Friday, February 15, 2019

Game Arcades | Japanology Plus with Peter Barakan



The Japanese gaming landscape has rapidly evolved over the last 60 years or so in order to keep up with changes in both technology and the economy. Before arcade games became popular across Japan, they were available in places where people typically socialized, making them easily accessible to all. People would stop by to blow off stress after work or school, which is still a common reason to visit arcades today. Children could play small games at dagashiya (penny candy stores), where they usually congregated to buy candy or toys for 5 to 10 yen. Additionally, due to rapid industrialization, places to play outside were becoming scarce. That made it harder to play games such as hide and go seek or “Daruma-san ga Koronda” (similar to Red Light, Green Light) with friends, so shops became the location of choice for children to spend their free time.

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