Japan, Arcades & Gaming

[PlanetHarriers]

Hi there,

Here's a blatant plug for my new blog

http://planetharriers.blogspot.com/

At the moment it's kind of like a digital scrap book of my holiday in Japan, but future entries will focus more on arcade PCB's and cabinets.

I hope it might give some ideas to people planning a holiday in Japan.

Cheers,
Jase

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The modern-day Japanese game centers are legendary...makes those American arcades pale by comparision in terms of such a wide & diverse selection of genres to choose/play from. I asked a local arcade distro employee what the current money makers as far as American arcades go, and his response was: It's the prize ticket redemption machines, the deluxe light-gun cabs & deluxe racing cabs that bring in the $$$ nowdays. Go figure. Such a sad reality concerning the arcades stateside but that is the situation these days in order to remain in business. Even pinball doesn't make a dent profit-wise despite Stern's two new pinball machine releases a year. Even if an arcade has a single or two pins, their bound to be mostly older tables but in working condition at best. So be it.

Having visited the famous Namco Wonder Tower game center in downtown Kyoto, it's breathtaking to take the escalator to the next floor up.

Most arcades in the USA are single story, and if they are multi-story, stairs are used to gain access to the higher floors (i.e. the Las Vegas based Gameworks comes to mind with it's two-story floor layout setup).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[JBueno MD]

Man, I love this kind of "tourism porn" blogs. Bookmarked!

[DrTrouserPlank]

I don't really see that there's anything wrong with light-gun games and racing cabs. They do what they are intended to do; provide a quick, easy to appreciate thrill for a couple of coins.

The actual quality of games can't simply be measured by their popularity. Naturally a very interactive gun-game is going to do well in arcades compared to a shmup that beats you down and basically tries to remove coins from your pocket at an astounding rate.

[RNGmaster]

I don't really see that there's anything wrong with light-gun games and racing cabs. They do what they are intended to do; provide a quick, easy to appreciate thrill for a couple of coins.

The actual quality of games can't simply be measured by their popularity. Naturally a very interactive gun-game is going to do well in arcades compared to a shmup that beats you down and basically tries to remove coins from your pocket at an astounding rate.

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

[rancor]

Good to see you got pics of the old MAK. They've since moved to a TINY space, and I'm afraid they may be gone soon..
Interesting reading about the arcades I haven't been to yet, and now have no reason to go to! i have to admit I'm usually disappointed when I find somewhere new, and they have the same titles as everywhere else. The best arcades still seem to be in Akihabara and Koiwa. What did you think of Joypolis? I only wish I could have visited it when it was Neo Geo World.

[AeroCityMayor]

Fantastic write-up Jase and great pictures.

You actually bought a Strikers 1999 from G-Front!!!

uber

Cheers,

Ralph.

[GaijinPunch]

Good to see you got pics of the old MAK. They've since moved to a TINY space, and I'm afraid they may be gone soon..

Shit -- didn't know that. That's painful. Sign of the times.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yeah, playing the Strikers 1999 PCB is ace in my book. My local movie theater had an USA region Strikers 1945 III conversion kit with full sized marquee & English arcade paperworks encased in an Dynamo cab. Used to spend real quarters to see how far I could get on a single credit. Then one day, it was gone for good. Then it seemed the only proper way to play S-1945 III was to get the PCB version. Snagged the JPN region S-'99 version with all the original arcade paperworks + cool mini promo poster = priceless arcade shmup fun indeed.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[mesh control]

This picture confuses me. I thought KOF 2002 UM never received a arcade release. Any clue what hardware that's on?


edit: nvm, found it. It's apparently called the System Board Y-2.

[greg]

I like the place that has the aquarium window. I wonder how they can keep algae from growing like mad in there?

This is a great site, and great pics. Arcades in Japan are still great, even if they are in decline. There's one in the small town where my mom-in-law lives, and they have a handful of shmup cabs, puzzle cabs, and a row of Gundam Senjou no Kizuna game pods.

I'm moving to Japan in a couple weeks, to a small city in Nagano-ken. I've never been to the city before, so I don't know what kind of neat nerd crap they may have there.

[dcharlie]

Good to see you got pics of the old MAK. They've since moved to a TINY space, and I'm afraid they may be gone soon..

they are back where they were 11 years ago.

[NTSC-J]

I'm moving to Japan in a couple weeks, to a small city in Nagano-ken. I've never been to the city before, so I don't know what kind of neat nerd crap they may have there.

Welcome to the neighborhood. What city?

[Bloodreign]

Seeing the pictures of the gameshops, this fuels me to want to collect more games. So much awesome contained within the pictures. Loved the aquarium shots as well, simply beautiful.

[greg]

Welcome to the neighborhood. What city?

It looks like we'll be practically neighbors. I'm moving to Saku, which is just down the road from where you are. You're still in Karuizawa, right? I've never been to Saku, except when we drove through there a couple times when my mom-in-law took us to Karuizawa.

[manatworks]

really nice blog. i'm having fun reading it

[GaijinPunch]

Welcome to the neighborhood. What city?

It looks like we'll be practically neighbors. I'm moving to Saku, which is just down the road from where you are. You're still in Karuizawa, right? I've never been to Saku, except when we drove through there a couple times when my mom-in-law took us to Karuizawa.

Buy your snowboard gear before you come. Trust me.

[greg]

Buy your snowboard gear before you come. Trust me.

Well, I think among the forum members living in Japan, I will certainly take the roll of being the least cool guy. I've never gone snowboarding. I tried skiing once and I hated it. (I went on a ski trip with my students when I lived in Himeji.) Maybe a snowboard would be more to my liking (I've always thought a skateboard was easier than rollerskates), but I'm not sure if I would really get into that.

I really dig hiking though, and there are plenty of mountains.

Anyhow, as far as arcades go, I do know of some in Chino and Kamisuwa, but I don't know about the location I'll be moving to. I hope there are some Heiando and Book Off stores in the area, and I'd go crazy if there was a Hard Off.

[NTSC-J]

Welcome to the neighborhood. What city?

It looks like we'll be practically neighbors. I'm moving to Saku, which is just down the road from where you are. You're still in Karuizawa, right? I've never been to Saku, except when we drove through there a couple times when my mom-in-law took us to Karuizawa.

Yea, Saku is right next door. I've been there a bunch of times and its small compared to Tokyo, but it's a lot bigger than Karuizawa.

Buy your snowboard gear before you come. Trust me.

Well, I think among the forum members living in Japan, I will certainly take the roll of being the least cool guy. I've never gone snowboarding. I tried skiing once and I hated it. (I went on a ski trip with my students when I lived in Himeji.) Maybe a snowboard would be more to my liking (I've always thought a skateboard was easier than rollerskates), but I'm not sure if I would really get into that.

While it's true I am kind of a bad-ass, I hate winter sports. Being cold and falling down are two things I will not pay to do.

Anyhow, as far as arcades go, I do know of some in Chino and Kamisuwa, but I don't know about the location I'll be moving to. I hope there are some Heiando and Book Off stores in the area, and I'd go crazy if there was a Hard Off.

There's a Book-Off that I can't remember if it's actually in Saku or just close by. The only Hard Off I've ever been to was in Nagano-shi.

And there's a huge shopping mall in Saku that has a Namco arcade (filled with crappy peripheral games, no sit-down cabs last time I checked).

btw, you may want to bring a sweater. It's getting down below zero Fahrenheit, which is probably a little cooler than Phoenix.

[Gus]

The arcades I've seen in Akihabara seem to be dominated the prize grabbing machines money-wise. I only see shmups played by hardcores and more adventurous gamers who lose at stage 2 or 3.

[GaijinPunch]

You're both pussies. Snowboarding is fun...including falling down.

[greg]

You're both pussies. Snowboarding is fun...including falling down.

Would you say that it's easier than skiiing? (I know that this is seriously derailing the thread, but I'll be satisfied with a yes/no answer.)

[CMPXCHG8B]

Would you say that it's easier than skiiing? (I know that this is seriously derailing the thread, but I'll be satisfied with a yes/no answer.)

No.

It's the difference between riding a tricycle around your neighbourhood and standing on the seat of a motorcycle whipping downhill at 120km/h.

-CMPX

[GaijinPunch]

Ditto

It's harder than skiing b/c the first day, despite the fact how well you can skateboard and/or surf, you will fall every 30 seconds and barely be able to move for 2-3 days. From the 2nd day or so, not so bad. After that, I find it easier than skiing. That's to say, hitting the intermediate level of skiing just seems harder to me than snowboarding. The first is fucking brutal though.

The trick is not catching your toes and heels, and the only way to get good at it is to fuck it up like 200 times.

[greg]

I'm a pussy then.

[Skykid]

Ditto

It's harder than skiing b/c the first day, despite the fact how well you can skateboard and/or surf, you will fall every 30 seconds and barely be able to move for 2-3 days. From the 2nd day or so, not so bad. After that, I find it easier than skiing. That's to say, hitting the intermediate level of skiing just seems harder to me than snowboarding. The first is fucking brutal though.

The trick is not catching your toes and heels, and the only way to get good at it is to fuck it up like 200 times.

I spent the whole first day crashing, and perhaps by the last hour on the slopes I had managed to get the hang of the novice course through sheer willpower. The second day I could go down the intermediate after some morning crashes, and on the last day my idiot mates took me onto the expert course which I bombed down like a pro and crashed at the bottom like someone on a death wish. Great fun.

[PlanetHarriers]

Thanks for the comments.

I've since added a couple of updates, including my trip up Koya-san and Osaka, including pics of the awesome arcades.

[Frenetic]

Thank you so much for posting these pics PlanetHarriers. Love both the pictures of the arcades with all different sorts of beautiful candy cabinets. I also am enjoying the travel reports of the places you've visited as well. It is a joy to be able to travel through your eyes!

--F

[AeroCityMayor]

Thanks for the comments.

I've since added a couple of updates, including my trip up Koya-san and Osaka, including pics of the awesome arcades.

Fantastic update d00d - I'll never tire of seeing those pictures of the Nanboya Arcade in Osaka.

You should have got the wife to play Castlevania - The Arcade - she may well have enjoyed cracking the whip and you'd have got a bit of practice in

Cheers,

Ralph.

[PlanetHarriers]

Thank you so much for posting these pics PlanetHarriers. Love both the pictures of the arcades with all different sorts of beautiful candy cabinets. I also am enjoying the travel reports of the places you've visited as well. It is a joy to be able to travel through your eyes!

--F

Thanks for the kind words man, glad your enjoying it.

Thanks for the comments.

I've since added a couple of updates, including my trip up Koya-san and Osaka, including pics of the awesome arcades.

Fantastic update d00d - I'll never tire of seeing those pictures of the Nanboya Arcade in Osaka.

You should have got the wife to play Castlevania - The Arcade - she may well have enjoyed cracking the whip and you'd have got a bit of practice in

Cheers,

Ralph.

Haha, very true Ralph, although in all fairness she needs little practice!