A demo movie for Mugen Kairou 2 is up and it looks good, decent at least.
Two new sets of CG are up for Ageha Extravaganza as well.
Additionally, in one of the press releases, Black Cyc stated that they were aiming to outdo the original Mugen Kairou in terms of violent scenes and the like (general depravity might be a better description), which in itself would be quite a feat. To that extent, Mugen Kairou 2 contains not just yaoi, but also yaoi bestiality (a first for an eroge?) - two other things that original didn’t have were scat and tentacles, so I wouldn’t rule out either or both of those appearing as well for ‘Taro’. On a different note, the format is exactly the same as the original - red/black days and 8 loops, which is a bit disappointing. I’m still waiting for the demo to get an idea of how the storytelling/plot will develop - if it’s too similar to the first iteration or if it emphasises the ero over the story too much, then I’ll wait for reviews rather than preordering it.
For awhile now, BCyc had been moving towards a “less violent” approach with their titles. Gun-Katana, Yami no Koe Zero, and Before Dawn Daybreak were significantly toned down from the material in MinDeaD BlooD and EXTRAVAGANZA. This was obviously noticed by the fan community, and may have been a factor for part of the “regular” BCyc developers in leaving to found a new company (as that exodus was planning to make a corpse-guro title). In short: BCyc was evolving into a company that wasn’t quite BCyc anymore.
Ever since the exodus seemingly returned to fold (be it contracted or fully employed), BCyc has been announcing a return back to what made them a premiere ero studio. With the “duds” of YnK0 and BDD, Mugen Kairou 2 is probably the company’s final chance at proving they haven’t lost their touch. From what I gather, Mugen Kairou is a high value series for the company - equal to the MinDeaD BlooD intellectual property (those who like it, REALLY like it). If they fuck up the MK sequel, BCyc will be seriously hurting. They’ve got a lot riding on the success of this…
Basically… if BCyc screws up Mugen Kairou 2, then few will have confidence in them making a good MinDeaD BlooD 2 or a non-Cyc Member follow up to EXTRAVAGANZA. 
On another note: I’m also lead to believe that one reason why AGEHA will only available through Cyc Member distribution, is because the title is too violent for ordinary shops. :shock:
Last but not least: that non-hentai MiO title has updated with the shotacon twincest in it. 8)
The demo is out.
Impressions: Very long demo. Although the general format appears to be the same, most of the scenes are considerably longer so I’d estimate that it will probably be at least 1.5 times longer than the original. Mugen Kairou 2 is definitely a true sequel, as there are a lot of indirect and direct references to the first game, via images and (seemingly) reprised scenes to the extent that it’s probably impossible to get the full picture without having played 1 first. It is very similar in feel for the most part to the first game, and most improtantly, it evokes the same sort of atmosphere, whilst improving on a few aspects of it. On the whole, the content is considerably darker than 1’s, as well as being more varied + bizarre :roll:. They’ve reused some of the backgrounds, but they’ve added some more day/evening/night etc. variations to those, and have obviously added some others. The art is much improved, as well as the music, however I don’t think some of the tracks worked particularly well - others were excellent though.
Golden master - there’s no mention of the EOCS issues anywhere, so Mugen Kairou 2 may have been evaluated before the controversy. Time to put in a preorder.
Yea… but it totally sucks that BCyc is neutered to hell. In case anyone is scratching their heads over this: all the Cyc studios, MiO, and Palmiers are children companies of B-eye Communications (???), who in turn is a member of EOCS (third from the top on the second row).
Feel free to cry DOOOOOOOOM if you want.
Of course we could all hope that they move CSA or something… but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Of course, we’re not even sure if CSA’s safe anymore. 
They might start similar restrictions if this pressure continues.
If they don’t, EOCS might lose some members, and then they might lighten restrictions to stay competitive.
Could this be the real reason MinDead’s been pulled? Could this mean GSS and Extravaganza will also vanish?
MinDeaD was pulled long before the RapeLay thing become a problem. Whatever their plans for the series: it was something different.
Also as I understand it, the EOCS ruling isn’t retroactive… it only applies to titles starting production from June 5th forward. Titles already made or currently in production are excluded… someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
From what I gathered, This is the case. The older titles remain unaffected, and according to some members, there won’t be any major changes to games released for a few months, all thats really happened so far is that a couple of games had to change their titles because they mentioned rape or enslavement, but the contents remain unchanged.
I’ll definitely be screaming DOOOOOOOOOM! if something ends up happening to Black Cyc, but I’ll wait for them to make some sort of official announcement first.
Honestly :roll: … anyway, enough said. (I don’t have a problem with the concept, but Cyc probably won’t be able to make a title like that successfully, plus it’s almost certainly not going to have an amount of content to justify the pricetag either (from reading the EGS reviews, the other two members only games seemed to only take a few hours maximum to complete, as well as having a relatively small number of CGs - realistically for a 3000 yen eroge, you’d expect around 1/3rd the content of a full-price release, but their earlier members only releases didn’t get anywhere near that)).
lol… hentai Tuxedo Mask. Two things come to mind…
#1: This must be a symbol of what a post-RapeLay version of Cyc will be like from now on. 
#2: There has to be a market and fanbase for this stuff. Why else would Cyc devote resource to a title like this, if they didn’t think they couldn’t make a profit.
I guess the other surprising thing is the number of members Cyc must have. They wouldn’t be doing this if it was unprofitable, and despite the low budgets these titles have, they’d still probably need to sell at least 2000 copies to break even.
Well, it looks like both MInDead games are coming back. Black Cyc’s made some post about a WIndows Vista rerelease of those two games, GSS, Extravaganza, Yami no Koe Zero, and Mugen Kairou
Great news. However I just wish they freaking said that was the reason why they pulled the titles in the first place, rather than just pulling the titles and saying nothing, leaving everyone to guess what the hell was going on.
I count that as a stupid move on Cyc’s part. :roll:
Also… those games already worked on a default install of Vista. So lame excuse for causing worry and speculation with the fan base.
Either that - or a new scheme for boosting sales for reprints:
[list]
[] Let your most successful titles go out of print[/]
[] Wait for people who didn’t get them yet start whining[/]
[] Rerelease them as a surprise - and get again explosive sales for already old games from the ones who thought they now were out of luck[/]
[] Side-effect: increase your regular customer’s base by the ones that were really overjoyed with the re-releases[/][/list]
That would be a brilliant application of the laws of demand and supply: boosting demand by intentionally temporarily reducing supply.
On second thought - not that new actually, because that worked pretty well already in the 70’s during the first oil-crisis…
It’s also can have the reverse effect. Nintendo tried the same deal with the Gamecube, only to discover retailers didn’t want to carry the Gamecube when it became available again (and sealing it’s fate for good). Coca Cola got a nasty blackmark on their reputation with the Classic Coke ordeal. Palladium Books almost went out of business, when they suddenly stopped release of reprints on earlier titles, because it coincided with the 90’s RPG Crash - they suddenly had warehouses full of books, and no means to sell them.
Right now it’s too early to say if BCyc is win or fail… but with the economic market being damaged, the whole EOCS drama, and the elitist attitude of Cyc Members (the nature of the organization, not people): they’re not exactly in a surefire situation.
Mugen Kairou 2 currently has the highest mean on EGS (5 votes or more). 
Of course, it’s not likely to stay there for very much longer.
My copy should (hopefully) be arriving tomorrow.
So how is it? Does it look like BCyc got their touch back? :o
EDIT
nvm… I think I’m getting this game for myself, since it might be the last BCyc game. Might as well go out with a bang. 8)