Capcom Retro Station

Like Capcom Home Arcade, Capcom Retro Station is another expensive equipment with low amount of games, this time with Street Fighter and Megaman games and needless to say, this is like a lame way like that with an expensive gaming machine that doesn't look like a smaller arcade cabinet design along with lower amount of games and the inclusion of NON-ARCADE Megaman games.

Capcom Home Arcade has various arcade games and uses the arcade controller design although it is shaped like a Capcom logo which may seem unusual. The bigger controversy surrounding it was the Final Burn Alpha emulator used in it. That emulator is supposed to be for personal use and the team who worked on it wasn't happy about it. So what happened was that they made a new fork which is like Final Burn Alpha you know of, MINUS the offender who defended the controversial practice, saying that the emulator is licensed. Some updates later, a different emulator replaced the Final Burn Alpha although the price of the machine and the amount of games still make things questionable.

Speaking of questionable, this is a worse story for Capcom Retro Station. It's sort of like a mini-version of playing a console game on TV with the arcade controller. That method of playing has been around ever since the 80s. I happened to play the PC-Engine with the arcade controller in my childhood and that was that back then. I never used the original controller for that console for the games I played. On the Megaman side, it's a questionable choice with a mix of arcade and non-arcade Megaman games. The Street Fighter side is a complete joke like it's comparable to some Street Fighter compilation game on PS1 and Saturn that contains various revisions of Street Fighter II. Super Street Fighter II may seem like a remake to Street Fighter II with better music, voices and altered graphics but it's still Street Fighter II in general, not a different game, no matter how different it looks and sounds. The design is ridiculous like there's no telling who is that machine built for.

The Neo Geo Mini is fine with sufficient amount of games with a design that mimics the original arcade cabinet but the lack of clicky mechanism the arcade stick has may probably put people off. The upcoming Astro City Mini from Sega will have that for sure and the emulation is worked on by M2. But for Capcom Retro Station, who probably wants to buy that? Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is already the best way to experience the Street Fighter series from Street Fighter 1-3, Alpha series included.

Like the Astro City Mini, Capcom Retro Station is getting a Japanese release sometime next month. Who knows if there will be an overseas release? Even with the western release, the amount of flaws already ruins Capcom Retro Station apart as listed below:

• Questionable choice of games on both sides
• Inclusion of non-arcade Megaman games and the lack of other Street Fighter games in the Street Fighter list
  
• Strange design
• Expensive price
• Low amount of games

Have five flaws like these listed above and you get one hell of an average machine.

Capcom Home Arcade controversy

The controversy should take you back to several years ago when SNK manufactured Neo Geo X with Final Burn Alpha which is not for commercial use. However, it looked like SNK went with it and after some time, the console was eventually discontinued. There might be flaws in the emulation at the time and people have concerns about inferior emulation of the games on the upcoming Capcom Home Arcade because it uses the same emulator.
The good thing is that some CPS-1 and CPS-2 games can be played at home legally via the Capcom Home Arcade as they never have the console releases. Shame that there's no CPS-3 games there but then, MAME and Final Burn Alpha should already have accurate emulation for them. The emulation of 32-Bit arcade systems onwards is not easy, mostly for MAME but for other emulators emulating 128-Bit consoles and arcade systems onwards have more accurate emulation than what MAME has today. Even in the present time, the emulation of 128-Bit arcade systems is still super-inferior on MAME. Various graphical effects are missing and inaccurate and the actual blur effect is missing for textured and enlarged 2D stuffs, hence the pixellated textures for 3D models.
Even the boot process for CPS-3 and NAOMI is not an easy stuff as it takes time for data to be transferred from optical disc to memory. However, there should be a way for emulators to skip that process. The only CPS-3 game that never gets a console port is Red Earth and even then, other fighting games like Jojo series and Street Fighter III series are the reasons to discover the CPS-3 arcade system.
The controller case design is quite silly. Somebody must be stupid enough to come up with that like it's shaped like a Capcom logo. You may as well swap the case with a proper controller case for a fair play. The system is basically like Pandora's Box except that the games are legal this time.
People are already suspecting that Soulja Boy might be the cause of the controversy as if he manipulated someone from Capcom to do even more shady things of his like taking the Final Burn Alpha emulator source code and then putting it in the actual product without permission. The authors of that emulator are NOT happy about it and blaming Soulja Boy this time for this controversy seems ridiculous.

Street Fighter V Steam Version First Play - Free Weekend (Updated)

As part of the Free Weekend campaign organized by Valve, the game was free for a limited time and it could be handy for anyone to obtain it for free. However, the game would no longer be playable after the limited time so it has to be purchased. The other was King of Fighters XIV whose time-trial expired earlier.
Unfortunately, there is one minor controversy Capcom had done in which the logos of Capcom Pro Tour were pasted all over the place such as on characters, Versus screen background, some stages and even the pre-match advertisement screen which luckily displays things related to the game such as paid DLCs, not something else. Thankfully, such things can be turned off although you won't receive bonus in-game currency that way. The advertisement screen before the match could be annoying in my opinion. Another controversy is the unnecessary Loot Box feature. Seriously, is that even needed for a game like this? If I don't see anything coming out of Loot Box feature that enhances the characters or whatnot, what's really the point of the Loot Box feature in the first place? Not to mention that you can level up the characters the other ways WITHOUT even needing the Loot Box feature since the game's not like those mobile games I've played. Another problem is the characters that need to be unlocked via DLCs or in-game virtual currency even though they are playable by the AIs as complete characters. Since they're complete as in having all the moves and encountered as AI fighters, they can be unlocked with in-game virtual currency but to unlock them instantly with DLC feature is like buying the unlock code for buying special in-game items as if the code is like the virtual voucher.
Then, there's one extra problem that doesn't count as the actual flaw. The game slows down for no reason at times and rendering isn't perfect for some of the stages. My guess is that the computer's CPU isn't fast enough when comparing its specs to the specs of the Taito Type X3 arcade system. In theory, the computer is able to run Unreal Engine 4 games just fine as it has sufficient amount of RAM to follow the system requirements of Unreal Engine 4 itself.
At the beginning, I had to register, agree to various agreements and even got displayed a bunch of information boxes. *Sigh* This is unnecessary for me and the account registration thingy can be done later, like registering at the site and then logging to the account from somewhere in the Main Menu screen, not the Title Screen. What is this, an MMO game where you have to sign in to the account from the Title Screen and then connect to the server to proceed? The upcoming arcade version doesn't display those things like that although many of the modern arcade games I know of may still display the Information boxes whether you have an account or not. In fact, I don't even know if you can play Street Fighter V offline or some sort and to register an account for first play is ridiculous although you're going to need the Capcom ID for Capcom Fighters Network. Sure, there may be Terms of Use box when playing certain modern arcade games for the first time with the player Smartcard but that depends on the games of course.
Trials Mode seems to be tough for me and I'm not good in fighting games as far as I can realize. Some kinds of characters are not beginner-friendly as their moves are difficult to pull off and the same can go for the complex commands for the super moves in other fighting games but that's a topic for the other time. Not to mention that the game requires 20+GB but the pre-download prediction of the download time taken wasn't bad like it would take me estimated an hour and a half. Lastly, even the standard moves are changed in this game like you have to use both Light Punch and Light Kick for throwing the opponent for instance.
So, it looks like that's 5 flaws in total for Street Fighter V Arcade Edition as of this time and the original Street Fighter V had the lack of Arcade Mode, incomplete character roster as well as the conflicting features like DLCs vs in-game currency to unlock the same characters that are already playable by the AIs and even the performance issues for online matches, making 4 flaws in total. The improvement seemed to be a little for Street Fighter V Arcade Edition way before the bullshit features of this year were added and after playing it for the first time, I had the true realization and to change my opinion of it. It's a shame that Street Fighter V had recently become a mediocre game again ever since the initial launch of the original edition. In fact, I don't know if the upcoming arcade version, Type Arcade is going to carry over the same flaws or not. The nefarious thing about a modern fighting game in the arcades is using virtual currency from the player's portal site or in-game OR FULFILLING OTHER REQUIREMENTS to unlock the fighters provided that you have the player smartcard like the Nesica card for instance but I hope it's just an imagination to you and it should be to me because by default, all fighters including new ones from later updates should be playable in fighting games in the arcades in the first place regardless of whether you have that card or not. Oh, Street Fighter V is a paid-to-play game to begin with. You pay to buy it and enjoy it but the recent inclusion of the in-game ads is going to ruin the experience for everyone and from my average opinion of the game as of this time, the purchase of this game is or isn't going to be regretful.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection

The compilation probably says it all and it contains Street Fighter 1, 2, Alpha series and 3 series. Even Ultra Street Fighter IV will be included as a pre-order digital bonus included with the compilation although Playstation 4 already has that version all along and especially that Ultra Street Fighter IV is playable on Xbox One through backwards compatibilty. All versions in the compilation are probably based on the arcade versions although some of the games don't have the Training Mode for some strange reason. Some have the Online Mode but the others don't.
For Street Fighter III series, the second one, Second Impact, happens to have the true widescreen mode which can be enabled through the arcade operators menu although it is the only CPS-3 game to have that and the arcade system is 32-Bit-styled so having widescreen in 32-Bit arcade games is kind of rare. There's also the widescreen support for certain Playstation 2, Gamecube and Xbox games. Music for Street Fighter III series is obviously from the arcade version so if you're playing Street Fighter III Third Strike on consoles prior to the existence of this compilation, chances are that you hear the arranged soundtrack and especially for better quality sound effects and voices. The arcade version of Street Fighter III Third Strike is kind of too much or something to handle hence the lag or some sort it may seem to be due to the limitations of the RAM or something.
One cool thing that catches me the attention is that on the Game Selection screen, you get to see the arcade system the game is running on originally. To include Ultra Street Fighter IV in this compilation as a pre-order digital bonus is one challenge Capcom had faced. Obviously, it is a separate game and not part of the compilation. If it is, they will need additional rights from Taito to have the arcade systems the game's running on in the list but I figure out that it's unnecessary. This pre-order digital bonus applies to Playstation 4, Xbox One and Steam versions of the compilation which Playstation 4 and Steam owners will have those versions of Ultra Street Fighter IV with Xbox One owners receiving both Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and Ultra Street Fighter IV through backwards compatibilty. Needless to say, as a pre-order stuff, it is obvious that it had to be done before the game's release date.
On the Switch, the compilation comes with Super Street Fighter II The Tournament Battle which is in the arcades only where machines can be linked locally for tournament purposes.
Needless to say, I'm not a goodie at this game genre but then, I already had bought some other fighting games for the Playstation Vita.

Street Fighter V Arcade Edition

The edition name is misleading so to speak as there doesn't seem to be the arcade version of Street Fighter V. Instead, it is an update to the original which has been milked to this day with regular free updates like additional characters via Seasons or something. This edition will have Arcade Mode which is the long-term promise to make things as common as ever similar to what other fighting games have. Even Marvel vs Capcom Infinite has the Arcade Mode although it is a mixed bag as if the story part is mainly focused on Story Mode. Those who buy games just for multiplayer modes are apparently the immature-ass people who waste their money and developers' efforts like that. What's an arcade-style game for if there's no Arcade Mode? Are you trying to make Capcom even more different than ever? It's pathetic to defend the absense of important common main modes like Arcade Mode. Perhaps, somebody should teach you what those modes are as well as large amount of maturity.
The Arcade Edition update will have changed UI as well as Season 3 characteres and is available as a free update for those who have owned the original version of the game. About upcoming stuffs that will be available in the game as free future updates, there's absolutely no reason to whine about them. If you find something unappealing, why use it in the first place?

Ultra Street Fighter II

If Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix isn't enough, how about Ultra Street Fighter II? Unfortunately, the title is kind of misleading or some kind like there's a lack of Ultra Moves or some kind in addition to Super Moves. Not to mention that the game's Way of Hado has some kind of experimentation problem when it comes to game development like it acts out like a motion-control rail-shooter or some kind. To use analog sticks to move in any direction as well as to use motion controls for attacks is what a first-person action game should be and especially for VR gaming but for characters like Ryu, some of the moves are impossible to pull off in that kind of VR gaming unless the game makes use of the Kinect for full body usage in addition to using VR controllers for moving the character around.
Another problem is that in Classic Mode, not all things are in retro form like the Character Select Screen, VS Screen, Winner and Continue Screens, HUD and the game endings. Even the retro-style intro is missing in this remake as well. All you get is the modernized intro for the game and that's that. There's also the modern intro for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix but too bad it's not used as something's amiss with it. The last problem is the inaccurate stage design in Modern Mode when compared to the one in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix which is more accurate. Sure, the Modern Mode uses more accurate arranged music and voices from Street Fighter IV but it doesn't mean that there can be inaccuracies in the modern remake. The Classic Mode retains the retro-style graphics, sound, music and voices via the CPS2 days.

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite

From what I saw about the gameplay in action from Angry Joe's YouTube channel, there were some impressions so far. The graphics were done with Unreal Engine 4 similar to Street Fighter V and King of Fighters XIV although people were already displeased with the way the graphics were done and especially for the character models and voices. The effects were fine for the engine alone but then, when it comes to cartoon-ish graphics done in Unreal Engine, there could be various shaders to make things cartoon-ish while retaining the coolness of the effects like what Arc System Works did with Guilty Gear Xrd and the upcoming Dragon Ball fighting game that uses Unreal Engine 4 itself.
Perhaps, it might be a mistake that way at first but the things is, the graphics of Marvel vs Capcom 3 are already in the same style as Street Fighter IV and Tatsunoko vs Capcom in which the cartoon-ish shaders are not used at all when it comes to 3D graphics. The only things that look comical are that certain screens like the Winner screen, Character Select Screen, Ending scenes, etc. look like something out of comic books. Perhaps, those aren't necessary for previous Marvel vs Capcom games but then, there should be comical feel in upcoming Marvel vs Capcom Infinite. Even the cinematic cutscenes are going in a different direction as well as if the game's not following the comic-style concept or some kind. Another problem is the art style in addition to how the characters are 3D modelled as stated above. I don't know if the criticism for this game is worse than the one for King of Fighters XIV or not but thankfully.
Also, the amount of characters is quite lower than in Marvel vs Capcom 3 but then, the game still has yet to be released sometime this month so we're not sure about the overall amount by the time of the game's release.
In fact, I don't even know if the game will have the Arcade Mode or not as the compensation for the incompetence Capcom has but to make Story Mode even more important like that than the Arcade Mode in terms of Capcom's game development is like they care less for the Arcade Mode like they do for Street Fighter V. Street Fighter V STILL doesn't have Arcade Mode as of the present time but to make it ABSENT for the consumer system versions isn't going to make any sense. In fact, that game also has the option to turn on or off the fight interruption when it comes to Single Player modes. That feature has been way to effective for fighting games in the arcades and it gets even more effective for fighting games on Nesica X Live 2 service with online matches as if going through various Single Player modes like Arcade Mode is not quite easy without getting interrupted. But taking out Arcade Mode for whatever reason is INEXCUSABLE! Not to mention that the arcade business part of Capcom has been doing well or something that it makes complaints about lack of finances obsolete after awhile as if the company has enough money to buy additional development kits for future main games.
Once again, it is INEXCUSABLE to take out Arcade Mode for fighting games like you and other players don't care for it! It is one COMMON AND STARTER GAME MODE for pretty much many of those arcade-style games regardless of the platforms! Furthermore, people expect sufficient content for Marvel vs Capcom Infinite when compared to the lackluster from Street Fighter V. Hell, even King of Fighters XIV has sufficient content like sufficient characters along with actual Arcade Mode which is called Story Mode. It is so successful that it also gets a proper arcade and Steam releases.

Crossbeats Rev

The producer, Naoki Maeda, who formerly worked at Konami for various songs in Bemani franchise mostly the songs from DDR, is nowadays working at Capcom on a rhythm game as a continued dedication of his music career along with other music producers who also formerly worked for various Bemani games as well. Jun on the other hand whose music style is something people like us can recognize has made some songs for Crossbeats for IOS and arcade that matches the style of his previous songs used for Bemani games so expect some familiarity. It's a strange move for Naoki Maeda to work at Capcom in my opinion as Capcom already had some negative reputations for on-disc DLCs for various games as well as the way they released Street Fighter V in such a stupid way over the lack of important core game modes. Perhaps, he could have started his own indie company way before Hideo Kojima did and then made Crossbeats from there.
Using the Aime card to save progress for the arcade version, you can probably guess that the game is running on the Sega arcade hardware but when I looked up at Japanese Wikipedia about Sega Nu, it appears that Crossbeats Rev. is running on Sega Nu 1.1 which has some changes to the system specs. There's also Sega Nu SX which I have no interests in those games running on it. Another interesting thing is that Chunithm by the makers of Maimai is running on the same hardware as well but don't expect the hardware to be that great when compared to Taito Type X3 which uses Core i5 processor by default although the hardware components can be upgraded for certain games.

PC Show 2016 at Singapore Expo

From this point onwards, there isn't so much special about to say about the computers, tablets, smartphones and even the set-top box. Maybe it's because I already have the laptop computers along with Android tablets and set-top box. Some of the booths kind of brought me some memories like the Creative Labs booth, the Klipsch booth which I already had the earpiece the last time as well as the Xiaomi Set-Top Box which has the familiar UI although I don't know if the device there was newer than the one I have at home. Gaming desktop computers might be interesting to look at and talk about although gaming computers are extremely expensive as ever that you may need to be financially hardcore to buy such a computer with hardcore computer components.
There might be newer technologies which I took a look at like the Intel RealSense which was Intel's Kinect-like accessory for RealSense powered computers although I didn't bother to try out the VR but this time, it doesn't look like there's anything specially new whatsoever.
The last thing to talk about was the fact that when I went in to the venue, something from MyRepublic PS4 booth caught me the attention that easily. The console was running Street Fighter V and I eventually took turn to play it before leaving the venue. Unfortunately, as I don't have the Playstation 4, I didn't know how to pause the game so that somebody could take over. I pressed the Share button and then returned to the game, and the Pause Menu showed up as pressing Options during the gameplay wouldn't pause the game whatsoever. I wonder if somebody customized the controls or maybe there must be a proper way to pause the game on PS4 or Xbox One. Also, I cleared Survival Mode of Street Fighter V as Ryu but that was in Easy Mode. So far, it took me a short time or few stages to get used to the controls with the Playstation 4 controller.
The reason for having the Playstation 4 booth was the fact that there would be a special subscription offer from MyRepublic. You can have either the PS4 as part of the special gaming offer or the gaming computer as a special choice. It was a good move from MyRepublic to involve the Playstation 4 as part of the special gaming offer if you buy that special subscription.