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Abroad in Japan: Japan's Biggest Gaming Obsession Explained (Pachinko)

Cloud-Hidden

Cloud-Hidden

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,990


I love Abroad in Japan. I watch the channel all the time for travel tips and general "slice of life" tidbits, but I thought this one would be interesting to share.

The video goes into some detail about the history of the game itself, and why its blatant circumvention of Japan's anti-gambling laws is tolerated.

I'll be traveling to Tokyo in September and will probably check out a parlor. How many of you have played, and what did you think about it? Was it addicting, or was it just loud?

Mods, if you think this belongs in another section, feel free to move.
 
Abriael

Abriael

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,605
Milano - Italy
It's a fun channel, and it's a nice introduction to pachinko (not that you should be introduced to pachinko, I'd advise no one to get started with it), but at least now people will know what it's all about.
 
UnluckyKate

UnluckyKate

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,549
It is INSANELY loud.

Holy hell, just walking near it, have the door automatically open and the volume of noise blasting out of these parlor is just... insane.

I don't understand how one would walk in, let alone stay inside for any prolonged period of time
 
DNAbro

DNAbro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,921
That was really interesting, I've always wondered how it worked. Also really well produced video.
 
Mars People

Mars People

Comics Council 2020
Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,195
As I understand it Pachinko is mainly an old person thing in Japan. Kinda like bingo.
At least thats the stereotype.
 
KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.

KINGOFSHIBUYA Ltd.

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,960
Osaka, Osaka
UnluckyKate said:
It is INSANELY loud.

Holy hell, just walking near it, have the door automatically open and the volume of noise blasting out of these parlor is just... insane.

I don't understand how one would walk in, let alone stay inside for any prolonged period of time
Click to expand...
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Everytime I accidentally trigger those automatic doors, I go deaf for 30 seconds.

When I was a kid, my grandpa had a pachinko machine in his storage room at his house. I didn't know what it was, and it was never being used (and he died when I was young), but I just thought it was a weird pinball table, that for some reasons had a ton of balls hidden behind the board.
 
JordanKZ

JordanKZ

Member
Oct 27, 2017
226
I actually went to the 'family friendly' pachinko place in Takayama, fun for a bit of messing around.

I then walked into a 'normal' pachinko hall in Shibuya. You will never hear a noise that loud in your life.
 
Shinobido Heart

Shinobido Heart

Member
Dec 23, 2017
8,125
A bit far from my area, is a festival that is held once a year called the Japan Festival.

I've been going there since 2008 and they've brought in a few pachinko machines in the recent years.

I saw an Evangelion Pachinko machine there.
 

Deleted member 2802

Community Resetter
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
33,729
I love the pachinko champion.

He seems like the happiest guy in the world.

Shinobido Heart said:
A bit far from my area, is a festival that is held once a year called the Japan Festival.

I've been going there since 2008 and they've brought in a few pachinko machines in the recent years.

I saw an Evangelion Pachinko machine there.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

hqdefault.jpg
 
Mizeris Lutz Ether Lanai

Mizeris Lutz Ether Lanai

Member
Dec 2, 2017
3,435
The pachinko parlours are mostly empty these days, cell phones & internet gambling seem to be killing them off. Calling it Japan's obsession is a huge stretch (okay, it's an outright lie).

Pachinko sucks, by the way. It's like pinball without the interaction, while you choke on second hand smoke and lose your hearing. Oh, and a lot of them are owned by the mob, so you're doing all this to support organized crime. Find anything else to do with your time.
 

Deleted member 5535

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,656
"Biggest gaming obssession" lol Couldn't be more wrong. This is mobile and handheld consoles (like 3DS and Switch).
 
VallenValiant

VallenValiant

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,598
Mizeris Lutz Ether Lanai said:
The pachinko parlours are mostly empty these days, cell phones & internet gambling seem to be killing them off. Calling it Japan's obsession is a huge stretch (okay, it's an outright lie).

Pachinko sucks, by the way. It's like pinball without the interaction, while you choke on second hand smoke and lose your hearing. Oh, and a lot of them are owned by the mob, so you're doing all this to support organized crime. Find anything else to do with your time.
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There is also the recently passed law that permit up to three casinos to be built. But that is up to 7 years away.

Gambling is popular in Japan and yet highly restricted. So skirting around the laws cause uniquely Japanese industries to be created.

But once traditional gambling become more accessible, the odd industries will die out.
 
Azure Wanderer

Azure Wanderer

Alt-Account
Member
Jun 27, 2018
651
Pachinko killed Konami's series and that's why I can't let pass a Pachinko thread without saying

fuck Pachinko
 
Dot-N-Run

Dot-N-Run

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,037
Mizeris Lutz Ether Lanai said:
The pachinko parlours are mostly empty these days, cell phones & internet gambling seem to be killing them off. Calling it Japan's obsession is a huge stretch (okay, it's an outright lie).

Pachinko sucks, by the way. It's like pinball without the interaction, while you choke on second hand smoke and lose your hearing. Oh, and a lot of them are owned by the mob, so you're doing all this to support organized crime. Find anything else to do with your time.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Wasn't there a sketchy rumour floating around that Konami had ties to organized crime as well? Wonder if any of that had to do with their pachinko business.
 
Telaso

Telaso

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,674
Friend and I could not find a single spot open in this whole area we visited in Tokyo. Its insane how loud and popular this game is there.
 
OP
OP
Cloud-Hidden

Cloud-Hidden

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,990
shira said:
I love the pachinko champion.

He seems like the happiest guy in the world.


hqdefault.jpg
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Natsuki is the best, yes. He's in a lot of his videos, and he's always a total ham.

Shinobido Heart said:
A bit far from my area, is a festival that is held once a year called the Japan Festival.

I've been going there since 2008 and they've brought in a few pachinko machines in the recent years.

I saw an Evangelion Pachinko machine there.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


That's really cool!
 

Kumubou

Member
Oct 25, 2017
792
Dot-N-Run said:
Wasn't there a sketchy rumour floating around that Konami had ties to organized crime as well? Wonder if any of that had to do with their pachinko business.
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I would be shocked if every publisher with a big arcade presence (Konami, Sega, Taito, Namco, etc.) didn't have some sort of connection to organized crime. That's the exact sort of business they would want to be involved with to help launder money.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,364
Cloud-Hidden said:


I love Abroad in Japan. I watch the channel all the time for travel tips and general "slice of life" tidbits, but I thought this one would be interesting to share.

The video goes into some detail about the history of the game itself, and why its blatant circumvention of Japan's anti-gambling laws is tolerated.

I'll be traveling to Tokyo in September and will probably check out a parlor. How many of you have played, and what did you think about it? Was it addicting, or was it just loud?

Mods, if you think this belongs in another section, feel free to move.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


I've walked into countless Pachinko parlours and noped the fuck out. The noise, the smell! They just smell of cigarettes. Crazy places. Be prepared to put in a lot of money...

Also Abroad in Japan is the best! Enjoy your trip!
 
Donniewahlberg

Donniewahlberg

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,179
I love Chris Broad's videos (and Natsuki of course)! He's done a great job of pushing out interesting docu style videos and keeping the usual YouTube nonsense to other pages etc. Nice to see this pop up on the front page here.
 
famikon

famikon

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,604
ベラルーシ
UnluckyKate said:
It is INSANELY loud.

Holy hell, just walking near it, have the door automatically open and the volume of noise blasting out of these parlor is just... insane.

I don't understand how one would walk in, let alone stay inside for any prolonged period of time
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Make sense. Noise affects on brain, it's information overload basically. More loud = less you can control yourself.

Nemesis162 said:
"Biggest gaming obssession" lol Couldn't be more wrong. This is mobile and handheld consoles (like 3DS and Switch).
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You don't have data. Konami is not the only one who obsessed with pachinko.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/751954/japan-pachinko-market-revenue/
In 2016, the pachinko market revenue amounted to approximately 3.7 trillion Japanese yen
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

In addition, many mobile games in Japan is basically pachinko in portable form.
 
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SephLuis

SephLuis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,343
I was going to try Pachinko once, but couldn't go in due to cigarrete smell.
A arcade I used to go had some machines, but I ended up never going to play those.
 
Taker34

Taker34

QA Tester
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
1,122
building stone people
Ha never would've guessed to see an Abroad in Japan topic here. Superb channel and the Pachinko video was really interesting as well - I mean usually all of the videos are interesting so that's not surprising.
 
Cudpug

Cudpug

Member
Nov 9, 2017
3,556
Honestly, Chris is my favourite Youtuber. As a film maker he is extremely talented and I've learned a lot about Japanese culture from him. Highly recommend his channel and this episode was really insightful.
 
OP
OP
Cloud-Hidden

Cloud-Hidden

Member
Oct 30, 2017
4,990
I'm so glad to see so many of you here who also love the channel!

Considering how popular pinball-based video games are, I wonder why we haven't seen video games take a crack at pachinko, especially since those two worlds have already combined multiple times on the pachinko side of things. At first I thought "how fun could it be to sit there and watch balls tumble and fall," but really, you do a lot of watching and waiting with pinball video games as well.
 
Celcius

Celcius

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,086
One of my absolute favorite Youtube channels. He's very funny and I enjoy seeing more of and learning about Japan as well.
 
Masterspeed

Masterspeed

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,825
England
Chris Broad on Reset Gaming? Wow, never thought I'd ever see that. If you have any interests of seeing Japan from an English man's perspective, I'd highly recommend it.

Chris is a really great guy with some pretty funny and great friends who appear in videos. Plus, for being one guy and maybe someone else at times, they're really well edited.
 
HosannaExcelsis

HosannaExcelsis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,333
Cloud-Hidden said:
I'm so glad to see so many of you here who also love the channel!

Considering how popular pinball-based video games are, I wonder why we haven't seen video games take a crack at pachinko, especially since those two worlds have already combined multiple times on the pachinko side of things. At first I thought "how fun could it be to sit there and watch balls tumble and fall," but really, you do a lot of watching and waiting with pinball video games as well.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

There are a gazillion pachinko video games; they just usually don't get released outside Japan for obvious reasons.
 
pezzie

pezzie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,439
Chris Broad is a fantastic Youtuber, and I've been watching nearly every video on his channel while prepping my own trip to Japan next year.

My only wish was that he releases more often, but he's been working on getting a lot more production value out of his videos lately so I appreciate that it's taking him longer. Also his podcast rocks.
 

Deleted member 5535

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
13,656
famikon said:
Make sense. Noise affects on brain, it's information overload basically. More loud = less you can control yourself.


You don't have data. Konami is not the only one who obsessed with pachinko.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/751954/japan-pachinko-market-revenue/


In addition, many mobile games in Japan is basically pachinko in portable form.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I do have data. Mobile is bigger than Pachinko (which isn't gaming so idk why it's even counted) and handhelds are also bigger as well... the problem for them, are the consoles dragging them down both in software and hardware.
 
Valcrist

Valcrist

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Oct 25, 2017
9,705
Definitely one of the best channels on youtube. Also the dude smoking bugged the crap out of me.
 
gozu

gozu

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,338
America
so horribly noisy and smelly. Pachinko parlors are hell on earth. I couldn't wait to lose my 1000 yen and get out.
 
EvilBoris

EvilBoris

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Oct 29, 2017
16,684
We tried nit when we went, we literally had no idea what we were doing or how to win. We spunked like £20 of money in 20 seconds flat
 
ShinySunny

ShinySunny

Banned
Dec 15, 2017
1,730
It is gambling.
Majority of Asians love gambling. Pachinko is just another form of gambling.
The ticket to HK and Macau is cheap enough that many Asians go there once a year.
Now Japan is about to setup their own "Macau" region as well to build up their regional tourism.
I don't know why Japan took forever on this issue.
If gacha makes so much money from the youth, time to make money from the adults.
 
Trace

Trace

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,690
Canada
That pachinko cafe looked like fun, I'd love to try the game in a more low-key setting like that. When I was in Tokyo last I was tempted to try one but actually going in any of the pachinko parlors I saw was impossible for me, way too intimidating.
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

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Oct 27, 2017
12,893
OR
Dot-N-Run said:
Wasn't there a sketchy rumour floating around that Konami had ties to organized crime as well? Wonder if any of that had to do with their pachinko business.
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Sammy was rumored to have Yakuza ties.

Then they bought Sega, and shortly thereafter, Sega releases a game featuring a Yakuza member with a heart of gold cleaning up the streets and helping citizens.

:thinkingemoji:
 
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Asbsand

Asbsand

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
9,901
Denmark
I went to an arcade last week. Played Sega Rally 3 in a real (plastic) car ("GAME OVER YEEEEAAAH").

I thought for the longest time that Pachinko was something like that. An arcade game with some unusual controls but uh, it's just this:
http://www.asianews.it/files/img/GIAPPONE_-_0902_-_Pachinko.jpg
GIAPPONE_-_0902_-_Pachinko.jpg


Gives me baaaad, bad memories of Super Mario Sunshine. Jesus christ, Konami, why would you subjugate your ideal consumer with this?
 
TheOasis

TheOasis

Member
Oct 28, 2017
104
Interesting stuff. However, I think somebody would have to be pay me to even set foot in a pachinko place. Don't want to choke on smoke for no reason.
 
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