announcement #1: Ketsui Deathtiny's getting a North American release! release date's TBA, but they'll updates on the date for the main game & DLC soon
the Japanese version is also getting updated with some of the gadget tweaks made for the NA version
nothing new on Darius Cozmic Revelation
five DECO games (via G-Mode) are coming to M2 ShotTriggers! Zaviga, B-Wings, Metal Clash, Last Mission & Psycho-Nics Oscar
why these five games? they're all the works of designer Akira Sakuma, who left this message (which I'll translate later, he's basically just pleased/surprised Oscar's getting reissued after all this time)
for a little more context, this is the message Akira Sakuma left at the end of the staff roll for Psycho-Nics Oscar that adds a little more context for why DECO fans tend to lump these games together
they're debuting Chibi-Tech's original-spec Game Gear Micro menu BGM tune atm
to the surprise of nobody, it is Good
Chibi-Tech left a comment about her Game Gear Micro BGM ("it's cute & toy-like, so I wrote playful melodies to match")
and here's the big surprise: the Game Gear Micro also features new original-spec BGM from former Westone composer & PSG master Shinichi Sakamoto! ("I never imagined I'd get another chance to write a new song for Game Gear")
another M2 ShotTriggers announcement: Aleste Collection featuring Aleste (Mark III), GG Aleste (Game Gear), GG Aleste II (Game Gear) and Power Strike II (overseas-only Master System sequel to the overseas version of Aleste), out on PS4/Switch on December 24, digital & retail
and yes, they're throwing in a white Game Gear Micro & Big Window Micro with all these games as part of the Aleste Collection LE
Aleste Collection will be available to buy from tomorrow, the LE's getting a fairly limited production run
¥14800 for the limited-edition package with Game Gear Micro package, ¥6800 for the standard physical version, ¥4500 digital
there's more news coming re: Aleste Collection at TGS...
RC Berg's doing an ESPrade Irori resin kit, out January 25
as part of a quick update segment on various games (Toaplan reissues, Senxin, Ubusana, etc) they showed a quick trailer for Aleste Branch... not the most exciting screengrab, I know
they're showing messages from Hiroshi Iuchi on the status of Ubusana... I missed a few screens so I'll come back to them but he's basically explaining how WFH has affected production, etc
they also played some BGM, sounded very Ikaruga-esque
his update on production was very similar to the past couple updates: the game's content-complete but going into full production on the graphics has proven difficult, & because he's been at home since the start of the year he's focused on sound production
...and that's that
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Famitsu posted their developer aspirations feature, with 141 devs & assorted industry figures sharing their goals for 2023 famitsu.com/news/202212/27…🇯🇵 dog tired atm but I'll share any that catch my fancy
ArcSys' Daisuke Ishiwatari's aspiration for 2023: he notes how he's subscribed to multiple video services but just browsing them for things to "consume" feels like work, & even though the average quality of content has risen sharply, it's hard to get excited, and in wondering...
...why that might be, he wonders if having so much easily-accessible quality media might be diminishing the value one places on things, so his aspiration for 2023 is to go back to basics and try to create things that people will feel are important to them
as 2022 winds down, I feel like taking a look back at everything published on @shmuplations over the last year—I'm sure there are plenty of translations that people might've missed for whatever reason, so maybe you'll discover something new: (thread)
first off, a big site redesign went live at the beginning of the year—the original design was not only showing its age but becoming unwieldy on the backend, so it was a long time coming
kicking off 2022's interview content was this 2007 interview with programmer Masayuki Yamamoto on his contributions to Nihon Telenet and their influential anime-esque action/RPG series, Valis shmuplations.com/valis/
it also includes a story about a clever dev workaround…
denfami interviewed Masahiro Sakurai on his jump to youtube: why he did it, how he does it & the secrets nobody's yet picked up on news.denfaminicogamer.jp/interview/2212…🇯🇵
one of the big things he emphasises early on is how extremely specific his channel is—it's helmed by a high-profile, multi-genre director with the freedom to talk about past work, who's also familiar with many other games, good at visual presentation, has a track record of...
…regular, consistent content production (via his Famitsu column), is willing to eat the cost of regular video production without worrying about profits, /and/ he knows the mission & can do what can be quite lonely work without getting caught up in second-guessing or self-doubt
heads up for anyone who imported a Japanese Mega Drive Mini 2: there's a link & 4-digit password for a user questionnaire on one of the inner flaps of the box, which includes questions about future Minis—here are the questions, one by one: (thread)
#1: when did you buy the Mega Drive Mini 2? (release date: October 27, 2022)
-I pre-ordered
-I bought it on launch day (no preorder)
-I bought it within a week of launch
-I bought it a week or longer from launch
#2: where'd you buy MD Mini 2?
(physical)
-game store
-electronics/camera store
-toy store
-dept store
-CD/book store
-conbini
-other
(online)
-major online store
-electronics/camera online store
-online toy store
-online dept store
-online CD/book store
-Sega Shop
-other
on the reception to the OG MD Mini: when Nintendo announced the FC Mini in 2016, Okunari put together a proposal for a MD Mini the very next day; during the pitching process, Nintendo also put out the SFC Mini
bc the MD Mini was designed under the shadow of Nintendo's minis (>)
...they designed it from the perspective of being a latecomer & thinking hard about how they could clear the bar set by Nintendo, which meant going above & beyond
the SFC Mini had 21 games, so they had have 42—they had Starfox 2, so he wanted to add two big bonus games, etc