Pachinko is a type of mechanical game originating in Japan and is used as both a form of recreational
arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a Japanese gambling
niche comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gaming.
A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but has no flippers and uses a large
number of small balls.
The player fires balls into the machine, which then cascade down through a dense forest of
pins.
If the balls go into certain locations, they may be captured and sequences of events may
be triggered that result in more balls being released.
The object of the game is to capture as many balls as possible.
These balls can then be exchanged for prizes.
Pachinko machines were originally strictly mechanical, but modern ones have incorporated
extensive electronics, becoming similar to video slot machines.
Pachinko parlors are widespread in Japan, and they usually also feature a number of
slot machines; hence, these venues operate and look similar to casinos.
Modern pachinko machines are highly customizable, keeping enthusiasts continuously entertained.
Gambling for cash is illegal in Japan.
Pachinko balls won from games cannot be exchanged directly for money in the parlor.
The balls are exchanged for tokens or prizes, which can be exchanged for cash at a place
nominally separate from the parlor.
History Pachinko machines were first built during
the 1920s as a children's toy called the "Corinth game", based on and named after the American
"Corinthian bagatelle".
It emerged as an adult pastime in Nagoya around 1930 and spread from there.
All of Japan's pachinko parlors were closed down during World War II but re-emerged in
the late 1940s.
Pachinko has remained popular since; the first commercial parlor was opened in Nagoya in
1948.
As a country influenced by Japan during its occupation, Taiwan has many pachinko establishments.
Until the 1980s, pachinko machines were mechanical devices, using bells to indicate different
states of the machine.
Electricity was used only to flash lights and to indicate problems, such as a machine
emptied of its balls.
Balls were launched using a flipper; their speed was controlled by pulling the flipper
down to different levels.
Manufacturers in this period included Nishijin and Sankyo; most of these machines available
on online auction sites today date to the 1970s.
After that time, pachinko machines incorporated more electronic features, thus requiring electricity
for operation.
Ownership The majority of pachinko shops in Japan are
owned by Zainichi Koreans; according to the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, 90%
of the 16,000–17,000 pachinko shops in Japan are owned by them.
Japanese ownership was the majority in the beginning, however, to reduce problem gambling
in 1954, automatic fire pachinko machines were banned, causing most Japanese manufacturers
to leave the market to Zainichi Koreans, a high ratio that remains to this day.
Mechanism
To play pachinko, players get metal balls by inserting cash or cards directly into the
machine they want to use.
These balls are then shot into the machine from a ball tray with the purpose of attempting
to win more balls.
There is a digital slot machine on a large screen in the center of the system and the
objective of this part is to get 3 numbers or symbols in a row for a jackpot.
Older pachinko machines had a spring-loaded lever for shooting the balls individually,
but newer ones use a round knob that controls the strength of an electrically fired plunger
that shoots the balls onto the playing field.
When shot, the balls drop through an array of pins; some of them will fall into the center
gate and start up the slot machine in the center screen.
Every ball that goes into the center gate results in one spin of the slot machine, but
there is a limit on the number of spins at one time because of the possibility of balls
passing through the center gate while a spin is still in progress.
Each spin pays out a small number of balls, but the objective is to hit the jackpot.
The program of the digital slot machine decides the outcome of the spin when the ball falls
through the center gate, not when the spinning animation plays.
Payout mode If the first 2 numbers or letters of the spin
match up, the digital program will display many animations before the third reel stops
spinning, to give the player added excitement.
This is called a reach and sometimes longer animations are played called super reaches.
Pachinko machines offer different odds in hitting a jackpot; if the player manages to
obtain a jackpot the machine will enter into payout mode.
The payout mode lasts for a number of rounds.
During each round, amidst more animations and movies playing on the center screen, a
large payout gate opens up at the bottom of the machine layout and the player must try
to shoot balls into it.
Each ball that successfully enters into this gate results in a large number of balls being
dropped into a separate tray at the bottom of the machine, which can then be placed into
a ball bucket.
Hidden modes, hints, and instant wins To enhance gameplay, modern machines have
integrated several aspects not possible in vintage machines.
One commonly used addition is the ability to change between different play modes, including
rare and hidden modes that can differ significantly from normal play.
Two examples can be seen in the Evangelion series of pachinko machines, which include
mission mode and berserker mode, which range from having little effect on winning to being
an almost guaranteed win.
The videos played and light patterns can also give players a general idea of what their
odds of winning are.
For example, a super reach might make a small change in its animation or show an introductory
animation or picture.
This adds excitement to playing as any given machine will have several common patterns
or animations that can occur, with some having much more significance than others in terms
of ultimate odds of winning on a given spin.
Some machines even allow for instant wins or second-chance wins in which a spin that
appears to have lost or have very low chance of winning based on the hints shown will award
the player with three matching numbers and enter into fever mode without necessarily
matching numbers up during the reach or spin.
Post-payout systems After the payout mode has ended, the pachinko
machine may do one of two things.
Most Pachinko machines employ the kakuhen system, where some percentage of the possible
jackpots on the digital slot machine result in the odds of hitting the next jackpot multiplying
by a large amount, followed by another spin regardless of the outcome.
The probability of a kakuhen occurring is determined by a random number generator.
Hence, under this system, it is possible for a player to get a string of consecutive jackpots
after the first "hard earned" one, commonly referred to as "fever mode".
Another type of kakuhen system is the special time or ST kakuhen.
With these machines, every jackpot earned results in a kakuhen, but in order to earn
a payout beyond the first jackpot, the player must hit a certain set of odds within a given
amount of spins.
When a jackpot does not result in a kakuhen combination, the pachinko machine will enter
into jitan mode, with a much larger number of spins than kakuhen.
Under the original payout odds, the center gate widens to make it considerably easier
for balls to fall into it; this system is also present in kakuhen.
To compensate for the increase in the number of spins, the digital slot machine produces
the final outcomes of each spin faster.
ST pachinko machines do not offer this mode; after it ends, the machine spins as in kakuhen.
Once no more jackpots have been made, the pachinko machine reverts to its original setting.
Koatari Starting in 2007, the majority of Japanese
pachinko machines started to include koatari into their payout systems.
Koatari is shorter than the normal jackpot and during payout mode the payout gate opens
for a short time only, even if no balls go into it.
The timing of the opening of the gates is unpredictable, effectively making it a jackpot
where the player receives no payout.
Koatari jackpots can result in a kakuhen as per normal operation, depending on the payout
scheme of the machine in question.
The main purpose of koatari is so that pachinko manufacturers can offer payout schemes that
appear to be largely favorable to customers, without losing any long-term profit.
In addition to being able to offer higher kakuhen percentages, koatari made it possible
for manufacturers to design battle-type machines.
Unlike old-fashioned pachinko machines that offer a full payout or a kakuhen for any type
of jackpot earned, these machines require players to hit a kakuhen jackpot with a certain
probability in order to get a full payout.
This is orchestrated by the player entering into "battle", where the player, in accordance
with the item that machine is based on, must "defeat" a certain enemy or foe in order to
earn another kakuhen.
If the player loses, it means that a normal koatari has been hit and the machine enters
into jitan mode.
Another reason for incorporating koataris is that they make it possible for a machine
to go into kakuhen mode without the player's knowledge.
This is referred to as senpuku kakuhen because it does not occur in any of the jackpot modes.
A player sitting at a used pachinko machine offering a 1 in x chance of hitting a jackpot
in normal mode can hit it within x spins easily because the previous player did not realize
that the machine was in senpuku.
This induces players to keep playing their machines, even though they may still be in
normal mode.
Japanese pachinko players have not shown significant signs of protest in response to the incorporation
of koatari; on the contrary, battle-type pachinko machines have become a major part of most
parlors.
Design Pachinko machines vary in several aspects,
including decoration, music, modes and gates.
The majority of modern machines have an LCD screen centered over the main start pocket.
The game is played with keeping the stream of balls to the left of the screen, but many
models will have their optimized ball stream to be in the center of the play field or to
switch from left side to right side depending on the game mode.
Vintage machines vary in pocket location and strategy with the majority having a specific
center piece that usually contains win pockets.
Prizes
Winnings take the form of additional balls, which players may either use to keep playing
or exchange for prizes.
When players wish to exchange their winnings, they must call a parlor staff member by using
a call button located at the top of their station.
The staff member will then carry the player's balls to an automated counter to see how many
balls they have.
After recording the number of balls the player won and the number of the machine they used,
the staff member will then give the player a voucher or card with the number of balls
stored in it.
The player then hands it in at the parlor's exchange center to get their prizes.
Among the array of prizes available, there will invariably be an item known as the "special
prize" that can be sold for cash at an outside establishment in the vicinity of the parlor.
Special prizes are awarded to the player in amounts corresponding to the number of balls
won.
For example, one special prize worth ¥1500 outside the parlor might be offered to a customer
per 400 balls won, assuming each ball originally cost 4 yen.
The vast majority of players opt for the maximum number of special prizes offered for their
ball total, selecting other prizes only when they have a remaining total too small to receive
a special prize.
Besides the special prizes, prizes may be as simple as pens or cigarette lighters, or
as complicated as electronics, bicycles and other items.
Under Japanese law, cash cannot be paid out directly for pachinko balls, but there is
usually a small establishment located nearby, separate from the game parlor but sometimes
in a separate unit as part of the same building, where players may "sell" special prizes for
cash.
This is tolerated by the police because the pachinko parlors that pay out goods and special
prizes are nominally independent from the shops that buy back the special prizes.
Some pachinko parlors may even give out vouchers for groceries at a nearby supermarket.
The yakuza were formerly often involved in prize exchange, but a great deal of police
effort beginning in the 1960s and ramping up in the 1990s has largely done away with
their influence.
In Tokyo, the special prize exchange is handled exclusively by the Tokyo Union Circulation
company, which sells pachinko and slot parlors gold slivers in standardized plastic cases,
which it buys back from winning customers at its conveniently located "TUC Shop" windows.
Recreational pachinko Many video arcades in Japan feature pachinko
models from different times.
They offer more playing time for a certain amount of money spent and have balls exchanged
for game tokens, which can only be used to play other games in the establishment.
As many of these arcades are smoke-free and the gambling is removed, this is popular for
casual players, children, and those wanting to play in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Thrifty gamblers may spend a small amount on a newly released model in such establishments
to get the feel for the machine before going to a real parlor.
The same machines can be found in many stores, with the difference being that they pay out
capsules containing a prize coupon or store credit.
Regulations Smoking
Smoking is allowed in parlors, although there are discussions in Japan to extend public
smoking bans to pachinko parlors.
Crime
Gambling is illegal in Japan, but pachinko is regarded as an exception and treated as
an amusement activity.
Although awarding direct money prizes for pachinko is illegal, it is possible for parlors
to reward players with golden tokens which can then be sold for cash at nearby exchange
centers.
With the growing public and political pressure in recent years, since passage of Japan's
blanket anti-gambling law in the 1990s, the police are more active in regulating parlors.
Retired officers often work in the pachinko parlor industry; critics have pointed out
that while this has had a deterrent effect against organized crime involvement, it also
means that these operators are in a strong position to influence currently active police
officers in their favor.
The police tolerate the level of gambling in pachinko parlors.
For example, in May 2005, a particular parlor in Kanagawa prefecture reported to the local
police that someone had counterfeited their tokens and made off with the equivalent of
US$60,000 in cash by trading them in at their nearby exchange center.
Even with such information proving that this parlor was illegally operating an exchange
center, which by law must be independent from the parlor, the police did not shut them both
down, but instead only worked to track down the thief in question.
Ball designs Pachinko balls are forbidden to be removed
from a parlor to be used elsewhere.
To help prevent this, many parlors have a design or name engraved in each ball vended
so that someone can be spotted carrying a tray of balls brought from the outside.
This has led some to start collections of pachinko balls with various designs.
See also Pachinko allocation
Plinko - a game, similar to pachinko, featured on the American game show The Price Is Right
Visual Pinball - a software game engine for creating computer game simulations of pachinko
and pinball machines References
External links History of Pachinko
Manual for Modern Pachinko Machines Pachinko and Japanese Pop Culture