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Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centres
Posted by Brian Crecente at 3:00 AM on September 11, 2008
Earlier this year Ashcraft emailed me to ask if I would write one of the forewards for his upcoming book on Japanese arcades. I jumped at the opportunity, mostly because it gave me a chance to get my hands on the book's galley. I'm a huge fan of Ash's writing and was dying to see how it read in book form.
Turns out it reads really well.
I've never been a huge fan of books about video games or gaming culture, mostly because most of them seem to forget about the people and instead focus on the technology. Not so with Arcade Mania! The Turbo-Charged World of Japan's Game Centres. In it, Ash walks you through a typical Japanese arcade game type by game type. But instead of focusing on the games he talks to the people to whom they matter most. From Japan's UFO Catcher Queen, to Street Fighter champion Daigo "The Beast" Umehara, to Shump champions and DDR dancers, Ash manages to put a face to every game and give us a glimpse into what makes people so fascinated with them.
My foreward for the book on the jump.
Foreward
A Word From a Gamer:
Growing up in the seventies, an Army brat of sorts, arcade games kept me company as my family ping-ponged across oceans and countries. It didn't matter where we moved, everywhere from Thailand to Texas had arcades, making each new home feel welcoming. Reading through this book taps into those memories: days spent in an empty arcade in Korea playing shoot-em-ups; hours spent in an Officer's Club playing Frogger; my first Street Fighter fireball at a Texas bowling alley.It wasn't until I was managing an arcade in college, years later, that I realised that the arcade cacophony, the flashing lights, the pocket full of quarters, were the hallmarks of a whole generation's childhood memories. In Japan those memories are still being formed in places like Akihabara, the arcade-laden town of Shangri-La-like import for North American gamers, but the arcades of the West have long since fallen.
But don't mourn the fall of America's arcades, a place of pinball, not pachinko; of ticket games, not card games. Instead celebrate the confluence of culture and technology still thriving in Japan.Brian Crecente
Managing Editor of Kotaku.com, gamer
This reminds me. I need to find an agent and get to work on my book.
Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers [Amazon]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Jamez
Posted 3:41 AM 11/9/08
@Knoxximus (360/PSN): Same here. Ash is one of those guys who i read all his stuff and pay attention. Except sometimes he gets wacky here, but meh.
Jamez
xAnarChisTx
Posted 3:36 AM 11/9/08
@NT: It can be either or. Foreword/Forward.
xAnarChisTx
Knoxximus (360/PSN)
Posted 3:33 AM 11/9/08
Can't wait to get this!
Knoxximus (360/PSN)
Dorgon
Posted 3:32 AM 11/9/08
I'll be in Japan when this is supposed to be released, so I'll bringing a copy home with me for sure!
Dorgon
Spoony Bard
Posted 3:30 AM 11/9/08
Very nice intro. Bash, congrats on the book. Looks great and colorful, chock full of info. Can't wait to get my copy! :)
Spoony Bard
NT
Posted 3:28 AM 11/9/08
"foreword"?
NT
vid3oman64
Posted 3:21 AM 11/9/08
I like the idea. I wonder how deep Bash gets. Can you disclose any tidbits, Crecente? Or even Bash, if he's reading.
vid3oman64
Deruji
Posted 3:21 AM 11/9/08
When I get a chance I'll pick it up, any chance that it'll be available in Japan or is it amazon.com only?
Deruji
TearsandScreams
Posted 3:18 AM 11/9/08
Ah awesome, will be picking this up for sure. And it's listed in the UK on Amazon, albeit as Brian Ashcroft!
TearsandScreams
PsycheE
Posted 3:09 AM 11/9/08
I forecast at least NYBS for a week running.,,
My last read was "Masters of Doom" and surelsy inclined to purchase this book with the super savings. Congrats on the finished work and I hope it stays in the pipeline for a long time, which it probably will.
PsycheE
Dragonzigg
Posted 3:07 AM 11/9/08
Definitely getting. Bash's writing on Kotaku is great, and the subject sounds really interesting.
Dragonzigg
jeffx
Posted 3:59 AM 11/9/08
I am buying this.
jeffx
Joebob-X
Posted 3:59 AM 11/9/08
So are we finally going to be getting Crecente's book on the secrets of hair care?
Joebob-X
Witzbold
Posted 3:58 AM 11/9/08
Will be looking forward to getting my copy of the book also!
Witzbold
murph
Posted 3:47 AM 11/9/08
"How to look like a Pirate" by Brian Crecente?
murph
Smidget
Posted 3:46 AM 11/9/08
I was already planning on picking this up but knowing now that it dips in on the thoughts of players of the games has birthed some actual "can't wait for this to come out" excitement. With the past 7 years of my life being heavily spent in arcade atmospheres, I love hearing about the culture of arcade gaming more than the games themselves. And good forward Brian. Its hard to organize so many thoughts into so few words. The book layout is lookin' pretty sweet.
Smidget
qwhacker
Posted 3:44 AM 11/9/08
army of brat of sorts?
might want to fix that part. aside from that i think i may have to snag a copy if its ever available to canadians here
qwhacker
Kempatsu
Posted 4:29 AM 11/9/08
I was actually in the beginnings to acquiring a loan to open up a game center simliar to the japanese ones. The maintenance and hard work would have to be fueled by sheer passion, which I contain, but I believe this book could grant me great insight to what I should point my market towards.
I hope this books proves to be an invaluable asset! I currently live outside of Philadelphia, PA for the record.
Kempatsu
Joebob-X
Posted 4:24 AM 11/9/08
@excaliburps: I was worried that my delay of just a few minutes would cost me victory. Also, while it does suck that arcades are almost all but dead in the US, I played some SF4 at Family Fun Arcade in Granada Hills this weekend (Southern California) and that arcade is still kicking with a pretty sizable user base. Most of the people there now aren't even there for SF4. I just wish there were more arcades like that.
Joebob-X
excaliburps
Posted 4:17 AM 11/9/08
@TearsandScreams: Why he sounds more uh British and knightly if you will! Brian ASHCROFT indeed! =D
@Jamez: Yeah I don't know if it's the Asian tea getting to him but I generally like his posts. Oh and by wacky you mean Maximum Risky am I right? C'mon you perv! :D
@Joebob-X: Haha damn! You beat me to it! That or a book filled solely with reviews for conditioners!
Nice stuff Crecente! Though I have to admit I still mourn the death of arcades. It was a very big part of my childhood. SFII was the one that really reeled me in big time. I used to wait in line to get my ass handed to me in mere seconds.
Oh and I hope no one compares online-gaming to arcades as there's no comparison to be made. If you grew up at the time when arcades were king you'd know what I'm talking about. =)
It's really a shame Japan most be one of the only few that still has an arcade scene.
Guess that's the price for progress huh?!
On a sidenote, does anyone have any idea which countries this book would be released in? Or do I have to order this through Amazon? I'm wondering if this'll be at any bookshop.
excaliburps
Erwin
Posted 5:23 AM 11/9/08
Damn, this book looks better every time. Can't wait to read it.
@NT: Like "forward," but "fore," as in "be-fore," as in the words before the text. Spelling is correct.
Erwin
L___E___T
Posted 6:03 AM 11/9/08
Great foreword and am glad there are many people around that have that similar feeling you outline. Can't wait for my pre-order to arrive, I'm going to really enjoy this.
L___E___T
kicking222
Posted 6:03 AM 11/9/08
This book certainly looks great, and I commend Bashcraft, but I'd like, if I may, to throw another recommendation out there- a recommendation for the only book about video games (besides a couple of strategy guides) I've ever purchased or read- Van Burnham's Supercase. You can check it out here: [www.amazon.com]
It's a mostly-pictorial history of arcade and console video games, starting from the very beginning of games up to the release of the Famicom. The few articles/stories in the book are incredibly interesting (for example, a few pages on the MIT labs), and contributions besides those of the author- including an article by Ralph Baer- are quite enlightening. It's also a huge book, as it's got 450 oversize, full-color pages detailing pretty much every game ever released in America before the mid-80s.
So there it is, people. Supercade. Check it out. I found it at a bookstore used for 10 bucks, but it's definitely worth the $23 Amazon is asking for it.
kicking222
ninja_warrior
Posted 5:56 AM 11/9/08
Nice work Brian
ninja_warrior
fuchikoma
Posted 6:20 AM 11/9/08
If there's a story up when it's available, I'll buy it. I was always a console/PC guy and didn't have many arcades to see but it's definitely interesting to me.
fuchikoma
WasabiJoe
Posted 6:49 AM 11/9/08
I hope you're all having an LA party again sometime next year. I wouldn't mind showing up for free booze and to have the book signed by all the Kotaku staff I could find.
Amazon doesn't have it coming out till Jan 1st, 2009.
It's so far away
WasabiJoe
shaunomacx
Posted 6:44 AM 11/9/08
Nice wording Brian, Im planning on getting a copy ASAP!
shaunomacx
Kikujiro
Posted 6:39 AM 11/9/08
The book is even listed on Amazon.fr ! Definitely getting this as soon as it comes out.
Kikujiro
Mobus
Posted 7:26 AM 11/9/08
I want his book! :D
Mobus
shaunomacx
Posted 10:20 AM 11/9/08
@WasabiJoe: why? only Brian Ashcraft wrote the book, and Crecentes only involvement is a foreword, as a friend, writer, boss, gamer.
shaunomacx
shouryuuken
Posted 10:23 AM 11/9/08
do want. im researching opening my own arcade here in texas.
shouryuuken
Chinpokomon
Posted 11:04 AM 11/9/08
Wouldn't it be cool if you could actually put this book as a prize in a UFO catcher?
mmmmm, meta...
Chinpokomon
Brian Crecente
Posted 10:56 AM 11/9/08
@shaunomacx: Wait did you call me a boss gamer?
Brian Crecente
Copesetic
Posted 12:28 PM 11/9/08
When is this coming?? I seem to recall Brian mentioning something about a launch event sometime this month.. Is that still on?
Copesetic
Brian Ashcraft
Posted 12:53 PM 11/9/08
@Copesetic:
It's out in Japan later this month. And there will be a book launch in Tokyo.
Out in the US this January!
Brian Ashcraft
Copesetic
Posted 1:38 PM 11/9/08
Great! Be sure to let me know the details for the launch in Tokyo!
Copesetic
Edwinik
Posted 2:38 PM 11/9/08
how can i get a copy here in mexico when it comes out??!!
Edwinik
Chobie
Posted 5:01 PM 11/9/08
Oh dear, forget that... I found it:
[www.amazon.co.uk]
Chobie
Chobie
Posted 4:59 PM 11/9/08
I'm interested in picking up a copy, pre-ordering even... but is there any chance to get this in amazon.co.uk?
Chobie
Bichatse
Posted 10:50 PM 11/9/08
@Erwin: I think NT's point was that the spelling in the article itself wasn't. :P
(I've never heard of 'forward' being an acceptable synonym for 'foreword', but then... I only speak English, not American-English.)
But in this case, I just assumed that after Crecente's page, there would be another one by someone else titled "Down", then a third titled "Down+Forward+Punch".
Bichatse
brandonf
Posted 4:02 AM 12/9/08
Be sure to let us know when it comes state side Bash. I'm sure I speak for many Kotakuites when I say we're behind you and look forward to supporting this effort with a purchase. BTW, what are the dimensions of the book? Is it coffe table sized?
brandonf