Sakai Izumi (坂井泉水), eternal lead vocalist of ZARD, passed away…

This was probably the most shocking death news to me ever since the deaths of Fujiko F Fujio, Okazaki Ritsuko and Suzuoki Hirotaka. *sob sob sob*

Asahi News:

Izumi Sakai, a singer-songwriter better known as Zard who scored hit after hit while remaining shy of publicity, died Sunday after falling off the landing of a staircase, her management office said Monday.

The former model was 40 years old.

The cause of death was a brain contusion, the office said.

In June last year, Sakai, whose real name was Sachiko Kamachi, was diagnosed with cervical cancer and had since been hospitalized several times.

The management office said Sakai fell Saturday morning on her way back from a walk to her hospital room.

The Metropolitan Police Department said a passer-by found Sakai around 5:40 a.m. on Saturday lying near an outside staircase of the hospital. Police suspect she fell off the staircase from about 3 meters immediately before she was discovered.

Wikipedia:

Izumi Sakai passed away on May 27, 2007 in Keio University Hospital. She was put in the hospital in June 2006 after discovering she had cervical cancer and had the tumor removed. In April 2007 however, the cancer had spread to her lungs, resulting her readmittance in the hospital. According to the hospital, she takes daily walks every morning. During her walk on May 26, she accidentally fell from the stairs and was discovered at around 5:00a.m JST. She was sent to the emergency room, but unfortunately was too late.^[2]

She had planned to release a new album in the fall, as well as her first live tour in three years to show her fans that she’s fighting strong against her illnesses.

She was one of my favourite singers, and her songs were also the ones which exposed me to anime songs (Don’t you see! from Dragon Ball GT, and all her songs featured as theme songs for Detective Conan). Being a talented song-writer, I was looking forward to her new works. But now, everything have been turn to dust… Rest in peace, Sakai-san, you and your “alter ego” as ZARD will always remains in our hearts…

JAM Project JAPAN CIRCUIT 2007 videos

The DVD have not been released, and yet I saw five videos of the concert on Youtube. Most probably they are the TV recordings of the concert shown on KidStation. Well, good to pass time with.

Break Out

Name ~Kimi no Na wa~

RISING FORCE

Hagane no MESSIAH

SKILL

SRW OGS Third Promotional Video!!! Moero!!!!

Here’s the third promotional video, and there’s so much new footage that it’s amazing.

To date, with the addition of the third trailer, there are a total of 3 PVs and one commercial video (which is shown at the end of the last episode of SRW OG Divine Wars)

SRW OGS Second Promotional Video

This was way overdue, and I just realise I forgot to blog about it, until I was watching it to prepare to write the entry for the third PV. I forgot where I downloaded this video, but whoever wants the original clear video (way better than the youtube version), you are welcome to state your request either through mail or the comment section.

This PV was out when the game was slated to be released in on 25th January 2007, before they decided to postpone it indefinitely.

I love Fate figures

No no, it’s not Saber from Fate/stay night, but Fate Testarrosa from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Just one look at this pic immediately revive any lost hope of me owning a PVC figure.

First look, and I was… mesmerised. Firstly the anime was one of my favourite; Secondly the theme songs in the anime are my favourite (??); Thirdly, Fate was my favourite character (Nanoha was second, not far behind); Fourthly the seiyuu who voiced Fate was Mizuki Nana, who I like a lot recently; Fifthly Mizuki Nana was also the one who sang the theme songs that I loved. And of course the most important reason, the figure was VERY well sculpted, such that it feels right out of the anime. This pic is pretty influenced by the skill of the person who took this picture, which I have to agree, but that doesn’t deviates me from the love I have for this figure. Argh… I want to have this figure now and display right at my top glass cabinet. There’s three versions, and this version by ALTER is in my opinion the best. The other two are still great, though. So no matter which I get, i will have no complaints, though the best thing to happen is to get ALL three, HAHAHA.

BB Senshi news from Shizuoka Hobby Show 2007

Here’s an official poster, where you can see Sousou Gundam (曹操ガンダム) at the top left, and Sonken Gundam (孫権ガンダム) a the top right. In the middle are Chuuhi, Ryuubi and Kan’u. And the shadow in the background is Ryofu Tallgeese (呂布トールギス). For any guy/gal who knows the mechas in Gundam well, the latter name tells you which line of mechas are the characters based on.

New single, album and live DVD announced

Some news from JAM Project.

On their official site, it is stated that they will release their 5th best album (LACM-5650) (tentatively named BEST COLLECTION V), and the DVD (LABM-7011) for their 6th live concert “JAPAN CIRCUIT 2007　Break Out” on 4th July 2007.

Rumors have stated that JAM Project has decided on the theme songs for PS2 game Super Robot Wars Original Generations, and the single (LACM-4400) will be released on 8th August 2007. The opening theme is “Rocks” while the ending theme is “Portal“.

Now let’s hope that the game will not be delayed again.

New singles/album out today

Today, the two singles by JAM Project are out, which is within my expectations.

Little did I realise that Yonekura Chihiro’s new album “Ｋａｌｅｉｄｏｓｃｏｐｅ” is also out today.

Although the local soft launch of Wii leaves a sour taste to be desired, the anticipation of hearing my favourite singer as well as my favourite anison group leaves me a fleeting image of hearing the songs over and over again, after my exam. HAIZ…

Wii Soft Launch in Singapore today

heck, I didn’t even know this until a few days back when WC, one of my friends, told me about this “rumour” originated from the forums, which says that there’s going to be a local Wii launch today. As with all local Wii rumours, do not take them seriously. There’s so many that local gamers have grow hard-hearted to it. So as usual, I try not to take it to heart, but yet there’s a burning feeling in me wishing it to be true.

So in order to authenticate the claim, I went online to the official Maxsoft site. It was NOT updated, and I was not surprised. This is just another stupid rumour, I thought. But then, i went to the Gameaxis blog and found that…

Here’s the information that the Gameaxis staff have dug out on Monday:

Hear ye! Hear ye! Thanks to our l33t ninja skills, we’ve managed to digged up information regarding the Nintendo Wii launch details in Singapore from Maxsoft. Without boring you with irrelevant stuffs, I’ll go straight to the point:

• The Nintendo Wii console alone is priced at S$499 /w GST (Goods Service Tax). Now get this, we were also informed that the console will still remain at S$499 (GST included) come this July, when the GST is increased from 5% to 7%. (Update: The Wii will be sold as a bundle at retail, which comes with one game and one additional Wiimote controller for S$649)
  
• The Wii will come included with Wii Sports.
• It’ll come with an officially approved 220v adapter.
• Wii titles will be priced at S$79.90 (/w GST), or there and about.
• The Wiimote controller will be priced at S$69.90 (/w GST)
  
• The Nanchuk attachment controller will be priced at S$39.90 (/w GST)
  
• The Wii Classic controller will be priced at S$39.90 (/w GST)
• All prices above are Standard Retail Pricing (SRP).
  
• The Wii will be launched this week. Which day? That’s all we’re allowed to post here
  

We also understand that Singapore is the only territory outside of N. America, Japan, Europe & Australia to get a Wii release here. And just for the record, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea doesn’t get their own official Wii console release until this year’s Fall. So let’s count ourselves a little privileged as Asians, despite the local Wii’s initial hold up.

Until a while ago WC was talking to me via MSN, and he told me that there really is a local launch, but it’s UNOFFICIAL. Okay, officially it’s a SOFT LAUNCH. What the heck does that mean anyway?

Regarding it’s an UNOFFICIAL launch, that’s because nothing, i say absolutely NOTHING coming from Maxsoft regarding this launch (Some gamers who e-mailed Maxsoft directly came to know about it, and eventually spread the news around). Reasons I can think of pertaining to why they are not willing to disclose the information:

1. World Wii Shortage – There’s a shortage everywhere, in US, in Japan, in Europe. Nintendo did not expect such high demands, and thus are unable to keep up with their limited supply. This is also the reason why we shouldn’t expect a local Wii launch any time soon, at least until they manage to pacify the people over at the 3 territories.
2. Local supply not enough – I heard from WC that there’s only 5,000 Wiis available for the launch. If they were to make it public, who knows, Wii riots might start to happen in the central district… since I’m sure there are more people who want to get this console. Heck, last I heard, even a middle-aged mother was asking about the Wii at a local shop to purchase it for her son. And you wonders where did she get the info from, if she’s not even a gamer?
3. Procrastination – They are lazy/can’t be bothered. Full Stop.

The bundle will cost a whooping S$649 (this have been confirmed by WC’s friend who bought the set today). And you know what? There’s one difference: (Update 2: The Wii will be sold as a bundle at retail, which comes with one game and one additional Wiimote controller for S$649). Maxsoft might have made the changes last minute, and I’m not particularly disturbed by this, since they have the freedom to do so anyway. What disturbs me is that you are NOT allowed to buy the Wii itself. You must buy it in a bundle package.

Since the local launch of PS3 also require you to buy in bundles, that’s fine too, until you realise that it’s all a rip-off. Let’s see… a Wii set cost S$499 (/w GST), a second Wii-mote cost S$69.90 (/w GST) and a random game S$79.90 (/w GST). Add that all up, and you get… S$648.80 (/w GST). WOW, a rip-off of 20 cents, and I thought the bundle should be cheaper. They really have no business sense here, you will be better off marking up the price of Wii instead. Maybe to S$550? But then it will be around the same price as a parallel import US set. You are saying that the US set only cost US$250? So it should be less than S$400? No no, obviously you do not know how to do business. Since the parallel import cost at least S$550, by declaring that your price is lower by any amount, people will be flocking to your side to buy it. Ok, i’m going a bit off topic…

That was a bit of a joke there, but you can calculate yourself. But that’s not the real killer. According to WC’s friend, who insist that he bought the bundle after WC had explain it to him, he got a US set and a game. Where’s the 2nd Wiimote, you say? Don’t ask me, maybe they decided that it’s better off selling it than bundling it, since it will sell like hotcakes. And the game? He remembered seeing SSX Blur as one of the games, while I heard Ice Age 2 from GSQ forum. WOW, that’s some great game there. Wait a min, if the 2nd Wii-mote is not in, then the US set (S$499) + game (S$79.90) should only cost S$580 at the most, isn’t it? Well, there’s two possibilities:

1) The Wii actually cost S$568.90. The S$69.90 goes to Wii Sports, which automatically comes bundled with the Wii whether you like it or not. Although Wii Sports is technically a Wii game, and is sold in Japan, the guys at the USA HQ decides to bundle this game FOC (free of charge) with the Wii console. Maybe our guys don’t see the logic here, and decides to treat it as a stand-alone game?

2) The nunchuk attachment is actually not included in the US set. Meaning the bundle will come out to 499 + 79.90 + 39.90 = S$618.90. What about the short-change, you say? Maybe you can assume it to be the marked up cost for Wii…

Okay, no matter how you see it, either WC’s friend forgot to collect his 2nd Wii-mote, OR Possibility1 turns out to be true. (Urks…)

At the rate this is going, you are better off buying a PS3. A Nintendo Wii bundle cost S$649, and a PS3 bundle at its cheapest cost $799. Just throw in another S$150 and you will truly get a MUCH BETTER console in terms of graphics which are more than 3 Wiis combined. Or better still throw in a mere S$50 and get a X-Box360 with TWO games and a second controller. With the way Maxsoft is doing things, it’s no wonder that you actually see more people in Singapore holding PSPs contrary to NDS. And the paradox here? NDS outsold PSP in the US, Europe and Japan (http://www.vgchartz.com/), but yet the Singapore situation is the reverse instead.

I’m not angry with Maxsoft for NOT releasing Wii in Singapore sooner, but I’m angry that they had not fixed on a local launch date, and that the soft launch thingy is just like telling the local retailers that “they are supposed to sell parallel imports, but we can”. And the worst is that they can actually bundle crap games and yet call for a high price. Please, learn the ways of the PS3 launch in Singapore. they have three different bundles with goodies, and if you are not interested, you can just buy the set instead. And the set is reasonably priced, or perhaps I should say it’s the cheapest compared to ANY other country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS3). They even have a promotion linked with a 1080p HDTV. Now, that sounds cool.

Jack Thompson blames Virginia Tech shootings on video games

You know, when this nutty attorney was campaigning against Grand Theft Auto or Bully, I can just treat it as daily entertainment. Heck, not even the judge agreed with his baseless accusations, and the whole gaming community was not taking him seriously, though we were all angry for the negative false opinions on video games that could land an unnecessary impact on the video game industry (GTA is one of the best games out there, ok?).

But this time, he had went too far to promote his own selfish gains, using the latest tragedy to fuel hate towards video games. Damn, he ASSUMED that video games were the cause of this tragic incident, even before the fact that investigators HAD NOT found a link between Cho and video games. Everything he said were just baseless accusations, again. My condolences to the victims of the VT shootings, and the families and friends who had been affected by this incident.

Brian Crecente went out to expose SEVEN lies in this short interview, where this nutty guy keeps talking and talking, with David Gregory, the news host, unable to interject at any point. Kudos to him for writing this article.

“Trained in video games to… shoot” WOW, i didn’t know that being a good player in FPS (First Person Shooter) games can render me a sniper. Guess all NS personnel should be trained playing CS instead of firing M-16s in the range. And yeah, the SAF should recruit the WCG (World Cyber Games) team for FPS games to moonlight as snipers and commandos, since they did so well at the tournaments. Better than losing them to some mercenary units who might want to scout them out, isn’t it? Make sure you pay big bucks for these big talents hor.

Simply said, if playing DOOM or CS (or any other FPS in fact) can teach a person how to shoot, I will like to believe that most people should be able to shoot well using REAL weapons, which isn’t always the case.

“…Jeffrey Weise had “basically rehearsed for the massacre” by playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City in order to get his heart rate down and be able to kill…” You know, does this mean that we can cold-bloodedly kill a person once we achieve this? Think again.

“… in these 300 years you have kids going around with guns…” Yah right, USA is a nation for less than 300 years, you dickhead. For goodness sake, at least get your history right before you go on TV!! This is probably my favourite quote…

“… mass murder machines…” I will be waiting for the day when millions of gamers who have played any, ANY FPS (Metroid Prime included, so kiddies, go get your weapons ready too) to go on a killing spree on the day Jack Thompson became the president of USA.

I’m really sick of all this rubbish, and please, Jack Thompson, get your a** off video games. We do not need criticisms from somebody who can’t differentiate between CounterStrike and Half Life.

And wow, as pointed out by the video uploader, vprrulz, Mr Gregory says it best near the end “Jack Thompson, an attorney who specializes, uh, terribly in these crimes “. AndJack Thompson ACTUALLY have the nerve to end it like this “Ironically, I was on this campus, years ago, talking in a debate about the dangers of these games and now it’s come to that school” Thanks, vprrulz, for saying the last two words. It perfectly matches my thoughts.

Jack Thompson, you bring a bad name to all lawyers.