Happinet Gamers Festival from this year's TGS

Yesterday, there was a livestream from Game Center Mikado's official Youtube channel showcasing various classic remakes and the City Connection/Zerodiv port of Akai Katana for 8th-gen consoles. There are reasons for mentioning things about the remakes, the Zerodiv port of Akai Katana and a short video from the character from Needy Streamer Overload in a stream from Game Center Mikado's channel of all the gaming channels. What is that short video doing in a channel like that? It could have resided in WSS Playground's official YouTube channel.

The first game they had shown was a remake of Phychic 5, the arcade classic from NMK in 1987. The unique thing about its presentation is that you can switch between Original or Wide aspect ratio and Original or Arranged graphics and sound on the fly. This supersedes R-Type Dimensions when it comes to switching in-between on the fly during the game where you have not one but two options to switch things in-between. The earlier examples I can know of that have extended playfield are Giga Wing Generations on PS2, Mamoru Has Been Cursed on PS3 and Under Defeat HD and HD+. However, only some game modes have the extended playfield while the original game modes retain the original aspect ratio. By having an extended playfield, it's going to affect how you play the game. The shameful thing is that the game never had a home console release until its remake was announced this year. The remake will come out in Spring next year on Switch.

The third game they had shown was a remake of a Disc Station RPG originally from Compile. Many of the Compile IPs are with D4 Enterprise and it was a surprise that some Disc Station RPG was being developed. I don't know for sure if Sega owns the rights to the Puyo Puyo-related Disc Station games or not as those are part of the Puyo Puyo franchise. The RPG game is trying to be Compile's answer to Konami's Suikoden or something and the remake is going to come out on Switch next year.

The last one they showed was a City Connection port of Cave's Akai Katana Shin that will be released on Switch, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It's a strange move to have an Xbox One release when there's already an Xbox 360 version. The new thing exclusive to those ports so far is the new arrange soundtrack named, Arrange '22, in which the arranged tracks are done by Daisuke Matsumoto of Cave. There's even the CD of said soundtrack that comes with the Limited Edition copy of the game. It's one exlucisve addition the Exa-Arcadia version doesn't have. It's unexpected that my encouragement for 3rd-party game developers about adding something new the Intellivision Amico version doesn't have to the later or previous versions of their game has become true or something due to City Connection's recent idea but that said encouragement was for 3rd-party game developers who happen to make the Amico version of their game, not City Connection. I don't know how Exa-Arcadia team will react to the City Connection's port of Akai Katana Shin due to its own exclusive addition. The City Connection port of Akai Katana Shin will come out in December this year.

So, the lesson or encouragement is that, the game developers can add extra stuffs like new characters/ships/planes/stages and new remade graphics/soundtracks to the previous or later versions of their game, the additions the Intellvision Amico version will not have. Hell, they may as well switch to a different game engine or a new version of the same game engine that the Amico is not able to support or handle it at all, with features added to their game after the game engine/version switch that will put their Amico version to shame. What City Connection did to their upcoming port of Akai Katana Shin is a brave but unexpected move with a brand new arrange soundtrack.

N***y Streamer Overload on Switch

Talk about another game with highly inappropriate contents that will be coming to Switch this year, it originally came out on Steam early this year and is one game that has become so popular due to the unique gameplay concept centering on a character who does live streaming professionally for a living. People tend to bring up Virtual YouTuber stuff when it comes to this game by WSS Playground as the fictional live streamer is already akin to a Virtual YouTuber who does live streaming as a default norm. That method of content creation as a Virtual YouTuber has been the default method even in the present time thanks to Tsukino Mito of Nijisanji. Unlike the other Virtual YouTubers of the time who started off with a 3D model and videos that don't last as long as a live stream video which is hours long, she started off with a 2D model and things are more technically limited that way but as technically limited a Live2D model is as opposed to a 3D model controlled with VR technology, enabling a person voicing that character to move around, it is said to be less expensive.

The fictional character from the game is trying to qualify as a Virtual YouTuber-type according to WSS Playground's Youtube channel where you can find some streams that de-fictionalize some things from the game. You're still watching as a viewer, not a producer, mind you, and the way the flow works is different than the one in-game. The streams are LONG and you can take a look at the video comments as long as they are archives. Unlike the game, my guess is that they must be typing in something as part of the scripts in real time and then broadcast it to make things look like the character's saying what they type, voiceless and subtitles only just like in the game. If that guess is correct, there's a chance that the Super-Chat comments will be responded to in the same way the fictional character responds in the game. The one managing the channel must be doing the moderation work just like how the producer in the game does during live streams in real time. I wonder what the gaming stream is like from that real channel although the idea is more manageable if that character is a real Virtual YouTuber in the first place. There are even real life Twitter accounts from the game characters, one is Ame, and the other is her streaming persona. The former is completely private but the latter is accessible to the public.

A serious warning is that the game has a lot of dark and highly inappropriate themes/scenes. Just like DDLC, there is a warning message from the game telling you of such things. Certain actions and topics are already inappropriate and may turn people off. So, if you're turned off by those things, then why do you want to buy this game in the first place? The actions will determine whichever game ending you'll get and needless to say, there's no such thing as the desired outcome from all the endings you can get. The game's message has something about the modern internet culture, mentality and a couple of upsides and downsides for the ambition as a professional streamer or content creator.

The upcoming Switch version will have additional content and said content will be on the Steam version as the update. If you want a more appropriate alternative about a character making contents professionally, there's YouTubers' Life 2 where the way the character makes content is different than a streamer does although the Let's Play videos can be closely comparable to the gaming streams. Another interesting thing is that the theme song is playable in some rhythm games. Just be warned of inappropriate references from the source game itself.

Pac-Man World Re-Pac Credits Controversy?

The Rangok Skies controversy was a real definition of controversy over stolen assets that the credits list remains questionable to this day because of the stolen sound effects. That is something the developers have no intention to do something about despite having made some improvements and other changes prior to the game's release. At least, Mojang put in the a fully detailed credits list for sound effects taken from freesound.org that are used for Minecraft and that's appreciated.

In the case of Pac-Man World Re-Pac's credits list, the original developers of the original Pac-Man World aren't credited in the remake and that's a shame and disappointment. I don't know if this qualifies as a gaming controversy or not as there's a chance the developers of the remake will be requested to fix the credits list, just like how the developers of the 8th-gen console ports of S**** Colors added the credits related to Godot game engine in a patch. Believe it or not, for every game made with Godot game engine, the game engine has to be credited no matter what despite it being a free and open-source game engine. At times, there are games that show the Made With Unity logo upon starting up. This lets people know that that game is made with Unity game engine.

Some interesting story prior to the remake's release included the fact that Tommy already sold the rights of the soundtrack to Bandai Namco and the composer is actually Todd Dennis, not Tommy himself. The credits information for the composer circulated on the net has been mostly incorrect and to find a correct one is a challenge to this day.

There are multiple reasons why people were interested in taking a look at Pac-Man World Re-Pac:

1. It's a remake of the original that came out on Playstation 1 in the late 90s.
   
2. Tommy and others under Tallarico Studios were involved in the sound and music department for the game.

The controversies surrounding the Tommy and Intellivision Amico were severe enough that the Amico console will never see a release because of his poor leadership and disrespectful attitude but the latest concern regarding the fact that the original developers of Pac-Man World aren't credited in the remake has attracted the attention of the content creators, fans of the franchise and some original developers. I don't know for sure if even Tommy would be disappointed for this but if it looks like he doesn't care for this controversy-to-be because the remake was released recently on Switch, Sony and Microsoft consoles, maybe his disrespectful attitude is still intact even if the Amico console was pretty much dead at this point that even a family would buy a Switch and play together or something.

Denuvo's Switch Emulator Protection technology

Denuvo Anti-Tamper is the DRM-related technology that is supposed to combat software piracy but it had been criticized for hindering the performance of certain games released on PC. The popular examples had to be the AAA games released on PC that make use of this technology but some non-AAA games that use it had a similar problem. Some of the games were eventually patched to make the performance be on par with the DRM-free versions. Even the director of Tekken 7 put the blame on Denuvo technology for this problem and many gamers have been against that technology as a result.

With regards to the upcoming "Switch Emulator Protection" technology, the gamers are really concerned about the hindering of the performance of the Switch games as the console isn't that much of a powerhouse to begin with when compared to the competing game consoles such as the Playstation 4, Xbox One and their successors. The way the technology is implemented is that according to GamesRadar, there will be some checks inserted into the code where a specific Switch game containing such implementation will be prevented from being played on the Switch emulators on PC. Perhaps, the videos of Nintendo games being played on emulators on Steam Deck must have attracted a lot of attention recently and I guess that this is how Denuvo responds with the latest controversy they're going to cause.

According to Kotaku, there won't be online checks for the Switch games that make use of this "Switch Emulator Protection" technology, which means the solution is completely offline as the Switch console is a hybrid of a home and portable game console, so the full online capabilities of the console take place indoors. At least, this is not like the TRDR Pocket console which is an ANDROID-BASED PORTABLE console in which you're out of luck in trying to play tons of freemium mobile games on the go without Mobile Data turned on and SIM card inserted. But why would anyone want to play a portable console on the go in Online Mode? A smartphone could have been handy enough for browsing the net on the go, provided you have Mobile Data turned on and the SIM card inserted. It's already stupid to include 4G on a previous portable game console like the PS Vita and the same technical stupidity had gotten bigger with TRDR Pocket.

The latest controversy that affects the Switch had people thinking if Nintendo is involved in this or not but Denuvo made a recent claim that they developed this technology as a request from various publishing partners and Nintendo itself wasn't involved. It's basically causing gamers another hesitation on playing those games that have the Denuvo technology on PC and Switch.

One imagination from me is that the delusional shills of the Amico console may or may not be proud of a news like this for once when it comes to the Switch even though the Intellivision offices were empty for months and the game development for Amico games already came to a halt sometime ago. Certain Amico games looked like they didn't run at 60FPS or some sort when being shown in action. Sure, they might be family-friendly games but those shown were 2D GAMES and even certain family-friendly games with 3D graphics on Switch that don't run at 60FPS have superior graphics and more interesting presentation. The inclusion of the Denuvo technology on Switch games is one thing that may or may not get those shills surprised but the on-going concern from gamers about hindering of the performance of some Switch games should outweigh that surprise nobody cares. Imagine that the Amico console did come out with games released on it that used disastrous DRM technology that worsened the performance even further despite most of the games being 2D, that would make Switch and PC games with Denuvo more interesting although this is something no delusional shills of the Amico might care. A bigger problem involved the inclusion of such disastrous DRM technology in Amico games combined with the console lasting less than few years.

What about a 2D game that doesn't run at 60FPS despite having NO Denuvo technology at all? There were such NES games like that in existence and I guess it's due to game development incompetency but that sounds like a story of another time. Also, no matter how much optimization is put into the game, the Denuvo technology when included is already a big obstacle to the game's performance.

Unity Technologies CEO's idiotic statement to game developers who are against microtransaction features

As if someone employed by EA wasn't idiotic enough for coming up with such an idiotic tweet recently that angered many game developers and gamers alike, this one from Unity Technologies CEO does the same thing with a different statement in which he claimed that game developers who shun microtransactions were brilliant but biggest idiots. If you're one of the game developers who's against the microtransaction & loot-box features because they are like gambling features in video games to you, there's a chance that you may or may not be offended by him. Switching game engines because of this recent offense is no easy path as you have to master another alternate game engine you've switched to. Even one game engine used by indie game developers is different than the other. Like Game Maker Studio when compared to Unity for instance, where you have a choice of making a 2D or 3D game based on your plans.

It's like the Unity Technologies CEO thought that game developers are going nowhere without implementing such nefarious features in their games for the sake of whatever he values. Game developers get hired to work in a game studio as professional game developers mostly due to passion and interest in making games. Even Satoru Iwata was full of ideas when it came to making a game console or a game software for said console when he was a CEO of Nintendo at the time and thanks to his vision, many of the Nintendo consoles were sold super-well and even the families had a blast in playing some Wii games together unlike Intellivision Amico which went on an opposite route by ensuring that families would be united with it according to Tommy. That made Satoru Iwata a well-respected CEO at the time, unlike the shady ones the content creators ranted.

Another ignorant thing was that Unity Technologies CEO didn't have the knowledge that many of the freemium mobile games made use of the Unity engine. The worse thing you can imagine is the future of game design courses having some microtransaction & loot box assignments you'll need to do and skipping them because of how fishy the microtransaction & loot box features are doesn't seem like an option. Another worse thing has to do with the villainous character the CEO had from the way he made his offensive statements like an idiot. It's like he's pretending to be on the same side when he's clearly not and the complaints that he offended the game developers were total barking nonsense to him.

There was a presentation from Mark Venturelli that criticized the NFT and Web3 stuffs at the event and many companies there were not pleased but the presentation drew praise from gamers for his heroic acts. Even Diablo Immortal was mentioned somewhere in that presentation for mimicking the casino experience illegally. It clearly shows on how super-predatory the monetization features are in that mobile game and he's brave enough to put it on one of the slides. It's part of the serious situation on what future of game development is like. I won't mention deeper about that presentation as this blog article is about Unity Technologies CEO's idiotic statement that disrespected game developers who didn't implement microtransaction features.

Ray'z Arcade Chronology

Just how many re-releases are there? Many Psikyo classics were released on mobile like more than once with later releases being based on the Zerodiv ports. The same can go for Taito's Rayforce on modern consoles and Deathsmiles on PC with the City Connection port being part of the compilation with DLC characters for the first game. Even the original Darius is guilty of the same thing, one that is Arcade Archives version and the other being part of the compilation made by M2. A regular audacity ever since the past times is how overpriced Taito games are.

City Connection has plans for modern console releases of several Taito arcade classics although Puzzle Bobble 2 was already in Arcade Archives under ACA Neo Geo but that was a little bit graphically inferior to the other arcade version of the same game whose hardware is 32-Bit. A cool thing about the S-Tribute release of Rayforce is that you can set the in-game screen orientation without setting the external UI to be in the same screen orientation as the in-game. Since the game is based on the Saturn version, you get superior soundtrack although the graphics are inaccurate in horizontal screen mode and the S-Tribute version doesn't fix the flaws the Saturn version has. The real concerns are the input-lag and screen shimmering and City Connection was aware of the input-lag issue.

What can the upcoming M2 version do besides the fact that all the games in the upcoming compilation game, Ray'z Arcade Chronology are based on the arcade versions? Will there be a consumer mode for the all games that have different game modes? G-Darius HD had Ver. 2 and Consumer Mode you can choose from in addition to the initial arcade version. Like G-Darius HD, Raystorm and Raycrisis will have a similar treatment from M2, so other than the games being basically upscaled, the rest of the graphics are the same. The mobile version of Raystorm is said to have Hi-Res HUD and rearranged Stage 1 BGM as the exclusive additions but it's a shame that the upcoming compilation game will not have that Hi-Res HUD for Raystorm Neo HD.

One exclusive bonus is that you'll be able to try out the prototype, R-Gear, which has only one stage. Suffice to say, it's something as experimental as G-Darius Exhibition from G-Darius HD Steam version, the deepest part of the compilation.

As for the choice of modern console ports of Taito's arcade classics, you can choose to go for either the City Connection port or the M2 port of Rayforce. It's unexpected for the upcoming compilation game, Ray'z Arcade Chronology to be the next project from M2 and it's going to be released in March next year. Only time will tell what else will they work on in the future.

Are complaints about games having microtransactions and loot boxes effective?

Many mobile games have microtransactions and loot boxes but not all mobile games have both features present. Also, other mobile games are like less dangerous than others due to having microtransaction feature only but the spending on it is still unlimited that it continues to pose danger of gaming addiction. Many developers who made those freemium mobile games have made tons of money off microtransaction feature and suffice to say, this has been the norm for mobile gaming nowadays. A paid mobile game is said not to have microtransaction features but they happen to be bigger financial advantage for game companies.

No matter how much you warn people about how dangerous the microtransaction and loot box features are when they are present together in a mobile game, there are scummy whales out there who continue to defend such games no matter how much greed and unusual stuff that are implemented. You can complain about such practices all you want but there are already games full of greed that we can rant on as they surpass many good mobile games through wickedness alone. Diablo Immortal is one of those games many people including me have ranted about.

Unfortunately, no matter how vocal we are, there are times where complaints are ignored or appreciated depending on the gaming controversy. It's like all Activision Blizzard cared for was the profits and I guess that the whales are to blame for making such mobile games like Diablo Immortal succeed.

An immature misconception is when people think that mobile gamers aren't real gamers and mobile games in general are total garbage. That's not an opinion at all. The only thing from me that can rival that misconception is that spinoff games of source material on mobile cannot be trusted and mobile games with endless paths of difficult stages/levels like Candy Crush games are not a fun experience. Your best solution will be to avoid those kinds of mobile games in the first place.

There were other past things I ranted because of how extremely disturbing they were like the M1 Fringe Festival of 2017, a game console with the most inappropriate design and a dance movie involving kids as main characters that would be released on Netflix two years ago. However, those were stories of the past times.