amusing japanese magazine #11

AMUSEMENT JOURNAL

This totally huge thick monthly magazine is aimed at OWNERS of arcades. It features some videogames, not many. And this reflects the change in the modern Japanese arcade.

Since PC games are now just as big and fast as arcade games, the only real way for arcades to compete is to either (1) have videogames with BIG HUGE INTERFACES that kids could never fit in their houses anyway (think DDR, or the ELECTRONIC TYCO DRUM set game) , or (2) return to huge carnival-style 'win-a-small-shiny-object' games.

number 2 is called 'UFOCATCHER' in japan- for one token you can manipulate a robot arm and try to grab a plush toy. In fact, 2 years ago I SWEAR I saw a game where you'd use the arm to pick up a LIVE CRAB.

Anyway, if you open the AMUSEMENT JOURNAL to a random page, you won't find crabs, but you might find:

* 'BILLBOARD'- style rankings of the most popular games. . .complete with DOW-JONES-style graphs

* plenty of used video arcade games for sale, in case you want a souviner to take home with you

* super space age VIRTUAL BINGO

* the cutting edge of new WHACK-A-MOLE technology: now up to SEVEN holes!!

* the newest trend in purikura : a machine that prints out the pictures that you took with your cell phone WHICH HAS A CAMERA IN IT. And of course the machine itself is shaped LIKE A GIANT CELL PHONE

* a purikura machine SHAPED LIKE A VICTORIAN FOUR-POSTER BED. And of course the name of the machine is . . . . 'WITH.'

* Drug-dealer-style machines for speed-counting pachinko balls

* *vast selections of annoying kitchy things to put in your UFO catchers. . . Did you know you can play an arcade game where the object is to grab a small statue OF THE FAMOUS BELGIAN 'PISS BOY' STATUE? He's been incredibly popular in Japan for YEARS. Even though pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki's star is gradually fading, but PISS BOY is here to stay.

If you're wondering what purikura is. . . . actually I could devote an entire webpage to explaining it. But I won't, because there are already several pages detailing this irritating and vain hobby. Basically it's like the dead kennedys' song HALLOWEEN. For those not farmilliar with the DK's oevure, I'll include a legitimate description:

it's a big featureless box where two or more people go to have a pop star fantasy. A camera will take pictures of them, then they can customize the pictures. A very short time limit, combined with complicated controls add a 'video game', competitive feel to the process: If you play one machine enough times, you will become faster and get more photos for your money. You can add lame Photoshop filters, add text (usually the kind of stuff you'd write in a yearbook . . .), put yourself next to a celebrity/cartoon character/popstar, and make it look 'wacky.'

The machines then print the customized pictures, which are TINY and ADHESIVE. . . the better to stick to cellphones and schoolbooks. Most arcades provide props or costumes for the customers, to make wackier photos possible. And of course, AMUSEMENT JOURNAL has plenty of ads for costumes.

Please note that these costumes are for NORMAL girls, not wanna-be porn stars or cosplay kids. . . . the purikura customers probably totally thumb their collective noses at cosplayers , but like to put on a nurse outfit while standing in a cardboard box.

anyway, to see some rather amusing purikura go here:

http://club_lolita.tripod.co.jp/prikura.html

http://www.greggman.com/japan/Purikura.htm

http://mypurikura.tripod.com/yourpurikura.htm

moving right along, . . .