Sep 162015
 

pjdx_strangerScreenshot of “Stranger” PV and “Silent Voice” module revealed at Tokyo Game Show

SEGA made announcements today at the Tokyo Game Show that revealed some new information regarding Project Diva Future Tone (the Arcade to PS4 game port) and Project Diva X.

To start, the PV for “Strangers” from Project Diva X was revealed (screenshot above), and also confirms that two past game modules will be returning to the game: Honey Whip and Neko Neko Cape (Kitty Cape in the western version of Project Diva). Additionally, the new official promotion art for Project Diva X was revealed, and was unsurprisingly illustrated by KEI, popularly known for illustrating Hatsune Miku V2, and all other Project Diva video game cover art to date.

The SEGA feat. Hatsune Miku Project series supervisor, Utsumi Hiroshi, also stated that the PlayStation 4 port of Project Diva Arcade: Future Tone (titled Project Diva Future tone for PS4) will feature “a package showing chivalrous spirit”, as a gift to fans as thanks for their support. This hints at, but doesn’t fully confirm, the massive 200+ songlist for the PS4 port. 1080p resolution and 60fps will also be preserved for the PS4 version. The exact release period in 2016 still hasn’t been confirmed. As for further monetization of the game, they’re still working out ideas. We’d be inclined to believe that all future song releases for Arcade will be paid DLC for the PS4 game.

Hiroshi also mentioned the team is still trying to figure out how to map the controls to the PlayStation 4 controller buttons, since trying to hit all 4 symbols at once would “kill your thumbs”. We expect an Arcade-style controller release to accompany the game to also be a possibility.

During the live stream, a number of songs were played in the background, and one in particular caught our attention: Nebula by Tripshots. Since Tripshots is one of the confirmed producers for inclusion in Project Diva X, we believe this is likely the song of his that will be featured in the game.

On the topic of Project Diva X, a few more details of the game were recently announced via Famitsu and SEGA. There are two new modules revealed for the game: “Judgement” designed by Tama, and “Silent Voice” designed by Tokichi. These modules are used for the songs Love Trial by 40mP, and Strangers by HeavenzP, respectively.

The update mentions that the new “Quest” mode of the game can also allow the unlocking of modules, songs, stages, accessories, etc. It can also allow you to obtain modules in a new way. By means of clearing the “chance time” events, you can now have a chance at unlocking a new module instantly by having it “drop” during the song, as opposed to buying it from the shop like you normally would in past games. Alternatively, you can also unlock these items using the more traditional “free play” game mode.

The voltage meter now replaces the typical song progress bar of past Project Diva games, although it’s unclear if this applies to just Quest mode, or Free Play mode as well. It works fairly similarly to the old progress meter, to where you need to reach a certain minimum voltage percentage to pass the song.

Outfits now interestingly have attributes, which can affect your “voltage” in gameplay, making it either easier or harder(?) to complete a song. Confirmed module attributes: Silent voice (COOL), Original (NEUTRAL), Judgement (CUTE), Honey Whip (BEAUTY), and Neko Neko Cape (CHAOS). Items/accessories are also confirmed to have attributes. It seems that Project Diva is adopting some RPG gameplay elements?

Sep 162015
 

mikuexpo_jptour
While the past Hatsune Miku Expo events have been in international locations outside of Japan, it looks like Hatsune Miku fans in Japan will also get to enjoy a taste of what the expo events have to offer. The tour will take place in 5 different cities across the country starting late March 2016.

The event ties in with the recently announced Hatsune Miku Expo song contest, which is scheduled to end on October 19th. So far, only the locations and dates of the Hatsune Miku Expo tour have been announced, with more details promised to be announced soon:

Fukuoka: March 23rd~24th
Osaka: March 29th
Nagoya: March 31st
Sapporo: April 5th
Tokyo: April 9th~10th

Official Site: http://org.mikuexpo.com/jp2016/en
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikuexpo