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Intelligent, witty and informative - even if you're not an arcade lover, you'll get lost in this amazing book. --Neo magazine, November 2008
Product Description
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. There are 9,500 game centres in Japan with more than 445,000 game machines. Arcade Mania introduces overseas readers to the fascinating world of the Japanese gemu senta. Organised as a guided tour of a typical game centre, 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 Westerners 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.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After spending the past few years following author Brian Ashcraft via his daily post work on respected gaming site Kotaku I was more than interested in picking up this, his first published book covering arcade game centers in Japan.
The book starts off with an introduction from the author that sets the tone for the rest of the book, its feels obvious that it is written by a man who has a great love of his subject matter (games) regardless of genre and design.
As you are led through the chapters from the front of the Arcade "Mania" with "UFO catchers" through to the "Games of Luck" and onto the "Dedicated Cabinets", "Shmups" and "Card Games", Brian keeps your interest firmly between the pages with his unique style of writing which feels more conversational to me rather than formal. Its more telling I think when an author writes as if from one fan to another rather than coming off as pretentious and overbearing which in this case isn't an issue in fact think of this as the ideal pocket guide to have as you walk around the Game Centers of Tokyo and Osaka. While it really covers the arcades on a broad basis it does mention some specific ones such as Taito Hey and from that it pieces together the elements of an arcade from his travels to quite a few of them for "research" which is a cool way of saying playing a few rounds, interviewing some of the key arcade players who are both currently on the scene or played competitively for a protracted period of time. The player profiles are in depth without being too invasive and add color to the world of Arcade Mania.
The visual presentation of the book is a joy to behold with Jean Snow and Brian Ashcrafts collaborative design giving the book a life of its own.
It feels what some would call "retro" but has a high level of polish and gloss to it which I guess makes it "Bashcraft Retro HD".
It just all feels like a complete package!
I'm giving this book 4/5 based purely on the fact that this is "Bashcrafts" first book and I'd like to set the bar to a certain height that Brian can definitely do better than. This is not to say the book is not great, it really is everything a book should be : engaging and informative, funny and intelligent and most of all, essential!
Once its sequel becomes available for pre-order you have guaranteed yourself one guaranteed customer!!!
Shaun Mc
The book starts off with an introduction from the author that sets the tone for the rest of the book, its feels obvious that it is written by a man who has a great love of his subject matter (games) regardless of genre and design.
As you are led through the chapters from the front of the Arcade "Mania" with "UFO catchers" through to the "Games of Luck" and onto the "Dedicated Cabinets", "Shmups" and "Card Games", Brian keeps your interest firmly between the pages with his unique style of writing which feels more conversational to me rather than formal. Its more telling I think when an author writes as if from one fan to another rather than coming off as pretentious and overbearing which in this case isn't an issue in fact think of this as the ideal pocket guide to have as you walk around the Game Centers of Tokyo and Osaka. While it really covers the arcades on a broad basis it does mention some specific ones such as Taito Hey and from that it pieces together the elements of an arcade from his travels to quite a few of them for "research" which is a cool way of saying playing a few rounds, interviewing some of the key arcade players who are both currently on the scene or played competitively for a protracted period of time. The player profiles are in depth without being too invasive and add color to the world of Arcade Mania.
The visual presentation of the book is a joy to behold with Jean Snow and Brian Ashcrafts collaborative design giving the book a life of its own.
It feels what some would call "retro" but has a high level of polish and gloss to it which I guess makes it "Bashcraft Retro HD".
It just all feels like a complete package!
I'm giving this book 4/5 based purely on the fact that this is "Bashcrafts" first book and I'd like to set the bar to a certain height that Brian can definitely do better than. This is not to say the book is not great, it really is everything a book should be : engaging and informative, funny and intelligent and most of all, essential!
Once its sequel becomes available for pre-order you have guaranteed yourself one guaranteed customer!!!
Shaun Mc
Format:Paperback
The author does a great job of introducing the reader to the bizarre collection of game types that co-exist in Japanese arcades, with help from both creators and celebrated players who know the most about them.
On first flicking through the book I was initially dissappointed that the focus wasn't entirely on video games, as the front cover infers. After having read the book though I'm so glad its scope is so broad, including gambling games, pachinko, even claw (UFO-catcher) games. The context it puts on the whole arcade ecosystem in Japan is priceless.
Above all, this is a fun, authoritive read that gives more than I'd expected and served as a great reminder of the one occasion I had to visit such arcades in Tokyo (I actually understood what the hell was going on with the card-based games after reading this). Highly recommended.
On first flicking through the book I was initially dissappointed that the focus wasn't entirely on video games, as the front cover infers. After having read the book though I'm so glad its scope is so broad, including gambling games, pachinko, even claw (UFO-catcher) games. The context it puts on the whole arcade ecosystem in Japan is priceless.
Above all, this is a fun, authoritive read that gives more than I'd expected and served as a great reminder of the one occasion I had to visit such arcades in Tokyo (I actually understood what the hell was going on with the card-based games after reading this). Highly recommended.
Format:Paperback
The style of writing is involving in the informal house style of WIRED magazine, the structure of the book is well thought out (chapters on the different sections of a typical Japanese games arcade, a pen portrait of a notable player of each type of game, side bars on particular points of interest) and the graphics and artwork of the book are just gorgeous. I am not a gamer so I can say that it would be a mistake to think that this book's appeal is limited to that sector- anyone interested in tech or Japanese culture will find it a good buy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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If you are a fan vidoe games and if you go nuts for all things japan, this book is for you the kotaku editor, has done a great job with this book and the layout of each page draws... Read more
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