Guinness World Records representative awards honor at grand opening of new Taito Station.
In a lot of other countries, crane games have a reputation for being stuffed with cheap, cheesy, knockoff merch, basically like an automated carny game. It’s a different story in Japan, though, where the machines are stocked with officially licensed goods from the most popular anime, video game, and character merchandise lines, often special items that you can’t get in stores or anywhere else.
That makes Japanese crane games incredibly popular among collectors and arcade customers, but there’s a drawback to having so much cool stuff waiting to be won, in that it can be hard to find a machine with the specific prize you’re hoping to get your hands on. That won’t be such a big problem at the newest branch of arcade chain Taito Station, though, since it officially has more crane games than any other arcade in the world.
Tokyo’s Taito Station Fuchi Kururu just opened last Saturday, and the entire arcade is dedicated to crane games (or “UFO catchers,” as they’re also sometimes called in Japan). So how many crane game machines does it have? 454, which is enough for it to be officially recognized by the Guinness World Record association for having the “most claw game machines at a single venue.”
▼ Video of the award’s presentation, which took place as part of the arcade’s grand opening festivities
Obviously, that makes for a lot of variety in the available prizes, and there’s some variety in the play prices too. While the industry standard cost for a single play is 100 yen (US$0.94), some of the machines at Taito Station Fuchi Kururu are an ultra-affordable 10 yen per play.
▼ A walk-through of the facility
▼ Currently available prizes include Pokémon tote bags, Final Fantasy desk lamps, and Dragon Quest Slime insulated drink bottles.
Of course, as we’ve discussed before, UFO catchers are not vending machines, and the actual cost of winning a prize is impossible to definitively calculate. If you’re confident in your level of luck/skill, though, a partial listing of prizes being offered now can be found on Taito Station Fuchi Kururu’s website here.
Arcade information
Taito Station (Fuchu Kururu branch) / タイトーステーション（府中くるる店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Fuchu-shi, Miyamachi 1-50 basement level 1
東京都府中市宮町1丁目50番地 B1
Open 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website
Source: Taito via IT Media
Top image: Taito
Insert images: Taito (1, 2, 3)
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!