Starting this month, The Legend of Zelda pocket watches will start appearing at Taito game centers in Japan. These are UFO Catcher prizes—and very cool ones at that!
Why Arcades Haven't Died In Japan
In many places, arcades seem to have nearly, if not completely, vanished. Yet, in Japan, they continue to hang on.
To mark the 30th anniversary of shoot ‘em up Darius, Taito is releasing a huge box set with seven CDs, the PS4 version of the game, a Blu-ray disc, and a special booklet. It’s all priced at 13,800 yen ($134).
Japan Still Makes The Best Train Games
There is no competition, and no country is better. Japan is the unrivaled king of train games.
Taito Hey, the wonderful Akihabara arcade, is getting an automatic foreign currency changing machine, Famitsu reports. You won’t need i.d. like a passport, and can easily change U.S. dollars, euros, Chinese yuan, Korean won, Taiwanese dollars, Hong Kong dollars, and Thai baht. That’s pretty cool!
Tiny 'Arcade' Set Up in Tokyo Train Station
To show how digital payments work on arcade games, the folks at Taito set up a teeny, temporary game center at Akihabara Station in Tokyo.
Old Nintendo Instruction Manuals Are Truly Wonderful
Don’t you miss instruction manuals? Or even just paper? I know I do. And these photos make me miss them even more.
300 Famous Characters, Redrawn in Pixels
Inspired by Bubble Bobble, pixel artist Paul Robertson took Taito's 1986 classic's style and redrawn a whole bunch of video game and pop culture characters. 300 of them to be exact.
Japan's Left 4 Dead Characters Include Schoolgirl, Bartender
Left 4 Dead is being released as an arcade game in Japan. None of the eight existing characters, however, are making the trip (despite featuring in the local releases of the console titles). Instead, publishers Taito have swapped in an all-new cast.
Space Invaders' Creator Says He Would Have Made It 'Far Easier'
At 69, Tomohiro Nishikado readily admits he's bad at video games. That's not unusual for a man his age, but he was bad at them when he was making them, specifically Space Invaders. "Had it been left up to me, Space Invaders would have been a far easier game," he told The New Yorker.
Two of the world's most addictive mobile games, Taito's Groove Coaster Zero and GungHo Online's Puzzles & Dragons, are crossing-over August 12-24. There'll be special Groove Coaster Zero-themed dungeons and creatures popping up in the puzzler, while a special P&D song pack will be available in the rhythm game for…
This Space Invaders Watch Is As Expensive As It Is Stylish
In the event that you have an extra $20,000 or so lying around, you probably wouldn't want to spend it on a watch. But on the off chance that you do, boy, have I got a treat for you.
One of the Greatest Mobile Music Games Goes Free-to-Play
Experimenting with new ways to make folks pay for their iOS games, Square Enix releases Groove Coaster Zero, injecting new songs and adapting a free-to-play model to Reisuke Ishida's original musical masterpiece.
Taito's Love Affair With Old Jackie Chan Movies
What kind of developers have the peanuts to rip off Jackie Chan not once, but twice, at the same time? Taito have the peanuts, that's who.
The Feel Good Fighting Game Story of the Summer
The fighting game community gets a bum rap. Sometimes it's deserved. Often it's not. There are good people in the fighting game community. People like Daigo Umehara. People like Osamu Ichikawa. And people like the folks at Shoryuken.
A Fascinating Look at the Factories Where Old Video Games Were Made
Mommy, where do video games come from? They come from factories, dear, factories like these, from the 1980s.
Now You Too Can Play the Terrible Akira Video Game!
In 1988, Taito released Akira, cash-in on the hugely-popular animated film of the same name. Just in case you were wondering if Japanese developers somehow made better movie adaptations in the 1980s, no, they did not. The game was terrible.
Press This Arcade Button. A Real Person Will Appear.
One of the best things about Japan is the service. The service is generally great. One of the things that makes it so great? Call buttons.
12 Bucks Is A Lot for an Old Game
Rayforce was first released in Japanese arcades in 1993—when I was fifteen. The game is now out on the iOS. For $11.99.
So Many Wonderful Arcade Prizes. Which Do You Want?
The 26th Prize Fair recently wrapped up, showing off prizes available in arcade redemption games during the first half of 2012. Companies including Taito, Banpresto, and Sega were on hand. Ditto for their prizes.
