Saturday, May 12, 2007
Japanese Arcades, Addendum
I just wanted to write a little bit more about Japanese Arcades because I don't think I really conveyed the full scope of how completely amazing Japenese Arcades are, and because there was a really awesome game there that I haven't talked about yet.
So when most of you think of an arcade game, I'm sure you think of the 'cabinet'. That same shape that most American arcade games are in, with the TV above the joystick and a few buttons. First off, throw that entire concept away. Most Japanese Arcade machines are huge, sprawling things with strange control options and huge screens.
And then there's the horse racing.
I saw that game in Japan. It was...amazing. Each person had a luxurious, lounge-style chair with a big ol' touch screen in front of them. While the 200+ inch screen in front of them counted down the time to the next race, individual players used their touch screens to prepare their individual horses. I saw people watering horses, brushing horses, feeding horses, and then flowing effortlessly through menus in Japanese that I simply couldn't follow in order to bet on horses.
Now as people sat prepping their horse for the next race, the horses themselves were paraded across the screen. Most of them looked pretty normal, with statistics and numbers and the like. But two of the horses were *on fire*. Flaming horses! I don't know about you, but If I ever went horse racing and saw horses with flames licking off their haunches, I would either call the police immidately or BET ON THAT HORSE.
One of the flaming horses came in third, the other sixth.
Seriously, if burning flames aren't enough to win a horse race, then what in the world would?
I didn't play it, because I can't read Japanese (a fact that seriously irks me) but that really looked like one of the most luxurious arcade experiences one could have. These games are getting seriously classy.
-N
I just wanted to write a little bit more about Japanese Arcades because I don't think I really conveyed the full scope of how completely amazing Japenese Arcades are, and because there was a really awesome game there that I haven't talked about yet.
So when most of you think of an arcade game, I'm sure you think of the 'cabinet'. That same shape that most American arcade games are in, with the TV above the joystick and a few buttons. First off, throw that entire concept away. Most Japanese Arcade machines are huge, sprawling things with strange control options and huge screens.
And then there's the horse racing.
I saw that game in Japan. It was...amazing. Each person had a luxurious, lounge-style chair with a big ol' touch screen in front of them. While the 200+ inch screen in front of them counted down the time to the next race, individual players used their touch screens to prepare their individual horses. I saw people watering horses, brushing horses, feeding horses, and then flowing effortlessly through menus in Japanese that I simply couldn't follow in order to bet on horses.
Now as people sat prepping their horse for the next race, the horses themselves were paraded across the screen. Most of them looked pretty normal, with statistics and numbers and the like. But two of the horses were *on fire*. Flaming horses! I don't know about you, but If I ever went horse racing and saw horses with flames licking off their haunches, I would either call the police immidately or BET ON THAT HORSE.
One of the flaming horses came in third, the other sixth.
Seriously, if burning flames aren't enough to win a horse race, then what in the world would?
I didn't play it, because I can't read Japanese (a fact that seriously irks me) but that really looked like one of the most luxurious arcade experiences one could have. These games are getting seriously classy.
-N
Labels: Arcades, Horse Racing, Japan
