Proving once again that there’s nothing you can’t make gaming and/or gamer.

These days it seems like you can get anything in a “gaming” format. Gaming chopsticks, gaming eggs, and gaming apartments are but a few of the many goods and services aimed at those who enjoy video games. 

Perhaps gaming sake will be a welcome addition to this range of items too. In fact, considering a recent survey that suggested younger drinkers have been distancing themselves from the brewed rice beverage, gamer-oriented sake might be a good way to get back into their hearts.

We’ll certainly find out if that’s the case this spring when Gaming Rainbow is released. This is the latest in the Hito Maku series of canned sake by bottler SakeBottler, aimed at bringing a fresh look to the traditional beverage. The previous two drinks, Challenge Blue and Have Fun Red, were released last year and come in 180-milliliter (6-ounce) cans designed by Tokyo-based mural art company The Over Alls.

Image: PR Times

But for Gaming Rainbow, SakeBottler sought out illustrators with a deep connection to the gaming world and came up with some great choices. The first of the two can designs were made by Mika Pikazo, whose resume includes designing the popular V-Tuber Kaguya Luna, costume work for Hatsune Miku’s Magical Mirai 2018, and moe mascot characters for Kagome’s popular spaghetti sauces.

▼ Some of Mika Pikazo’s other works

Now, she was tasked with creating a label that fits the themes of “gaming,” “rainbow,” and “sake.” At a grand unveiling that was live-streamed from the eXeField e-sports center in Akihabara, Tokyo, Pikazo’s label was shown for the first time. 

▼ The full livestream

▼ Mika Pikazo’s label design

Image: ©SakeBottlers

Pikazo explains that the image represents the ideas of augmented reality and mixed reality with the feeling of someone playing in a game center to bring that sensation to home gaming while enjoying a can of Gaming Rainbow.

Image: ©SakeBottlers

The second can design was done by Kinu Nishimura, whom old-school gamers should definitely know as the guy who made the promo art for several Capcom titles, most notably an iconic illustration used as the box cover art for Street Fighter II Turbo’s Super Famicom release.

▼ Some of Kinu Nishimura’s works

Lending his talents to Gaming Rainbow, Nishimura drew a complex crowd of gamers for his label. He explains that his rainbow was the diverse types of games, genres, and people which he tried to encapsulate in his illustration.

▼ Kinu Nishimura’s label design

Image: ©SakeBottlers

The look of these cans isn’t the only connection to video games either. The sake in Gaming Rainbow is provided by Tsuchida Sake Brewery in Gunma Prefecture. The brewery’s president Yuji Tsuchida had also worked for five years in the gaming industry, and has the sensibilities to craft a sake that pairs well with gaming. Tsuchida said that this was accomplished by creating a taste that “grows” as you drink it, much in the way a player’s character would level up and improve throughout a game. 

It’s unclear when Gaming Rainbow will come to a liquor store near you, but SakeBottler plans to begin sales via Japanese crowdfunding website Campfire from 1 April to 31 May. Anyone interested ought to check it out, because it would sure taste great while wearing your gaming hoodie, lying in your gaming bed, and talking to your gaming grandpa.

Source: PR Times, YouTube/SakeBottlers
Top Image: ©SakeBottlers
Images: YouTube/SakeBottlers (unless otherwise noted)
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