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Yoshinoya Beef Bowl Simulator Thrills For PS2

An anonymous reader writes "According to a hands-on account of Success' Japanese PS2 title Yoshinoya over at GameSpot, the game, based on the popular Japanese/U.S. restaurant chain, 'is quite possibly one of the greatest beef-bowl simulators on the current generation of game consoles.' Sadly, the game probably won't make it out of Japan." Apparently filled with hectic multi-part gameplay: "You'll take the role of a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed trainee at a Yoshinoya store who must work his way up through the ranks of the apron-and-hat-wearing set to be the best employee to ever seat a customer, pour tea, prepare a bowl, and shout 'Arigato gozaimashita!'"

13 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Ahh Japan. by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What a country!

    Only the japaneese would have the guts to release such a game. It's this willingness to take risks that makes the games from Japan of a higher quality than US or European games.

    Do you think EA would bother making this game. Even bother to think up of a new game. Why bother? Just wait till a small studio does, buy them out and run the series until its hyped up, buggy and hollywoodised death.

    Come on companies!! Innovate!!! Look what these guys have done!

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
    1. Re:Ahh Japan. by bconway · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This has nothing to do with guts and everything to do with culture. The fact is, releasing this in Japan wasn't taking a risk, just like releasing graphic violence-based games like Grand Theft Auto in the US isn't a risk. It's GOING to do well.

      --
      Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?
    2. Re:Ahh Japan. by danbeck · · Score: 2

      HELLO INTARWEB SIR: THE NIPPON PEOPLES DO MAKE TEH BAD VIDEO GAMES! BUT zOMFG, YOU ARE NIPPON, SO YOU MAYBE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?

      Seriously, why don't drop the anime/manga/gaigokujin/mecha/asian_girlfriend_lust ing stereotype crap and use your brain for a sec. The Japanese industry does produce crap... it's just not sold here.

  2. Sounds familiar... by WinnipegDragon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Reminds me of a game I used to play on the C64, but I'll be damned if I can recall the title.

    Basically, you work a cash register, and you get a total and a number of bills. Your job is to figure out the correct change, and hand it over using the least number of coins possible. Of course, you are also timed.

    Now the point of this post: These are both simulations to prepare kids for low-paying, repetitive jobs in the service industry. The fact that this one is linked to a particular brand also makes it a form of viral advertising.

    Folks, this is not a good thing.

    1. Re:Sounds familiar... by harrkev · · Score: 3, Funny

      It might be slightly off-topic, but I just CAN'T resist posing a like to THIS here. Heh heh.

      --
      "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  3. Beef Bowl, Dinner of Grad Students! by zentinal · · Score: 2, Funny

    When you're an undergrad, all you can afford is ramen (occasionally PB&J or Mac&Cheese). But then, when you're a grad student, you enter the realm of delicious Yoshinoya Beef Bowl! Yummmmm!

  4. Japanese Assistance by MobyDisk · · Score: 3, Informative

    For those who are struggling with the phrase "Arigato gozaimashita!" this link explains:

    Frequently Asked Question in Japanese language - What is the difference between Arigatou gozaimasu and Arigatou gozaimashita?

  5. Re:Huh? by DJdeli · · Score: 3, Funny

    Think about it, we haven't had a good food-making computer simulator since Burgertime. Maybe it's time for a new 3D grilling simulator to help those guys at Mickey D's in training.

  6. Is Tampopo required viewing prior to playing? by John+Harrison · · Score: 2, Interesting
    If you enjoy noodle making games (or if you don't) you should watch Tampopo. Certainly one of the best noodle movies ever made!

    I am serious though, this is a good movie. Quite funny too.

  7. Re:Ugh! For the last time! by birder · · Score: 2, Informative

    "Gozaimasu" is used to make some phrases polite. Then you have formal and informal speach and past present combos, do a little conjugation and voila! Arigato gozaimashita polite past tense of thank you (it has already been done). Gozaimasu can be for both future and past however.

  8. Sounds like an interesting puzzle game by Fiz+Ocelot · · Score: 4, Informative
    If you do rtfa, you'll discover it's a puzzle game that consists of generating combos or "chains" of customers. You create these chains to score more points and add time to the clock.

    They basically used ideas from other puzzle games that work, and applied beef bowls and some twists. So no it's not a "work simulator". And I'd actually like to try it.

  9. Re:Ugh! For the last time! by dancingmad · · Score: 2, Informative

    Gozaimasu is actually the more polite version of arimasu. It doesn't make some phrases polite, it is by itself polite. It doesn't occur regularly in everyday speech, but has been kind of codified in some phrases - arigatou gozaimasu being one.

    Clerks in stores and such tend to use arigatou gozaimashita, which, as you mentioned is the past tense of gozaimasu (something akin to thank you for having shopped with us).

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  10. Re:Huh? by cgenman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There was actually a very good food simulator for the PS1 that involved chopping carrots, stirring noodles, and juggling tasks and customers around (a pot boils whether you watch it or not, but you need to strain the noodles before they get mushy). It came on one of the Playstation Underground disks, and was called Ore no Ryouri, one of the most fun games I've played in a long time. Definitely worth a try, if you can find it.