The Christmas Toy and Collectibles Fair 2016!

Today I went to the annual Christmas Toy and Collection fair 2016. The fair is held at SM Megamall Trade Hall 2. I came early so that I won't mobbed by people, as today is the last day of the fair. The entrance fee is still at 100.00Php. Unlike the ToyCon last June which cost 500.00Php/ ticket. Although, the event is held at the bigger SMX Convention in Pasay City.

As I enter the Hall, I never thought that I will stumbled a Pastel kun head pillow from REFLEC BEAT! In my surprise, I didn't think twice and bought it right away for only 250.00Php!  I was happy that I found a BEMANI stuff on the event, a few booths away, I found a SigSig plush toy for only 50.00Php! It added excitement and no questions asked and bought it. I continued looking, there was a small booth which sells stuff and plush toys, as I looked to the items, another BEMANI stuff was found, a DJ YOSHITAKA! A few hours after, the seller who sells the Pastel-kun pillow posted their items for sale in their Facebook page and saw Erika, a character from beatmaniaIIDX. I tried texting them, but as of the moment, no replies from them.

This is the first time since 2008 that I have a wonderful experience in a Toy Convention, because everytime I participated that event, I am always empty-handed. I guess today is my lucky day. Bought some stuff I really like.

Asking my friend to buy me stuff in Japan (Part 2)

Last 2015, I asked my friend to buy me stuff in Japan. So this year, he visited Japan again and asked him the same. He went to Japan last November 2016, his stay is in Tokyo. Days before his departure, I gave him 13,000.00 Yen budget.

As he landed in Japan, we are in fluent communication on what are the BEMANI stuff he can see. According to him, there is a scarcity of BEMANI games in Tokyo especially in Akihabara, if available, the prices are expensive unlike outside Tokyo that are cheaper. During his 2 week stay, he managed to buy, a copy of beatmaniaIIDX14 GOLD for PS2, Otomedius Excellent for Xbox 360, and Time Hollow for Nintendo DS. He also bought a Hihumi and Celica Figure and lots of lots of Pocky of course! Most of his purchases he got it from BookOff or HardOff, a well known second hand shop Japan. Aside from scarcity of BEMANI games, special designs eAMUSEMENT cards are scarce as well. The only available is the generic silver and white-red colored card.

The stuff he bought are early Christmas gift to myself which I am very delighted to. My friend told me that he will visit Japan again on Spring 2017, I guess I should start saving on his next trip. It is funny that I never been to Japan, but my money does.

Postscript: Here are the pictures of the prices;

The missing piece: beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST

Last week, I bought a beatmaniaIIDX16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST for PlayStation 2, the last BEMANI game for the console. According to my friend, retro game shops in Japan sells this game for around 12,000 to 17,000 yen (¥) depending to the store. A two disc game with 198 songs overall ranging from the 1st beatmaniaIIDX to EMPRESS.

I bought this game to a seller here in the Philippines, he sold his copy for 3,500Php. The first owner was reluctant to sell, but eventually gave in and meet him up somewhere south of Manila. The game disc is in good condition, although game art has signs of old age.

The game completes my beatmaniaIIDX collection.

Hidden BEMANI Gems in Paranaque and Pasay

Last Saturday I went to the CMEC or Central Mailing Exchange Center of EMS to try my luck they would release my parcel. Unfortunately, no one and an officer told me to come back on Monday because my parcel needs to be checked by a Customs Officer (I only bought a IIDX 9th style game).

On my way home, I hailed a jeepney going to Baclaran Church. As the jeepney reached our destination, I saw a small Japanese surplus store. The store has a few items mostly household and used clothing items. I asked the saleslady if they have video games in store, while she was looking for those games, I stumbled a mountain of stuff toys, browsing until I found a similar character, It's Pastel-kun from REFLEC BEAT! These Pastel-kuns can be found as a price from UFO Catchers in Japan. The Pastel-kuns I found are the plush keychains not one but five of them! I bought them all for 250.00php, originally 75.00php a piece but the lady slash off 25.00php.

After that excitement, I went to a nearby Jollibee to grab lunch. After that fast lunch, I continue to walk towards the train station. On the nearby train station, I found another Japanese Surplus store. The shop has video games, so that I started browsing if there are games that interest me. There are two games, the PlayStation version of pop'n music 2 and pop'n music 4. The price was originally 200.00php but they gave me a 50% discount.

My day went well after all, regardless of the stress of going to CMEC. The thing is I went home not empty-handed.

Nokia's first 3G; Nokia 6650

In the late months of 2002, Nokia, released their first ever 3G enabled phone; the Nokia 6650. The phone is a GSM dual band with WCDMA (3G) capabilities, compatible in the Europe and Asia, specifically in Japan, where 3G network is implemented.

Nokia 6650 in the flesh

When I was in college, I was able to have this kind of phone in a short time, although 3G is not yet supported in the Philippines. During that time, Nokia 6650 is not available in the Philippine market, but in luck, I found my first in second hand shops such as Greenhills in San Juan City. However, local telecoms such as Globe, have this as an exclusive service unit to those travelers going to Japan. This unit also available in Japan as well during its reign.

The battery still has the telecom's warranty sticker

Years after, I am eagerly searching for this phone again. Until one seller, posted the unit thru online shop and without doubt bought the phone for 2,000.00 pesos. When I saw the phone again, feeling of nostalgia suddenly emerged. I took pictures, made phone calls, play JAVA games, and send messages in a 9 keypad. I was surprise when the pictures I took when transferred to a smartphone gives a pretty good resolution in a very small kilobyte size in a VGA camera.

Although, old fashioned it still useful to me compare to the super smartphones of today. Right now, I am using the phone as a back up unit or rather a work phone so that they won't call me up often in my personal number. The phone's battery won't anyone last a day, but hey, a local shop still has the battery for sale.

The Pokemon Go Craze in the Philippines

Last August 7, 2016, Niantic, creator of Pokémon Go, opened its servers for the Philippines. Avid Pokémon lovers got its long waited hype. Most of them (including me) went to various locations that has Poke stops. I even bring my IPad and hotspot phone to work (I took the advantage of going elsewhere because of my work).

Venue: Bonifacio High Street

But today is different, My colleague and I went to Bonifacio High Street to catch some Pokémon although a sudden trip. Ayala Malls organized a Nationwide event for Pokémon Go from August 12 to 14. Other malls such as SM and Robinsons have this kind of event as well. When I got to the venue, the place is full of people playing the game, standing near the luring Pokestop. When my colleague met up, we walked around and catch them. It's surprising that many Filipinos are playing regardless of the age.

During our quest, I caught a Meowth, Scyther, Voltorb, Tangela, and Sandshrew. Evolved Kakuna into a Beedrill and hatched an Abra Egg. And of course increased Combat Power (CP) of my current creatures.

People playing Pokémon Go.

When I started to feel the hunger we tried to look for a place to eat, however, almost all restaurants around is almost full, luckily we found one. Good thing is that the there is a so close Pokestop in the restaurant, playing while eating that is.

This is the place my colleague and I had a bite.

A Pokestop signage.

Pokémon Go hype is overwhelming, it caused a worldwide craze. Niantic, might add beyond the original 151, because as of the press time, there are around over 700 creatures. It remembers me when I was in 5th grade, I was dying to have a GameBoy Color to play Pokémon and collect playing cards and compete with my friends.

pop'n FEVER and 8th style!

Last week, I received my purchase that I bought from Ebay. They are the CS versions' of pop'n music 14 FEVER and beatmaniaIIDX 8th style. I bought another IIDX 8th style because the first copy I have has many scratches and it causes lags and hangs during gameplay. I consider this a birthday present to myself as my natal day nears.

pop'n music 14 FEVER and beatmaniaIIDX 8th style for PlayStation 2

On the side note, I have completed the core pop'n music console versions that are direct port from the arcade, that also includes the pop'n portable 1 and 2. Although, I still need the pop'n music Wii, Utacchi for Nintendo DS, and the pop'n ANIMELODY for PlayStation to complete the entire collection.

I was thinking that if I already completed all the games for BEMANI, I guess the next to collect is the game soundtracks, artist albums, and merchandises.

A short visit to Shangri-la Mall and its Disney Tsum Tsum

Last Sunday is Labor Day, May 1, holiday on a weekend. I visited another Quantum Power Station nearby, situated in Shangri-la Mall in Mandaluyong City, where I could play arcade games. When I got there, there are only four people are playing. There is a jubeat Qubell and Dance Evolution ARCADE and its newest addition to their that is uses e-AMUSEMENT PASS, the Disney Tsum Tsum.

Disney Tsum Tsum is created by KONAMI where you have to link 3 or more Disney characters within 60 seconds. Per credit is 45.00Php for 2 tries and 7 credits for premium play with a NFC figurine that you can use during gameplay. Never tried the premium play because it's more expensive for normal game unlike the other BEMANI games. Disney Tsum Tsum is also available for iOS created by LINE Corporation. DISNEY TSUM TSUM is also available in other neighboring countries such as; Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand.

jubeat Qubell and Dance Evolution ARCADE

It seems that Quantum is taking advantage of the e-AMUSEMENT NETWORK by adding more games to its game centers. Although a bit pricey, local gamers doesn't bother as they enjoy the privilege of the online game.

It's Official! e-AMUSEMENT NETWORK is in the Philippines!

Rockwell Power Plant, Makati City

Great news for BEMANI fans all over the Philippines, as the e-AMUSEMENT service of KONAMI is officially online! As we all know that last month a location test was held at Quantum SM North for MUSECA and SOUND VOLTEX and ended last April 18. A few days after, Quantum released their latest BEMANI games; jubeat Qubell and Dance Evolution ARCADE. These two BEMANI games are available at Quantum SM North EDSA, PowerStation at Shangri-la in Mandaluyong and in Rockwell Makati.

Dance Evolution ARCADE acrylic marquee

My friends went to Rockwell early evening, knowing the fact that it's only a ride away from our house. A per credit pricing is 30.00Php on both games where Dance Evolution has two stages and jubeat has three stages. On both machines has about to receive an online update, meaning new content will be added the next reboot of the game. As of the moment, e-AMUSEMENT PASS cards are not yet available at counter, luckily, we all have our own cards. Some of us bought our cards overseas years ago.

An e-AMUSEMENT application for iOS

On the other hand, I was able to link my current e-AMUSEMENT PASS to my KONAMI ID, an app is available for free at the Japanese Apple App Store. I was able link it right after I played the location test 2 weeks ago.

jubeat Qubell

This was an exciting turnover as many of us are expecting new games will be available soon not just to BEMANI games but also to other KONAMI games. Being nostalgic, it took as around seven years of waiting for KONAMI to add us in their network. I am looking forward that we will be part of the next KONAMI Arcade Championship!

I guess the BEMANI hype is back again!

Refreshments during our gameplay!

Comparison: pop'n music mini controller 1 and 2

pop'n music is a long time arcade game since 1998 with more than 23 version since its release. During its early years, KONAMI released a home version of the game from PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and short lived for Dreamcast and PC. Of course! in order to mimic the game experience is to have a controller similar to the arcade, however, they are small in size.

pop'n music mini controllers

They released a mini controller for pop'n music. The mini controller has two versions, the mini 1 and mini 2. The first controller was released in 1999 for PlayStation and Dreamcast and the mini controller 2 was released around 2002 for PlayStation 2.

Both controllers almost have the same dimensions but different on buttons and color variations. The buttons of the first mini con are flat, where the mini con 2 are dome like shape similar to the arcades. The first one have transparent variation, while the mini con 2 has white for stand-alone controller only and limited edition yellow bundled with pop'n music 10 CS.

Tried both controllers and mini con 2 has my vote unlike the first mini con because I won't have to look on the controller while playing. If you want to play pop'n music with real arcade experience, an Arcade Style Controller (ASC) is also available blog entry kindly click here.

My Gaming collection

Since I was in college, I have been collecting video games. My first item was the PlayStation counterpart of DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX, since then, my passion for video game collecting grew. I started to buy games in various such as Japan surpluses in the Metro Manila, online stores such as Tipidpc and ebay, and trade games to other game collectors.

When I was collecting games, I dedicated myself to collect only games from KONAMI such as; Winning Eleven, Jikkyou Pawafuru Proyaku, Genso Suikoden and Gundam video games from BANDAI. There was a time that my games collected was over a hundred and space became a problem. My mother warned me to refrain from collecting because it collects dust and consumes household space. Suddenly, I realized that I have been collecting games that I don't really like. So I decided to relinquish those games that I don't like.

Now, I am still collecting video games from KONAMI, but limited to BEMANI, Metal Gear Solid, KONAMI's Arcade classics ported to consoles such as Gradius and Silent Scope. I think it's better to concentrate on te games we really love because we can enjoy the passion of collecting, unless, a huge space is available inside your house.

Elecom's PlayStation 1/2 Game Pad Converter

This Sunday afternoon, my friend and I paid a visit to Japan Surplus. While we are browsing stuff, I saw a Game Pad converter for PlayStation controller. The game converter is an Elecom brand. Searched thru the Elecom's Website and found out that retail price of this peripheral is 1,512.00JPY or approximately 700.00 pesos.

Elecom's PlayStation 1/2 converter

Fortunately, I bought it for only 150.00 pesos and it's brand new though.  PlayStation's Dual Shock 1 and 2 are compatible with converter and it can be used for PlayStation 3 console as wired controller. Over the years, my friends are wanting to have this kind of converter, as converters that are locally available are unreliable and sometime, not in good quality.

The converter's purpose is able to use wired DualShock controllers to PC's but it is also compatible with PlayStation 3 console, tried and it works just like a DualShock 3! Though there is no substitute for home button. I am planning to use this converter for my beatmaniaIIDX ASC, so that I can play IIDX to my PC or for my future use.

The First Location Test in The Philippines: SOUND VOLTEX -GRAVITY WARS III- and MUSECA!

Last sunday, I went to the very first location of BEMANI game in The Philippines, the SOUND VOLTEX -GRAVITY WARS III- and MUSECA.

Quantum SM North EDSA

The location test held at Quantum SM Norh EDSA in Quezon City. I was able to play SOUND VOLTEX but not the MUSECA due to long queue. Both machines are connected at the e-AMUSEMENT network, meaning e-AMUSEMENT PASS card holders can utilize it. For those who don't, e-AMUSEMENT PASS cards are available at the cashier counter for 200.00php a piece. The location test is until April, rumors have it that beatmaniaIIDX23 copula will have its location test here ,but no confirmation as of the press time.

SOUND VOLTEX -GRAVITY WARS III- and MUSECA

Good thing that KONAMI gave the Philippine arcade a second look if they can setup its network here. Hoping that our local operators and KONAMI would agree on the Operator - KONAMI profit sharing as I believe, one of the big hindrances in putting up the said network, and of course the latest games that KONAMI can offer.

The Unofficial instruction manual for SOUND VOLTEX

MUSECA Arcade game

SOUND VOLTEX cards

DDR MUSIC FIT!

Two weeks ago, I received my DDR MUSIC FIT bundle from Japan. I bought the game at Ebay for only $68.00.  It took 2 months before I received my postal letter from our local Post Office.

DDR MUSIC FIT bundle

Although used, the game and dancepad is in pristine condition. A lot of the songs of this game are ported to the arcade version, DanceDanceRevolution X2.

This game is the last DDR home console for Nintendo Wii, as they are (I think), concentrating on the arcade version.