DOJ-BL & Ketsui XBox360 Port (Update)

I didn't mean to come across as an Xbox360-hating bigot in the last post (even though I am, but that's mainly because the thought of spending $400 to import a system with the worry that it will break down without any warranty coverage is just fucking unbelievable for any shooting game player to go through). **EDIT: I just found out recently that this only applies to Europe. If you're in the US, then Microsoft will fix your imported 360!

I believe the best move Cave, 5PB, or whoever the hell is in charge can do is release those ports on XBox Live Arcade. How do I know? I don't. I just got it out of gleaming the boards for hours. It just sounds so much better that way in my opinion. And does my opinion matter? Maybe it does, maybe it does not. Most likely not.

All I know is, people need to stop hating and start playing instead. The best way is to make things more convenient and available to everyone in the most efficient manner. The community is so divided with the have-nots, the elites, and the collectors, that it is just depressing to watch. No wonder why I get this sinking feeling in my stomach that this genre is dying. When you're this divided, and it comes to the point where you have to spend thousands on a single game, how can you get more people interested?

Anyway, what the hell am I saying and what do I know. All I do is sit at home and play Ketsui, hoping there are more people out there who can share the same experience I can while helping one another improve and get better without all these seething emotions of jealousy and superiority running rampant across this hobby we like to do for fun.

All of the commotion on the boards are fun to read though.

**There are talks of getting a petition going around to make the port Region-free over at the cave-stg boards and Shmups. It is not set in stone yet, but if someone who can speak Japanese can organize it, then it'll happen a lot sooner. Check it out!

DOJ-BL & Ketsui to be Ported to the XBOX 360

So word is out on the boards (shmups and cave-stg) that Ketsui and Dodonpachi DAI-OU-JOU Black Label are going to be ported to the Xbox 360 (as discs, not through XBLA). This is great news for those looking for a chance to play Ketsui without having to pay through the nose for the PCB (like me). I love the idea that more people will have a chance to play these games. The bad news so far?

-It's only available in Japan. This means if you buy a Japanese XBox and you get those rings of death, the warranty will not cover your ass, and you'll have to buy a brand new one if that happens. **EDIT: I just found out recently that this only applies to Europe. If you're in the US, then Microsoft will fix your imported 360!

-No screen-tilting TATE mode is confirmed yet. Every quality shooter port MUST have this option. It's like having topless dancers at strip clubs.

-The company doing the porting is not Arika, who did the excellent DOJ port for the PS2. It's some weird obscure company called 5PB, which seems as though their only experience so far has been dating sims.

So far, it isn't looking very good. I fucking HATE the Xbox360 anyway. I hate it mainly because it is a shitty system that breaks down after a couple months of use. Also, its D-pad sucks, the damn thing is made by Microsoft, and it will force me to buy a new TV, therefore turning me into a fanatical HD graphics whore if I ever get one. As crappily-built the X360 is, I do think it has a lot of good games on it, even though 99% of them aren't really my cup of tea anymore.

Suppose the ports turn out to be great, and this then leads them to porting new Cave games like Futari and Deathsmiles--and in addition to that, somebody finds a way to play them on a domestic Xbox360, then GREAT, maybe I might even think of getting one. But even then, I'd have to consider the idea of getting an HDTV, which can never match the same feeling of playing it on a lo-res cab, while looking for another HRAP joystick for the x360...yeah. That sounds like a huge pain in the ass for me. And like hell would I turn my newly-acquired 50" plasma on its side to play it in TATE. Kind of a catch-22 there with TATE and HD's.

There are some people speculating that a panic selling of Ketsui PCBs are going to happen because of this, and it'll drive the price of the PCB down. What do I think about all of this? It seems unlikely, and plus, I don't care. No matter what happens, I'm holding on to my board. I have no regrets for spending that much on Ketsui so I could play it on a setup that it was meant to be played on. That, and the fact that I actually own it justified the price for me.

**Pictures above are scans EOJ posted from the cave-stg boards.