teh lazy.

I've already said this two times before but yeah. Tomorrow is Nintendo World 2006 in Osaka, and it's a no-brainer for me to pick the experience I want: a Wii demo unit I can actually play instead of pre-rendered PlayStation 3 movie demos. The Famitsu mag again helps me here with lots of previews so I won't be lost tomorrow. I just gotta avoid the Zelda: Twilight Princess lines and I'll be set. That reminds me I still haven't played the Zelda for the Gamecube yet. Perhaps I'll get a Wii late 2007, as well?

Software implementation of HD-DVD on the Xbox 360: How big is 4.7 million lines of code?

(tags Xbox 360, HD-DVD, programming)

According to the Xbox Team's Blog "Emergence Day", the HD-DVD player is a software implementation that takes 4.7 million lines of source code. This is for everything, decoding, interaction, DRM, etc. Granted 4.7 mil sounds like a huge number, but my perception of HD-DVD as just "hi-def DVD" is incorrect, apparently. It has much more interactive features than DVD, and supports "web authoring technologies" like HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

So to compare, off-hand I can recall "30 million" for the Windows XP source code base. I had to search for the rest of these:

• Linux kernel 2.6 2006/04: 6.9 million
• Debian (kernel and 15000+ apps): 45 million.
• Jak II (PlayStation 2 game written in a dialect of Lisp called GOAL): 1.2 million

Too bad I couldn't find more game comparisons.

Going to (not) enjoy Nintendo World 2006 (Osaka)

(tags convention, commercial, demo, Nintendo Wii, Osaka)

Kotaku's Japan correspondant went to the first of three Nintendo World outings with his wife and son. Last weekend it was Nagoya. I'm not sure if going for the next one in Osaka this weekend but it's in his turf. If it's a riot in Nagoya (line for new Zelda closed at 11 AM!) then it's going to be an all out brawl in Osaka. I'm not looking forward to all the waiting. I suppose I gotta pick my games (Wii Sports Tennis and ???) before I make my trek to Osaka.

Trying out "Edgy" Ubuntu

(tags Linux, install, VMWare)

I'm trying out Ubuntu's latest version, "Edgy" 6.10, since I like Debian a lot more now (than Gentoo or RedHat).I also figured out how to get "Kubuntu" and "Xubuntu", just apt-get them:

apt-cdrom -m -d /media/cdrom0 add
aptitude install xubuntu-desktop kubuntu-desktop

Not like adding the CDROM image for Ubuntu helps at all, ha ha.

Dakota Star (ダコタスター)

(tags music, artist, group, game, PlayStation 2, Japan, English)

I found (a/yet another) box of CDs (audio) in my room. Yes I ripped them to MP3 when I bought them back in 2005, but I totally forgot where they were. One of them was the Gran Turismo 4 Original Game Soundtrack.

I actually tried to write down the lyrics (2004/05/17) to one of the vocal tracks called "What To Believe" in anticipation for this game (2005/01/10). Since I still on a MusicBrainz wiki contribution kick, I checked if this CD was entered. Thus started my descent into finding Dakota Star.

(begin busy Internet searching: on the right: Sleipnir browser's hierarchical tab browsing feature helps immensely)

Dakota Star (Japanese sort name: ダコタスター) only debuted in Japan this year, but the trio of Alan Brey (bass, guitar, vocal), Chiaki (vocal) and Tasuku (guitar) debuted in Australia in 2004, and in Germany in 2005.

I wonder if this is the same Alan Brey that has been in Japan for a while doing a solo track for Daiwa Bank, collaborating with Japanese video game composer Daiki Kasho (はてな検索) on games such as Wangan Midnight (湾岸ミッドナイト, PlayStation 2), Gran Turismo 4 (PlayStation 2), F-Zero GX/AX (Gamecube, arcade), and other popular entertainment works like the movie Shimotsuma Monogatari (下妻物語, 2004).

Tasuku also seems to be a guitarist in the Japanese pop scene, scoring a guitarist role or two with a couple of Ayumi Hamazaki (浜崎あゆみ) songs, "July 1st" and "independent".

And finally vocalist Chiaki sings in English, but seems to also speak Japanese (interview). They describe her as a "(poignantly, hauntingly) sad singing voice, different from other Japanese" (「日本人離れした切ない歌声」) It's interesting to note that Chiaki also goes by the alias "Ch" in the Gran Turismo 4 songs and in the Japanese film Memories of MATSUKO (嫌われ松子の一生, 2006). The group's name comes from Chiaki's stay in South Dakota, U.S. during her high school years, according to the profile page (en, ja). Since they debuted in Australia I though she stayed over there.

Their first full album, Dakota Star was just released last month (2006/10/04) and includes the full album versions of those two Gran Turismo 4 vocal songs "What To Believe" and "Soul Surfer", plus "Never Fall From Grace" (movie HINOKIO, 2005), their Japan debut single "Together Alone" (image song for television drama ジョーイ2, Joey), other songs for movie Evening Picnic (夜のピクニック, 2006). No Japanese, all English. I'm going to pick this up real soon like. The official site has samples, go check it out.

BTW, I mentioned Wangan Midnight. Check out the swiped Youtube clip to the start of this PlayStation 2 game. The music rocks.

Do the Mambo

(tags game, keyboard, love simulation, date, Dreamcast)

Well after a day of rest and trying two more times, I passed that shiritori part of Typing of the Date, w00t. I made it through with an S rating (though SSS is the best). On the 3rd stage, though, they blindsided me with a yamanotesen (山手線ゲーム) game. At the time, Wikipedia didn't have any information on it, but according to this page, it's a word game for parties. It's straightforward enough. Just select and type a word that matches the theme, but don't repeat a word that has been said already. Ugh. My Japanese phonetic reading skill does not compare to my lack of vocabulary.

Out of the 3 times I tried and failed, there were two topics: "names of fish" (魚類) and "names of Kansai train stations" (関西の駅). I don't know names of fish in Japanese at all. Don't even expect me to guide you through a sushi bar! I know mambo is a fish, because one of my old USB memory thingies was nicknamed "mambo" because hey it looked like that fish. But I was racking up the points on the "names of Kansai train stations". Hey I've lived (and still do) in Kansai for 6 years already, so... But I still failed after probably one or two more at-bats. At least I have a fighting chance next time.

I hate these mini-games, because if you fail just once, you have to start the whole level again. Plus it's hard to learn from just one mistake. What is the point of the life bar if you can't use it?

Deserted Earth bad end

(tags game, PC, shmup, doujin, Windows, ECsite, philosophy)

That last post about "Doujin games, better access?" was totally unresearched and didn't represent the rest of my thought experiment. I really concentrated on creator compensation in that last post. I threw around the phrase "Trusted Computing" without the requisite Wikipedia-level research (that's a laugh). I was hoping that having a dependable system would allow creators to reach audience farther away.

There are many drawbacks for society when creators still have control of their work when it is already in the hands of the viewer. It hinders discourse, artistic criticism, reuse, archeology and historic analysis. Perhaps tens or hundreds of years from now, people will not be able to understand what went on in the Trusted Computing era. They'll have the data and the binary programs, but it will be like sand in a empty, deserted earth, useless.

It really is a battle between the needs of the creator and the viewer. Does the creator "owe" the viewer for anything? Is this a basis for the individual's implicit contract with other people or society? Does a viewer have the right to reuse work? It is ironic that I'm talking about doujin game creators, because they are both viewer and creator at the same time.

I keep thinking back on the humble quote from Issac Newton, "If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." Who can control the work of ancestors past?

This whole topic is probably too big for my poor video game playing brain to ponder, but it is fun to reach for understanding  for a little while.

Anime and game events around town

(tags anime, Kobe, game, Osaka)

The 11th Animation Kobe event will be held on 11/18 and 11/19 weekend. Saturday will be a special free (but 300 person reservation only) viewing of Top wo Nerae! 1 and 2 (「トップをねらえ！＆トップをねらえ２！」合体劇場版　特別上映会). Top wo Nerae! 2 was the winner of last year's "Package" Award.  Sunday will be the actual award ceremony and talk show (アニメーション神戸賞授賞式), featuring the category winners. Here is an excerpt of the winners list (my trans):

• 個人賞…「長濵博史」
  Personal Award: Hirofumi Nagahama (trans?), Director of Mushishi 「蟲師」の監督
• 特別賞…「大山のぶ代・小原乃梨子・野村道子・肝付兼太・たてかべ和也」
  Special Award to voice actors responsible for Doraemon characters
• 作品賞・劇場部門…「時をかける少女」
  Theatre/Movie Production Award to Toki wo Kakeru Shojo
• 作品賞・テレビ部門…「涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱」
  Television Production Award to Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu
• 主題歌賞（ラジオ関西賞）…「ハレ晴レユカイ」（歌：平野綾、茅原実里、後藤邑子）
  Theme Song Award for "Hare hare yukai" sung by Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuuko Gotou from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu

There's even more detail available at the Xebec site (アニメーション神戸賞受賞作品決定) including why they were chosen. I wish I could go to the awards ceremony, since there's a one hour talk session with all winners (Yuuko Gouto!). (Also I'm going to take the Business Japanese test on that day.) Unfortunately, it was open to people who reserved and the first 50 people who show up at the door. Amazingly, you can watch it on the Internet for free through SeeBit TV live, and on-demand until 12/28. Wow.

The other upcoming even that caught my interest is that Nintendo World 2006 (Wii 体験会). It's on right now in Nagoya and will be around next Saturday 11/11 from 9:00 to 16:00 in Osaka. It's probably going to be a mad house, with both 48 Wii titles and tens of DS titles. I don't know if I have the patience to wait (hours?!?) to play an actual demo unit, but perhaps watching other people fumble and learn and "get it" or not will show me if I like the system. I heard the game that I wanted to play, Wii Sports Tennis, is a lot less interactive that I wanted it to be. I'm also going keep an eye out for Swing Golf Panya.

Doujin games, better access?

(tags game, PC, shmup, doujin, Windows, ECsite)

I was having those random idea sessions when making breakfast.

I should post about the latest doujin shmup-tendancy games I bought and stacked. I should actually play those games I bought (considering there's about 5 doujin games I picked up in the last 3 months). I sure have a tendancy to buy stuff that I want to brag about. That's elitist.

Let's not be elitist.

(obviously at this point the random idea session took root at the keyboard)

How can we make doujin games more accessable to other people in this Internet age?

What if we could have a PC experience where software makers can trust their programs and content will not be copied?

What's up with this Windows Vista and Trusted Computing? How can doujin game makers leverage this new tech to freely get sell their wares on the Internet, bypassing the middleman and limited location problems? The tech will have to lock me out of copying the game freely. Basically it's the copy protection battle again. I would have to accept hardware that does not let me "do what I want". I accept hardware like that all the time like game consoles, DVD players, iPod, PDAs, etc. So my tolerance to this kind of system is not nil and definately not low.

Okay, so will it be easy to for doujin makers to just enable "no-copy" on their digital goods? Will this system do away with having to customize digital goods per receipient on the content makers side? What is required for that?

Would a system like that have to involve behavioral certification (Microsoft Logo) or presence certification (digital certificate service like Verisign)? Who will review the games or makers? Why is this type of centralization and auditing frightening to me?

Maybe I should start reading up on Trusted Computing and how it will affect my PC hobby. But in the mean time, here please look at these doujin games and lust:

(imagine a picture of a bunch of games in CD cases of which I bought in the last 3 months)

Just kidding.

ゲーム的「やる気」ポスター

(tags poster, game, inspiring)

最近、アメリカ正統派ゲームブログで流行っているミームとして、ゲーム関係の「motivational poster」（自分翻訳：「やる気」ポスター）。「やる気」ポスターはたとえば米国の会社の廊下でよくかけ、会社員に「やる気」を与える。うちの会社は意味の近いポスターであちこちを飾っているが、この「やる気」ポスターのデザインは決まった：感動させる、すごい実写を真ん中に置き、下は決まった一つのお言葉をデッカクし、説明文章は下に小さく補足する。

でもゲーム的「やる気」ポスターはどう見ても、パロディだけ。ところが、最近賞品までもらったゲーム的「やる気」ポスター「Imagination」（Jeremy J. Quinn氏）。（感謝：Joystiq「Imagination Beats Everything」より）はパロディではなく、本当に動機を与える気がする。実に感動している。

この絵：

 これで80時代の楽しみの思い出がよみがえるだろう。補足文章は誰でも知っている言葉でInteractive Fiction王様の「Zork」の最初の「画面」です。 でも、これを知らない人はたぶん何も感じないだろう。英語として、簡単な表現だ。絵の中に何もない模様はインパクトを強調すると思う。もし絵はこの時代の緑黒スクリーンだったら、感動はしない気がするな。

ちなみに、日本ゲーム業界の場合、このようなゲームはあったそうだ。Mr. Alvinによると、最初は日本語はなく、英語で呼んで、英語で答える形だったらしい。大変だろう。絵がなく、別の言語でゲームするのは難しいよ。

でも今は絵が売りのガルゲーはよくやっているけど。「想像」は必要ない、へへへ。

try try... again

(tags game, keyboard, love simulation, date, Dreamcast)

Well, I haven't gotten past that second level. I am concentrating more, though. It seems that I'm forgetting to do the bare minimum, which is match up the last syllable with the first syllable. Testing the reading skills, too, I like it (grumble). I am cheating by using my camera to record the NG words. Hey, the Japanese words just don't want to stick in my head.

I notice every time I go through the level that the typing phrases are different. The conversation has the same meaning (if you don't run out of time on a response), but the actual words are different, which makes it interesting. They have another mini-game where you are quizzed on your girl's various stats, like what club she's in, what's the makeup of her family, and some crude risque questions like her 3 size and color of panties (you don't get to see her panties, so how could you know the answer? the truth is, the longest phrase is the right choice, I think). That's lame. The quiz part also has unrelated questions like when a Japanese famous historic battle occured, etc, which is a curve ball. I just guess.

I'm not getting mad at this game. Slow and steady, persistant. I am getting S rank sometimes. S is good, I think, because other ranks are A, B, C, etc. And it's typing practice, though I doubt I need to type "あゆみと二人っきり期待していたよ" ("I was hoping to be alone with Ayumi") anywhere else, ha ha.

Ah, actually my hands are feeling the pain. Maybe I should quit the blog posting, no?

Do you want some humble pie?

(tags game, keyboard, love simulation, date, Dreamcast)

Before I start my gaming session let me just note what went down last night.

I can't get past "date 2" with Ayumi in Typing of the Date. I suck at the mini-game "shiritori" (しりとり). Shiritori is game you play between friends when you have no implements, pens, papers, or video games, like a game you play when you're on a drive. It's a vocal game where you try to think of words that start with the same syllable as the last word said by the other player. In this video game, you try to best a one of Ayumi's suitors. The game ends when someone says (types) a word that ends in "nn" (ん) or is one of the randomized "today's NG (no good)words", as shown below.

So I tried 4 times to play this out and a hour passed but I still couldn't succeed. I kept on picking a NG word. And whenever I lost, the 20 minutes invested into the level evaporated. That's when I turned of the Dreamcast and went on to something else. You know, before I exploded.

Now that I'm refreshed I'm going to try it again. This time I'm going to try to slow down in that mini-game. Selection, instead of typing speed, is the key.

(edit: added pictures)