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Brian Ashcraft

Jean Snow

Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan's Game Centers Paperback – January 1, 2009

by Brian Ashcraft (Author), Jean Snow

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Home of Sega, Nintendo, and Sony, Japan has a unique and powerful presence in the world of video games. Another thing that makes Japan unique in the gaming world is the prevalence of game arcades. While the game arcade scene has died in the U.S., there are 9,500 "game centers" in Japan with more than 445,000 game machines.
Arcade Mania introduces overseas readers to the fascinating world of the Japanese gemu senta. Organized as a guided tour of a typical game center, the book is divided into nine chapters, each of which deals with a different kind of game, starting with the UFO catchers and print club machines at the entrance and continuing through rhythm games, fighting games, shooting games, retro games, gambling games, card-based games, and only-in-Japan games.
Covering classic games from Space Invaders to Street Fighter, games that are familiar to Americans in their home console versions (Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution), as well as the unique, quirky games found only in Japan, Arcade Mania is crammed full of interviews with game makers and star players, and packed with facts about the history, background and characteristics of each game, all lavishly illustrated with photographs and game graphics. This book is a must-have for gamers everywhere.

Print length

192 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Kodansha USA
Publication date

January 1, 2009
Dimensions

7.4 x 0.5 x 5.2 inches
ISBN-10

4770030789
ISBN-13

978-4770030788
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A delightfultour of the most innovative, unusual, and dow nright bizarre stuff you can find in a Japanese arcade."
—Chris Baker, Wired Magazine

"A fascinating, funny, and sharp-eyed look at the place where they play-test the future."
—Warren Ellis, author of Crooked Little Vein and Transmetropolitan

"Arcade Mania! is the definitive history for anyone who's ever been ensnared by a UFO catcher, lost in Rhythm Heaven, or drained of time and money spent because of a great game arcade. And for those of us who don't quite fit that description, it's a tantalizing tour of what we've been missing."
—Stephen Totilo, MTV News

"...his writing style is as fast and furious as the pixilated, fantastical landscapes he evokes."
—The Christian Science MonitorM

"It's an essential work for anyone curious about the technological and cultural evolution of arcade games in Japan."
—The Dallas Morning News

About the Author

Osaka-based co-author BRIAN ASHCRAFT is the editor of Kotaku, one of the biggest gaming blogs on the net (one of the top 20 most popular blogs in the world, according to the website Technorati: http://technorati.com/pop/blogs/) with approximately 750,000 hits (23 million readers) per day.

Based in Tokyo, JEAN SNOWs art, design, and media-themed blog (www.jeansnow.net) boasts about 3,000 readers per day. Both are experts on the Japanese gaming scene, and are experienced writers: in addition to their blogging activities, Ashcraft is a contributor toWired Magazine, and Snow has a column on design in The Japan Times.

Product details

Publisher : Kodansha USA; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)
Language : English
Paperback : 192 pages
ISBN-10 : 4770030789
ISBN-13 : 978-4770030788
Item Weight : 9.1 ounces
Dimensions : 7.4 x 0.5 x 5.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,492,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,809 in Board Games (Books)
- #6,322 in Video & Computer Games
- #7,680 in Computer & Video Game Strategy Guides

Customer Reviews:
26 ratings

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4 star		24%
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2 star		4%
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JDW

What a treat!

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2009

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It's so great to see the support this book is getting, including a video review from David (CheapyD). The bubbly, happy feeling I get from the sense of community showing up to bat for Mr. Ashcraft is also the giddy, joyous sensation I get from the book itself, a tour of the Japanese childhood I always wanted but never got. BUT, not only that, these arcades still exist in Japan!

Please let Brian Ashcraft tell you all about them.

The book is impeccably organized, and the presentation (printed in Japan) is fantastic. If this is your first book "from Japan," you're in for a happy surprise. Everything from the dust jacket to the paper and ink are pristine. As soon as I saw Kodansha was the publisher, I knew this would be the case and that the work of Brian, Jean, et al, would be well taken care of. The fantastic writing is, happily, equaled by the great photography, layout and artwork. I simply can't recommend this book highly enough.

If you're interested, even to the slightest degree, in Japanese culture or Japanese video games, even if you prefer to do your gaming in the comfort of your home, you'll devour this adorable little (though information-packed!) volume. And if you already have interest in game centers, you're probably going to study this thing and read it multiple times, as I have, as much for the acumen and style as for the captivating aesthetic.

Thank you so much, Mr. Ashcraft, and big kudos to Jean Snow as well. Nothing would make me happier than to see these books to keep coming from my ludicrously talented peers (are they still my peers if I'm completely outclassed?). I've never been so proud.

Jesse Dylan Watson
____________________
The Bonus Chance Blog
[...]

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D. Gilbert

Interesting Overview

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2009

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Arcade Mania aptly covers each of the numerous types of arcade games per chapter. The various genres are examined with plenty of pictures (in color and B&W) and interviews with fans. The layout is great and really adds to making the book fun to read.

I especially liked the chapter on mahjong and it's gambling stigma. The history of print club is also noteworthy. If there are any shortcomings, it's that I can't say that I learned much else. As I'm already familiar with Japanese arcade games, I was hoping for more details and insights. I would have enjoyed the business aspect to arcades for example.

Still, it's the best book on game centers I've read and I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in video arcades.

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drl

Gamer's Paradise

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2009

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I was tempted to pre-order this book when I first read about it, but never got around to checking it out. Luckily I stumbled upon the book on Amazon and read some good reviews on it, so I took the gamble.

It was worth it!

I've long been a fan of Japanese games and culture, and this game got nice and in depth with each genre, enough to make me want to go right to Japan to play, or wish that American arcades would be reborn like their Japanese counterparts! A lot of information, even for a fan who thought he knew his stuff!

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C. Wheat

Game library worthy

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2014

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This has found a spot in my video game libarary of art books, history books, and so forth.

Pick it up and read it... If you enjoyed other books such as video gaming history or ridding the light you'll enjoy this. Not nearly as interesting a read but still very informative and enjoyable.

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Douglas A. De Guzman

Great fun, interesting read.

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2009

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As a fan of video games and the history of it, I have not read too much abou the Japanese Arcade culture and history. There are a few about Amreican arcade history that I have read but the Amreican history of arcades has nothing on the Japanese arcade culture. Great read. Great stories, lots of pictures. A+ read.

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Hal

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2009

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Clear and concise, but contains a large amount of information. Serious but not a textbook. Small enough to carry with you, for when you have that urge to muse on the entertainment industries of other countries. I don't even play arcade games, and I thought this book was great.

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This book is absolutely fantastic and definitely a must own video game book for fans of Japanese video gaming and more!

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2008

I've always been fascinated with the video games that have come from Japan and it's no secret that I play a lot of the imports (good and bad) and even in Tokyo, well take some time playing at the video game arcade machines at the local arcade or on the second-story of a grocery store in the middle of nowhere.

When you're in Japan, may it be at Sega Joypolis or a dingy arcade, you can't help be mesmerized by the various types of machines available for people to take part in. The types of games that are attracting various gamers and there is just so much available, to cover the various machines would be a major task.

That was until I read "ARCADE MANIA!" by Brian Ashcraft (with Jean Snow). I'm literally in awe of how much coverage was featured in this book. The first thing that caught my attention was the hip layout but most of all, the people featured in the book and the history behind the various arcade machines.

Brian Ashcraft's work for Kotaku.com and Wired Magazine is well-known, along with Jean Snow who also writes for Wired Magazine's Game|Life blog. Both men delivered in what probably is one of the best written books on video gaming.

Chapter 1 features "CRANE GAMES". I have to admit that when I'm in Tokyo, I spent a bit of money trying to get some of the items at these various crane games. Because the prizes offered are not always stuffed animals but some prizes are just rare items specifically for the crane game (or UFO catcher). And in Japan, when you think of crane games, you think of Yuka Nakajima.

Just reading this chapter and reading the interview with Yuka Nakajima giving her game tips, seeing the various photos of UFO catchers and also the competition between Yuka Najajima and Aya Toyoda was surprising to find its inclusion in this book but immediately, I liked where this book was heading.

Chapter 2 then goes into sticker-picture machines aka Purikura machines. If you are into Japanese pop culture, may it be a trip to your local Japanese mall in America or somewhere in Japan, it's quite fun to get a group of friends and hit the purikura machines. But what was cool about this chapter was the interview with Sakurina, a model for "Koakuma Ageha" magazine who was discovered by a scout because of purikura and now she's featured outside a variety of those machines.

Chapter 3 goes into rhythm games and its history in Japan and an interview with Aaron Chmielowiec who scored a AAA on "Dance Dance Revolution" and his ability to remember patterns (including the algorithms of "Pac Man" when was younger). This chapter was pretty cool because it features quite a bit on various rhythm-based machines including "Taiko no Tatsujin" and "Rhythm Tengoku".

Chapter 4 features shooting games (aka shoot `em ups or shmups). From the history of "Space Invaders" to "Ikaragua" to the "Shmups skills test". There is a lot of cool information on the genre in this chapter and I really enjoyed the interview with Kenta Cho who is known for his doujin software such as "Gunroar" and "Tumiki Fighters".

Chapter 5, my favorite chapter, covers fighting games. From "Street Fighter II" to SNK games and the popular PC game "Melty Blood", I just felt this chapter was well-written. And there was one key thing that definitely caught my attention in this chapter and that was the interview with Daigo Umehara and also a piece on his battle with Justin Wong at EVO 2004 (Evolution is a competitive fighting tournament that primarily featured fighting game competitions at the time).

I was at the event to interview Daigo (and the other Japanese fighting game competitors) at EVO 2004 and was also to see that comeback against Justin Wong which was detailed in the book. It was one of the most impressive competitive battles I have seen in my life and both Daigo "The Beast" and Justin Wong are two competitive individuals. To find that certain match included in this chapter was truly awesome. Wasn't expecting to see it mentioned at all but just shows how thorough Ashcraft and Snow's coverage was in each chapter. Awesome!

Other chapters include "Games of Chance" (for those who love mahjong games), "Dedicated Cabinets" featuring specialized games from gun games to driving games and a cool interview with Sega's Yu Suzuki. There is a chapter on "retro games" and a cool interview with Goichi Suda (Suda 51) of Grasshopper Manufacture fame. And a well-written in-depth chapter on "card-based" games

I can't tell you how impressed I was with this book. Brian Ashcraft and Jean Snow have done a great job with this book which was well-researched, good selections for their interviews and just a wealth of information that this book has... I'm very impressed of how well-written and well-researched this book truly is.

I've read a good share of video gaming books and to have one written about the Japanese arcade game industry but also how it seems to crossover to the video game console systems, I have no doubt that people who are fans of Japanese video games of various genres will surely find this book, not only just a good read but it's absolutely fantastic. Definitely an A+!

18 people found this helpful

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Oliver Ryan

Fantastic read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2012

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When I ordered the book I must admit I didnt expect it to be such an interesting read. I was however pleasantly surprised. The book is layed out in such a way that it is easy to read and most definitely enjoyable, with short chapters that you can pick up and flick through without too much concentration required.

The book itself is very well presented and well written by a chap who has obviously done his research, it covers every aspect of the surreal world that is the japanese amusement arcade it looks at everything from grab machines to card based arcade games and everything in between and covers these in just the right amount of depth the chapters dont bore you but they arent too short that they miss out information, which is a definite plus.

In conclusion the book is good for anyone that remembers the days when arcade machines ruled long before the console was widely available. It certaintly seems that the arcade cabinet still reigns supreme in Japan and will continue to do so for many years to come.

2 people found this helpful

Zsolt Murányi

Very Japanese

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2017

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Nice little colorful book depicting the world of Japanese arcades including game machines, sticker machines etc. Has a follow-up book from the same author which is about Japanese schoolgirls.
The book is published by Kodansha in very Japanese style, complete with dust cover.

Adrian

Buen libro

Reviewed in Spain on July 20, 2013

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Libro curioso e interesante si te gusta no solo los videojuegos sino también la cultura japonesa. Muy ilustrado y sencillo de comprender con un nivel medio de ingles.

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Mirai

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on October 14, 2015

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great!

david perrier

Arcade

Reviewed in France on November 3, 2019

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Rétrospective du jeu d’arcade en anglais
Photos N/B le seul petit bemol

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