Latest news with #TimeCrisis
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Namco-Backed AI-Powered Light Gun Brings ‘Time Crisis' To Modern TVs
The G'AIM'E light gun could finally be the gateway back to classic shooters that so many people have ... More craved. One of the great casualties of modern technology was the demise of the light gun, which demanded classic CRTs to work properly. Sure, the Wii came tantalizingly close to replicating the experience with The House of the Dead: Overkill and Link's Crossbow Training, but it wasn't the same. Luckily, the powerhouse behind the gun-based arcade revolution — Bandai Namco — has backed a new light gun that promises to bring the experience to modern TVs, with in-built games including Time Crisis, Point Blank, and Steel Gunner… so long as it meets its soon-to-be announced Kickstarter target. The G'AIM'E gun, created in partnership with Namco by established Japanese electronics firm Tassei Denki, claims to have solved the conundrum with a plug-and-play setup that contains proprietary technology, replacing traditional infrared sensors with a high-resolution camera and AI for more responsive gameplay. What's more, the G'AIM'E promises to eliminate manual recalibration by automatically adjusting the experience to movement and angle, ensuring performance remains consistent regardless of your setup. Those backing the entry-level gun will receive a custom-licensed version of Time Crisis, recreated from the original arcade ROM. Point Blank, Steel Gunner, and Steel Gunner 2 will be available in expanded packages, which also include additional bonuses such as foot pedals and keychains. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder On the face of it, the G'AIM'E gun looks great, if not a bit on the cheap side. The gun is only available in blue outside of Japan, which gets a black option – potentially to avoid replica gun restrictions in other countries. The unit supports multiplayer modes with two gun connectors, essential for Point Blank. The one major thing it lacks is a recoil slider — a staple of the GunCon and a few of its rivals. That said, I don't think I've seen a working recoil in an arcade in about ten years, so maybe it's just one less thing to inevitably break. The Japanese bundles will likely be replicated for other markets, albeit with a blue gun, not a ... More black one. There's no information as to whether more games can be loaded at a later date — you'd hope the Bandai Namco partnership might lead to the inclusion of series like The House of the Dead, Virtua Cop, Crisis Zone, and even the other Point Blank and Time Crisis titles. However, presuming the Kickstarter succeeds (which, let's face it, there's basically no chance it will — pending its cost, or course), it's probably only a matter of time before someone mods the unit so people can play other classics of the era: Die Hard Trilogy, Resident Evil Survivor, Area 51 and, if we're lucky, the delightfully baffling Puffy: P.S. I Love You. Given that this is Tassei Denki's first-ever original product — and presuming it's successful — one can only hope the company will lean on its existing partnerships to create something for consoles, reviving niche genres in the same way CRKD is with its Les Paul-inspired Rock Band guitars. The G'AIM'E Plug & Play Time Crisis Gun System for Modern TVs will go live on Kickstarter at 12 noon EST on June 24. Pricing isn't available just yet, but given it's already touting ¥4,000 ($28) discounts for early-bird backers, chances are it'll be on or over the $100 mark for an entry-level kit.
SoraNews24
3 days ago
- Business
- SoraNews24
'Matcha crisis' emerges as the world falls in love with powdered green tea
A matcha crisis isn't fun and games like Time Crisis. It's hard and grueling like Dino Crisis . Once the hidden gem of Japanese tea ceremonies and confectionery, the carefully ground green tea known as 'matcha' has taken the world by storm with its vibrant green color, complex taste that seems to complement sweetness perfectly, and health benefits. But now, those in the industry are starting to wonder if the ingredient can handle getting this big. ▼ I'm just going to keep telling myself this is healthy because it has matcha in it. In order to achieve the best color and flavor in matcha, the plants' exposure to sunlight needs to be carefully regulated. This means the very best matcha you're likely to find is grown on a small scale with a high degree of personal attention. Even with attempts to modernize and industrialize production, there are still limitations because certain processes like growing the plants and grinding the leaves need to be done very slowly in order to be done properly. Since production can't be sped up, it would have to be expanded in order to produce more, and seeing the potential for matcha exports, the government began subsidizing green tea production a couple years ago in the hopes of focusing Japan's shrinking agricultural labor force on the coveted ingredient. Meanwhile, China stepped into the game too a while back and is currently the leading producer of matcha in the world. However, much of that is sold in their own gigantic domestic market and since they focus more on efficiency in production, it could be said that the quality is lower. ▼ These green tea plants in Saitama Prefecture are being grown in full sunlight, which means they cannot be used for matcha. The recent trade chaos caused by U.S. President Donald Trump may give Japan a competitive edge against China as Japan is expected to get a more lenient deal in the very sizable American market. Unfortunately, that probably won't make a difference, because even despite Japan's efforts at more than doubling matcha production in the past 10 years, that still won't be enough to meet the increasingly ravenous worldwide demand for the stuff. According to a tea buyer in the U.K., sales of matcha-flavored drinks have tripled in the past year alone and have even surpassed that of the classic Earl Grey there. Some in other countries like the U.S. said they have completely given up coffee in favor of matcha. A vendor in Ireland remarked that Japan will probably need to increase its production by 10 times in the next five years in order to keep up. Considering the fact that farmers of all kinds are literally a dying breed in Japan, a 10-fold increase seems unlikely unless a radical solution can be found. Many in the industry are saying we're already in the midst of what they call a 'matcha crisis' with it being hard to secure, and if both supply and demand continue on their current course we may end up in a full-blown matcha supply shock. ▼ A news report on the matcha crisis… I feel bad for those girls who probably had no idea they would appear on Japanese TV with 'MATCHA CRISIS' underneath. This could cause prices to spike hard and throw the future of matcha as we know it into turmoil. With the demand being what it is, it would seem likely that buyers in other countries would turn to more quickly produced and inferior matcha both from Japan and China, lowering the bar for a drink and ingredient once only made with an extremely high degree of craftsmanship. Many online comments in Japan felt that rising prices would preemptively help protect the integrity of Japan's more finely produced matcha and put it on the level of a high-class ingredient that it deserves. 'Japan has been selling it too cheaply. It should be marketed as a high-end product because it is.' 'This could just be a fad too, like bubble tea or tiramisu. Increasing production for now is fine, but you need to be prepared for after.' 'I don't think matcha is a passing fad because it can be used in so many ways.' 'Why don't they sell it for more?' 'This global demand probably doesn't know what good matcha tastes like, so the market will be flooded with poor-quality stuff.' 'Raise prices and make more of it so we can get some money over here.' 'Alright, who told everyone that matcha is delicious?' 'Looks like taking matcha snacks as a present for my trip to Europe was the right choice.' 'I work at a store in a tourist-heavy area and everyone is buying matcha stuff.' 'The matcha used in the tea ceremony is very carefully made. I hope this wave of commercialism doesn't affect that.' Indeed, matcha might've done well to follow the sake model in which it is marketed as a luxury drink and tends to sell for a premium overseas due to the high degree of technique that often goes into making it. But in the end, it will probably splinter off into something like chocolate where you'll have a more clear-cut range of co-existing options from the exquisitely crafted and highly expensive kinds to the stuff they use to mass produce KitKats. Source: TV Asahi News, The Guardian, Kyodo, YouTube/ANNnewsCH Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
