My GAMECITY

my GAMECITY (マイゲームシティ) is Koei-Tecmo's official social network service for Japanese fans and visitors of its official website, Gamecity. It has been in service since September 2010. Unlike the company's official fanclub, which requires proof of a purchased product, my GAMECITY is free to join and enjoy. Additional purchases can be used for the games, but they are not mandatory.

According to company executive, Kazumi Fujita, the service was conceived as an addition for the company's social games. Kou Shibusawa wanted to present a community for fans to share their appreciation for the company's products with social communities hosted by the company. The portal site also served as a place for miniature present campaigns and information regarding the company's live events. Shibusawa thought the next natural step for the community was to make it its own game for the PC browser. That way, they can use the same system to reach out to international fans online with their social networks.

The PC game version of my GAMECITY was made to allow players to fashion their own identity using their favorite IPs from the company. Shibusawa considers the game to be a friendly homage to the company's 30 years of service in the video game market. Although the featured franchises are so far few, he promised that more IPs would be included such as those from Gust or Tecmo.

General
my GAMECITY offers the basic following services for registered fans:
 * a custom user page and friends list.
 * an active Twitter feed of the company's franchises and a calendar for merchandise.
 * official communities with forum topics, polls, and contests. Free downloadable wallpapers or images are available for fans. Members could also vote for their three favorite characters in the Dynasty Warriors 7 and Samurai Warriors 3 Empires character popularity polls.
 * instant log in for the company's MMORPGs (Nobunaga no Yabou Online, Uncharted Waters Online, and Dynasty Warriors Online)
 * competitions and rankings in the community's web games.

Attendees of Koei-Tecmo's live events can also receive serial codes they can use in either the company's social games or MMORPGs. my GAMECITY members can then register them for their products. Lately special product campaigns involving a my GAMECITY membership have been taking place, one of which includes the Neoromance Message Campaigns for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and White Day.

A web money service using GC Coins has began with the portal site. Users can exchange GC Coins at the company's online shopping service as a substitution for money and use it to purchase merchandise. Alternatively, GC Coins can be bought with the user's money and used within my GAMECITY's games for extra bonuses. 1 GC Coin is equivalent to 1 yen. Campaigns which reward users with GC Coins are occasionally hosted by the company to encourage new membership.

Currently a spring campaign is the newest campaign to invite users to join the community. Participants can log-in to their account and/or register to compete for the prizes featured on the page.

Mini Games
These web games are basic and easy to play traditional games. They often require the mouse or the keyboard.


 * 1) Hanafuda - standard hanafuda match with koikoi option.
 * 2) Collect the Hearts - game created with Angelique trois visuals with the player acting as Angelique Collett. The goal is the match the corresponding colored hearts to clear each level.
 * 3) Number Place Sudoku
 * 4) Freecell
 * 5) Shuffle Card - pick the highest numbered card each time the cards shuffle.
 * 6) High & Low
 * 7) Black Window - fill in the 9 x 9 square grid by moving blocks.
 * 8) Beyond the Skies - use the mouse to fly a spaceship and avoid obstacles.
 * 9) The Shinobu - click the mouse to have the shinobi jump upwards and infiltrate the castle.
 * 10) Tokyo City Life - exchange the correct amount of money to make ends meet.
 * 11) Number Select - clear the numbers from the screen in consecutive order.
 * 12) Pong
 * 13) Reversi
 * 14) Poker Solitaire
 * 15) Pyramid Solitaire
 * 16) RunBou - platform game with a constant moving screen. The player times their mouse clicks to make the stick figure man, RubBou, hop over obstacles.
 * 17) City Mascot Mahjong Solitaire - collect the corresponding mahjong blocks. Some blocks are decorated with the potential Gamecity mascots.
 * 18) Match the Cards - find the pairs on the Nobunyaga no Yabou themed cards before the timer runs out.
 * 19) Red Ninja vs Green Ninja - use the arrow keys to have the red ninja inch closer to the other colored ninja. Assassinate him without being detected or killed by other ninja assailants.
 * 20) Extreme Pool - billiards-like game of shooting a cue ball with the mouse. Use it to bounce it or other balls to hit the stage's target.

Social Game
The social game of the same name is an Adobe flash application. Users can keep their user name to control an in-game avatar. They can choose the gender of their character and are taught how to play by Nyabraham Linnyahn. So far avatars can change their appearance to look like the following characters:


 * Boy - traditional Japanese man of court; Kasumi; Sacred Guardian of Fire Oscar
 * Girl - traditional Japanese princess; Kasumi; Angelique Limoges

Realms
Here are the areas which so far appear in the game.


 * Nobunaga's Ambition - visuals are based on the latest title, Tendou
 * Dead or Alive - includes visuals and characters from Dimensions
 * Angelique - uses visuals and characters from étoile; Levias and his knights are altered versions of character portraits from this game
 * Romance of the Three Kingdoms - buildings are available but world is not present yet

Games
Users can play browser games while they are logged in their my GAMECITY account. Three games have so far been announced for the service.


 * Hyakuman-nin no Sangokushi Special - PC browser version of the mobile social game which predominately runs on JavaScript; services began March 15, 2012.

Related Media
my Gamecity has been advertised at Koei-Tecmo's Tokyo Game Show booth ever since its conception. Fans were able to vote for the network's mascot, or "mayor of Gamecity". The winner was Nyabraham Linnyahn who has since appeared as a costumed mascot at Koei's live events in Japan. He additionally acts as the mascot for Koei's Youtube trailers.

The press event for the community's renewal was broadcast live for interested fans at Ustream. The idol Eri Kohinata, who previously acted as a live mascot for Saihai no Yukue, was present to comment about the game.