People in Tokyo and Osaka are being told to stay home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has declared a state of emergency as the number of novel coronavirus covid-19 cases increase. And now, select electronics and game shops are finally getting the message.
Earlier this month, Kotaku reported that long lines gathered at the Yodobashi Camera in Osaka’s Umeda to buy Nintendo hardware. This was not the only location were crowds descended.
Shoppers (here, for example, at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara in Tokyo) were packed close together.
秋葉原のヨドバシswitch入荷した!40分ぐらい並んだけど無事にゲットできた!神様ありがとう???????? pic.twitter.com/NqOqBiF6uF
— タマラ (@yuu30lovers) April 3, 2020
The same at Kawasaki.
川崎ヨドバシでスイッチ入荷って言うけど、マスクもせずにコロナにかかりにいってる感じだね。神奈川県も外出自粛じゃないの? pic.twitter.com/eXJLFYOruo
— a (@fffkkkfkfk) April 4, 2020
Even after the state of emergency was declared, people lined up at shops like Bic Camera in Tokyo.
緊急事態vsビックカメラ pic.twitter.com/I0QNShHBF4
— kenichi nalita@医療大麻新宿成田賢壱 (@kenichinalita) April 7, 2020
And game shops continued to draw long lines for new games and hot hardware. Below is the launch for Final Fantasy VII Remake when it went on sale at Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo’s Akihabara.
ファイナルファンタジーVIIリメイク発売。ヨドバシAkibaでは開店前や開店あとのゲームフロアに行列ができていた pic.twitter.com/Q4BtBlHTVO
— ツルミロボ (@kaztsu) April 10, 2020
There was reporting that some of the individuals lining up under increasingly risky conditions were hoping to resell Switch hardware, which is getting hard to find and is going for high prices used.
Bunshun Online details the lengths scalpers will go to get a Nintendo Switch. They’ve been crowding around electronic stores for weeks, and now scalpers and store staff members say they have coronavirus symptoms. https://t.co/Ge64g2Y2iW
— Tom Hanaway ???? (@tomhanaway) April 14, 2020
This week, Yodobashi Camera, one of Japan’s biggest electronics retailers, temporarily closed a number of stores, including locations in Tokyo and Osaka, due to coronavirus covid-19 concerns. Kotaku called the Osaka branch and was told that it would be shuttered until sometime in May, depending on the pandemic situation.
流石にヨドバシも全筐体ストップみたいですね pic.twitter.com/EOHl7XfFnk
— ささがぁ (@HijonoP) April 10, 2020
The decision does seem inevitable—though, overdue. As late as April 12, there are still clips of celeb Takuya Kimura of Judgment fame visiting Bic Camera, as if to encourage others to shop. In the clip (screenshot, top image), he isn’t wearing a mask but is wearing sunglasses indoors as he wipes his nose on camera. The whole thing seems completely tone-deaf.
But at Bic Camera, the use of capsule toy machines, as well as game cabinets, has been prohibited for several days. The chain has since temporarily closed some, but not all, of its stores in Tokyo and elsewhere.
きょうどのくらい秋葉原のお店やってないかというと、ゲーマーズやアニメイト、ラジオ会館、セガやタイトー、アイランドやビッグアップルが臨時休業。ヨドバシですら入口で「お急ぎの方のみご案内」としていた pic.twitter.com/X2QUo32fUX
— ツルミロボ (@kaztsu) April 11, 2020
う〜ん????ビックカメラもダメやった・・・#トライエイジ pic.twitter.com/VlXBgxvUsX
— ヒロ (@Hiro__Osaka) April 13, 2020
Last week, in-store arcade machines were turned off at Yodobashi Camera.
ビックカメラ、ガチャガチャ自粛中 pic.twitter.com/4kcJIuI5uJ
— 秋月 (@akodama) April 14, 2020
As these photos show, other game shops in Akihabara are also temporarily closing.
日本橋ゲーセン全滅!!!!!!
ラウンドワンも空いてないし、
周りもゴーストタウン化してる。空いてるのはTENGAショップ!! pic.twitter.com/1WXrph9rpV
— うー (@myp3al) April 8, 2020
緊急事態宣言に伴って臨時休業となっている日本橋エリアの店舗情報(5/6まで休業、もしくは「当分の間」休業としているもの) #pombashi
●タイトーステーション日本橋
●ハロー!プロジェクトオフィシャルショップ
●@ほぉ〜むカフェ大阪本店
●カプセルホテルヴァリエ
(続きます) pic.twitter.com/WXmEV5m11r— ぽんタブ / 日本橋ショップヘッドライン (@dendentown) April 9, 2020
Osaka’s geek district Nipponbashi has been seeing shop after shop close for the time being over the past week or so and typically packed places like Ota Road are anything but.
大阪日本橋オタロードの皆さんちゃんと自粛要請守って静かです。・*・:≡( 「ε:)ノ pic.twitter.com/2Vw0YzTJsn
— クラムカフェ (@cramcafe) April 12, 2020
For the safety of shoppers and employees, retailers in Japan are rethinking how they can safely sell games and game hardware while maintaining social distancing.
ヨドバシ梅田今日から休業なんすね…私ったら…帰るか…… pic.twitter.com/W9dEB6Ift6
— タルミ (@tarumi_BSR) April 14, 2020
With more and more shops temporarily closing, that means ordering online.
今朝の秋葉原、きのうから降りつづく震えてくるようなつめたい雨。お出かけにはあたたかな格好が必要そう。予報では千代田区、雨の天気、予想最高気温13℃だそうです https://t.co/tidUBBV5JQ pic.twitter.com/AbtNTvHPKG
— ツルミロボ (@kaztsu) April 13, 2020
Leave a Reply