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Japanese Arcade Scene Still Going Strong
Milktoast writes "An English teacher in Japan is writing about the thriving Japanese Arcade scene at Joystick101.org. He talks about new trends in a culture that hasn't abandoned the arcade as a venue." Maybe it's just me, but I've only been in a handful of domestic arcades that impressed me. I don't know if it's a cultural diffference to blame, but Japanese arcades also seem to look like there's something cooler going on, like the prizes for redemption games. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
Maybe Japanese arcades have games that let you keep playing if you're good, rather than charging you two dollars for half a minute of crappy racing.
I stopped playing pinball games once they went up to $0.50 per play, and many arcade games are $1 to play... that's just way too much, considering that you're usually killed off after a few minutes once you miss a checkpoint or get to the third character who uses every cheap tactic the AI can muster. I used to love arcades back in the day where I could play Moon Patrol for a good half hour on a quarter, but I simply can't afford to spend enough to learn all the moves in a fighting game, or where to sit to avoid the bosses bullets in the latest shoot 'em up... especially when I can play games that are just as good at home.
-"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -EH
The old man playing had a cigarette in one hand and was pressing the button as fast as he could with the other, making the on screen breast flop around. As the score for his jiggling got tallied up our eyes met and we both smiled.
Right out of a Meg Ryan movie I tell ya
Only good arcade in Florida is Disney Quest. I usually find anything Disney to be boring as hell but you can't go wrong with a 5 floor arcade building. I'd be willing to bet if there were more of those around the country people would show more interest in arcades. Paying an entry fee somehow makes me feel more at ease than popping a quarter in every time.
-Rabbit
I am presently in Japan as an English Teacher on the JET program and as a bonus I get the luxury of checking out what it's like in a different gaming scene; supposedly the best one in the world.
This month's article focuses on the arcade scene in Japan. Find out what's different about arcades in Japan, what's hot now, and why the old man is tapping the majong game's button so fast.
What are you waiting for?! Click already!
The traditionally slow summer games season seems to be beginning. With all of the big games like Final Fantasy X-2, Dynasty Warriors 3, and Soul Calibur 2 on the shelves things have been dying down a bit. This gives me the opportunity to discuss something that's constantly wowed me ever since I got to Japan; the arcade scene. Japanese arcades (called "game centers" in Japanese) seem to be made to impress. The biggest arcades are multiple stories with a floor for each type of game. Many arcades are run by the big game companies, with Sega World being the most prominent, followed by Namco Land, all the way down to Neo Geo Land.
Neo Geo Land
The big Sega arcade
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution and Guilty Gear XX #Reload are the big fighting games right now, and Mobile Suit Gundam vs. Zeon DX seems to have taken Virtual On's crown. What's interesting about this section of the arcade is that most game centers have their own cabinets for joystick and button games. Instead of having game artwork on the side, these cabinets are generic white cabinets, often without even so much as the name of the game mentioned on them. When fighting games are put into these cabinets they set two of them up back to back with a single controller for each player on either cabinet and both monitors displaying the same game. The effect of this is that each player has their own screen and you can't see your opponent at all. This eliminates any trash talking that could affect your game, and it makes even the smallest match feel like a tournament.
Fight!
The most popular racing game right now is Sega's anime based Initial D Arcade Stage Version 2. Just behind Initial D in popularity though, is a casual gamer's racing game called Race On. Race on is a fairly standard 2-4 player racer with a generic cartoon design and four car types that look different, but all handle pretty much race the same. What sets Race On apart from the rest is the fact that before the race the built in digital camera on each machine takes the picture of the driver, and this picture floats above the car while you race. The effect this tiny gimmick has on races with your friends cannot be denied. It may not be deep, but it rocks.
Although music games still attract a crowd, Dance Dance Revolution mania seems to have cooled off for the most part. It still gets played by the most hard-core players, but casual arcade goers are more attracted to the latest music sensation, Taiko no Tatsujin 4. Taiko no Tatsujin is a drumming game where you use huge wooden drum sticks to pound on a huge drum as smiling bubbles pass by on the screen. What sets the Taiko no Tatsujin series apart from most other music games (aside from using the traditional Japanese drum) is that it licenses extremely popular Japanese songs from every genre including J-pop, classic Japanese folk songs, and anime theme songs like Sailor Moon and Evangelion.
The biggest game in Japan right now is so big that it takes up its own section of the arcade! This massive 30 foot wide by 20 foot long, sit-down, 8 player simultaneous game is Sega and Hitmaker's World Cup Championship Football, and it's a soccer simulation card game. To play the game you must first buy a starter pack of 11 cards plus an IC stat tracker card for keeping records, and from there you start the game, set up your formation, and watch the game play out on the big screen in front of all of the cabinets, using your own personal screen to swap
I was in Japan through 97-98 and noticed two things that would explain why their arcade scene isnâ(TM)t dieing. The first is that the Japanese people like to do things in groups and going to an arcade is a fun activity that can be done with a lot of your friends. So why havenâ(TM)t home console system killed the arcade places like they have in the states? Well, that brings up my second point which is that they tend to keep visits to other peopleâ(TM)s houses down to a minimum. Every time you go to someoneâ(TM)s place you have to bring a gift (omochi, green tea, etc) and it gets to be a pain. Group gaming activities at home seem to be rare in Japan which keeps the arcades thriving. Of course I could be wrong :)
What game is THAT? Wario Ware XXX?
has anyone else seen these? I live in the dallas area, and there's been one in Garland called Nickel Rama for as long as anyone knows, and just recently there was another Nickle arcade put in Plano, called House of Nickles. How they work is it's like a normal arcade, generally with 2nd run to fairly primitive (pac man, early 90's racing games) arcade machines, toss in some skeeball and skill games with tickets, a DDR clone, airhockey, and a real live pinball machine, they all take nickles rather than quarters for credits, so you end up spending about 10 cents (2 credits) for most games. Nickle Rama even has the Ferarri Challenge 355 game (racing game with three screens, clutch, and 6 speed shifter, real classy). There's a $1.95 cover charge for the whole day (tax included, so you get a nickle back, nice.) Also, I think they crank down the difficulty settings (if there are any), as $2 will let you play for about 2 hours. For $7 total, you can spend a good part of the day there. The one in Garland is always packed, and I suspect House of Nickles will be seeing some serious buisness by the end of the summer, even if they are across the street from Game Wyze.
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Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
Though now the only one left near me is at a movie theatre.. All the games are at least 5 years old, and they have no classics, except the old TMNT arcade game. They do have Time Crisis, but the calibration is off on the gun...
The only arcade that I know that really works here in Ottawa is at the University of Ottawa. The games are $0.25 to play, the pool is $0.75 per game or you can rent a snooker table or ping pong table for $5/hour. For students this is much better than paying $1 per game like is common at other arcades in town. The arcade is owned by the student organisation.
The most popular game there is Soul Calibur 2. It's a great arcade game since we all compete against each other. I'll go in and (after waiting for 5 people who were in line before me) log in, see who's fought me and then go and pick on a friend of mine and hopefully help out my team to conquer the world (in the game that is). This is probably the best thing - 150 get together and compete in a tight knit group. It's not as big as the internet (less dealing with crap) and it's bigger than the average group of friends (for an engineer).
Because of this one game only we have noticed quite a fair share of Carleton University (the other university in town) students show up and compete against us since their arcade is $1 per game and $1.50 per round of pool.
A nice touch is the jukebox that people can select their music from - $0.25 per song and is usually cued up with a couple songs. if you don't like that's playing you go over and cue up some that you do like.
All and all, it's a nice place to hang out - not good for the grades though. I doubt that they make a lot of money from it (in comparision to other arcades) but it's almost always full.
Oh yeah, there is couches all over the place too with coffee tables - a great place to do ones homework. I just wish there was a similar place to my house - the key being CHEAP video games that involve interaction with other people or there is no difference than me playing video games home alone.
I think that the next week I went out and bought the game for my NES console. I never went back to that arcade. It just doesn't seem worth it to play arcade games when the console editions can be bought for comparably much less money.
Also, a reader did point out the decline of the classic Pinball games. Or rather the increase in price ($2 at the local Boston arcade). It's funny how the one type of game that absolutely cannot be captured in computers or consoles is in such decline.
"Mr. President, we cannot allow a mineshaft gap!"
Now I go there and a part of me wants to weep. Instead of a glowing paradise filled with every possible game my brain could conceive, there's approximately three titles. Time Crisis 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and skeeball. An entire wall of machines has been removed so two big-screens could be installed to attract as much attention to the flavor of the month. It may not always be those two exact games, but I guarantee you it'll be some variant. Always a shooter and always a fighter. Once the shooter was replaced with a driving game, but that was it. Back in a neglected corner I found some pinball machines, Ms. Pacman, 1943 and a poor Neo Geo MVS cabinet with the second stick ripped out. I couldn't tell if it was the one I first experienced SS2 on, but I fed it a quarter on principal and left. Xanadu is gone and all that remains is a business struggling to keep it's head above water by pushing whatever the current hot game is and only that. It makes me wonder what'll happen to the place when the next hit game does a bellyflop...
Well. THAT was melodramatic, wasn't it?
I have an import copy of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the Dreamcast. The point system used to buy hidden features in the games requires you not only have network points, but versus points as well. The versus points come from plugging your VMU to an Arcade version of the game and fighting other players there. Much to my chagrine, I would have to fly to Japan to fully unlock my games. Is there anything like that here in the states? Not that I know of. Just one of those little details that make things fun. Plus, its a link between the home market and the arcade market that does not come off as cheap and gimmicky.
The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
While I miss arcades - I just can't bring myself to shell out $1-$2 to play a game for a few minutes... when I can turn around and buy the exact same game for a console or my PC... for 20-30 times as much - but play it as much as I like with friends/family.
;)
I do miss the arcade... and have even dreamed of opening a small MAME cabinet arcade... not that I have the resources at hand... but I can dream.
BlackNova Traders
I researched this a few years ago when I was looking at opening one as a small business. Obviously, the main problem is just trying to compete with home consoles and PCs. Other than that the lease costs of the "big draws" can easily out pace what you're pulling in. Then add rent + maintenence + utilities, and your looking to go out of business real quick if those machines aren't being played. Also, getting a township permit to open one is a hassle, firecodes and the fact that it's a teenage hangout.
the sky is still blue, the ocean is still wet; join us for full coverage at 11
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ummm, why write _news_ about something that's not changing. nothing _new_ there.
sure: arcades in japan, wonderful. gee, i hope we get an update next week!!!!!!!!!1111
will the japanese arcades survive? will the gaming populace of the far east continue to be satiated? you'll just have to wait till next time to find out. (same
Two most impressive arcades I've seen: The lavish one at Piccadilly Circus in London, the gigantic one in Disneyland Florida (felt as big as a football field, a while back). Vegas probably has a few nice ones
:) You get the feeling these games were hastingly designed first as money making scheme, not work of arts. Still, there's quality to be found if you dig deep enough.
:)
Lately I've been trying some of the older 80-90s arcade classics via MAME, with cheats on, to preview game endings. Suffice to say, most are cheesy, mundane and typo filled
I noticed one common recurring theme: They all had Japanese credits at the end. Another thing I learned is how common quirky and hilarious english nicknames are in Japanese society, Muscle Ayagashi, TheMilk Yayamushi, Brain Yoshi, BigBoss Yogamoto and so on, weird, completely hilarious monickers. Endings are worth seeing for these alone
Japan is huge in the arcade scene, I had never grasped the full extent of it before; they pretty much made the arcade world as we know it.
Donkey Kong, Gradius, Time Pilots, Mr Do, Dig Dug, Pacman, Galaga, Galaxian, Commando, Contra, Ikari Warriors, Black Tiger, Gauntlet, Spy Hunter, Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja, Trojan, DoDonpachi, Mars Matrix, Ghouls N Ghosts, Double Dragon, Final fight, Golden Axe, ~4000 others = Japanese.
Funny thing as I was grewing up I never pictured these to have originated anywhere else than North America, for some reason
I distinctly remeber in an Osaka arcade there was one of those "UFO Catcher" type games that allowed you to catch live lobsters for about $5.00 a try.