SITEX 2018

Like last year's SITEX, this year's has a few differences that are and aren't even IT related such as the retro-gaming area organized by Retro DNA which happens to have tons of retro game collection in their possession including the less popular consoles such as Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and Neo Geo AES which happened to be there by luck. How did they buy those consoles like it's beyond me? Not to mention that Retro DNA is the local gaming community that started 5 years ago and its gaming venue is located somewhere in Bishan Park. Unfortunately, its official website has a joke implementation so many of the links may bring you to the same home page of the site. Strange thing is that, Retro DNA opens doors in Friday and Saturday from 7PM-1AM and 5PM-2AM respectively but it's not open for the other days?
There were other booths like the Google booth, the ones that sold HDDs including the NAS devices, the ones that sold and promote the Android Set-Top-Boxes although I had seen a familiar UI due to the fact that I used one on my Android Set-Top-Box at the time. For desktop PCs, the HDDs are normally 3.5" with laptop PCs having 2.5". Some kind of cables are needed for connection when it comes to internal HDDs for desktop PCs but for the NAS, there are caddies to place the HDDs in and then insert them. Some booths sold the external HDDs while the others sold the internal ones. There were even booths that sold the projectors.
At the Samsung booth, there was a tablet device that has its own Samsung Dex in which having an external monitor isn't needed. It might be a strange move at first but for business use like typing in business documents with the detachable physical keyboard, the feature might make sense as a cost effective alternative to needing the external monitor, external keyboard and mouse for that same technology. There was also a tablet that has its own Game Launcher or something that is like a Game Mode where you can play games on it without any interruption.

Beatmania IIDX 26 Rootage First Play

Sure, the Hi-Speed settings are changed in Beatmania IIDX 26 Rootage but it probably meant that I had to get used to this new impression. The good thing about the new Hi-Speed setting is that you get to see how fast or slow the note goes down in the preview pane, similar to the one in Pop'n Music before the music starts. It's quite useful although the songs with multiple BPMs are little challenges to the adjustment plans of the Hi-Speed settings. There's even the Hi-Speed value at the bottom with decimal places and the sufficient speed ever since having played the previous Beatmania IIDX games will take place at higher value. Normally by default, you get the range of numbers to choose from in the Hi-Speed settings and they have decimal values but there's also another way to adjust the speed. This is changed in Beatmania IIDX 26 Rootage where the range of numbers is now 0 to 10 and having selected 2, 3 or 4 doesn't probably mean sufficient note falling speed or the speed of the scrolling chart.
Pressing 0 key at the Game Over will show the legal info related to the QR code implementation. You have 60 seconds to read it and can scroll up and down with the turntable but I suppose that reading it is irrelevant in the first place. You can also press 5 key during the Results screen.
The HD* in the Definition Type is removed in which the machines using this previously to cause the offset increase to +1.0. So, if the machine uses the 42" monitor ever since the introduction of that monitor a few years ago, it will have the offset increased.
There are remixes of the licensed songs ever since Beatmania IIDX Gold although one of them, U.S.A., remixed by Phquase is ruined with the muffled auto-tuned vocal but somehow, some player by the name of DDX had the guts to show off the gameplay videos of him dancing to that song. In theory, it's already quite impossible to play the game and dance at the same time when the song is attempted in higher difficulty. It is possible to do what the original Beatmania player, ITOH, did, when it comes to that song, U.S.A. It is hard enough in Hyper difficulty and it's going to be even harder in Another difficulty. However, I won't do what ITOH or DDX did in the arcades even when attempting songs like U.S.A. or other licensed songs. Speaking of licensed songs for IIDX Rootage, it may seems that Particle Arts and U.S.A. are like my favorites or some sort.

Neo Geo Mini

Like NES and SNES Classic Editions, there's Neo Geo's equivalent which is actually the mini Neo Geo MVS except that the games inside the system are all Neo Geo AES games. One cool thing about Neo Geo Mini is the mini arcade stick and mini monitor which is 4:3 although the bottom part of the mini cabinet is missing when compared to the actual Neo Geo cabinet which has the door at the bottom for the operators to open and gain access to the interior.
Then, there are flaws of this product. First is the lack of included battery and the micro-switches. Second is that the picture quality is a little bit blurry when hooking up the system to the TV. Micro-switches are useful for probably fighting games but the absence of them may ruin the experience for certain people.
Even the upcoming Christmas Limited Edition doesn't fix the flaws above although it has improved game library or something. Will there be plans for me to buy this thing in the future? I don't know. I may have a mixed opinion about this just like other people have. It may act as a portable console but how do you keep it in whatever you carry on the go when compared to the large tablet or a laptop computer? Perhaps, I may have to answer that myself by buying the Neo Geo Mini and keeping in the bag or something.

Activo CT10 Audio Player & Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn is notorious for having complicated hardware specs that posed high difficulty for game developers but that didn't stop it from being successful in Japan. Tons of 2D games were released for that system in Japan although they likely originated from the arcades of something. Capcom and SNK games on Sega Saturn would probably require the RAM cartridge to work correctly. Not to mention that they are more accurate when compared to their arcade versions. Then, there was a campaign that made the console more successful even though it had been outsold and lagging behind, the Segata Sanshiro campaign, in which he travels around the world as a martial artist and commands people to play Sega Saturn games. The first few commercials were kind of brutal or some sort like they involved him doing judo flip on anyone caught by him before he commands them to play the Sega Saturn. Then, there's the Christmas commercial for Sega Saturn in Japan involving Segata Sanshiro as the Santa who commands those kids to play that console as well. The later commercials were obviously in the right direction although some commercials were kind of ridiculous.
Fast forward to this year when Activo CT10 Audio Players were announced. Don't be fooled by the way they look as they're not mini Sega Saturn consoles but rather, they're skinned to look like that console. Even the Virtual YouTuber, Cyber Girl Siro, promotes this audio player as well with the Segata Sanshiro-style command as if she commands you to play the Sega Saturn even though that console was already discontinued and not doing that well when compared to other Sega consoles.

Current condition of the Love Live franchise

As mega popular as the franchise is, there are notorious portions of the fanbases including the haters. You can look up the articles about this franchise at Soranews24 in English for instance. There are both good things and bad things about what happened mostly in Japan as Soranews24 is the online news blog regarding what goes on in Japan and Asia.
The performance is good and so is the on-going game, Love Live School Idol Festival on both mobile and the arcades in which the voice actresses replicate the fictional idol performances in the concerts although the live streams are full of random talks that nobody else is interested to take a look at. There were events related to this franchise containing gameplay corners including competitions, celebrity's gameplay challenges and even the giant version of the mobile game which is impossible to do properly even as a group. Even the actual idols in Japan are fans of the franchise and it may be surprising.
Then, there are bad sides. There might be cases where the fans made public disturbance by visiting various places that were used in the cartoon shows and the games themselves as well as the fact that some fans were escorted out of the event for wearing too much merchandises that took up more space than usual or even the haters that ruined the display of the Love Live accessories that were in stores for instance. Other public troubles involved someone throwing rice at the screen during the movie screening at the theater, someone assaulting other fans of the same franchise in public, etc.
What about the pathetic side? The calls and responses (Not during the performance, of course) had successfully conquered some public places in such a level that would turn them to the kindergarden or something. Not to mention that there were other activities going on that would make those events look like some kids shows or some sort. Add those flaws with the giant version of the mobile game where you and other 8 players will have to step on the circle-shaped button in front of you to the rhythm and you get the event that only hardcore fans are interested in. One of the event venues takes place at the fountain+performance area inside Sunshine City shopping mall in Japan. I guesss that the competitive event videos are the only saving graces to watch as they showcase the songs from Love Live School Idol Festival being played in highest difficulty possible to see who can get the highest score. Will there be a similar competition that uses the arcade version besides the mobile one, who knows? Another pathetic thing is the microtransactions mixed with loot boxes in which someone spent too much real money on premium in-game currency and then spent that currency on premium loot boxes. I don't know if this might be an endless cycle or not in which the same process was repeated over and over until the specific set of items was found or something. And any gaming whale trying to defend this practice by scolding the gaming news casting YouTubers is kind of pathetic in my opinion. There will be NO REFUNDS even after the game is discontinued and the money made from microtransaction stuff will be used by the game developers for other games. Indeed, the virtual gacha drawing feature in most of mobile games is considered loot boxes and I should have realized that way earlier on how identical the meaning is. This combined set of actions in mobile games like spending too much real money on microtransactions just for premium loot boxes is considered gambling in my opinion and I don't condone that shit. You could have used that large amount of money on buying something else.
You should have something in mind in the present time that light-novels, comic books, movies, dramas, games and even cartoons contain everything that is fictional. Even some of the school teachers are already frowning upon those cartoon-ish contents that if you school assignment contains anything related to those, I guess that to those teachers, things are not going to count and you may have to come up with the alternatives like writing a story about whatever you saw from the OTHER movies you watched in your vacation days for instance but I digress.

Wild Animals Racing & Sports Day on Steam

Have you ever seen a game of the 2010s with the lowest graphical fidelity? There was one game on the Switch that came out last year which is like Superman 64 and needless to say, that was one of the worst games of last year due to N64-era graphics, poor translation and scripting, uninteresting gameplay as well as other awful things to begin with. Speaking of N64-like graphics, it seems that Wild Animals Racing and Wild Animals Sports Day on Steam are notorious for that. The UI and presentation may probably make Triangle Service cringe when they see such games like those two as if Triangle Service games have better graphics, presentation and gameplay.
Then, things are getting worse for Wild Animals Sports Day with more flaws than ever. The environmental design, stage design as well as how the stages are made, are poorly done in my opinion. Even certain stages are total insults to the Olympics such as the Gymnastics stage which shouldn't probably exist as I have no idea on how the proper gameplay concept works for Gymnastics stage in Olympics video games. The Tennis stage doesn't have various character animations either. At least, those Olympics-themed games by Konami are fun ever since the past and there's going to be the reboot of Hyper Sports on Switch in the future.
How could people give the positive reviews for Wild Animals Sports Day like it's beyond me? Plus, I had discovered those two games from various Virtual YouTubers. It's even better if Triangle Service have never discovered those two games in the first place.

ATGames' Bait & Switch

In regards to the Bandai Namco Flashback Blast which recently came out in various stores in the US, there was a controversy surrounding the version differences as well as the emulation issue. Firstly, when the product came out, both store versions had the home console versions of the games with one of the games being different depending on where you've bought that stuff from. What attracted more attention is that two reviewers had reviewed two different versions with one of them being given the product containing the arcade versions of the games as proven in the screenshots. Unfortunately, the one containing arcade versions cannot be found at all as all you get is the one containing home console versions.
John Hancock, the victim who was given the one containing the arcade versions as the review copy, was DECEIVED. It took him a few days for him to realize this after reviewing the product. It appears that ATGames had given reviewers like him the superior quality version that runs smoothly with customers getting an inferior performing one which obviously pissed them off. There are emulation issues plaguing the product that contains the home console versions. Not to mention that the screenshots DO NOT MATCH what's shown on the gaming screen whatsoever. A huge problem is that how shady the business practices are from ATGames as if the reviewers get given the superior performing version of the product while customers are given the inferior one so that it can be mis-reviewed or something. That caused John Hancock to be blamed or lose trust to people over that situation but thankfully, even he was PISSED and warned you NOT to buy that product at all costs.
There has been tons of Namco compilation games you can get but Bandai Namco Flashback Blast is the one you should avoid LIKE A PLAGUE! They surely contain the arcade versions although the 32-bit console versions have screen differences like the vertically-oriented games having shifted things over while retaining everything else from the arcade versions.
The worse thing was that ATGames blocked those who criticized their practices on Twitter as if the company thought the criticizers were trolling or something. If's there are professional criticisms thrown at you, all you have to do is analyze on what goes wrong and see if you can address the criticisms.