Arcades in Japan

calz

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Messages
52
Reaction score
9
Location
New York
Spent a few weeks in Asia and some time in Japan. Was amazed at the amount of arcades I came across. Most had several floors and were just massive. Several new games (did not see any classics), and a huge interest from the public. I was with people from work that thought I was nuts for being interested in this but managed to take some photos to share. One of them shows a live televised competition between 3 players.
 

Attachments

  • DSC04600.jpg
    DSC04600.jpg
    20.1 KB · Views: 196
  • DSC04823.jpg
    DSC04823.jpg
    20.9 KB · Views: 194
  • DSC04840.jpg
    DSC04840.jpg
    20.7 KB · Views: 188
  • DSC04583.jpg
    DSC04583.jpg
    21.3 KB · Views: 190
  • DSC04616.jpg
    DSC04616.jpg
    17 KB · Views: 156
Here is a few more pics...
 

Attachments

  • DSC04868-1.jpg
    DSC04868-1.jpg
    20.6 KB · Views: 147
  • DSC04606-1.jpg
    DSC04606-1.jpg
    21.1 KB · Views: 154
  • DSC04854-1.jpg
    DSC04854-1.jpg
    21.1 KB · Views: 148
  • DSC04824-1.jpg
    DSC04824-1.jpg
    20 KB · Views: 152
  • DSC04817-1.jpg
    DSC04817-1.jpg
    20.5 KB · Views: 152
Regarding your co-workers...how dare you be interested in something other than Dancing With the Stars! People are retarded. Thanks for the pics. Wish arcades were still alive and well here, but arcade games have cost 100 Yen ($1) in Japan for decades now. Much harder to profit when games are only 25 cents.
 
Awesome pics! It's a really cool experience, but that 100 yen shocked me too. Did you get a chance to go to a pachinko parlor?

During my first trip, I was in an arcade at a mall in Toride - http://goo.gl/maps/wrlxx - with my wife..we were waiting for the bus back to the house. It's like in the middle of what I refered to as the "nebraska" of a Japan...small towns..all farming.

I was playing Tekken 2, which I thought I was quite unbeatable at.

Most 2 player PVP games then were set up back to back (with you sitting down, like a red tent) and most of the time you can't see who's playing against you.

A notification popped up 'You have been Challenged!" Of course, as a cocky 20-something I thought.."I'm about to PWN this sucker! Bring it on!".

I was destroyed in seconds.

I tried again, with my best guy, and lasted till the third round...only to lose again.

I stood up to view my opponent, and there's this teenager sitting there, with a completely emotionless look on his face. I high-tailed it to the bus stop.
 
Look for the documentary '100 Yen the Japanese Arcade Experience' to be released soon (the only thing I had to do with it was a small $$ donation).
 
there have been other threads on this but arcades are definitely still popular in japan. there were not a lot of console games sold there before the original nintendo and even after that people still like to go. i read a really cool book about it a while back.
 
Thanks for sharing those pics. I'm always amazed at the scale of Japanese arcades. Closest thing we have to that here is Round 1, which is great, but dwarfed by most of the Japanese arcades.
 
there have been other threads on this but arcades are definitely still popular in japan. there were not a lot of console games sold there before the original nintendo and even after that people still like to go. i read a really cool book about it a while back.

Was it called "Arcade Mania!"? Yeah, I was glad I picked that one up.
 
I attached pics of the 2 places I went. Was pretty amazed there were multiple floors and so much interest... young and old folks were into it. Just not used to seeing that here :). Also thought it was cool to see the machines built for sitting rather than standing.
 

Attachments

  • DSC04618-1.jpg
    DSC04618-1.jpg
    94.4 KB · Views: 44
  • DSC04644.jpg
    DSC04644.jpg
    54.1 KB · Views: 39
  • DSC04599-1.jpg
    DSC04599-1.jpg
    88.7 KB · Views: 45
Last edited:
The arcades in Japan remind me of casinos the way they have them setup. I have a friend that lives there and he says arcades are getting more and more popular all the time.
 
Well in reality traditional video game Arcade's are on the decline in Japan for some time now but still lots there .
The big ones like the Taito stations or Hey but also really old and obscure ones where you still find the early, all metal Candy's .

Smelly old Arcade in Osaka :
6218076384_0d639544e3.jpg

6218085802_fcf9235365.jpg


Love this old beaten up Aero City working daily for 25 years and how about that ash sprinkled Red tent .

6217554811_2fae5386b4.jpg




Compare that to Hey arcade with multiple floors :


hey20.jpg

hey25.jpg
 
I was in Tokyo last year and one thing I did notice was how clean the bathrooms were. They take care of the place but I hated the smoking in the arcades.
 
I attached pics of the 2 places I went. Was pretty amazed there were multiple floors and so much interest... young and old folks were into it. Just not used to seeing that here :). Also thought it was cool to see the machines built for sitting rather than standing.

Looks like good ole Akihabara. I lived in Japan for some years, and loved dipping in and out of the many arcades. Then to come home and not find one really sucked. Japan even has 3 arcade shops for PCBs and stuff in AKI.
 
Back
Top Bottom