Slide, tap, hold: Why ‘maimai’ keeps attracting new players 10 years on

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Released in 2012 by Japanese gaming giant Sega, the arcade video game maimai is often referred to affectionately as a washing machine by fans, owing to its unusual shape. The game is very popular in Hong Kong, where traditional arcade-style venues, which have largely disappeared from other places, still exist. Hong Kong university student Leung Wang-hoi started playing in April 2022, enchanted by the game’s unique eight-button design. The maimai aficionado, who has since achieved a near-perfect completion score, showed Post reporter Connor Mycroft how to play maimai like a pro.
Related story:
She moved from California to Hong Kong so she can play an arcade video game sc.mp/mpqg
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[@lillyie]

the reporter deadass picked a level 14+ map while trying out the game for the first time

[@kuroshi_anaki]

He just had to pick Regulus, the very technique-heavy song with spins and trills 💀

[@davidscann]

bet the other guy picked it to force the interviewer to suffer woulda picked something like pandora instead though 💀

[@t-kaardo]

I see newcomers make the same mistake except for Expert level songs on like 2.0 speed 💀

[@cheyyy4048]

aint no way regulus for a newbie

[@helper_bot]

thanks for the heads up

[@Clazzette]

him seeing play regulus on master and 2.0 speed is truly a game journalist moment

[@YesMyMahiru]

Fun fact: The game journalist ask my friend (yeah, the one who get interviewed) to let him try the hardest song in the game and that's why my friend tells him to try Regulus

[@Clazzette]

@@YesMyMahiru man's got guts to try regulus this guy has potential

[@YesMyMahiru]

@@Clazzette my frd said he have mercy on the journalist already, he was trying to let him try pandora remas rofl

[@legoidiot69]

this is why game journalists cant play rhythm games. Worst mistakes of their life.

[@kuroshi_anaki]

​@@YesMyMahiru if not pandora remas, then give him world's end loneliness or Solips 💀

[@tintaspidol14]

1:49 The reporter picking Regulus at MASTER difficulty for first time playing MaiMai 💀

[@The_Musical_Ghost]

I've been playing maimai for a long time now and I'm happy to see that the community is still growing (at least from where I am). It's a fun game and I definitely recommend people to try it. Also Regulus Master lol

[@the7guy]

My favourite rhythm game of ALL time. Everyone in the world deserves to try it at least once

[@livetochange974]

No

[@t-kaardo]

Fellow maimai player here, I absolutely agree! Best rhythm game ever :D

[@StevenSenjaya]

Pump It Up is the best for me Fun, easy to play, looks cool, and beneficial (physical workout)

[@the7guy]

@@StevenSenjaya Oh i can never get the hang of that game LOL, it makes me tired easily Will definitely give it another try 100% though

[@t-kaardo]

@@StevenSenjaya Imo ddr is easier than pump it up, I like the simple four arrows lol

[@desubakker369]

I've been playing mobile rhythm games for years and only got into maimai for about 6 months now. It's honestly difficult to play well but with regular practice and help from friends i can see gradual improvement. Glad to see this wonderful game getting the coverage it deserves

[@monolinny1817]

Fr 3 yrs experience of rhythm mobile games but still struggling on maimai 10+ expert songs We'll keep going

[@ZhadTheRad]

Same here, been playing rhythm games on mobile for a few years and got into maimai in I think July last year. I don't get to play it very often though as I've not been not able to go to the local arcade much recently, but I can do 7s and 8s pretty well. Well, I'm quite a fan of rhythm games, so I can relatively quickly get into new ones. I legit have six different ones installed on my tablet (though I only play one actively, one semi-actively and the rest on occasion) and play four out of the seven rhythm games at my local arcade (the ones I play there being maimai, SDVX, Jubeat and Groove Coaster). My local arcade is getting Nostalgia in a couple of months and I will be getting into that too XD

[@alyssaenobio]

It took me months and spend all my money 💀 I see myself improving tho it's very slow

[@Wyrdwad]

Let's not forget Sega's other two big arcade rhythm games: Chuunithm and Ongeki. Personally, I like both better than Maimai, with Ongeki being my absolute favorite -- but all three are excellent, and worth a play if you see them around. At least one of the three is guaranteed to appeal to just about any rhythm gamer.

[@Jowonne]

Oooh I’ve yet to try Chuunithm, been eyeing it for a while now but only a few branches have it in my country. As for Ongeki, I can only hope that an international version comes out soon

[@Wyrdwad]

@@Jowonne Ongeki seems to be the least popular of the three here in Japan, and it's kind of easy to see why, as it has the most "moving parts," so to speak -- it's the most complicated of the bunch, requiring moving characters around an on-screen track with an analog stick, dodging enemy fire and trying not to fall off the track while also pressing buttons and smacking pads on the side of the machine in time with the music. And there's like, character leveling, and gacha elements, and special abilities you can equip and use during the "match"... it's almost too much, yet once it clicks with you, it REALLY clicks. I can't get enough of it at this point! It's kind of like a rhythm game + fighting game + racing game + RPG hybrid designed for the ADHD generation. ;)

[@Jowonne]

@@Wyrdwad As a former Touhou player, everything you just said is hyping me up even more!! The characters are so cute too, I saw them while playing Ongeki songs on Maimai. Hopefully I don’t get too addicted to it when it comes out here lol. Thanks for the little intro on the game, have fun playing!

[@dislodged2280]

For me, I prefer chunithm more than maimai since it's very much similar to SDVX and プロセカ

[@Neru_Mikamo]

"The eight-button design is what makes it different from other games" wait until he hears about chrono circle

[@mloepostle62]

chrono was just beside on the wacca machine

[@lovelymayapop]

well in 2012 it was the first of its kind

[@Anticlimaxers]

I mean it released 9 years after maimai so i'm not surprised that it's no longer completely unique. There's also Wacca.

[@bzchnt3143]

wait until you hear about the game's release dates!

[@chockie]

wait until you hear about which game is still thriving after over a decade of existing and which game was dead on arrival chrono circle was so poorly received that not even 1 month after the game came out, with tons of reports of tech breaking opening day despite being brand new, japanese arcades started shipping them out en masse to dump into round 1 arcades in the states, where nobody continued to play

[@lillyie]

im assuming the interviewee made the reporter play pandora paradoxxx but they cut that part out

[@ChrisuYT]

I just started playing this around 2022 also when everything starting to be smooth again as normal. maimai hooked me really hard and it made me enjoyed rhythm games even more, I'm happy that I'm part of the community that is growing even more faster even though it's an old rhythm game. anyways, that reporter playing random 14+ though 💀

[@t-kaardo]

Didnt expect to see you here! Yeah the reporter was playing it on 2 speed too, WAYYY too slow 💀

[@stevenhudson6354]

Success is not built on success. It's built on failure, It's built on fraustration. it's built on fear that you have to overcome. I pray that anyone who reads this will be successful in life

[@maryperry2460]

You are right.!

[@maryperry2460]

That is why I had to start forex trading 2months ago and l now am making benefits from it.!

[@carlgarza556]

@@maryperry2460 My first investment with Victoria Alejandro gave me profit of over $80,000 Us dollar....

[@carlgarza556]

And I can even say she is the sincere broker I know....

[@rebeccagilbert7691]

@@carlgarza556 O' Yes I'm a living testimony of Mrs Victoria Alejandro.!

[@lkmusc]

Lezzgooo, a rhythm game getting acknowledged again, always nice

[@helper_bot]

arcades in my country are dying and im sad

[@nuclearcracker]

1:10 as a player who loves Taiko no Tatsujin in a small country, this looks like heaven.

[@JWJerry]

I've been playing this game since 8 years ago in South Korea. Still my best arcade rhythm game!

[@Aisaka_Taiga]

Started to play Maimai from 2018. I really love this game, also made lots of new friends.

[@miyanotatchan]

As a part of this community, I feel proud this game is mentioned

[@Jowonne]

Going to Hong Kong later this week, will definitely go here

[@t-kaardo]

Glad to see maimai got on the news! It deserves SO MUCH more attention than it has. Absolutely amazing rhythm game and I recommend anyone play it ❤️ Also going to my local gigo after doing schoolwork is really fun!

[@OGGIdris]

if only sega shipped games to europe and north america

[@t-kaardo]

@@OGGIdris yeah... I moved back to the US and now I'm suffering from the same thing. The R1s just removed maimai as well.

[@chocolatemuuse5257]

Ive been playing rhythm games for a few years now, and I've been aware of MaiMai for a while. Unfortunately i live in the us where arcades are extremely scarce and typically dont have games like taiko or maimai. Ive always wanted to try maimai.

[@mrlegitz5812]

Rhythm games can be so addicting! 🔥

[@vierizona5772]

I'm happy with Maimai, fun game at Arcade but create a crowd during covid. The management not install another unit Maimai but they choose to retired the unit. Really shame move

[@YukioMY]

I love how this got on my reccomended

[@ZackJrShiro]

Chunithm and Wacca??? These 2 need attention as well since it's pretty underrated

[@not_vinkami]

Well wacca is dead so I'm not sure if they'll talk about it

[@ZackJrShiro]

@@not_vinkami Yeah I heard the online service has ended and now is available to play on offline mode but still the gameplay is pretty fun tho, basically chunithm but goes round and is definitely easier than maimai

[@imtme]

Rhythm games like maimai n pump it up kinda underrated,, glad to see maimai shown

[@kenx9984]

Its getting hard to find a full variety of games at the arcade. Even cyber cafe (pc cafe) was getting less

[@verifeli]

Eventually, everyone could afford a better PC, that's why cyber cafe is getting less. But arcade games, even though it could be emulated, has exclusive online official feature which makes it different than PC games.

[@elesissieghart]

I like how the news is simply about a game

[@ferdiankhu]

Just replay this Mai2 few days ago. Love to play this better than Danzbase (i never play DB), and i think in Indonesia, it needs regular update for the machine to keep relevant these days

[@tsvkunqru]

maimai made it to scmp!! YATTAAAAA

[@chengyiq3066]

Trying out a highly advanced level for a first timer.. he definitely bite more than he can chew

[@peekatchu921]

literally just started playing it recently and this video comes up

[@chadliu5005]

Rhythm games are fun, dynamix (mobile rhythm game) is probably my favorite

[@daviddevlogger]

If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough

[@sharaineworlds]

Pop 'n Music has 9 buttons and the songs are just as nice and fun to play! Pop 'n Music needs more love T_T

[@yukko_parra]

No way... maimai?! on SCMP?! A News Channel?!

[@alyssaenobio]

Peeps comparing maimai to osu? 💀

[@davidscann]

legit 💀

[@lemin9343]

Deadasses comparing a pc rhythm game to an arcade rhythm game 💀💀

[@SkipperReu]

Ah yes we washing the glove in a spin cycle

[@dr_flaming]

i enjoy maimai alot but where im from theres a lack of machines and the queues for those one or 2 machines is so long i gave up trying to play anymore :(

[@s.danielpie5304]

0:52 Well, that's actually made by Konami.

[@verifeli]

As expected from non-gaming journalist.

[@bwnzix]

No you guys misunderstood. He said “if you like ddr”. That doesn’t meant sega made ddr

[@bwnzix]

No you guys misunderstood. He said “if you like ddr”. That doesn’t meant sega made ddr

[@YummersYttrium]

Reporter: Ultimate gaming moment

[@keiv54]

Hope you guys can make a video about Gundam Vs series, it's really popular in japan

[@bagelbagelbagelbagelbagelbagel]

they played swift swing and regulus based af

[@darrel727]

Dude is playing for the first time and straight up chose Regulus master💀

[@hiyori743]

1:49 what song??

[@YohansRelationshipAdvice]

ive seen guys play this in shinjuku and boy they fast!

[@HalfBreedMix]

I've played DDR, Pump-it-up, Para-Para-Paradise,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but the coolest machine would have to have been EZ2Dancer (it's basically DDR combined with Para-Para-Paradise). You had to move your hands thru sensors WHILE stomping foot tiles.

[@fransuke12]

EZ2Dancer here!

[@IRLNero]

I really want wait to go there

[@kkslicez]

i have really liked to try maimai for a long time but there arent any in my location 😭😭

[@zwyeow]

Who plays MaiMai here? 🤔

[@toumorokoshi1619]

I prefer Sound Voltex more. Bemani Pro League and Konami Arcade Championships are fun to watch in ab eSports setting

[@bwnzix]

King of performai is happening soon, which is like KAC for sega rhythm game (chunithm, maimai, ongeki).

[@toumorokoshi1619]

@@bwnzix oh cool i didnt know that! I might check it out for chunithm!

[@davidscann]

you'll love king of performai then kop 4th is happening in late Feb ish, so be on the lookout for that also, it's the first kop to ever feature international players!

[@AmoreyYaoiSecks]

Why did you pick an mas14+

[@FOHGeek]

Also there's a knockoff version, Dancecube, with only six buttons, limited touchscreen interactions, and a song database with less animation-inspired scores but more classic English pop and rock songs than Maimai.

[@lemonlime8635]

Always wanted to try it but the pro people were always hogging them everytime i went to the arcade

[@nuclearcracker]

Agreed. Rhythm games aren’t really big in my country so there is at most like 3 rhythm games with 2 sets of equipment for each. The three games being Mai Mai, Taiko no Tatsujin and Dance rush stardom. Luckily, Taiko no Tatsujin isn’t really liked compared to other games so I usually can hog it all the time.

[@the7guy]

From personal experience, line up and give it a try! Maimai players are some of the nicest people ever and they will be sure to give you a hand even when you're new. If you're not up to that, however, you can choose to play right when the arcade opens, where there are normally less people.

[@Fralite]

It only take little gut, just make sure to put the credits in after they done a song. Don't bother waiting for people to notice

[@bzchnt3143]

all you gotta do is tell them you were lining up and if they dont follow etiquette they can posisbly be banned from their local arcade.

[@vinching926]

Literally you can clean that screen with towel while playing

[@jerecakes1]

as a person uploading maimai scores in my yt i agree -come try the washing machine game :D- p.s. holy ugh the song and diff choices for the reporter HAHAHAHAHAHS

[@pholrakchantaratcharoen4563]

2:17 At least he tried

[@thebig6official575]

I am making a maimai theme for stepmania. My stepmania theme is basically a mashup of different rhythm game designs like IIDX for example.

[@t-kaardo]

Please provide a download link when you’re done! I’d love to use it!

[@thebig6official575]

OK!

[@thebig6official575]

The download link will be my open-sourced theme called Stepmania 5 Starlight Version

[@Nole2701]

I saw him load up Zankyou Sanka Basic but then heard and then saw Regulus Master. At 2 ring speed. To play that you've basically got to memorize the map.

[@madpanda9883]

My favorite game in Japan... favor song "Bad Apple"

[@darklordnier]

Don’t forget Sega also made Project Diva aka Hastune Miku

[@davidscann]

?? wdym by aka hatsune miku hatsune miku is a vocaloid

[@yumeno69420]

THAT'S RIGHT MAIMAI BABYYYYYYYYYY

[@mrkigalii]

I saw Maimai the next thing I thought of was an armed rebel group from the DRC

[@azizigweth2921]

You must be an African

[@pjacobsen1000]

I only know the Lord's Resistance Army. Do they still exist? And are all these rebel groups concentrated in the east?

[@davidscann]

?

[@justemptiness8180]

Man just pick Regulus vat. How brave

[@basicPROcreator]

Out of the topic, why can you try to review of the 2 pandas that suffered and were mistreated in Memphis zoo? The other one named Lele died 3 days ago because of hunger. And why is China ignoring the issue of the two pandas? Thank you

[@Koishama]

maimai is fun

[@syafinaardelia7586]

I hope in indonesia we have more maimai arcade game:)

[@suntemple3121]

Very interesting Game.

[@Gotliche4697]

I stopped thinking for a few seconds thinking this is because of "That" maimai video😂

[@ame_lia]

MAIMAIIIIIIIIIIII

[@completelyrandomstuff4829]

The washing machine has been covered.

[@theeraphatsunthornwit6266]

Oh that is not a washing machine 😯

[@snek6769]

Poor man, who let him play regulus master

[@Fralite]

I swear some osu players aren't actively playing osu. Don't even bother calling them osu players. Just bunch of randoms comparing 2 different gameplay.

[@mohrezap]

The Arcade machine still exists on here btw

[@alyssaenobio]

Bro playing Regulus master

[@piko_kyunnchannel5372]

even myself wont dare to touch Regulus-

[@Hana-oo6nz]

bro made the decision to play regulus with the guy in basic speed difficulty 14+ like what

[@Oniontrololol]

Sad to see how empty the arcade is, used to be crowded

[@not_vinkami]

You sure? I'm still waiting 10+ mins per game of maimai. It's crowded af

[@yukko_parra]

it'll be crowded again

[@RobertsBrainIsGone]

It still gets crowded, they must have shot this early in the day. Even have to queue for old games like Dance Evolution.

[@MVH5150]

Now let's see we get taiko no tatsujin on here

[@weegeethedancer5300]

Oohh yea, my favorite rhythm game.

[@rapfaelezio6282]

Man, my attention is in that jubeat arcade system in the bg instead. i know maimai looks flashy, since i played both, but iprefer jubeat

[@d0sky]

California Gurls

[@veryredfumoze]

I have to compromise with Osu for now because there isnt a cabinet here

[@bawk2boom]

Well at leat they can finally cop-a-feel

[@RaveilleArcade]

No way this game looks like osu! a free-to-play rhythm game primarily developed, published, and created by Dean "peppy" Herbert.

[@Reihynn]

raveille

[@SkipperReu]

expected better from a professional washing machine user

[@takodrew6043]

Osu! is just a copy of the nintendo DS game. Osu! Tatakae Ouendan. Or Elite Beat agents in the west. Is like stepmania was for DDR.

[@junkokonno]

pepster

[@azrilazim3970]

Can i have your autograph sir

[@djlanidance]

There's a lot more other arcade rhythm games from here :))

[@hxess1]

ayo are we mainstream gamers now? 👀

[@rickymickey8517]

So how come Maimai never common in america? I wanna play it

[@polkadi]

You can find offline versions of Maimai FiNALE around America, as SEGA dump their old cabinets from Japan. New versions aren't available because SEGA doesn't feel like it.

[@boybawang1981]

So...Dance Dance Revolution, but 4 ur hands!?

[@djlanidance]

1:50 💀

[@reikahime]

surprised maimai got featured in this channel w

[@alyssaenobio]

My school allowance goes to playing maimai

[@Jowonne]

Same

[@weegeethedancer5300]

Ditto

[@Kalteis_]

Same

[@yukko_parra]

wallet prohibits daily login.

[@iesx_imchocomint]

finally, SCMP becomes a washing machine tapper

[@feinchan]

3:41 laur

[@starryskyhighway9628]

i tried maimai , i doesnt like it that much compared to taiko but each people have different preference and taiko is realistically impossible to play with drum and stick i like the arcade version but PC is dope..since keyboard can register quicker PC version taiko can go even faster and you will be amaze how top player can see the incoming note. Sadly it might be equipment based unlike arcade where everyone have common equipment PC with better spec have advantages to reach higher in ranking.

[@majibento]

I thought this was a laundromat

[@belugaowo]

my friend beat mope mope on maimai

[@scharelbrown9027]

See that game on tik tok it's 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@professorpick]

Is this a Japanese game? Or just a copy of one

[@davidscann]

originally japanese, licensed internationally (also the reason why the international version of the game gets updates a few months late)

[@ZhadTheRad]

"the ever-evolving song database is crucial to a young generation of gamers who get bored easily" Hahaha, bored? Mate, I legit can play the same song over and over several times in a row. How and why you wonder? Simple: reaching a goal. I would play Natsumatsuri over and over on Expert when I realized I could attain a FC on it, and eventually I did. If you're dedicated, you will not get bored. And I feel that boredom for new players will not come from the song database (the selection of songs is pretty solid and spans multiple genres after all), but rather from not challenging themselves enough and trying harder levels

[@WiseOwl_1408]

That's cool