General Overview: Round 1 Current and Future Prospects

Today at the Round 1 Blogger, we are going to take a step back from San Jose Eastridge’s Round 1 store and talk a little bit about Round 1 as a company. Some may already be aware of Round 1’s “Current and Future Prospects” statement that is released through Round 1 JP’s website every quarter. This statement gives a general overview of the revenue, costs and bottom line of how each store is doing, including the ones in the United States. What is also interesting about this statement, particularly for the United States audience, is it announces where their next store will be if there are any plans.

Last month was the most recent release of this statement. Since the statement itself is somewhat lengthy (and if you are not interested in the accounting/finance aspect of it), I have taken the liberty of showing the two pages that will matter: New Shop Openings and Principle Conditions. (I apologize for the image size)

Source: http://www.round1.co.jp/company/ir/pdf/english/20160223_eng.pdf

If you still don’t want to look at the statement, right now, the United States is looking at 5 upcoming store openings and it is looking to be in:

Concord, California

Littleton, Colorado (I believe  “Concord” is a typo)

Lithonia, Georgia

Hicksville, New York

Exton, Pennsylvania

  

Source: http://www.round1.co.jp/company/ir/pdf/english/20160223_eng.pdf

There is a lot of information on here, so let me break it down for you. The top part shows what stores are already built in the USA and their square footage.  The “Principles of Conditions for Future Shops Openings” gives the parameters for how a store location is chosen. This is a very interesting section since it gives the specifications for potential locations and demographics that Round 1 is currently looking for. For Northern California in particular, before the Eastridge location was announced, many arcade-goers were debating amongst each other as to what location it could possibly be at such as Westfield Valley Fair, Vallco (previously known as Cupertino Square), Westfield Oakridge Mall and so on. This will enlighten (and maybe even guide readers) where in their state could a Round 1 possibly open at. Additionally, next to that section is the “investments and budgeting”. This section tells readers (and regulars at Round 1) how much money will be invested into their store. While this may seem not particularly interesting, this information is really important as it will determine the priority of your store and by priority, I mean the potential of getting new games, facilities, and equipment for the staff to use to enhance your Round 1 experience.

There is definitely much more information that can be analyzed in the Round 1 statements, but today, I’m primarily going over the two that pertains to the American crowd. Want to read more? Below is the link to their English statements.

http://www.round1.co.jp/company/ir/index_eng.html

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ROUND 1

Article by Andy Castro

So you’re going to visit one of the “many” US Round 1 Entertainment locations, hooray! While you get yourself mentally prepared for the fun adventure you’ll have, here are some tips on how to get the most fun (and money) out of your time.

1) The Round 1 Club Membership Card

When you approach the arcade card counter (the first thing you’re sure to visit), you’ll see two different kinds of cards available: the basic red card and the club membership card. Here’s a flowchart to help you decide which card you should use:

Why Would I Want A Club Card?

A Round 1 Club Card offers you discounts towards arcade credits, bowling, billiards, darts, and karaoke. When you first buy your club card (that has a $5 activation fee) you’ll be at the most basic membership. This will take $1 off any of the above transactions! As you frequent Round 1, you’ll collect club card stamps with every purchase you make for bowling or arcade credits or whatever else you can purchase from a counter (other than food). Your card will upgrade after 10, 30, and 50 stamps, taking an extra $0.25 off with each upgrade! This means that once you hit Platinum Membership status, $10 worth of credits is only $8.25!

An employee tried to sell me on Time Play. Is that better?

If you found this guide as a BEMANI lover I can probably assure you the answer is NO. Most BEMANI games are not available for time play, and you can check to see if your favorite game is time-play-ready by looking at the color of its card reader. If it’s green - you’ve found a game that is time play accessible. If it isn’t? Your time play card isn’t gonna work on it.

Even if the music game you do love is available for time play, consider this: every moment you have to wait in line - every minute - is your time play money going down the drain. Do yourself and your wallet a favor by avoiding time play.

Does my club card last forever?

A club card is valid for a year after it is purchased. If you would like to maintain

your membership status, you’ll need to renew your membership once every year.

This is only a $5 renewal fee, and you’ll be given a new card automatically at the

upgrade level you were at before. Be sure to make the most out of the benefits

you have!

I lost my club card! What do I do?

If you’ve already lost your club card, you’re probably already out of luck, sorry to say! However, I have a big tip for all of you readers:

TAKE A PHOTO OF THE BACK OF YOUR CLUB CARD

If you have your club card on you right now go do that. Stop reading and do that immediately. If you ever lose your card you can show your photo to Round 1 staff, who are able to pull up using the card’s barcode all of your information (and hopefully respect all those stamps you’ve accumulated) and move them into a new card. Now it’s as if you never lost your card! There are other ways to keep your card information secure, but this is the fastest, simplest method.

2) Your Friendly Neighborhood Arcade Techs

You may be playing IIDX and find that a key suddenly stops working. If this happens, you might think it’s the best idea to either A) do nothing about it, or B) whine about it on social media. Those are terrible choices and you shouldn’t do either. If everyone were to do that, then nothing would ever get fixed. Simply pull aside any Round 1 staff member and inform them of the following:
1) What game is broken

1a) You’ll probably have to explain where that game is

1b) Do not get mad if staff members don’t know what game you mean

2) How it is broken

2a) BE SPECIFIC. The staff member, if not a tech, will probably relay the

information to a technician right in front of you. Speak clearly so

the tech knows exactly what to fix.

3) If possible, WAIT by the machine itself

3a) When the tech arrives you can explain exactly what is wrong

There may come times when the tech doesn’t know what you’re talking about, or

dismisses your issue as something not important (or not broken). While this may be

frustrating it is best to stay calm and re-explain the issue. Be patient with the techs - they have a lot on their plate but really do respect your desire for perfect arcade cabinets!

Blog Editor NOTE: Please do not get discouraged if the issue is NOT fixed immediately. Round 1 mechanics bounce between both bowling repairs and the arcade repairs, and when there are over 200+ games on the arcade floor, the workload for them gets overwhelming. Please be supportive and as patient as you can!

3) The Round 1 I’m Visiting Doesn’t Have _____! This Place Sucks!

Remember that Round 1 is a fairly new entertainment chain in America. While new

branches are slowly opening over this decade, no two locations will be exactly alike for many reasons! You may be disappointed that another location has a game you really want to play, but that doesn’t mean your location will never have that game! Support your local Round 1 and do your best to be happy with Round 1’s progress in giving you an accessible arcade full of games you won’t find anywhere else.

3/10 - First Impressions: GUNSLINGER STRATOS 2

By Ann Nakamura

Gunslinger Stratos 2 is a game published by Square Enix (alongside Taito) that was to be location tested at certain Round 1 locations. Eastridge Mall had the honor to be one of those locations! As a personal aside, I have been waiting to play this game ever since I had seen gameplay videos of it, so my expectations were pretty high. Were they satisfied after the 3 year wait? Read on!

To start off, the actual arcade cabinet itself is aesthetically pleasing. Side panels have glowing lights that change during gameplay, and it comes equipped with two, very intricately-made lightguns. Each lightgun has two joysticks: the one on the left gun controls your character's movement, and the one on the right controls where you are aiming. The gun on the right has a "jump" button which leaps/floats you into the air to be able to shoot foes from above. Of course, both guns come with triggers and you can alternate from shooting from each. However, you can only shoot from one gun for a certain amount of time before it is forced to reload and by reload, it's alternating to the next gun you have. Now before you, as the reader, go "well, that sucks, I'm not left handed", it adds a sense of bad-assery and, to my surprise, trying to aim with the left gun wasn't too bad! The crosshairs really help out with this as well.

I like this gun. Like, a lot. The middle of the gun has a slot for you to merge your other gun with it.

The long line of Gunslinger Stratos 2 cabinets

Now comes the cool part of Gunslinger Stratos. Why the hell does it have two guns? Well, with Gunslinger Stratos, you are able to "combine" your guns so you can use even better guns! There is the side-style and the tandem-style: one where you hook your guns to each other side-by-side and your gun becomes a semi-automatic machine gun that you can use for a short time on foes. This gun packs a PUNCH and will end an enemy's life before they can say, "Nani?". The tandem style, placing one gun on top of the other, unlocks a ranged weapon which can be a sniper, a laser gun, anything. These are great if you're trying to hit an enemy from really far, especially where a normal gun or machine gun could prove not as effective. What is great is that each character has a unique weapon for both modes, so you may or may not see different guns for the characters you use. This game gets intense very quickly in having to dispatch enemies before the timer runs out, so you are quickly switching between shooting from both guns, switching out your styles and running around so you do not get hit.

But besides gameplay, what else does this game offer? Besides having over 15+ playable characters, with a NESiCA card, players are able to upgrade their weapons and unlock more content. You are also able to play through a story mode which is unique to each character (although, once again, if you cannot read or understand a lick of Japanese, may not be the best thing). Also, the game comes equipped with audio jacks that allow players to use headsets to communicate with each other during gameplay. This proves to actually be in the interest of players since the whole entire game is team-based, and, if players are matched up with a rival team, it makes communication easier than yelling to the other machines. It is a very different functionality on an arcade cabinet, but one that is meant to be for the benefit of the users. 

I picked Olga Janetine as my character of choice. Her costume is pretty... um.... well, you can fill in the blanks.

My thoughts? The game. Is Freaking. Awesome. I am very sad that is just going to be a location test, but I would personally love to see this game in Round 1 SJ in the future. The one major drawback that may prove to be the game's downfall is that it is not localized for an American audience (as most Japanese games tend to be). It is definitely not American friendly, and a couple of Round 1 employees who tried the game were a little peeved when they had to endure a 15 minute tutorial mode by mistake followed by a very dry practice mode. However, for an individual who knows Japanese or for someone who is familiar with at least the basic language, this game will be very interesting and something to be genuinely hyped about, mostly because it is different and a different type of arcade shooter.

Since Gunslinger is looking to be staying for about one more week or so, I would DEFINITELY recommend giving it a try, especially with friends. 

Authors Note: If you decide to buy a NESiCA card for this game, please do yourselves a favor and keep the card on the NESiCA wavepass at all times. According to staff, if you take it off at any time, you lose access to your NESiCA card, meaning that if you try out story mode and take it off, you end after the second stage (out of eight). This is also true for doing team matchups.

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Ann Nakamura is the head correspondent for The (Unofficial) Round 1 Arcade Hub. A lover of arcade games of all genres, she likes to spend her time playing Gitadora and trying out new games that hit Round 1 SJ's arcade floor. Got questions for her? Contact Ann through Facebook!

3/3 - PASELI: Why You Want it and How to Use It

By Andy Castro

So you want to know more about PASELI (PAy Smart Enjoy LIfe), huh? I don’t blame you, I’m sure as you’ve enjoyed eAMUSEMENT you’ve at least heard about KONAMI’s alternative credit payment option. While in Japan you can utilize PASELI to pay for your arcade games, buy sodas from vending machines, and who knows what else, America’s use for PASELI is much more limited, and you’re really only be using it the webpage and KONAMI’s basic subscription, which is a little more than 300 PASELI a month.

“So I can’t use PASELI to pay for my games? What’s the point?”

There are many reasons why you’ll want PASELI as an American player, such as:

1. Proper Score Tracking

• You’ll especially need this to use web trackers like iidx.me and bluekingdragon

2. IIDX Customizations

• Anyone else hate the default settings of IIDX as much as I do?

Change your noteskins, judgment font, and more!

3. Rivals

• Friendly competition can be fun! But you can’t utilize rivals in IIDX or Sound Voltex without PASELI

4. PASELI-only Items

• For the use of Boosters and Exchangers in SDVX and Rainbow Train Tickets in IIDX Copula, you’ll need to pay for these using PASELI

Hopefully that’s enough to convince you how useful PASELI can be!

Getting PASELI

IF YOU SET YOUR LOCATION AS USA WHEN REGISTERING YOUR eAMUSEMENT ACCOUNT, YOU CANNOT PURCHASE PASELI

If you have already made your account, go make a new one and move your card over to your Japanese account.

1. Payment Options for PASELI

Before you go rushing in to buy PASELI, you’re going to want to make sure you have the means to pay for it. There are three payment options for PASELI:

1. Japanese Credit Cards

2. Bitcash Cards

3. Prepaid PASELI Cards

If all of those confused you, your best bet is gonna be option 2. Bitcash cards are actually pretty accessible, and a rather easy process if you know what you’re doing.

2. Buying a Bitcash Card

While I’m sure there are many ways to obtain a Bitcash card, I’ve found that the best place to go is OffGamers. They often have sales, too, so be on the lookout for those! I recommend buying either the 2000 or 5000 yen cards, as PASELI can be bought in 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 yen increments.

If you’re using OffGamers, you will be sent your Bitcash card through an image file attached to an e-mail. The image is the 16 character Bitcash card code, which you’ll need to use when purchasing your PASELI. If you cannot read and/or type in Japanese, turn to your nearest weeb friend to help you out!

3. Buying the PASELI

Click on the link here to access the PASELI payment page. You’ll notice a ton of Japanese here but the important thing is the button in Step 3, shown below.

From there, you’ll be asked to log into your MyKONAMI account (and if it won’t let you log on, you’ve probably set your location to not-Japan, ya dingus). Scroll down the page you’re redirected to until you see a list of PASELI amounts.

Click on however much money you’re giving to KONAMI

From there, you’ll be sent to a terms and conditions agreement. Y’all are grown enough to know you just hit the accept button.

You’ll then be asked what you’ll be using to pay for your PASELI. “Bitcash” is written in English, so it’ll be pretty easy to find.

Next, you’ll be asked to put in your Bitcash card code. Hope you know how to type in Japanese! (Or at least copy/paste the code that someone else typed for you). With that, you just keep on click and you’ll be all set!

Once you’ve added PASELI to your account, you can sign up for KONAMI’s basic subscription by going to any page that requires the service. Click here to go to Copula’s rival page, an example of a page that needs the subscription. From there you can select to pay using your PASELI, and the monthly cost of the subscription will be deducted at the 1st of each month until you run out!

Enjoy using the most of PASELI and your KONAMI Basic Subscription!

Other links:

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR ROUND 1

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF OFFICIAL e-AMUSEMENT

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Andy Castro is a field correspondent for The (Unofficial) Round 1 Arcade Hub. A huge music game enthusiast, Andy likes to wiggy wiggy wiggy on Sound Voltex Booth but in his spare time, likes to assist newcomers and veterans alike with new rhythm game information and insights. Got questions for him? Contact him through Facebook!