Only in Japan
Game centres or arcades are really exciting places; especially for me.
I grew up with that back in the 1980s.
Japan invented them, and the Japanese companies,
They were the industry leaders and believe it or not the game centers are still big today!
Akihabara is a hub for Japanese subculture meaning. It's a place loaded with game centres.
Game makers like Sega and Taito have game centres here.
The first floor is usually filled with crane games or UFO catchers.
Which we featured in a previous episode.
Many also have Purikura photo sticker booths.
But it's the games that attract me,
and we're going to a special game centre loaded with vintage arcade games.
I grew up with arcades back in the 1980s, but, by the middle of the decade they sort of died out.
But here in Japan, they still exist.
SHINGO: Well the kids in the 80s who actually enjoy these games in games centres, they still kept coming.
They still are here. Well we in the United States
Oh, we in the United State, just stopped once the game consoles came
But for us, this was not just the place where you can play games this was something very special
so with a little more money
People are still coming here. Think it, still coming here. So that means the average age of a gamer
when they were teenagers of the 1980s that means they're like thirties, forties
fifties
Pushing their 50s which is why retro game centers in Tokyo are a thing this still be behind us is, Mikado
They have some pretty interesting games that I've heard. Oh my goodness. You will be surprised yeah
But you said one other person was gonna be joining us. Oh Mickey, yeah, Mickey
We needed someone who wasn't born during the arcade boom of the 1980s and well
Here she is
From the mobile gaming generation she's no idea what she's getting into today, but she sure knows how to make an entrance
This is Mickey Igarashi, and she's known as a science girl for her love of well science
Today she'll get to try a vintage arcade game from before she was born
It really is like going back into time. Mikado is stocked with vintage arcade games like Daytona USA and Space Harrier
It's a mix of games from many generations
Back then they really made the games to last metal sticks buttons that you can pound
metal steering wheels and
solid game bodies
Let's play a few of these vintage arcade games
Shingo goes first picking this car racer game made by Sega. It's outrun
Where you get to drive a Ferrari Testarossa spider through what seems like, California USA?
Pole position in 1982 is the earliest racing game I can remember playing with a steering wheel
So an outrun came out with a gear shift
Realistic controls and car movements it was a dream come true
Kids lining up to play or should I say Drive?
Well this is one of the first games that I actually played on an arcade it's got some nice girls nice-looking girls, it's got the
full
Californian American law and this is all
something that you kind of dream about of about
United States once you're gonna get old you probably want to do this exactly the same thing
Well, you don't want to find the carpet, okay, but this is the full American
Experience what a long time yeah, and I still suck at it. I don't know why?
Three coins already it says 1986 money got it. It's been that long
This game came a decade after outrun
Tokyo Wars put you inside of a tent as war rages in either central Tokyo or the Bayside area
Players had a lot more control with pedals
The screens got bigger too to compete with the game consoles
The experience needed to be more interactive than what you could play at home each game lasting about 15 minutes
Speaking of game consoles they've become retro too and Super Potato at Akihabara has become headquarters to buy old game systems
But if you go to the top floor, they have an arcade with some retro games, too
On the lower floors you'll find old Nintendo games and equipment remember this thing
Japan had a lot of game consoles never seen in the West
But some are well-known like this one
Just walking around the store brings back memories from anyone who grew up between 1980 and 2000
Back in Mikado I found an old arcade game. I used to play in 1983 made by Atari
So back in the early 1980s Star Wars was the biggest movie like it still has these days and back
Then you would play all the arcade games standing up
This was the first game where you can sit down and enter new world and actually
destroy the Death Star yourself
Really, I don't know
It's my first time to see that game
Wait when were you born again?
I'll never mind never mind everyone
time to destroy the Death Star
This game is simply called Star Wars and uses 3D color vector graphics a game used to be 25 cents, but these days
It's 200 yen, and kind of worth it try finding this somewhere else
Starwars incorporated the music from the movie as well as real voices of Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi
So they really knew how to make games back then this one is made out of really good wood that controls made out of metal
Very solid and the gameplay today is still really awesome
I mean even it was 1983 so they made this game and it's still
Amazingly exciting to me and the best part is when you hear Obi-Wan Kenobi
Tell you to use the Force and you're inside
Getting ready to shoot the Death Star you really feel the passion of the movie come alive into this game
And that's what makes this like so special oh
The game brilngs back your memory
Yeah this brings back memories when I was 10 years old
That's really cool. If this thing actually exists this game actually exists here in Tokyo. This is really cool
Yeah
Thirty years later the Star Wars battle pod from Bandai-Namco games came out, and yeah, it's quite a step up from my childhood
It's Mickey's turn, and she's hankering to fly a helicopter
It felt like you are entering a real helicopter
A joystick like a cyclic and another handle like a collective and throttle just like helicopter controls for 100 yen
You could fly a multimillion-dollar helicopter
1980s style
The helicopter stays in the center while the screen around you changes the game moves to simulate a real helicopter battle
Mickey seems a little too chipper after falling 400 meters to the sea below, but it's like
The game that I've just played is so realistic
but, in that Star Wars games, you could see the pixelation, I felt llike really nostalgic to me
You could see all the pixels, right?
Yes, I could see the pixels and fell like nostalgic to me
I was very surpried that they've established their view of world thoroughly
There's still a lot of game centers in Japan
But this retro arcade will always have a home as long as there are people still alive to play them
Visiting a game center is a must in Japan
And if you grew up during the arcade boom or you're just a fan of video game history
Savor those 8-bit graphics and nostalgia and bring a pocketful of quarters or in this case
100 yen coins
Next time the only in Japan series continues as we travel Japan in search of food, culture and adventure
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Matane