Video Game Hype Thread

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The first time I played I got a 1 because I didn’t know what the hell was going on.

Then I got a 10

Then I got a 6

Then I gave up.

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But how many cops did you kill? :sweat_smile:

This looks a LOT like Recettear

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Aside from the 25th anniversary of Myst (see the Kickstarter thread), Cyan also has a new VR game coming out soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-DpB7tXs4g

Meh.

Konami really seems to be falling into videogame irrelevance, at least outside of mobile and pachinko games.

I’d love a remake, it doesn’t even have to be HD but that would be amazing, of the various Nintendo handheld Castlevanias.

As one of the dozens of people that really enjoyed Obduction, consider me interested.

Konami also seems to be big in slot-machine type games at casinos.

I visited a casino that opened up in the next town over from where I live out of curiosity (I didn’t gamble – just walked around to check it out) and a substantial number of the slot-style machines on the floor were made by Konami.

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Huh, I didn’t know that. Interesting!

That casino is pretty sad in general, though.

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I have heard through podcasts and some articles that this is Konami’s stated plan. Pachinko and slot machines and by extension gacha phone games basically print money, especially in the domestic Japanese and Asian markets, and the management shakeup a few years ago embraced this as their new direction. Its what resulted in the expulsion of Kojima, the cancellation of Silent Hills, the severe scaling back of a lot of their toy lines and anime publishing.

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They haven’t killed Bemani. Where’s my Dance Rush at???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Izn3g8EuIEA

If that’s true, and I have no reason to doubt you, I wish they would license out their properties to third party developers so someone could make games using their IPs.

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I would guess that manufacturing and developing for arcade cabinets is close enough to that of slot and pachinko machines that they aren’t killing it off as much as the console / PC development. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a modern pachinko machine but they mimic video games very closely.

I’ve watched videos from them on YouTube.

The real question is this. Casinos in the US are having a hard time as only old people gamble and play slots. Young people aren’t that interested.

Are young people in Asia all about Pachinko and are keeping it alive? Is there going to be a big market crash as gambling old people there die?

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They have done some of this, there were several Silent Hill games that were farmed out to western developers as far back as the PS2 days but most of them were kinda shit. However, again as a casual observer, I think that Konami like many large Japanese companies is very protective of their IP generally and are hesitant to license that sort of thing.

I went to pachinko parlors both times I went to Japan, about a decade apart. Both times the clientele seemed about the same both times. Mostly men in their forties to sixties or so, a few women about the same, and a much smaller but surprising number of college-ish aged men. The age and gender demographics didn’t seem to be all that much changed the second time I went, which anecdotally leads me to believe it seems to be a steady rate of people coming into it.

HOWEVER!

The big big BIG thing in East Asia right now is gacha phone games; basically games with loot box mechanics. They are RIDICULOUSLY popular and making lots of money, mostly from younger people who have smart phones that can play those games. In a decade or so I think we might see the traditional pachislot parlors dwindle but probably not disappear, because unlike the gacha games you can win actual money, but a lot of people who are aging into the demographic of pachoslots will be carrying on with the gambling behavior on phones.

I know the gacha games are big, but they aren’t machines.

Also, phone games with loot boxes are the biggest scams of all time. A casino where you put money in, and the only prize that ever comes out is a jpg. Imagine if you could run a craps game and the payout of every bet was $0! You’re better off in the pachinko parlor.

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For sure. Vegas is really trying to invest in shows, experiences, pot, and liquor. Gambling is a niche and an aesthetic at this point.

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