The Last Game Centers 最後のゲーセン - photobook

[Viku]

Hello everyone! I'd like to introduce you my latest photography project The Last Game Centers 最後のゲーセン a tribute to arcades; a map of the few hidden treasures of the old game centers still operating in Japan

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/th ... lack-label



A few months ago, I published The Last Game Centers, a book that explored more than 20 Japanese arcades. The book features over 200 photographs, showing details of the cabinets, games and the interiors of this game centers. With almost 300 pages printed on high-quality paper, this photobook has an amazing design and attention to every little detail, making it a “must-have” for all collectors. It also includes an introduction and some anecdotes about each arcade and directions. The response of this project was really incredible and showed me how deeply people still care about preserving this legacy.

Launch of the International Edition:
That’s why today, I’m so excited to announce our next step: the launch of an international edition of this book through Kickstarter. This new edition is called The Last Game Centers - Black Label, and it’s the final version of the project.



What’s New in the “Black Label” Edition:
Well this isn’t just an international version—it’s a carefully crafted new edition designed to be remarkable. Let me share some of the updates:

- New Cover: We’ve created a brand-new cover for this edition that captures the atmosphere of the game centers even more vividly.
- Texts in English and Japanese: To reach a global audience, all the text and information has been translated into English and Japanese.
- Updated Content: Sadly, two game centers from the first edition have already closed, so we’ve added two new ones.
- Improved Photography: We’ve also adjusted the treatment of the photos to make them slightly more contrasty.
- Exclusive Zine: As a special addition, Black label includes a small zine with photos from a night-time drive-in adventure around Tokyo. There I discovered some true hidden gems and small game corners



All this and more will be available through our crowdfunding campaign, which launches today on Kickstarter. This project wouldn’t be possible without your support, and through this campaign, we hope to fund the production of this edition and also to build a community of fans who love game centers and retro gaming culture. I hope you’ll join me on this journey and help me make The Last Game Centers - Black Label the ultimate tribute to these special places. Thank you all for being part of this dream. See you on Kickstarter!

[Steven]

The Japanese grammar looks kinda weird. Maybe it's just me. I'd also probably use ショッピングセンター instead of ショッピングモール as well, as it's both more commonly used (and abbreviated to SC every once in a while) and translates the English side more accurately.

[Viku]

The Japanese grammar looks kinda weird. Maybe it's just me. I'd also probably use ショッピングセンター instead of ショッピングモール as well, as it's both more commonly used (and abbreviated to SC every once in a while) and translates the English side more accurately.

Thank you for the clarification

[Steven]

Sure, no problem. Might want to have a Japanese person check the grammar just to be safe because it does look a bit odd to me. It's perfectly understandable, but odd. Again, maybe I'm wrong and it's fine, but still...

[GaijinPunch]

Out of curiosity, what camera / lens did you use? My last handful of years in Japan I was getting out of the realm of the usual DSLR... but ISO's were maxed at 3200 until the noise just killed it. You could do film, but at that light, black and white looks a lot better. I wound up getting 2-3 decent shots of a few (Shibuay Kaikan, and Game Inn Mikado) before ultimately opting out. I was not really venturing into game centers much at the time anyway.

[rancor]

Looks like an awesome project! I tried to do this several years ago on this very forum:

viewtopic.php?t=42980

But its nice to see this in printed form.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Were there some FMV footage shot/taken of some of those old-school game centers, Viku?

Sounds like a very cool "coffee table" styled book worth having to gloss over at one's leisure/perusual. It'd certainly compliment one's personal candy cab or a collection of them indeed.

By the way, did you encounter any candy cabs with PC Engine hardware/software up & running on them in your travels, Viku?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Viku]

Out of curiosity, what camera / lens did you use? My last handful of years in Japan I was getting out of the realm of the usual DSLR... but ISO's were maxed at 3200 until the noise just killed it. You could do film, but at that light, black and white looks a lot better. I wound up getting 2-3 decent shots of a few (Shibuay Kaikan, and Game Inn Mikado) before ultimately opting out. I was not really venturing into game centers much at the time anyway.

Ricoh gr3

[Viku]

Looks like an awesome project! I tried to do this several years ago on this very forum:

viewtopic.php?t=42980
A
But its nice to see this in printed form.

Thank you

[vol.2]

Ricoh gr3

Cool project. I have a lot of great memories of playing in small town game centers in Japan with my family. I used to love going to the coastal towns in Kanagawa and finding the place with a room full of candy cabs and a couple claw machines.

How are you finding the GR3? I generally like what I see out of it, but I've heard people gripe about the low light performance and how much of a hassle it can be to do workarounds in non-ideal situations.

[Viku]

Thank you!!!
GR3 is amazing