Visiting an arcade in Japan: Gaming like back in the day!

Japan is a promised land for many nerds and gamers. Because Japan has a profound gaming culture. We sent our author Benedict on an exploration journey in Japan. What are the Japanese arcades like?

First of all: Japan is great, but I wouldn’t want to live here. You quickly get used to the cool things, while the rough edges become more annoying like scratching lint in a sweater.

Nevertheless, Japan is a beautiful country, especially regarding its gaming culture. Even though hardcore otakus are also frowned upon here: fanboys and fangirls, gamers and nerds are not something to be looked down upon in Japan.

The past still lives on – in arcades and retro stores!

In my journey through Tokyo, I visited many places. Among other things, I was driven by interest in the history and development of gaming. My main goals were the centers of nerd culture.

This includes anime and gaming shops, cosplay and second-hand stores, and of course arcades.

Arcades are large gaming halls where machines are set up, where you can play for money. Each machine runs a different game.

From these gaming halls, home consoles eventually developed. Even virtual reality has its origins here. Thus, the halls are somewhat the origin of our current gaming.

Arcades are still available in western countries primarily in the USA. In Germany, gaming halls were not successful for long. In the late seventies and early eighties, they had their peak here.

By the mid-eighties, they were dying out again – especially thanks to youth protection laws, which classified the machines as gambling. Since then, there have only been isolated machines or retro fans with their own arcades in Germany.

The Japanese arcades – the hay in the haystack

Arcades are truly everywhere here in Japan. Every small district, where there are at least restaurants or students, has a gaming hall somewhere. Usually, younger people spend their time here, but often, older ones regularly come.

The arcades in Japan are a bit different. Only a few, particularly smaller arcades, offer just game machines. Most are filled with claw machines and other prize machines, where you can win prizes for money. Quite annoying if you just want to play.

Nevertheless, in the other floors of the usually tall buildings, there are also real slot machines with old and new games. The arcade culture is still alive in Japan, so some new releases come to the arcades before being released on consoles.

What can be found in the arcades?

Alongside the alluring offerings of prize machines, various types of machines stand in the large rooms. Roughly, they can be divided into 5 categories:

• Beat-em-Ups: Classic fighting games in the style of Tekken and Street Fighter. Both game series are available almost everywhere. With analog sticks and large buttons, these machines offer pure arcade feeling and form the core of many arcades
• Card and strategy games: Something that I had never seen before. There are tables where players command armies on large screens or engage in card battles. I didn’t fully understand it, but there are also machines where you control the game using cards placed on a field. These tables are probably the most common and most numerous, even a bit more than beat-em-ups.
• Sports and racing games: Also frequently represented are classic racing games with steering wheels and gearsticks as well as football and (interactive) boxing. Alongside fighting games, these are the most popular for recreation among young players.
  

  

  Tekken 7.

  

  Pokken Tournament, ein Pokemon Beat-em-Up.

  
  

  

  Trommel-Rhythmus-Spiel.

  

  Ein anderes Strategiespiel mit Karten.

  
  
• Music and rhythm games: These machines typically occupy one floor or a separate corner. They are found almost everywhere, but simply less than the ones mentioned above.
  The games on the machines are akin to Guitar Hero, dance mats, drumming games, or rather crazy and fast-paced games with buttons that have to be pressed (I think) in rhythm. The people I observed were too fast to say more …
• Horse racing: Yes, really. In most arcades, especially the smaller ones, there are large areas with seating where players engage in virtual horse racing. “Star Horse” is probably the most popular. Especially older players spend hours here. This might be because gambling is prohibited in Japan – so people seek their thrill virtually.

What stands out particularly: The air in arcades is often stuffy. In most areas where only game machines without prizes stand, smoking is allowed. Additionally, there are drink vending machines, charging stations, restrooms, and often cafes. The operators place great importance on ensuring people stay for a long time.

Akihabara Electric Town and Namba Denden Town: The Nerd Centers of Japan

The highest density of arcades and other interesting stores for gamers and nerds can be found in two places in Japan: Electric Town Akihabara, a district in Tokyo, and in Denden Town Namba, a district of Osaka.

Here, arcades, cosplay shops, manga stores, and hardware stores are lined up. The latter are primarily for consoles or laptops; PC gaming is not as widely spread. You have to be careful where you go in: Many shops consist largely of 18+ sections that are not always separated. Especially Akihabara boasts this.

However, you can also find Sega Towers in Akihabara. Towers with more than 6 floors full of machines, cafes, and fan shops. Partners often offer merchandise here. When I was there, there were new items from Fate/Apocrypha. Very pleasant as a fan.

All the stores are rather narrow. There’s not much space, as as much as possible is supposed to be sold in a small area. For this reason, you can find used and new games at different prices in the buildings – each store has a different price for the same products.

Denden Town is a bit smaller and somewhat more focused on hardware than nerd accessories. Here, there are significantly more stores in a smaller area selling PC accessories and parts. At least I found a Warhammer shop here.

Retro Gaming in Japan

Retro gaming is less present in Japan than many might think. While there are quite a few second-hand stores selling old games, most things are indeed new.

Nevertheless, some stores offer old consoles, games, and accessories. Depending on cult status and condition, their prices vary. A Nintendo 64 costs almost three times that of a GameCube, both used.

There are plenty of games available. Whether as cartridges or CDs, from the old Famicom to the Dreamcast, through to the PlayStation 2, thousands of different games can be found, some even at bargain prices.

Some arcades even offer retro games. There are a few where machines can be found that allow you to play classics like Street Fighter 1 or the old Dragon Quest parts. Usually, one machine offers 7 or more games – just for the retro enthusiast.

Japan and the past – no friends in gaming

In general, I can say that Japan seeks progress in gaming rather than looking back at past days. The latest games are advertised long before their release, so you can even pre-order a game in-store 5 months in advance with a coupon.

Although arcades still have a feel of “back in the day”, the games are almost all new. They often fulfill higher graphical demands. Only music games seem to have always been kept simple to attract the absolute fans who then focus on one game and play it to perfection.

Japan focuses more on the present and future in games. Mobile gaming is a big topic, and retro is slowly dying out. But at least arcades do not seem to disappear anytime soon, leaving the memory alive.

Recently, the mobile MMORPG Lineage 2 Revolution was a huge success in Japan!