GaijinPunch wrote:I know for a fact that they didn't get permission from everyone and for everywhere they filmed
I know for a fact they got releases for everything.
Nope.
Anyway, as mentioned before I helped out with the music game section and was with them during that part of the filming. The majority of the interview footage that was taken was never used, which is kind of a shame but understandable considering the time restraints. Aaron and his crew actually made a big deal about the decline of arcades which was completely ignored in the final product. Yeah, they kind of mention the decline of the arcades, but then immediately moved to a more positive note, saying how they're adapting and only the shitty arcades are closing. There's some guy who says you never hear about at Taito or Sega arcade closing, and that they just built a new one in Akihabara. Making the huge mistake of assuming Tokyo (and Aki of all places) is a good view of the country. Hell, just a few years ago wasn't there a big news story about Namco and Sega closing a bunch of arcades down? I know several Namco and Taito spots in Tokyo that have closed down in the past few years, along with countless ones outside of the prefecture. Aaron always talks about how when he used to live in Matsumoto there were tons of them, but now only a couple still exist and they're all near the main station. When I lived in Kanazawa there were also plenty of great places to visit with good communities, now I can only think of a couple that still survive. Hell, the Taito Station in Kanazawa moved all of the games to the basement and filled the other floors with UFO and purikura.
We also talked a lot how the industry is also in an "arms race" of sorts, with bigger and more expensive games coming out that the smaller arcades just can't afford anymore. Add to that network fees and newer games actually taking a percentage of income and you can see that things aren't looking good for anything but the big players.
Overall I found the movie to cater to the stereotype westerners have about Japan being the land of game with arcades on every block, which I guess is what people want to see so whatever.
