Nico Nico Medal Games (temporary name) is open!
Written by Jeshii on 2008.10.15 – 15:23 -
NicoNicoDouga has announced their point system is now open (one of the things added in the 秋 update). NicoPoints are just like WiiPoints in that you buy them and then use them for stuff. The cost is about 1 point to 1円, before tax.
The points will be used for buying clothing (?) for your character in the anime MMO/Second Life game ai sp@ce, but until that starts, the only place you can use them is the ニコニコメダルゲーム(仮称) (“Nico Nico Medal Games (temporary name)”)! Medal Games are a staple of ゲーセン (geisen, “Game Centers”) where you can basically gamble, without actually gambling. So for the NicoNico version, they are currently giving away free medals (which you normally have to buy with points) for the various game. So, I tried them out. What I found after the jump…
First off, you need a ニコニコ動画 account. Second, all the games are really just anime/cute-ized versions of your traditional betting games. There even is a daily free lottery to win a bunch of medals. The only question in my mind at the end of the day is, “If I win a whole bunch of medals… what would I do with them…” Another thing about the games is they open in a separate window, specifically so you can keep watching ニコニコ動画 while you play them! They even have little sounds to tell you that you need to focus back on them at a certain point. You can even open them up from the chat box under any video. The command to pop them up in a new windows is ＠ゲーム. You can also add the name of the game after the ＠ゲーム command to bring up that specific game. No need to go browsing around. It’s command line, baby!
The first game I tried was the ねこねこダービー (Neko Neko Daabii, “Kitty Kitty Derby”). Basically, you bet on one or two cats and if that one or two win, you get a return. Yeah, it’s just horse racing with cats. The odds are shown while they are waiting to start the race. You can also buy snacks for the cats. And then, after a few minutes (while others are betting?), the cats race! I’m notoriously crap at betting on the ponies, so the kitties are really no different.
(And yes, there just happened to randomly be two cats ジェシー and やよい in the first race… Of course I bet on the two of them winning).
The next game I tried was Bingo Break. This is a bingo game where 4 numbers are called at a time, and there are 8 rounds (plus the Bingo Break bonus which comes up when that bar at the top is at 100%). It’s bingo, what do you want? Remember, リーチ (reach) means you have one more until you hit bingo.
Then there is アリスの危険な冒険 (Arisu no kiken na bouken, “Alice’s Dangerous Adventure”). It’s some kind of RPG style game… looked like I pain in the ass, so I didn’t really play it much. I do like the idea of skill-based gambling, but at the same time, some times you just want to know if they are going to take your money quickly. If you are a big RPG fan, you’ll like that you use your winnings to buy better equipment and such. I didn’t play long enough to figure out how to play or whether it has a save feature or not, so play at your own risk!
The last game is 南国ビーチパラダイス (Nangoku Biichi Paradaisu, “South Seas Beach Paradise”). This one is a slot machine, with the dubious feature of a busty anime girl named ナツミ (Natsumi) who giggles happily when you win and goes through a variety of emotional responses when you lose. And this isn’t because she is sad for you, but her outfit is mismatched… Not only are you playing for medals, but each spot on the tumblers also has a little clothing icon. Yep, you guessed it, when you match the clothing on a line, you change her clothes! No, nothing really scandalous, but who knows what she puts on if you hit the Jackpot.
Anyway, you could totally waste your life on NicoVideos already, and now you can waste your money on NicoPoints! No word on whether or not you can buy points overseas, mainly since I didn’t want to waste $10 plus fees on 240 medals, although that would be a lot of play time!
Oh well, I’m just happy ニコニコ動画 is doing something to keep it afloat!
Tags: arcade, スロット, ニコニコメダルゲーム(仮称), ニコニコ動画, パチスロ, メダルゲーム, betting, bingo, cat racing, cats, cute, gambling, horse racing, neko, Nico Nico Medal Games, NicoNicoDouga, slot machines, slots, web, websites
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