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.

Sony nasne

A few years ago, I made an entry post about PSX, a multimedia device with gaming capabilities. Well, related to that, Sony released nasne, a multimedia storage device that could connect to different kinds of Sony devices from PS3 to VAIO PC's, records and stores TV shows directly and music as well. The YouTube link below shows how nasne works.

A local online seller sells his Sony nasne for only 700.00Php, untested, and no cables, only the device itself. I had hesitation if the device works, but, I took the risk. When I went home, I rushed to look for the adapter plugs that can fit to nasne, and Viola! It works! The previous owner recorded some football matches and some HD commercials.

The Nasne that I bought.

ried to connect it with my PS3, without the torne software, however, I was able to browse the saved videos of the previous owner (It seems the previous owner loves to watch football).

Asking my friend to buy stuff to Japan...

Last April, my friend went to Japan for leisure and he asked me what things I want to buy while during his stay.

While he is in Japan, he keeps me updated on what stuff he saw on Used game shops like Hard-Off and other shops in Akihabara district. Because I only sent him 2,000.00 Php or around 5,000.00 Yen, he bought a handful of stuff according to my budget. First, is the pop'n music BEST HITS for PlayStation 2 for only 1,950.00 Yen. The game is in mint condition. Used but looks like brand new though,

pop'n music BEST HITS CS and DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 CS

Next is the DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 for PS2, this one cost me around 3,000.00Yen. Again, the game is in smooth condition and scratch-free disc.

Sweet goodies!

My friend also gave me "pasalubongs" such as Pocky (my favorite!), Meiji products and lots of candies! He also gave me a pop'n music portable game (although I already have one) and a Taito Station eco-friendly bag.

pop'n music portable

I also bought a beatmaniaIIDX figure of Ameto Umegiri for 2,000Yen. The figure is slightly big and taller than the regular IIDX figures I have in my shelf.


Going to Japan is a lot easier than before as Japan loosens its visa processing for Philippine passport holders. It encourages a huge number of Filipino tourist to Japan and boost tourism economy of Japan. I really want to visit Japan, as my friend will visit again before the end of this year.

New game stuff during hiatus

During my hiatus from posting, I was able to buy game stuff starting off from our Christmas season until February of this year.

GuitarFreaks & DrumMania V3 CS

First, is the GuitarFreaks V3 & DrumMania V3 for PlayStation 2 which I bought last September last year. This game completed my GITADORA collection. Bought it for $29.99 at Ebay.

Love Plus (The silver colored game cover) and Love Plus + (blue colored game cover, which is featured in my previous post)

 

Next is the first Love Plus game for Nintendo DS. Bought this game last November at bought this game at $2.00! The cheapest game I ever bought at Ebay!

pop'n music 12 IROHA CS

Third is the pop'n music 12 IROHA CS for PlayStation 2, bought this game right after Christmas. Got it for only $20.45!

beatmaniaIIDX15 DJ TROOPERS CS

Finally, the beatmaniaIIDX15 DJ TROOPERS CS bought it right after Christmas, As far as I could remember, I had a bad time in receiving this game at the delivery man from EMS, It took me 5 days to get it, because no one is at home to get it, a total of 10 days in transit. Got it for $45.00!

Currently, I am on hiatus stage in buying game stuff online. Because this year, I have to minimize my impulsive behavior in buying game stuff. Although in hiatus, I have asked my friend to buy me stuff when he visit Japan this April.

Otomedius, maiden fighters!

It's been months since my last post and this is the perfect time to put something in this blog (because of observance of the Holy Week).

Anyways, a week ago, I went to my fave Japan surplus to hunt new game stuff. While I'm hunting at the CD section of the store, I scouted an Xbox 360 game, an Otomedius Gorgeous G! I started to feel the hype, as this is one of the hard to find games. The game disc, manual, and inserts are in very good condition. The game is a horizontal shooting game, similar to Gradius.

Otomedius Gorgeous G for Xbox 360.

They sell the game for 150.00Php (appromixately $3.80) which is 100.00Php higher that they used to sell CD's last year. Regardless of the high mark up, I still bought it. I wouldn't miss the chance to get it in a cheap price, unlike to those sellers at Ebay.

PlayStation Network scratch cards for japanese accounts

I have been using my Japanese PSN account for 4 years and this is the first time I will purchase a prepaid scratch card to buy digital games thru PlayStation Store.

Items that I bought from Datablitz

Good thing that our local game shop Datablitz is one of the stores that sells Japanese PSN prepaid cards. They have 3,000.00JPY up to 10,000.00JPY scratch cards. Too bad that they don't have the 1,000.00JPY card. They sell it a bit higher that the original price, I bought the 3,000JPY for 1,695.00PHP (approximately 400.00PHP mark up).

Datablitz also sells Japanese Nintendo e-shop credits as well. They also sell third-party accessories such as Hori. They sell a Hori brand screen protector for PS Vita for only 100.00PHP.

It would be cheaper if PSN allows foreign credit cards to reload credits in Japanese accounts and not necessary residing in Japan, unlike Nintendo e-shop.

beatmaniaIIDX Arcade Style Controller

A few weeks ago in I received my beatmaniaIIDX Arcade Style Controller. Although used, the controller is in pristine condition. The controller is huge and even more huge when inside its box. Currently, this controller sells more or less $400.00 especially in Ebay and Yahoo! Japan Auctions. Availability of these controllers are very limited and cost of shipping is very expensive.

beatmaniaIIDX ASC

I tried playing the controller and I didn't feel "arcade style feeling" maybe because I'm exhausted from work. Nevertheless, it's worth buying.

pop'n Metal Gear Solid V

Last week, I received my newly bought items from ebay. Although, they all came from the same seller, the parcel was split into two, First is the pop'n music portable 2 was sent thru SAL and pop'n music 11 and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes ships thru EMS.

MGS V and pop'n 11

 All items are in good condition and working well. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes is the first time that I bought a game that was recently launch. However, I'm unfortunate that the codes of this game is already used by the original owner and I'm not expecting it though. On other items, pop'n music portable 2 package includes the DLC codes, unfortunately (again), the game already ended its DLC service over 2 years ago.

pop'n music portable 2

At the moment, I don't have time to play games. I just tested the game if it works.

Castlevania for DS

Last Saturday afternoon, I rushed towards SM Mall of Asia to meet the seller of the Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows for Nintendo DS. I found this game on sale at OLX.com.ph . This meet up was settled a week before because he can do meet ups on weekends. When I finally met the seller, he was only at around 15 years of age.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrows for Nintendo DS

Originally, the seller sells the game for 800.00Php but he agrees to sell it for 500.00Php. The condition of the item is in good condition with few signs of discoloration in box art cover.  The game is its fourth re-sale based on Konami's catalog number

Although the seller sell cheap, but in Ebay, someone is selling it for $120.00 excluding shipping. A hefty price for a nine year old used game.

Love Plus plus is here!

When I'm browsing in a Social retro gaming group in Facebook last Tuesday night, I found a Love Plus plus game for Nintendo DS for only 300.00Php(approximately$8.00)! Good thing that no one put a "dibs" (reserve) comment on it, so I'm the first and the last one to dib the game.

Love plus plus for Nintendo DS.

 A few minutes after, the seller contact me regarding meet-up arrangements, I asked him if we close the transaction at a nearby bakery because he was not far from our house and he was the sibling of my Elementary-High School friends. A few minutes after, some of the members of the group feels dismay that the game is on sale for more than a day and they only notice it moments after it was sold to me.

Love plus is a dating simulation game. The game I bought is the sequel of the first game. Where you can ask a Date in one of the 3 main characters of the game. Although, I used to have the demo version of the New Love Plus for 3DS, I managed to delete it because of memory constraints of my console. :(

pop'n music galore!

On the night before my birthday, I received a postal notice that my parcel is ready for pick up at the Makati Central Post Office (MCPO). The next day, I got my new old pop'n music 7 CS for PlayStation 2. Last Monday, My Mom accepted another parcel thru doorstep delivery. The buyer sent it thru EMS (Good thing that Customs cleared it without paying extra cash and delivery the items our home).

The EMS loots consist of pop'n music 4 APPEND for PlayStation 1, pop'n music 8 and, pop'n music 13 CARNIVAL for PlayStation 2. All these games came from the same seller with different shipping method (First shipment was sent thru SAL).

pop'n music games

I tested the game using the pop' n music Arcade style controller and my gameplay outcome is rusty, my score didn't even reached the 80,000 bracket in normal level. I think it would be best if Marikina River Bank Mall is nearby because that's where pop'n music 16 PARTY is currently in. Unfortunately, pop'n PARTY is the only pop'n game in the Metro and the Sengoku Retsuden is in (I think) Cebu.

I guess I have to endure a few number of pop'n games I have especially the PSP version of the game.

My portable gaming artillery!

Aside from mobile phones which we always have them wherever we go. But for me, portable gaming consoles have the same weight as bringing mobile phones everyday.

On my bag, I have a Pink Nintendo 3DS and Ceramic White PlayStation Portable. I have them inside my bag because of Nintendo 3DS' Street pass and pedometer feature, and play pop'n music portable and Twin Bee portable on my PSP.

My Nintendo 3DS and Sony PlayStation Portable

Some of my colleagues asked me why not using tablets instead of PSP's or 3DS's? My best answer for that is my mobile phone can browse the internet, take high-quality pictures, play music and can be use as road map. Although tablets be used as gaming devices however, tablets are more on multimedia purpose not in gaming and tablets are too big to hold unlike PSP or 3DS have easy controls. 

If I'm going to buy a tablet like an iPAD, I think the only games I have is REFLEC BEAT plus and jubeat plus because are they BEMANI games ported to iOS.