What do you think when you hear "arcade"? Do you imagine swarms of greasy, sweating men sitting in front of brightly-lit screens, rapidly tapping buttons and wiggling joysticks every which way? In Japan... well, this is exactly the case. But it's certainly not the entire story.
See, in Japan, arcades are still massively popular. In fact, they are so popular, you could walk into any given arcade and likely see a salaryman, a junior high school student, a gaggle of giggling girls, and a bored housewife on her way back from the grocery store. The arcades here are a place that brings together many types of people in part because of the diverse genres of games represented. Like many establishments in Japan, arcades are often multi-leveled, designating each floor to a different genre. On the bottom floor or two, you will usually find the UFO catchers. These prize-grabbing machines are nothing like those found in America, where all you can nab are junky, miscolored plush toys no one would want. Instead, you will find rare, expensive, highly sought-after prizes like anime figures, gigantic plushies, chopsticks, fans, rice cookers, pocket watches, wallets, purses, and much, much more. At the cost of about a dollar a try, these games may take an investment, but can really nail you with a return profit. They take skill, they take finesse, but if you can master the UFO catcher, you can win prizes anyone would be jealous over.
There is also often a floor just for fighting video games. The fighting game scene in Japan is HUGE, with a multitude of games available to test your might at, all of which are only the latest and greatest versions playing from a pristine condition machine. Street Fighter, BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, Melty Blood, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, you name it. Everything is there, and often with a line of people waiting for their turn to take on the reigning champ of the building.
Another floor is the one dedicated to just music-rhythm games. These floors are where I make a home. Machines that you'd be lucky to find one or two of in a 1 hour driving radius in Southern California (considered to be the biggest scene for Japanese music-rhythm games btw), you will find 4 or 5 machines in a single room. Beatmania IIDX, PopN' Music, Hatsune Miku Project Diva Arcade, Jubeat, ReflecBeat, Sound Voltex Booth, Drummania and Guitarfreaks, Dance Dance Revolution, Dance Evolution, Taiko Drum Master, all in glorious condition and playing oftentimes on shiny HDTV displays. It brings tears to my eyes thinking of it's awesomeness. Truly a haven for us music-rhythm addicts.
There is usually a floor somewhere for miscellaneous games. These include card games, where you place cards on a matte surface that scans their data and allows you to move them around in a strategy game-like format, mech games like the ridiculously popular Gundam vs. Extreme Boost series, Mahjong Fight Club, which is just like it sounds, betting games like virtual horse races, and even traditional bar games like billiards and electronic darts. Smoke usually permeates this floor, as it is welcomed with ash trays at every game station. What better way to wind down a day of work than to mahjong the night away and blow through a pack of cigarettes? Only the mightiest of men are found on this floor.
A floor for pachinko and slot machine games also exists. Those people who are just too addicted to Japan's most popular game can find themselves machines to sit at and turn a nob to watch steel balls shoot all around through a forest of pins, hoping that it'll reach some tiny hole and give them a jackpot prize. Many women can be found on this floor alongside the salarymen, as they look to hang out after a day at work or housekeeping.
Finally, the basement floor is usually given to purikura (picture club) machines, or the photo booth machines where you and a bunch of friends stand in front of a camera, pose together for a bunch of shots, then customize the photos with various clipart-like things until you decide to let the machine pop out a sheet of the pictures right then and there. Always a good group activity, though I have never seen a man do purikura (besides myself and a couple other UC guys, of course). EXTREMELY popular amongst the high school girl crowd. They also have a section in the room where, for a small fee, an individual can rent a costume to wear while taking purikura. Seasonal costumes can be found too, and I myself have seen a couple girls looking like santa and a reindeer step out of a booth before. For reals.
Arcades are never empty. There are always at least three people on a given floor, even just before closing and in a quiet, small city like Totsuka, but in the biggest cities, you will not be able to tell the difference between a 3PM crowd and an 11PM crowd. People. Are. Everywhere. They eat these arcades up, feeding money into machines for hours and hours on end, and we're not just talking a couple quarters here and there either. The arcade scene in Japan is still running strong, helped by the backing of major companies like Sega and Namco in order to deliver the best quality of experiences possible. Little arcades, mom and pop arcades, are nowhere to be seen, except in the dingy darkness of Osaka or randomly interspersed in a street mall in Kyoto. Despite this, the feeling is much the same as in a small, privately-owned operation, with a sense of community, belonging, and excitement in the air, beckoning the player to stay for a while. Just hang out for a few hours. Blow off some steam. Enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells (some admittedly not-so-pleasant) of a Japanese Game Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment