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Tyma posted:The American-style and Japanese-style machines are equally fair, and both work on the principle of "once enough money has gone into this machine, someone wins a prize worth 1/3 of that money". I honestly find the Japanese method of visually showing the current status a lot fairer. I'm not good at prize catchers but I've won plenty of stuff here without breaking the bank just by watching carefully. There are also definitely machines that can be won in like two or three goes just by knowing what the proper method is. Not to say that there aren't cases where a prize has to be bumped around a whole lot of times before it becomes winnable within 500 yen, because those kinds of machines are also numerous. It's a far cry from how rare this can be in American machines though. Granted I'm not talking about machines that pay out iPods and Wiis and stuff - just really sweet Monster Hunter plushes and giant Rilakkuma merchandise. Things people want but aren't in the realm of the fantastic as far as what you could win with 100 yen. Also... Hirayuki posted:Hell, in Japan it's not unknown for staff to occasionally rearrange prizes to give you a leg up. This is very common, and I noticed it on multiple occasions in Osaka. If a staff sees you try a couple times on a game and fail they'll usually come and put it in a more winnable position for you. Of course, it's entirely possible that without their help the prize would be one of those cases where you'd have to spend tens of dollars nudging the drat thing, but at the very least if you just show the guys working there (They're constantly walking around monitoring the machines) that you gave it a go and want to try again they're very helpful. Edit: If you haven't picked up on the undertones of this post, yes I have become slightly addicted to UFO Catchers.
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Jul 12, 2012 04:50
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In the Yakuza videogames you can have the Club Sega staff rearrange the prizes in the UFO catcher for you. I just kinda figured it was something they made for the game because hey, its a videogame why not, but its crazy that theres actual real life precedent for this!
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Jul 12, 2012 06:02
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I'm not surprised since we've seen this a number of times of GCCX.
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Jul 12, 2012 06:06
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Mister Chief posted:I'm not surprised since we've seen this a number of times of GCCX. Well, yes, but I personally assumed it was because, you know, Arino and a gang of cameras and crew
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Jul 12, 2012 06:09
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Episode #144 Gun Dec 7/19/2012
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Jul 12, 2012 09:26
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Gutcruncher posted:In the Yakuza videogames you can have the Club Sega staff rearrange the prizes in the UFO catcher for you. I just kinda figured it was something they made for the game because hey, its a videogame why not, but its crazy that theres actual real life precedent for this! Wait, there's a UFO catcher simulator in Yakuza? Why the gently caress am I not playing it right now?
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Jul 12, 2012 09:29
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Nickoten posted:Wait, there's a UFO catcher simulator in Yakuza? Why the gently caress am I not playing it right now? You are like that dude in the first Yakuza who lost all his money trying to win a prize for his girlfriend or something. Or maybe he sold his girlfriend's present to keep playing? I forget but basically what I'm saying is that people addicted to ufo catchers are crazy and also you're crazy. Well, I kid, but I really don't see how such a thing can be so addictive.
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Jul 12, 2012 09:35
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It's called gambling. EDIT: Gun Dec is Vice: Project Doom? Awesome!
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Jul 12, 2012 09:42
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Mister Chief posted:There is no way they will say yes and I think it is rude to even ask. It is a place of work not a museum. You should visit some of the arcades and such that have been featured on the show itself. Is this something particular to Japan or the US or something? Why would it be rude to ask? I've been given tours of studios and offices a few times and it's literally never been a problem.
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Jul 12, 2012 09:44
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Nickoten posted:Wait, there's a UFO catcher simulator in Yakuza? Why the gently caress am I not playing it right now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVGN0rnfQB4 Not a bad thing to waste time on between punchin punks/shootin zombies in the face
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Jul 12, 2012 09:46
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the least weasel posted:Is this something particular to Japan or the US or something? Why would it be rude to ask? I've been given tours of studios and offices a few times and it's literally never been a problem. I just think it is intruding. It's their work place and judging from what I have seen on the show they work quite hard so I personally would feel weird about interrupting someone's day just so I can look at a cluttered Japanese office space.
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Jul 12, 2012 09:53
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I guess that's why you call ahead?? What the guy wants to look at is entirely up to him.
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Jul 12, 2012 10:09
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the least weasel posted:I guess that's why you call ahead?? What the guy wants to look at is entirely up to him. Sure you can call ahead and ask, but as a rule Japanese offices (even "cool" ones) do things strictly by-the-book, and that book is so much more limiting than what you're used to it's shocking. Even if you were granted a tour you'd probably break formalities in potentially rude ways (considering it's a place of business) that you wouldn't even be aware of. As an example, I was scolded the other day at my office for standing with one hand in my pocket. You also need to consider that their having a guest will be burden on them, due to the formalities they'll be expected to extend to you. In that sense, it IS rude, you're imposing. Honestly your native guide should know better than to even ask. Fly Ricky fucked around with this message at 10:33 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 10:26
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Thanks, that's a better answer.
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Jul 12, 2012 10:52
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Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:You are like that dude in the first Yakuza who lost all his money trying to win a prize for his girlfriend or something. Or maybe he sold his girlfriend's present to keep playing? I forget but basically what I'm saying is that people addicted to ufo catchers are crazy and also you're crazy. It just feels good to give your friends sweet gifts!  Conversely that's why I also have no proof (That doesn't include pictures of my friends, at least) to show you guys how winnable they are here. =/I'm not seriously addicted, but I do give them a try when I'm in the big city and happen across a machine that looks possible.
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Jul 12, 2012 11:34
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I'll try a claw machine or UFO catcher if there's a decent prize that actually looks like it could be grabbed. Most of the time, the good stuff is buried under a bunch of generic hats or stuffed toys, but every now and then you can get something good. I got a stuffed Duck Dodgers that way a couple months ago within two tries, but if it looks like I won't get it without spending more than $2, it's not worth it. It's also hard to know when a machine will pay off sometimes. It's easy to see why Arino is so addicted to them, what with his love for anything related to gambling.
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Jul 12, 2012 11:42
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I finally started Guadia Quest and got to the first boss before getting hosed up by him. I was thinking that my guys were all over-leveled at level 14 each, but I guess not.  It is really fun, though, and is reminding me a lot of Dragon Warrior minus the insane amount of grinding (although there will definitely be some, it seems to be a lot less).Random Stranger posted:I think it took me about fifteen hours to do and I did have to do a bit of grinding. Davzz posted:I was under the impression that you were meant to use power-leveling and "read an FAQ" tricks to severely cut down the Guardia Quest playtime. I mean, that's one of the "meta" concepts of the game. Also, adding the claw machine chat, I actually won a little stuffed pig doll from a Wal-Mart lobby claw machine on my first try. I was trying to pick it up, but the claw was too weak to hold it. However, it did knock it enough for it to fall in the chute and I still got it. That was a total Arino moment and it felt amazing. 
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Jul 12, 2012 11:58
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Gaiking posted:Now to the reason for this post! I'll be visiting Japan for two weeks with my wife, we will be staying at Tokyo for 5 days. What do you guys think would be the most feasible way of trying to get in contact with gascoin with the possibility of touring their offices and meeting their staff? There's no chance of them saying yes and there really isn't much to see with the Gascoin offices. We've been through the whole place in various episodes and videos, it's a tiny set up (the challenge room is about the width of the whole office). The room I'm typing this post in is about half the size of the entire place. Now you can tour Fuji TV though I've heard that the tour isn't that interesting. The building itself is pretty cool though and worth taking a look at. There are places on the map that I would recommend visiting: Try Amusement Tower is probably the best arcade for retro games that has been featured on the show. Go see if that guy is still playing Xevious. Super Potato has a decent though kind of small retro arcade on the floor above the store that's worth a visit. The store itself also had a Game Center CX display set up when I visited with a copy of all the games Arino had played in it. The old mechanical games that Arino loves tend to be in out of the way places like convenience stores so a visit to the 10 Yen Game Museum might be worth it but it's really out of the way and buried in a neighborhood. I'm sure you'll wind up at Tokyo Tower so ride the Suzuki 8 Hours machine tandem with someone. Basically look at the map, see what's close to your hotel and pop in if you have a minute. Almost none of the places Arino has gone to are worth more than a brief stop so they're not really worth going out of your way for and you don't want to spend your vacation going into tiny arcades and convenience stores but if you're close by you might want to take a look.
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Jul 12, 2012 12:40
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Mister Chief posted:EDIT: Gun Dec is Vice: Project Doom? Awesome! Wow, I didn't know that was the Japanese title either. Great game, I don't thikn Arino will have too much trouble with it but for all we know it could end up being another two-parter...
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Jul 12, 2012 13:24
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Shock Trooper posted:Wow, I didn't know that was the Japanese title either. Great game, I don't thikn Arino will have too much trouble with it but for all we know it could end up being another two-parter... The game is side-scroller, but the very first stage is a top-down vertical shooter (you're in a car), and as has been documented, Arino is AWESOME at shooters. Or was that the opposite of that...? I anticipate several deaths from Arino on that alone! Haha. Early on, I forget which stage, once you're into the side-scrolling action part, there are places where the floor drops and you have zero warning that they'll fall. The saving grace (someone correct me) is that there are unlimited continues. The game looks and sounds great, reminded me of the first Batman title on the NES, with the "lived-in" city-scapes and the cyberpunk atmosphere. Prediction: victory.
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Jul 12, 2012 16:00
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In the Tamage in the Bikkuriman World episode I found it quite cute how there was an Initial D arcade game in the game corner, since Saitama is actually one of the prefectures Takumi and his crew visit in the series and one of the mountain passes, Tsuchisaka, is a selectable course in that particular version of the game. Also I have an old issue of CoroCoro Comics from I think 2000 or so (which Pokemon is serialized in) and I remember seeing Bikkuriman stuff advertised in there. I don't know if it's still around anymore now, but it definitely was whenever that magazine was published. e: Calling Abe "Lord Abe" from now on Zeether fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 16:32
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petewhitley posted:Sure you can call ahead and ask, but as a rule Japanese offices (even "cool" ones) do things strictly by-the-book, and that book is so much more limiting than what you're used to it's shocking. Even if you were granted a tour you'd probably break formalities in potentially rude ways (considering it's a place of business) that you wouldn't even be aware of. As an example, I was scolded the other day at my office for standing with one hand in my pocket. You also need to consider that their having a guest will be burden on them, due to the formalities they'll be expected to extend to you. In that sense, it IS rude, you're imposing. Yeah, I've done work for Gascoin Company and even I would never, ever ask to visit them. Business is... well, serious business over there, and even if I were invited I'd be afraid of going and inadvertently offending them somehow (like the hand in the pocket thing). Even visiting a friend's place is made into a big deal there. There's a lot of things the host must do and things a guest must do. The first thing you have to say upon entering someone's house is ojamashimasu, which at heart means "excuse me" but literally means "I'm going to bother you" or "I'm going to disturb you." An alternate thing to say is gomen kudasai which means "please give me pardon (for bothering you)." Those formalities alone should give you a picture on the whole host-guest culture in Japan. It's practically a ritual and not nearly as casual as North America. And when a place of business is involved, it's double the formalities and rules. Random Stranger posted:[...] there really isn't much to see with the Gascoin offices. We've been through the whole place in various episodes and videos, it's a tiny set up (the challenge room is about the width of the whole office). This is also worth noting. zari-gani fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 19:25
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zari-gani posted:Yeah, I've done work for Gascoin Company and even I would never, ever ask to visit them. Business is... well, serious business over there, and even if I were invited I'd be afraid of going and inadvertently offending them somehow (like the hand in the pocket thing). Even visiting a friend's place is made into a big deal there. There's a lot of things the host must do and things a guest must do. The first thing you have to say upon entering someone's house is ojamashimasu, which at heart means "excuse me" but literally means "I'm going to bother you" or "I'm going to disturb you." An alternate thing to say is gomen kudasai which means "please give me pardon (for bothering you)." Those formalities alone should give you a picture on the whole host-guest culture in Japan. It's practically a ritual and not nearly as casual as North America. And when a place of business is involved, it's double the formalities and rules. The more I read and hear about this the scarier it seems. I've heard there are customs related to how to ask or receive things and that they may ask you something multiple times and you're expected to answer one way for a few times before finally conceding and answering the other way whereas over here you're just asked and possibly given a "you sure?" and then that's the end of it. Makes it seem like every time you visit someone's house you're in an exam and a wrong answer can insult your host. Crotch Bat fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Jul 12, 2012 |
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Jul 12, 2012 20:29
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zari-gani posted:The first thing you have to say upon entering someone's house is ojamashimasu, which at heart means "excuse me" but literally means "I'm going to bother you" or "I'm going to disturb you." An alternate thing to say is gomen kudasai which means "please give me pardon (for bothering you)." Those formalities alone should give you a picture on the whole host-guest culture in Japan. It's practically a ritual and not nearly as casual as North America. And when a place of business is involved, it's double the formalities and rules. Japan is a strange place: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/06/world/kunitachi-city-journal-japanese-trains-try-to-shed-a-gruesome-appeal.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm I'm of two minds about the cultural difference, on the one hand, I really dislike the incredibly casual nature of interactions in america. People here are too informal and too forward in some really inappropriate situations. On the other, the absurdly ritualized interactions in Japan seem like they give no room to interact on a relaxed level with people. I suppose it's 'normal' for them though.
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Jul 12, 2012 20:33
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zari-gani posted:Yeah, I've done work for Gascoin Company and even I would never, ever ask to visit them. Business is... well, serious business over there, and even if I were invited I'd be afraid of going and inadvertently offending them somehow (like the hand in the pocket thing). Even visiting a friend's place is made into a big deal there. There's a lot of things the host must do and things a guest must do. The first thing you have to say upon entering someone's house is ojamashimasu, which at heart means "excuse me" but literally means "I'm going to bother you" or "I'm going to disturb you." An alternate thing to say is gomen kudasai which means "please give me pardon (for bothering you)." Those formalities alone should give you a picture on the whole host-guest culture in Japan. It's practically a ritual and not nearly as casual as North America. And when a place of business is involved, it's double the formalities and rules.
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Jul 12, 2012 20:44
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I was under the impression white collar-type jobs were stricter with the formalities than other places, to the point that companies have to train their new employees how to observe hierarchies and politeness levels because daily life isn't nearly that intense. It's not like slouching or something at a friend's house is going to get you excommunicated. 
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Jul 12, 2012 21:34
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Jul 12, 2012 23:45
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victrix posted:On the other, the absurdly ritualized interactions in Japan seem like they give no room to interact on a relaxed level with people. I suppose it's 'normal' for them though. You'd think this, but I don't think it's really the case. There's a certain level of comfort and reassurance in ritual. The person visiting appreciates the host going to the trouble of receiving them with observed formalities, and the host appreciates the visitor taking the time to stop by and enjoy themselves (as long as they leave their shoes at the door). In response to Pablo Gigante, my impression from those I've met in Tokyo is that such politenesses are absolutely observed regularly among younger and older adults alike. The culture in places like Tokyo really promotes widespread self-awareness in living among other people in a way that just doesn't exist in America, and it promotes it at all levels of age and society. People go out of their way to be considerate of others, and that absolutely includes manners.
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Jul 13, 2012 00:09
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Hokuto posted:In response to Pablo Gigante, my impression from those I've met in Tokyo is that such politenesses are absolutely observed regularly among younger and older adults alike. The culture in places like Tokyo really promotes widespread self-awareness in living among other people in a way that just doesn't exist in America, and it promotes it at all levels of age and society. People go out of their way to be considerate of others, and that absolutely includes manners. I met with some clients in Tokyo last month. As warm and friendly as we all were with one another (and I had not met any of them in person before), we did keep up the usual prescribed niceties--although one big (video game) client seemed honestly surprised and tickled that I had brought a gift, and laughed when I said the standard phrase about it not being much of anything at all. He seemed to honestly think I didn't have to have done or said those ritual things. (Although that might have been because they don't expect foreigners to follow the rules...which means you might have a shot of getting that tour after all! heh) But yeah, it's probably not worth getting into the offices even if you could. That big video-game company I mentioned is pretty boring apart from its lobby. Try the Fuji TV building: it's on the Odaiba island, a lovely train ride from the mainland, with a lot of other stuff to do in the area; there's a market selling regional delicacies from around Japan, and at least one shop selling Fuji TV swag!
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Jul 13, 2012 00:30
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On a somewhat related note I've been in the offices of many american game devs, and outside some rare exceptions on the very, very high end (ie, Blizzard), most of them are... about what you'd expect from a business office. A boring business office! I can't imagine japanese dev studios are much different, much less small tv show offices.
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Jul 13, 2012 00:51
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victrix posted:On a somewhat related note I've been in the offices of many american game devs, and outside some rare exceptions on the very, very high end (ie, Blizzard), most of them are... about what you'd expect from a business office. Pretty much this unless you're touring a mocap building or they have an interesting break room. I worked for several and yeah they're just offices full of people with an abundance of toys and poo poo on their desks more often than your average office building.
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Jul 13, 2012 03:55
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All the polite guest/host talk makes me think of two specific GCCX situations.... Arino going to Inoue's place, ringing the doorbell like 7 times and starting to wander in with his shoes on, then poking through Inoue's stuff. Cameraman Abe shoving his way in to Nakayama's, chugging beer, and cooking food in the middle of the night. Granted, both of them had reasons they could get away with it, but if anything it heightens the absurdity.
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Jul 14, 2012 08:18
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Bo Steed posted:Granted, both of them had reasons they could get away with it, but if anything it heightens the absurdity. It's part of the comedy routine. Personally I find it hilarious and also interesting that the staff has become so accustomed to Arino-style comedy while on the show. GAYcenter CX with Tanii, Toujima and surprise guest star Suda-chan comes to mind.
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Jul 14, 2012 08:48
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victrix posted:On a somewhat related note I've been in the offices of many american game devs, and outside some rare exceptions on the very, very high end (ie, Blizzard), most of them are... about what you'd expect from a business office. DICE's office is great. Rather than gaming dens and console rooms they have ping pong and pool tables and a massive porch on the top level where they do barbecues for lunch in the summer.
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Jul 14, 2012 09:57
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jyrque posted:It's part of the comedy routine. Personally I find it hilarious and also interesting that the staff has become so accustomed to Arino-style comedy while on the show. GAYcenter CX with Tanii, Toujima and surprise guest star Suda-chan comes to mind. Yeah, it's definitely given me a skewed perception of Japan, mainly that their social roles are not terrifying. I've known for years that Japan is super formal, but reading about the strict formality for guests and office workers still blew my mind. Christ, I have a hard enough time adhering to Western social rules.Note to self: do not live in Japan ever for any reason.
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Jul 14, 2012 13:35
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Alright, played through Gun-Dec, and it's pretty rough! There are a couple spots that approach "Ninja Gaiden level 6-2" heights of frustration, but I'm confident Arino will emerge victorious. There should certainly be a visit or two from the ADs, and some whiteboard coaching for the boss patterns, but this is a game he'll be able to beat on sheer force of will. It's his greatest strength! I probably should have played the NA version, but I wasn't sure if the ports had differences and I wanted to play the one that Arino was going to play, thus, I don't know how cheesy the plot of the game was. Hopefully Arino can have some fun with the dialog: the cutscenes seemed kind of ridiculous at times. (Ok, all the time.)
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Jul 17, 2012 08:40
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Random Stranger posted:Hey, Amazon now has an entry for Game Center CX's DVD release. This is now available for preorder. $41.97
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Jul 17, 2012 09:59
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Box of Bunnies posted:This is now available for preorder. $41.97 Thanks for pointing this out! I'm picking up both this set and the Japanese DVDs coming out a few weeks earlier. My wallet is ruing the day I ever discovered this show.
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Jul 17, 2012 13:12
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Box of Bunnies posted:This is now available for preorder. $41.97 Score, got it ordered. Now to wait it out... 
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Jul 17, 2012 13:36
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Box of Bunnies posted:This is now available for preorder. $41.97 Grrr, jumps to $60 after taxes+shipping to Canada. Hopefully Amazon.ca or someone else picks this up soon.
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