Project SEKAI Announcements from Sapporo Factory
During the presentations on February 8 and 9 at the Sapporo Factory Atrium Hall, there were several announcements made for Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku to help tide fans over until the game’s release, as well as address concerns that were expressed by would-be players.
First Playable Demo
Lucky fans present at the Sapporo Factory Atrium were the first ones in the world to try out the very first demo for Project SEKAI! The available song and MV were for Sweet Magic, just as was revealed a few days prior.
What’s more, the game’s developers invited fans who played the demo to tweet their impressions of it with the hashtag #セカイ試遊 on Twitter. Judging by a tweet from Crypton’s Wataru Sasaki (a.k.a. wat), the initial reactions to the song were mixed.
“(We are now preparing some info that ought to ease some of the negative opinions towards yesterday’s Sweet Magic reveal. We’re being careful with how we present the info so that everyone can understand the direction we’re going in. We hope you look forward to it…)”
The negativity that wat was probably referring to is how Rin’s voice is barely audible among the members of Wonderlands x Showtime, that the balance between virtual singer and human singers was off.
Players can choose the singers
It was during the talk stage on Sunday, February 9 that we got to learn about the new information that wat referred to, though some of it was actually announced before.
One announcement was a reminder that the game will feature both the original VOCALOID versions of the featured songs, as well as new ‘sekai’ versions covered by the game’s original characters along with the VOCALOID characters. Players are free to choose which version they want to play, meaning that those who disliked the ‘sekai’ version of Sweet Magic can still choose and play the VOCALOID version that they prefer.
This point was reinforced in the next tweet from the Project SEKAI official Twitter account, stating how alternate versions of some songs in the game with only virtual singers singing will be recorded, and that players can switch to them if they wish. Another tweet from wat clarified that it will not be for all songs in the game, but the developers are indeed including them so as to satisfy as many play preferences among the player base as possible.
After all, the theme of Project SEKAI is “singing together,” and the developers want nothing more than players of all tastes and preferences to play and enjoy the game in exactly the way that they want.
This led into the next announcement about the 3D music videos that play during the game: players will have the option to choose whichever character they want to appear in the music video, much like what they can already do in Project DIVA games. The default characters for each music video are not set in stone. A pic was even tweeted to show MEIKO and KAITO in the same music video that we saw Rin and the Wonderlands x Showtime members dancing in.
Ichika Hoshino to Perform at ‘Live Session!’ with Marasy
The next announcement on February 9 likely came as a surprise to many: the game’s main character Ichika Hoshino would be guest performing at ‘Live Session! Marasy with Hatsune Miku & Kagamine Rin Acoustic Live‘ the following day!
Right after that announcement was made, wat again tweeted to chime in.
“Concerning the whole singing balance issue, we have been very deeply involved and are listening to everyone’s opinions and concerns very closely, taking actions to form a plan that pleases as many as possible. There may be times when we fall short, but we will constantly reevaluate the plan to the best of our ability, and hope that you will continue to support us.”
After the session took place on February 10, the Project SEKAI dev team thanked everyone who came to watch and listen to Ichika perform and sing for the first time!
Here is one audience member’s impressions on the performance:
“Continuing with the Eastern-style songs was “天照ラセ / Amaterase.” Then Rin-chan changed to her default outfit, and together with Ichika Hoshino, a character in the upcoming game Project SEKAI, they sang duets of “ロストワンの号哭 / Lost One’s Weeping” and “ロキ / Roki.” Though it was a VOCALOID and a human singer together, there was no sense of disharmony at all, and I quite enjoyed the piano and duet arrangements of these two intense songs.”
So far, we have had two instances of Project SEKAI characters singing alongside a VOCALOID, and giving us an idea of how the songs in Project SEKAI will sound like. Reactions were expectedly mixed, but reading comments like these, this author is quite confident that the teams at Colorful Palette and Crypton Future Media can pull off the right balance of singing voices in the ‘sekai’ versions of the songs, and deliver VOCALOID fans a game that they can really get into!
Project SEKAI at Yomiuriland
The next announcement should come as good news to anyone who couldn’t make it to Sapporo: Project SEKAI will have a booth at Yomiuriland!
The theme park’s collaboration with Hatsune Miku will begin on February 15 and last until March 15. You can already feel the excitement for it!
The announcement about the Project SEKAI booth should excite fans and draw them to the park! What’s more, from March 7 through March 9, they will even have playable demos of the game available! Be sure to check it out if you live in or will be in Honshu during that time!
Retweet Campaign
Finally, the last announcement made on Sunday was the new retweet campaign going on now!
To enter, fans merely need to follow the official Twitter accounts for both Project SEKAI and Project DIVA below:
https://twitter.com/pjd_sega
https://twitter.com/pj_sekai
Then they must retweet the above tweet by February 16 at 11:59 PM (JST).
Find the URL here: https://twitter.com/pjd_sega/status/1226354963929956352
Among those who enter, 10 will be selected to win:
- a copy of Hatsune Miku Project DIVA Mega 39’s
- a Project SEKAI QUO card for ￥3,000 JPY
- a special clear file folder (front and back shown in the pic)
There’s still time to enter, so best of luck to all who will be entering!
We will continue to bring you developing coverage of Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku up to and beyond the game’s release sometime this year!
Links
Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku official site
Project SEKAI Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku official Twitter
Highlights from the October 23, 2019 livestream
Character Profiles
Virtual Singers
Leo/need
MORE MORE JUMP!
Vivid BAD SQUAD
Wonderlands x Showtime
25 o’clock by Night Code
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