100 Yen: The Japanese Arcade Experience Page #4

party without getting complaints.

It's much more common for

friends to meet up at arcades

where you can let loose and have fun.

Japanese arcades are loud,

but I mean that in a good way

loud and exciting.

The people that I hang out with,

they of course love to play games,

but mostly come to arcades

to be with their friends.

There's regular groups of people

who all come to the arcades,

which gives them a chance

to meet up more often

and I think that's true for

most people who frequent

the arcades in Japan.

I imagine that, that is

one of the main differences

between Japan's and

foreign countries' arcades.

When I was working at an arcade,

well, at that time...

arcade friends... What I mean to say is...

Friends I made by playing games

together at arcades,

are people that you become very close with.

And... Well... Actually...

I married my best friend that I met there.

The arcades that I've seen the most of,

the ones with a serious

fighting game atmosphere...

They really serve many different purposes.

For example, they are a place to meet friends

and play together, a social place.

They are also a place to

find stronger players regularly

and try to beat them to improve your game.

Not only that, but they hold lots of events

and if I want to practice,

it facilitates that as well.

There are just so many

different purposes to these arcades.

To put it simply, if you like attending

events and want to socialize,

to make new friends...

Or more specifically what we call...

Fighting game friends,

your training partner for these games

then it's really all about

connecting with other players.

That's the kind of atmosphere

you can expect in an arcade.

It can be a fairly hardcore atmosphere...

Around things like

UFO catchers or easier games,

maybe not so much...

Around fighting games,

and other challenging games,

at least around me, it's definitely

a more hardcore atmosphere.

A little more serious I think.

I work for Sega as a sound designer.

My name is Hiro.

I'm in charge of creating the

music for various arcade games,

Most of the titles I'm known for came out

about 20 years ago.

Games like Hang On and Out Run

or Afterburner and Space Harrier.

But anyways...

Large cabinet games that you

sit in which move as you play,

these types of games were

the ones I made the music for.

Recently a new genre of game has come out.

Until now, arcades were mostly

fighting games or driving games,

but now there is a new genre

that is popular in arcades.

With music being the main

gameplay element for the genre,

it creates a whole new aspect to gaming...

A fresh and exciting take

on the arcade experience.

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