[PS4] ソニーさん、絶望したよ！

Random post number 2 for month 2. It would seem apparent that Sony hasn't really learned their lesson from the Vita's limiting features (though they're being revamped little by little with every other update), the PS4 has it's own, and in far greater numbers.

Sales of the unit started in Japan last February 22, and it hasn't been flying off the shelves as projected. That's mainly attributed to the fact that less and less people are getting into console gaming due to being more busy and on the go, but more than likely the decline in interest is probably due to these... not all of them are atrociously bad, but Sony kinda overdid it:

Pic source is from one of the peeps I follow at Twitter.

*Note: Most people know this already from the initial US release... so sue me, I don't look up stuff that's not from Japan, being an otaku and all...

*PS3, PS2, PS games cannot be used.
*Video Output is through HDMI only.
*DVD/BDs have to undergo online verification, otherwise playback will not commence. (For customers with no internet connection, call the Information Center hotline)
*Cannot play Music/Video CDs.
*Online Play (Vs, Co-op) requires PS Plus Membership.
*Torne (HDD Recorder program) cannot be used.
*Nasne (Network Recorder + Cloud Storage System) cannot be used, a system-compatible version will be released at a later date.
*Bluetooth device compatibility is limited.
*The USB Charging Cable used for Dual Shock 3 cannot be used on the Dual Shock 4 (DS4 uses a micro B cable)

Speaking for myself though, I'm willing to wait until a 2nd/3rd gen unit is released anyway.  By that time a lot of those features will probably be amended.

If there are any good exclusives released midway, I might buy them standalone for now.

[その他] この中古フィギュアーは売るもんじゃないww

Random post for this month. Finally getting around to reworking the subsections (for the model kits at least). Anyway, chanced upon a fun little 2ch post republished at nico.

The subject is a figure of Touhou Project's Patchouli Knowledge being sold at a second-hand figure shop. Not something you see everyday, but there's one little catch...

Sale item condition: Large stain under the skirt.

What kind of stain it was is best left to the imagination. One thing's for sure, this item probably won't be getting off that store shelf for quite a long while....

[その他] 彼女達が泣いている！

One uncommon random post to cap off the month, since Blogger is finally becoming (somewhat) useable again.

Aside from KanColle (which I played for a bit but left in the dust due to my little 360 renaissance trip), another fun little game making waves in Japan is a social smartphone app called ガールフレンド(仮) (Girlfriend Beta). Since I'm a grizzled garakei user, I haven't tried it personally, but it's just hard not to hear about it... this little whack is all over Nico, 2ch, and just about every other place in the net where my fellow ota brethren often convene.

It all started with a promo commercial for the game which left people all "Zu-kyuun" over a baby-faced foreign exchange student from France: Chloe Lemaire, voiced by the inimitable Sakura Tange.

(^q^)くおえうえーーーるえうおおおですよ！

She proved to be quite popular in the game. So popular that the other girls seemed to have little to no users pursuing them, and the official site later posted this appeal image:

"Don't just dote on Chloe-chan, listen to our voices too! *bawl*"

I loled. If I ever do decide to get a smartphone and this is still available, might just give it a whirl for more lulz.

[その他] 成年限定のキャットフード？

Just something random to cap off the month, since I've been playing nothing but gun shooting games for a long while. Plus Blogger's being slow as hell lately so even minor feature updates take ages to do.

Saw this ad cap in an old Nico news article roughly around July. (and found it in my Images folder just now while I was doing some file housekeeping) 

This Amazon Japan ad categorized a certain "Cat Food for Adults" as an R-18 product. That means kiddies who want their grown furbabies to experience this exotic treat either have to get their parents to buy it or just look for something else.

The product specs might have been fixed by now, but it's just so funny that the usage of "adult" can be misinterpreted in that sense. Looking at it from a different perspective, the mistake might be attributed to the fact that as a loanword in Japanese, it consistently gravitates towards things you never want the young'ins to see.

[PS3] PS3 Getだぜ!!

 I haven't really let on, but I got myself a PS3 a few months ago. After covering for 3 AWOL guys in my part-time job, I earned a pretty fat payoff, so figured that I might as well splurge it on something that I'd actually love. Initially, I planned to hold off on getting one until A.) Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4 gets pulled out of cancellation, or B.) My birthday comes.

The two reasons got overruled because I already have a handful of games for it that I'm very much raring to play.

[その他] は～い、まだ生きているよ～！

So yeah.

Been out of the radar for a good long time, and while the better part of it was spent writing the ZZT3 FAQ (which rest assured will be concluded soon, for those of you who were looking), more of it was all about dealing with real life, both good and bad.

While I won't go into detail because it's not my style, let's just say that two people were subtracted from my already modest list of social contacts. I don't take kindly to those who insult my hobbies and go as far as to try and convince me to give them up for more "orthodox" interests.

Orthodox my foot.

Letting it go now... I just got my copy of Persona 2 Tsumi for the PSP and will be writing a review for it eventually, but first, allow me to show off a couple of rare otaku finds that I got for a practical steal.

[その他] 絶体絶命都市3 ~お姉さまイベント~

 So get this...

Irem seemed to be planning their time-honored April Fool's gag to serve as a marketing gimmick for the upcoming Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4 release.However, since much of Kanto is still reeling from the effects of the recent earthquake, they eventually decided not to go through it, even going as far as canceling the release entirely. I would have wanted to see it since I'm a fan of the first three games, but I'm all for taking the feelings of the survivors into consideration too.

Admittedly, I started playing Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 again after learning about the disaster, which in turn motivated me to pick up where I left off in the FAQ I was writing for it. That being said, I wanted to share one of my favorite parts of the game with the non-Japanese speaking populace out there. Though it looks labor-intensive, this post actually served as a refreshing break from translating the dizzying array of dialogue choices on offer.

In case anyone asks, these scenes DO happen in the game. You just have to make the right choices to activate the Ayami flag. Irem is freaky like that.

*Beware, this entry is image and spoiler heavy.

[その他] 頑張れ！日本！！！

Shame on me.

For the past week I've been living under my proverbial hikkikomori rock.

It took me a while to hear about the tragedy that has struck Japan, coming in the form of a tsunami triggered by a Magnitude 8.9 (though some experts seem eager to round it off to a flat 9) earthquake. Disasters have been a periodical part of Japanese history because their territory is situated on the so-called "Pacific Ring Of Fire", but that doesn't make things any easier for them. Over 10,000 were killed, and possible nuclear plant meltdowns over some of the affected areas are also a major concern.

This is truly a dark time for a country whose collective culture I study and admire. While I could devote a whole paragraph into making a profound personal dedication, it isn't really necessary. Pro skier Noriaki Kasai pretty much summed up my exact same sentiments in a simple message written on his gloves:

Be strong, Japan!! Don't give in to suffering!

[その他] 無駄だよ、これ... Orz

GameFAQs is now officially under my least-favorite sites list...

Despite my best efforts trying to re-input the JIS characters using my brand-spanking new Vaio laptop with Windows 7 OS set at 85% Japanese input/display, The recent update for the K-On! Houkago Live!! guide still emerged as a messy string of unicode crud.

My initial reactions were as follows...

[その他] 皆さん、あけおめ！

 どう？　着物、似合うかしら？

Happy new year to everyone! December proved to be a rather trying time for me since I'm preparing to move to a different place, but it's not without it's rewards. I'm not the sort who seriously plans stuff through, but here are my projected inputs for the coming days: