Maimai (video game)
Maimai (stylized in all lowercase) is an arcade rhythm game developed and distributed by Sega, in which the player interacts with objects on a touchscreen and executes dance-like movements. The game supports both single-player and multiplayer gameplay with up to 4 players. The game is mainly available in Japan, later with an English-language version available to overseas regions including Taiwan and Hong Kong and a simplified Chinese version for China. The "PiNK PLUS" version of the game was location tested in the United States at Dave & Buster's in Irvine, California in December 2016 , and was also tested at Round 1 in Puente Hills, California in January 2017. In 2021, several “classic” cabinets with the FiNALE version installed, appeared at the Round 1 at Deptford Mall in New Jersey. Overview. The defining feature of maimai's arcade cabinet is its striking resemblance to a front-loaded washing machine. Early advertisements and promotional materials had different joke catchphrases sprinkled in, such as "It's not a washing machine!" and "No water." At its first deployment test, maimai had "NO WASHING" written on its cabinet. Early in development, the original concept was actually a music player , instead of a rhythm game. One or two people can play per machine. The motherboard can be accessed using the back door on the player 2 side. The original design was made in collaboration with Electronics manufacturer Sharp in Sega's maimai LIVE 2014 Washing Festival event. To save their personal play data, players can use an IC "Aime" card with the machine to log into their account. From October 25, 2018 onward, other IC cards from other developers such as "Project DIVA" and "BanaPassport" cards will also work with maimai. However, some arcades do not accept digital payments through  these cards, and may require the user to have other forms of money with them to play on these machines. Using a computer or smartphone, a player can use "maimai deluxe NET" to access detailed information on their account like scores and earned achievements as well as change their account name. Before "maimai deluxe" was released, it was possible to link a niconico douga account to upload a recording of the play from the camera built into the arcade machine. Even without a niconico account, the player could view the recording. However, in the summer of 2019, this integration was  removed with the release of the maimai deluxe cabinet, and a camera and photo gallery was added instead, where commemorative photos at the end of a song could be saved instead. The recording function was completely removed in favor of the photos. If a player is already playing on a machine, the second player's input will not work at all until the end of the game. The background image during this time states "Please wait until the play is finished". Gameplay. Various kinds of objects will appear at the centre and approach the outer rim of the circular touchscreen . The player must tap, hold or slide on the touchscreen or surrounding buttons in time with the music, depending on the type of note. The types of notes in the game includes: Each song in the game has four to five playable difficulty levels, four of the regular difficulties being: BASIC, ADVANCED, EXPERT, and MASTER. MASTER mode is only unlocked upon achieving a Rank S score (97% and above) on the EXPERT difficulty of a song. Alternatively, one can also obtain a Ranks S on the MASTER chart of the song (if available for play) and unlock the MASTER chart  itself. A RE:MASTER mode is available for selected songs and will be unlocked after achieving a Rank S score on the EXPERT or MASTER difficulty. (Rank S scores former to the addition of RE:MASTER mode on songs will not be counted) "maimai"'s scoring system includes alphabetical ranks and a percentage score calculated based on the player's MISS, GOOD, GREAT, PERFECT and CRITICAL PERFECT notes. Players also earn achievements for not missing any notes (FULL COMBO), achieving PERFECT or CRITICAL PERFECT on every note (ALL PERFECT), achieving CRITICAL PERFECT on every note (理論値) or obtaining a 100 % score on SYNC PLAY (100% SYNC). In order to CLEAR a song, players must score at least 80% on a song. In "maimai PiNK", the ranking system changed from D-SS to F-SSS. In "maimai MiLK PLUS", 3 new ranks, namely S+, SS+ and SSS+, were added to the ranking system, thus changing the system to F-SSS+. If the game cabinet has a camera installed, players can record one of their played songs and access them on the website maimaiNET, which can then be downloaded and posted to sites like niconico and YouTube. In "MURASAKi", if a two  player game is engaged, and both gets max combo for a song (regardless of difficulty), both the players will get "MAX FEVER" and will be shown on the song selection screen. A significant proportion of players puts on gloves during gameplay. maimaiNET. maimaiNET and maimaideluxeNET are the names for maimai's player account website. To enable these services, a SEGA ID or other IC card with play data has to be linked. It's functions include: maimai deluxe. In addition to the free account, maimai deluxe can also bought through a subscription service. With the paid version, a player can  browse their RATING, ranking by prefecture, and even ranking by star. The player can also sort their highscores. Once a day, the linked account can play 4 tracks per day for free. The minimum subscription time available is 2 months, and can only be bought using credit card or other mobile carrier platform. Music. Along with officially licensed songs from popular artists, VOCALOID songs are also often added to the library. Each song has a unique background image, and in some cases may be the original PV corresponding to the song. Currently, songs in maimai are sorted into categories based  on where they originated from. They may also be found in other categories for reasons like events and new releases. Collectibles. By doing certain achievements and actions in the game, the player can earn various badges for their maimaiNET profile, as well as player icons and titles. Some are hidden achievements found only through playing the game. Some achievements may also unlock songs Series. maimai. The first generation arcade cabinet of the maimai series. Released on July 11, 2012. maimai PLUS. Upgraded version to the original maimai cabinet, released on December 13, 2012. PLUS versions are not seen as an  entirely new generation, but rather adding smaller features to the original version. When a player transfers data over from the older maimai cabinet, they will no longer be able to use the account with the older cabinet. Along with more songs, maimai PLUS added: maimai GreeN. Released on July 11, 2013 with these changes: maimai GreeN PLUS. Location tests started on January 31, 2014, and officially released on February 26 on the same year. maimai ORANGE. Released on September 18, 2014. maimai ORANGE PLUS. Released on March 19, 2015. maimai PiNK. Released on December 9, 2015. maimai PiNK PLUS. Released  on July 30, 2016. maimai MURASAKi. Released on December 15, 2016. maimai MURASAKi PLUS. Released on June 22, 2017. maimai MiLK. Released on December 14, 2017. maimai MiLK PLUS. Released on June 21, 2018. maimai FiNALE. Released on December 13, 2018. maimai deluxe. Released on July 11, 2019. maimai deluxe PLUS. Released on January 23, 2020. maimai deluxe Splash. Released on September 17, 2020. maimai deluxe Splash PLUS. Released on March 18, 2021. maimai deluxe UNiVERSE. Released on September 16, 2021. maimai deluxe UNiVERSE PLUS. Released on March 24, 2022.