Was This Performance Art?

"This is... the arcade?"

Nami Yaguchi followed Furukawa into an arcade near the school.

Because of Sega's new product, she had a legitimate reason to come here.

After all, they are the legendary [Crescent Moon Music Club]!

Sega has already sent them a letter saying that their songs will be included as the first release in the new arcade game "Mai Meng maimai".

The substantial bonus is certainly a pleasant surprise.

But what excited Yaguchi and his team even more was being selected by the authorities.

For Yaguchi, this was a symbol of her talent being recognized and affirmed by the outside world.

For someone who appears tough and confident on the outside but is extremely insecure on the inside, this is undoubtedly a form of redemption.

For Furukawa, being chosen by Sega was also a kind of unreal feeling, like a dream coming true.

Of course, for either of them, the most important thing is actually this:

This is a victory they achieved together. Without Furukawa's recording, tone adjustment, and mixing, the final product would definitely have been dry and lifeless.

Without Yaguchi, it would have been impossible to create such a stunning piece of music.

"Yaguchi- kun, what games would you like to play? Virtua Fighter? Ridge Racer? Street Fighter?"

"Let's go check out ' Mai Meng '."

Finding this machine is actually very simple.

You can hear the game's unique music from a great distance.

Unlike previous rhythm games that purchased large quantities of licensed real-world tracks, this approach is different.

Sega's latest Mai Meng maimai, " was licensed directly from the community.

Any producer can use Vocaloid to create their own songs.

Simply submit your work to Sega, and you'll receive a prompt reply within a few business days.

According to official statements, multiple tracks with similar styles or by the same producer can be assembled into an album and released as an official CD. Furthermore, with continued operation, holding dedicated concerts for them is not out of the question.

Of course, besides the producers, there are also several official tracks released by Sega.

And all the music tracks under Game Records.

"That's the one, isn't it? The arcade machine that looks like a washing machine."

Before they even got close, the two of them saw the two front-loading washing machines side by side.

It is decorated with dazzling lighting effects, and has two sets of speakers, making the entire sound field design quite arrogant.

Unlike most arcade machines, its screen is not rectangular, but circular!

Eight buttons are arranged symmetrically on the circular frame.

The button is made of a slightly translucent white plastic that allows colored lights to pass through, and it is currently changing color in sync with the rhythm of the music.

The two units, one on the left and one on the right, were joined together.

But this wasn't something the store intentionally did; it's simply how the arcade machine is designed.

It's easy to see from the other components that connect the bottom and top that these two units were originally one machine. Even the coin slot and card slot are integrated together.

This design is very rare in the arcade industry.

Because this design language conveys a message to the outside world:

We recommend the two-player mode.

This is a machine primarily designed for social interaction.

Of course, it also supports single-player mode.

I arrived at a very opportune time today; the children in front of me had just finished playing and were getting off the machine.

Aside from a group of oddly dressed people sitting on benches and a table full of strange cards, there was no one else in line.

"Give it a try?"

The two exchanged a glance, then each put in a coin and stood in front of the other, one on the left and one on the right.

Upon closer inspection, Furukawa realized that the machine was much larger than it appeared.

He tried gesturing. It would take a lot of effort to press all the buttons on the ring.

The exaggerated movements made it the most outrageous rhythm game he had ever seen.

Despite the performance-oriented nature of "Rocksmith," if the performer doesn't like jumping around, they can sit there quietly and play fingerstyle.

And this one...

If it were a more intense piece of music, I'd probably want to go crazy and beat up the washing machine.

I have a feeling that it's not very friendly to the lifespan of the machine.

We probably need to think carefully about how to exert force.

"Look, it's our tune!"

Yaguchi, who was standing nearby, exclaimed in surprise.

[basic][lv.7]

Tell Me Mr. Sky / Walking with the Wind

[March Day Music Club]

Just like Sega said in their letter, their music was actually selected and included in the game!

What does level 7 mean?

Furukawa looked at the various data written on it with a puzzled expression.

BPM is easy to understand; it's their tempo, which is intentionally designed when writing the songs.

This is a more lyrical piece, not too intense.

But he really couldn't understand the other data.

However, it's not hard to understand. Just compare it with other tracks, and you'll easily guess what's going on.

"Ah--I get it, this is the song's difficulty level; the higher the level, the harder it should be to play."

"Our piece is surprisingly simple."

Nami tried a few songs and was surprised to find that their music was actually on the simpler level.

That's understandable, given the music library contains the copyrights to a huge number of games, including many rock and metal bands. [Press and hold these two buttons to end the tutorial!]

"Oh, it's actually quite simple."

Nami followed the tutorial and took a few pictures, discovering that it wasn't as complicated as she had imagined.

It's a bit like the whack-a-mole game you see on the street.

It's like lighting up wherever there's light.

It's simply a matter of some notes needing to be held down, some needing to be slid, and some needing to be pressed multiple times simultaneously.

It's essentially the same thing.

Hearing her say that, Furukawa swallowed back the retort that was on the tip of his tongue.

He's a veteran of arcades, having played countless rhythm games, and knows exactly what these games are like.

Tutorials are tutorials, and practice is practice; they are two completely different things.

"Alright, alright, I completely understand now, let's get started!" Seeing that Furukawa had finished the tutorial early, Nami didn't waste any time and quickly skipped over the tutorial.

"Tick-tick this flutter of excitement~"

The sound from the speaker assembly was tuned by Shiori Fujisaki.

24-bit hi-fi audio quality.

However, in the environment of an arcade, any sound quality will inevitably sound a bit noisy.

Hearing their own composition play in the game left both Furukawa and his companion momentarily stunned.

However, the moment they saw the musical notes appear on the screen, the two quickly found their rhythm.

"Da da da da--"

For a moment, the crisp sounds of the two pressing buttons were in sync, silencing all the notes that appeared.

The game's charts weren't created by the two of them, but rather by Sega staff.

However, for some reason, both Furukawa and Yaguchi had a certain feeling.

It was as if they could predict how the notes would appear. It was a truly magical feeling.

"Tick-tick, linger a little longer~"

I want you by my side~

"Please convey this to Mr. Sky~"

[Clear!]

[99.4872%]

[ss]

"Phew—this is more interesting than I imagined."

Furukawa wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Playing this game requires a lot of effort from your whole arm, it's really tiring.

Wow, Furukawa- kun is so amazing?

Yaguchi leaned forward slightly and exclaimed in surprise when she saw Furukawa's SS score. After all, it was her first time playing, and she only achieved a little over 95% accuracy, earning a [AAA] rating.

"It's not that impressive, it's just that you've played a lot of games and have a lot of experience. It would be impressive if you could get 95% on your first try."

"Really? Hehe..."

Yaguchi smiled and returned to his console.

"We still have plenty of coins, how about we play some other songs? I'm starting to get the hang of it."

"Of course, but I won't lose either."

"Tick-tick this flutter of excitement~"

In one afternoon, the two of them spent all their game coins on this "Mai Meng" machine.

After playing all the songs that interested them, they ended with a callback, returning to their own song as a conclusion.

Both of them achieved an S grade this time.

"This was so much fun! We should come here more often!" Yaguchi looked at his grades excitedly, Shiori Fujisaki's singing still echoing in his ears.

"However... you can't neglect your studies either."

"Yes, let's both get into University of Tokyo, it's a promise!"

"Let's go home. Didn't you say you wanted to show me Shiori Fujisaki from the game?"

The two walked out of the terminal chatting and laughing, completely unaware of the group of people behind them whose resentment was practically solidifying.

Only after the two figures had disappeared into the distance and reached the end of the street did a faint voice finally echo from there:

"Those two 'monsters' who didn't even log into their accounts, didn't wear gloves, and violently dismantled and beat up the machine for an entire afternoon—they're finally gone!"

The next day.

A strange rumor has spread in the class.

"I saw Yaguchi- kun and Furukawa- kun scrubbing toilet seats in the arcade yesterday!"

Recently, a strange group of people have appeared in the Japan community. They wear itasha costumes featuring characters like Shiori Fujisaki or other characters from "Tokimeki Memorial," and wear tight black gloves, all while playing a game at an arcade...

Uh... it's some weird thing that looks like a toilet seat or a washing machine, like some kind of performance art.

The washing machine was still playing very loud anime songs.

For many people, their attitude towards this group of seemingly out-of-the-way niche individuals is remarkably consistent.

I don't understand, but I'm deeply moved.

This phenomenon is particularly terrifying in the Akihabara area.

"Wow, the results are even better than I expected."

Sitting in the back seat of the car, Lin Lixin looked out the window and saw a large group of otaku wearing gloves on the streets of Akihabara.

Satoshi drove the car, his gaze sweeping over them as well.

The Vocaloid culture is still in its infancy, yet it has already achieved such influence, which is truly astonishing.

According to Lin, Sega will also connect with Game Records to completely integrate the businesses of independent musicians such as producers.

In the future, a technology that Activision is currently researching will also greatly help them in this regard. "But... President, why did you come to Akihabara?"

Satoshi glanced at Lin Lixin in the rearview mirror.

"Of course I'm here to shop! I'm here to buy some things."

"Buying things?"

"Yes, that's the main reason I came here. Ah, it's over there."

Lin Lixin saw the sign on the building not far away and greeted Satoshi.

The car immediately turned around and headed towards the building with the words "[HAL Laboratory]" written on it.

This is a...

A game company with over 2 billion yen in debt, on the verge of bankruptcy, is standing on the edge of a precipice.

The company was hampered by the poor commercial performance of several games, coupled with the president's reckless expansion and the economic bubble.

The HAL Laboratory has reached a complete dead end.

If it has any value... Nintendo's future fourth-generation leader, a gem in the gaming world, is working as a programmer here.