Pikachu plushies snuggled up in Pokémon sleeping bags are the prizes we’ve all been waiting for!
Arcades (Page 4)
Against the infamously difficult arcade games, sometimes you just can’t win, even when you just won.
The musical rhythm games that are fixtures at Japanese arcades blur the line between video games and public performance. Even those who don’t see what’s so special about a 10-hit Tekken combo or one-credit shooter play-through can find themselves enthralled with tempo-perfect drumming or dancing, and expert rhythm gamers often garner a crowd of impressed onlookers watching them play.
The audience for this arcade dancer, though, didn’t consist of a throng of people, though, but instead a single kitty.
Look, arcade owners, UFO catchers are difficult enough already, okay? We’ve already worked out a precarious balance where you tempt us with stuffed animals, anime figures, and boxes of candy placed tantalizingly close to the drop slot, and we accept that almost always said item will slip out of the claw’s pitifully weak grip, leaving us empty-handed and the surrounding air resounding with frustrated cursing.
But still, it’s all worth it for the rare time everything goes just right. Once the player hits the button to drop the claw, the rest of the game is automatic. That means if you do manage to get a solid grip on the prize, you can sit back and savor your impending victory as the arm swings back into position over the slot and drops the prize in for you to claim.
Unless you’re at this heartless, diabolical Japanese arcade.
UFO catchers occupy a major portion of Japanese arcades nowadays. If you happen to walk by an arcade, the flashing lights and fun prizes all beckon customers to try their luck at these “skill” testing games. Normally, the prizes are figures and stuffed animals from popular TV shows and manga, but you will often see snacks and food. Most recently, a UFO catcher at the Amuseum Oizumi caught our eye because of its prize, a real live pufferfish!
Every gamer knows that one of the best ways to get another gamer frustrated and seeking sweet, bloody in-game revenge is a well-placed “your mom” joke or other taunt or insult involving one’s relatives, girl/boyfriend, dog, cat or the size of certain parts of the target’s anatomy.
Which might mean that this Kobe video game arcade – which, remember, are still quite popular in Japan – may have struck marketing gold with this new ad campaign featuring insulting posters plastered all over the subway.
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