Mushihimesama Futari ver 1.5 [JP XBOX 360, 2009] REGION FREE W/ SCANLINES

[bcass]

For anyone disappointed they didn't get the faceplate stickers, don't be, they don't work. Both mine are now in the bin. I think Cave know this, hence the proper one for Espgaluda 2. 

This guy had no problems applying it.

That's not an especially detailed picture.  I don't see how you can apply a flat peice of paper a largely curved surface.  Even if it was made out of vinyl, it still wouldn't be possible to fit it perfectly.

[Megalixir]

For anyone disappointed they didn't get the faceplate stickers, don't be, they don't work. Both mine are now in the bin. I think Cave know this, hence the proper one for Espgaluda 2. 

This guy had no problems applying it.

That's not an especially detailed picture.  I don't see how you can apply a flat peice of paper a largely curved surface.  Even if it was made out of vinyl, it still wouldn't be possible to fit it perfectly.

I can't find a better picture but that looks fine to me. I'm pretty sure it's big enough to cover the whole thing, but it's not as good as a real faceplate. Anyway, I don't have a scanner nor a printer, but some people have made some nice faceplates like this before. Example: http://pds.exblog.jp/pds/1/200612/31/70/d0028770_4273951.jpg

I'm not really game to use my Futari faceplates because I'll no doubt mess it up somehow. Just thinking about PSP/DS screen protectors makes me die a little inside.

[EOJ]

I've made a separate thread in the Reviews forum dealing with the ongoing issue of this port's accuracy (slowdown replication, etc) here:

http://www.cave-stg.com/forum/index.php?topic=733.msg12985#msg12985

[SuperPang]

This guy had no problems applying it.

Mine looked great from 10 feet away too.

It's the bit around the power button that simply will not stay stuck due to the curvature. Similar issues around the eject button and the inevitable bubbles here and there as you try to get it perfect. To get a good job you'll need some extra adhesive of some sort and a lot of patience and even then it'll never look perfect and will peel some day

[Ast-Kot]

According to a new post on Cave's blog thare a report of five guys said that after the installation of the BL the game shot down for a moment. Cave said that they'are checking what happened  reading the guy's report. They also says that cause the BL and the vers.1.5 are two different programs they think that if there are some problem with the game it's only a problem connected to the BL version. However, they are cheking all the game's version. If they find error connected to the software they release an update asap.

Sorry guys for the rough translation but I heave read it a while and then I can not access the cave blog from my portable device.There is also some news regarding the presence of playable demo of ketsui with galuda 2 BL at the matsuri but I could not read it.

[EOJ]

According to a new post on Cave's blog thare a report of five guys said that after the installation of the BL the game shot down for a moment.

He means the game froze for a moment during play, just like others here have reported. They apparently had no idea about this problem, and yeah, since BL is a different program they don't know how it could affect ver 1.5, but they're looking into all possibilities and will release a patch soon if necessary (and we all know it will be necessary).

Too bad he doesn't comment on the horribly inaccurate slowdown. I guess they don't care about that.  

[EOJ]

According to vgchartz.com (http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=37735&region=All) this sold another 3,323 from Dec 6-13th, bringing its total up to 22,039. They apparently shipped 24,000 copies (1st+2nd print), so about 2,000 of those remained unsold as of 12.13.

I think it will inch toward 30K after the new year, but that'll be it. Foreign sales are more or less done by now, everyone who wanted it bought it already (basically), from what I can gather.

Still, if it can make it to 30K, that's pretty good. Not Deathsmiles' *region locked* 50K good, but good.

[adverse]

Where are you seeing Deathsmiles 50k?

[adverse]

CAVE's own material says 30k shipped for Deathsmiles.

http://www.cave.co.jp/ir/archives/ir/pdf/2009/ir090713.pdf

Don't be so pessimistic on the region-free sales.  The lower sales for Mushi are clearly a side-effect of the near collapse of the 360 in Japan.

[Ast-Kot]

Soory for my english guys...The correct word is frozen

I was astonished too they didn't said/report anything about the BL's slowdown...I hope that we this game's frozen report they will fix the slowdown too.

[Lunchbox]

Don't be so pessimistic on the region-free sales.  The lower sales for Mushi are clearly a side-effect of the near collapse of the 360 in Japan.

What?

[EOJ]

Vgchartz.com shows nearly 50K sold for Deathsmiles (they give the week-by-week breakdown, the total after 19 weeks is about 47~48K).

http://www.vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=34131&region=All

It's obvious Mushi is not as popular as DS, hence the lower sales. Nothing to do with the state of the 360 in Japan.

[bcass]

Vgchartz aren't the most reliable source for sales figures.  They tend to use lots of different (often unchecked) sources for figures and estimates.

[adverse]

Vgchartz is to echo bcass, bad info.  The site is banned at NeoGaf for instance for its incorrect information.  A better measure of Japanese software sales is Media Create, but you have to pay to get their data.

Again, CAVE's own IR report says 30k and that was reported in July, more or less three months after release.  Imagining a 20k sales boost from July to now is not realistic.

--------------

Congrats to Nakkuru, the first person to 1250/1250 Futari 360. 

http://live.xbox.com/ja-JP/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=NAKKURU

He had gotten the God mode achievement first, but it took him awhile to get the Ultra mode achievement.

[lawnspic]

Can anyone explain the message prompts (A and B) after a run? There is a lot of confusion regarding uploading/overwriting high scores and such. Simple fact is i don't speak Japanese and have no idea what i am choosing. I also would like to add this info to Shmups as there is some confusion regarding this as well.

[zap]

Can anyone explain the message prompts (A and B) after a run?

Do you want to save replay? A - Yes. B - No.

[EOJ]

Again, CAVE's own IR report says 30k and that was reported in July, more or less three months after release.  Imagining a 20k sales boost from July to now is not realistic.

Yeah, they say 30K. But the report covers up to May 2009 (the end of the fiscal year), it was just published in July. They shipped 30K at launch. As evidenced from the fact nearly 30K sold in 2 weeks from launch. An extra 15-17K from May-November is not unrealistic, and that's what the sales numbers show. Yeah I know vgchartz isn't perfectly accurate, but it's a decent approximation. More accurate than speculative forum posters can provide, I'm sure you'd agree.

BTW what's so bad about DS selling well.   We should be happy for any Cave game that sells well!

[SuperPang]

Can anyone explain the message prompts (A and B) after a run?

Do you want to save replay? A - Yes. B - No.

And I think the second one in score attack is for uploading your score.

[adverse]

Ok I knew I had a quote from Asada about the Deathsmiles sales.

Xbox 360 Famitsu October issue, interview with Asada about Futari/DSMBL 1.1, last question says that they have shipped 33,000 copies which exceeded their initial expectations.  Again, October issue.

Vgchartz are not accurate, in fact not even near it, in this case overestimating sales by 66% or so.

[EOJ]

Well it's hard to argue with Asada in October. I've seen the light! 

[AlephNull]

Hello. Sorry if this is off-topic, but does the Mushi arcade stick click? I just bought Futari (and DS) a few days ago, thinking of getting a good stick for them.

Also, does anyone know of other, cheaper sticks for the XBOX 360 that don't click?

[lam47]

The only proper sticks that don't click are the Sanwa Flash and the ASCII. They are optical sticks and run at about £100. Just for the stick. No buttons or case.
They are lovely to use I have one for shooters and fighters and could not go back to a microswitched stick now.
There is also the Happ P360 but they have a bat top and are not very accurate in my experience.

[StarCreator]

Hello. Sorry if this is off-topic, but does the Mushi arcade stick click? I just bought Futari (and DS) a few days ago, thinking of getting a good stick for them.

Also, does anyone know of other, cheaper sticks for the XBOX 360 that don't click?

I can't help but feel the association with "clicking" with not "good" is a bit of an insult... microswitched sticks all click, and it's a tried and true technology - there's nothing more accurate than knowing if you're on, or off, which is exactly what the clicks signify.

If you're -really- averse to having your sticks click, you're going into optical territory... which is quite a fair bit more expensive on principle of it being more complicated, and also a fair bit less accurate on average for games like shmups which expect digital "on" or "off" input.  But I can't help but feel you're acting on prejudice rather than experience, and if that's the case, I'd give microswitched sticks more of a chance rather than write them off completely.  There's a reason they still dominate the market.

[lam47]

I agree. A JLF or LS32 is a much better option for pretty much all players. Nobody that uses my Flash likes it. I think for shooters the switched sticks would have the edge no matter the skill of the player. In fighters however the Flash forces you to be more accurate with motions.

[NR777]

I just got an HRAP EX-SE and I love it.  I'm noticing immediate improvement in my game ( almost took down the stg 3 boss the other night ).  I've always played these games better on a cab ( my Gigawing 1cc was done at Chinatown Fair in NYC...couldn't do that with a joypad on MAME ) than at home, so having comparable hardware helps.  Loving the Seimitsu stick.

[AlephNull]

Thanks for the replies.

StarCreator, by 'good stick' I didn't mean 'good in some sense with respect to all arcade sticks'. I have next to no clue about most arcade sticks   I simply meant 'good for me', i.e. that I think I prefer a quiet stick. I've only owned one stick so far. It works for the PC but not the XBOX 360. It clicks pretty loudly, and when I play PC shmups with it the noise is pretty irritating. Whereas the sticks that I play with in arcade centers don't seem to click.

NR777, so is the HRAP EX-SE stick quiet? Also, does anyone know of a quiet, ball-top pre-built stick for the XBOX 360 that's going for under US$100? (Most online stores are selling the HRAP EX-SE at around US$130+)

[NR777]

The HRAP EX-SE clicks, so if this is a deal breaker for you...don't buy it?  i get so into the game that I don't even notice it.  Regardless, its a great stick with very solid construction. There was a deal going on at Amazon where you could get one for $90 with free freight.  

Also, Game Centers tend to be loud.  There's a reason you may not be hearing the click.  I certainly can't hear it at Chinatown Fair, but I can feel it.

[lawnspic]

The Amazon deal is still on ATM for the EX-SE

[StarCreator]

Seconding the EX-SE... it's still $90 shipped on Amazon, and undoubtedly the best stick I've ever owned... and I paid over $200 to import mine before the US release existed.

Not sure what to say if you're really so opposed to the clicks, but for $90 it's more than worth giving it another shot IMO.

[AlephNull]

Yeah, I saw the Amazon offer as well. But they won't ship the EX-SE to where I'm at (Singapore). The other sites I've looked at are selling it at around US$130.

Perhaps my PC stick is unusually loud? The clicking is much louder than mouse clicks and it distracts me when I play. Mouse clicks never distract me, and I think all the mice I've used so far have been about equally quiet, so maybe we could use this as a comparison point? Are there any XBOX 360 sticks that are about as loud as mouse clicks?