Koei-Tecmo LIVE!

Koei-Tecmo LIVE! (コーエーテクモLIVE!) is an online variety program that is officially sponsored by Koei-Tecmo. It is first broadcast live on Nico Nico Live before it is archived on the company's YouTube channel. The goal of the program is to televise company products and information with special guest stars for interested viewers, not unlike the previous radio program Neoroma & Musou. It has been advertised online in the Koei-Tecmo twitter since early March this year. While the program mainly features Koei titles, IPs from Tecmo and Gust have also been promised coverage in future episodes.

Episodes are scheduled to be in one or two labeled programs, or "channels". Channel alpha (チャンネルα) will try to include live gamplay footage and guests. Merchandise and a variety of live events related to the company will also be featured or introduced. Channel beta (チャンネルβ) introduces new products for its first half before concluding its broadcast with a Neoromance and Infini corner for the female audience.

Comments and thoughts regarding the program are always welcomed on the company's Twitter or Facebook accounts. During the live broadcast, viewers can post their comments and hosts can read/respond to them live. Registered my GAMECITY users can also join the program's community to post suggestions and requests directly for the hosts of each program.

The show will be undergoing a hiatus for a redesign. So far, it is tentatively scheduled to resume in November.

Fans can email the programs separately to ask questions for the hosts or guests of each show:
 * ktl-alfach@koeitecmo.co.jp (for Channel α)
 * ktl-betach@koeitecmo.co.jp (for Channel β)

Personalities

 * Channel α
 * Katsura - doubles as his myGC handlename
 * Ayako Suzukawa
 * G.Mee
 * Saya (assistant)
 * Professor Asumi - for G.Mee's historical figure segments


 * Channel β
 * Hajime Kuon - same MC for several Neoromance events; known as Kuon at the myGC community
 * Five members from a new performance group Infini (comprised of members in L.A.F.U)
 * G.Mee - doubles as his myGC handlename; includes photos of his historical figure cosplays as his user image and post (currently using Toshizo Hijikata)
 * Sori
 * Yuuki
 * Kan
 * Taishou
 * Takumi Ogawa (Takumi) - MC for news half of the program

Episodes
Notices regarding new episodes and dates are always announced on the Koei-Tecmo Twitter. All listed times are in Japanese Standard Time.

Episode 18

 * July 24, 20:00
 * Nico Nico Live, Youtube archive
 * Channel β
 * Taishou, Yuki, and Naozumi Takahashi (Inori, Isato, Hinoe, Tooya, Suzaku) began this week's episode. Kuon barged in after the introductions to chide Takahashi for taking his spot. He apologized for the hiccup in the last episode before chatting with the Infini members about their favorite animals of the week. Kuon joked that Takumi had the world's most trivial job to explain his void-like reporting space.


 * Takahashi's formal introduction on the show was greeted with an instant flood of text applause on the Nico Nico Live stream, mainly applause (88888). Kuon said the comment doubled as another way of saying hachiyou. The Hyakuman-nin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de focal segment began. Even if it has been awhile since he acted as him, Takahashi said he was happy to revisit his first Haruka role for fans. He says Inori has grown up a little in the social game compared to the main series.


 * Ktl-channelβepisode10.jpg then moved onto Neoromance ♥ Festa 13 and asked Takahashi his thoughts for the stage event. He remembers his first Neoromance stage experience and enjoys getting fired up each time. In his ten year Neoromance career Kuon reported that Takahashi has appeared on stage 98 times for fans and the count will rise to 100 with this upcoming event; he was surprised to hear the number of performances he did. Pre-recorded footage of one his Hinoe performances was shown; Takahashi says he always tries his best to devise a good ending pose that won't destroy the character. Footage of Taitem Kusunoki (Matheis from Neo Angelique), Atsushi Abe (Chinami from Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 5), and Souichiro Hoshi (Eisen, Motomi, Atsumori, Futsuhiko, Genbu) followed. The hosts' commentary and fan surveys of each voice actor's preferred image song took place for each actor.


 * Taishou announced that the Infini members will be singing a new original song for attendees of the event. The song's title is Bad Luck. Yuuki demonstrated the hand signals they will do for the event. According to him, Yuuki said it was named as such to be easy for guests to remember. Kuon hinted that something big would be announced on stage for fans, so he hoped everyone will attend to see it.


 * This week's fanmail segment began with a fanservicey introduction from Taishou, Yuuki, and Takahashi. When he heard of this theme, Takahashi said he would like to go to Kumano for a summer vacation. Taishou answered plainly that he would like to simply go to the beach for a yummy barbecue, and Yuuki replied that going to the Amazons would be interesting. Takahashi fantasizes of sky diving at Guam in a "what-if?" situation, even though he is terrified of heights. The trio had their own thoughts about how to relax in the summer. Yuuki's birthday corner followed for Neoromance voice actors and characters.


 * The fanservicey message reading had Takahashi acting as Hinoe as a special twist. The survey options were "Which would you prefer with Hinoe? Going with him to a fireworks show or enjoying a private fireworks show alone with him?" 73.5% voted for the second option so Hinoe said his lines for viewers. It was warmly received by fans, as the live stream on Nico Nico Live had the screen filled with happy comments. Kuon laughed at the cries for the other scenario, reminding them that they can only have that one response.


 * Kuon expressed his thanks for hanging in for ten episodes before saying that their program will undergo a hiatus. The Infini members said they appreciated the fan comments each show and their patience with the hiccups. They expressed the casts' wishes to present a stronger, renewed Koei-Tecmo Live! when and if they return. Taishou criticized Kuon for never really giving into fan requests so he told the MC to blow kisses to fans before saying goodbye.

Games/Merchandise/Events covered
 * Hyakuman-nin no Kin'iro no Corda - monthly housing event with the cast; the protagonist stays with the character of their choice for a month with specially voiced events
 * Kin'iro no Corda 3 CD box set - a sample of Heart Killer was played
 * Sengoku Musou Seiyuu Ougi 2012 Aki - half priced tickets and long cushion character covers (so far Mitsunari and Yukimura only)
 * Neoromance ♥ Festa Harukanaru Toki no Naka de & La Corda d'oro
 * Neoromance ♥ Festa 13 - event CD samples and other merchandise introductions
 * Hyakuman-nin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - CD announcement Kaze Aoushi with new character songs, including one for Inori
 * The Best Album The + 10 - plugged by Takahashi at the end of the show

Episode 19

 * July 31, 20:00
 * Nico Nico Live, Youtube archive
 * Channel α
 * The show's last episode before its hiatus. The first part is a Dead or Alive 5 focus episode with Team NINJA's Yousuke Hayashi acting as its special guest. After a trailer which introduced the game's tag team feature, Hayashi was brought onto the show. He says that the game has been in development for seven years, saying that the team wants to release a new form of entertainment. Hayashi said the team wanted to embody a different tone than typical Dead or Alive titles, hoping to round out the cast with a sense of realism.


 * Hayashi's comments for the cast:
 * Hayate - his name is written with the characters for "quick", so Hayate is made to follow that image.
 * Hitomi - wants her to be grounded and a bit more balanced than before. Briefly mentioned the fan request to adjust her model.
 * Akira and Sarah - they're collaboration characters, but he says he thinks these types of characters are the best choice to crossover with the game's new realistic tone. He says they fit the game's attempt to appeal to a "new age" of gamers.
 * Rig - added to be a character which has never been in the series before.
 * "Please wait for more information about the new characters."


 * Ktl-channelαepisode10.jpghi then had a short exhibition match with Suzukawa and G.Mee. NicoNico Live users could vote on the following four characters for Hayashi to use: Hayate, Hitomi, Sara or Rig (originally Akira but he was omitted). Rig won with 40.1%, Hitomi was 31.9%, Sara was 19.3%, and Hayate was 9.7&. Suzukawa had no idea to play so he told her to play Kokoro, and she won the match with random button pressing. Although he lost, he explains that Rig is a technique character with smooth movements who requires a lot of practice to use correctly.


 * Next survey for Hayashi: Hayate, Hitomi, or Sara. This time the results were Hayate at 17.6%, Hitomi at 34.6%, and Sara at 47.7%. G.Mee chose to use Zack since the other Infini members told him about the series. Hayashi lost the first round, but made a quick comeback in the second. G.Mee barely won the third round. Hayashi tried to explain the game's system to G.Mee while trying to simultaneously read the NicoNico Live comments asking to show a character's special techniques. The hosts were impressed by the destructive stages. Hayashi promised that more will be shown in the upcoming months, especially at Tokyo Game Show, with a booth for fans to study a particular character's moves. He hopes the game is worth the wait for fans who wanted another installment of the series.


 * This week Asumi-san was brought onto the show to explain Koei's release schedule for the rest of this year in Japan; dates were listed in chronological order. Information covered for the games are features which can be read in detail on the websites, excluding the final title. The games listed were:
 * Musou Orochi 2: Special - Rachel and Seimei Abe
 * Shin Sangoku Musou Multi Raid 2 HD Version - PSP compatibility
 * Sengoku Musou Chronicle 2nd - Takatora Tōdō, Munenori Yagyū, Naotora Ii, Twitter campaign and voice actor event
 * Shin Sangoku Musou 6 Empires - simulation with Conquest Mode with Xu Shu and attitude changes through manipulating fame; screenshots of the Oda Nobunyaga edit parts
 * Daikoku-jidai Onlne 2nd Age - shares the same release date as Empires; World Clock time travel system can be used to see different phases of history; main visual was shown; Katsura dropped the paper cut out replica of the Sainta Marina and apologized
 * Dead or Alive 5
 * Nobunaga no Yabou Tendou with Power Up Kit - touch screen dominate play style and connects to network for online interactions
 * Shin Hokuto Musou - Raoh and Shura story arcs; showed Kenshiro, Juza of the Cloud, and Kaioh; Musou-like entry with "what if?" stories.


 * Presents for the final episode include a Kenshiro T-shirt and a Hokuto Musou aluminum bottle. Suzukawa said a plug for her group's live broadcast and concert. G.Mee told fans to keep watch of the L.A.F.U website for their live events. One of the fans who received the Pokémon merchandise thanked the hosts for the games. Another fanmail said they started playing Nobunaga no Yabou Online because of the hosts' enthusiasm. A total of 1,579 viewers saw the final episode.

Games/Merchandise/Events covered
 * Neoromance ♥ Festa 13 - G.Mee said he had fun performing his group's new song; photos of the stage event was shown with his commentary
 * Hyakuman-nin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - completion press event with photos and so on
 * Newest Neoromance title
 * Shin Hokuto Musou - announcement and photo of Hara and Koinuma to coincide with Famitsu interview; G.Mee is a pretty enthusiastic Hokuto no Ken fan so he was pleased with the news; Suzukawa says she's more of a comic fan
 * Sengoku Musou long cushion character covers - Yukimura, Mitsunari, and Masamune; showed both sides of the covers this episode; will be available for purchase through Gamecity's online shopping or at the voice actor event; Katsura mentioned that there was a lot of fans asking for female characters as well and plugged the Facebook survey for them
 * Dead or Alive 5 - plug for Tougeki appearance with newest build, Osaka store front trials, and Tokyo Game Show appearance; additional photos of the E3 2012 tournament; also reporting that Hitomi won the sexy costume survey on GAMECITY