During Tofugu’s trip to Japan this year, I decided to give pachinko a try since I was finally old enough. I put in my hundred yen coin and my eyes glazed over as lights flashed, a screen lit up, and little silver balls bounced around.

I didn’t understand a damn thing that was going on, but I won a small prize and decided to retire at the top of my game.

As we’ve written about a bit before, pachinko is a huge industry in Japan. It’s raked in incredible profits over the years, and played all across Japan. When we visited, we saw people lining up at pachinko parlors before they’d even opened.

How does the pachinko industry keep people interested? After all at its core, pachinko is an extremely simple, not very interactive game. But to keep this multi-trillion yen industry afloat, the industry has a lot of incentive to keep players entertained.

Technological Advancements

The backs of pachinko machines from the 40^s and current day

The podcast 99% Invisible recently did a really interesting story about the evolution of slot machines in the US. What started out as a one-armed bandit has turned into a monstrous, complex, computerized machine that uses sophisticated algorithms to slowly bleed people of their money.

When I thought about it, I realized that the same thing has more or less happened with pachinko machines.

They started out simply enough. Even I could probably build a pachinko machine the way they were built in the early days. Get a wooden board, hammer in a few nails, drill a few holes, and you more or less have an early, primitive pachinko machine.

But if you crack open the back of a modern-day pachinko machine, you’ll see something that looks more like a computer than a woodworking. Circuit boards, wires, and power supplies line the inside power the modern pachinko machine.

The site Vintage Pachinko has a great visual history of pachinko machines from the 40^s to current day, showing both the front and the exposed back of the machines. It’s astounding to see how the electronic parts and circuitry grow exponentially over the decades.

Flashing lights and speakers on machines catch a player’s attention. Features like rapid-firing pachinko machines and motorized handles let players go through balls quicker (and therefore spend more money), and the math behind the placement of the nails within the machine have gotten increasingly sophisticated.

The technology is only one half of the equation. The variety of the machines, whether it’s the branding, the type of game, or the price, also play a big part in bringing in players and keeping them planted in front of the machines.

Variety

You can only do so much with technology; at some point, you have to go beyond the circuitry and appeal to customers in other ways.

Branding

Pachinko machines are cycled out of parlors at an astounding rate, not only to keep up with technological advances, but to also keep up with the current cultural trends too.

In Japan, I saw lots of pachinko machines that branded themselves after pop culture staples like AKB48 and the newest Evangelion movie. Foreign franchises get their own pachinko machines too, like Western movies or Korean dramas.

While your everyday pachinko addict probably doesn’t care too much if some pop star is staring back at them while little metal balls bounce around the machine, they appeal to hardcore fans and might draw people into pachinko parlors who otherwise might not be there.

Plus, it gives the parlors a sense of being current and relevant. See, we know what the kids like! AKB48! Now who wants to play some pachinko?

Games Within Games

If you don’t have the licensing rights to stick a celebrity’s face on the front of your pachinko machine, what else can you do to differentiate your game? For one, you can add on new functionality.

You’ll see a lot of machines nowadays incorporate slot machine functionality in to pachinko by using the screen in the middle of the machine. Balls landing in certain spots trigger the machine to start spinning and basically start another game altogether. It’s like a game within a game!

There’s also variance on how much you can bet on a machine. Balls for a pachinko machine vary in price a little bit, the way that slot machines do—you might have slot machines that take quarters, but there are also nickel and penny machines too.

Same goes for pachinko. Per ball, prices range anywhere between ¥1-¥4. The lower prices can lure in players and cause them to accidentally spend a lot more money. The difference in price may not seem significant, but when you tally all of the balls that players go through in a typical game of pachinko, it really adds up.

There’s nothing wrong with playing a little pachinko here and there; hell, some people are actually about to make a living out of it. But just remember that a multi-trillion yen industry has spent decades designing machines to keep your butt planted squarely in front of a pachinko machine for as long as possible. Have fun!

Read more: The big business of Japan’s pachinko parlours, History of Pachinko

Bonus

Some lovely animated GIFs and wallpapers from our illustrator Aya. Enjoy!

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Wallpaper (2560×1440)

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Animated GIF (1280×800)

Just a small taste of the variety of racers you can bet on

In this game, you don’t actually control any of the horses. It’s a browser based game that lets you make bets on who will win. It’s like real horse racing but… well… not all that accurate. I’ve been to a horse racing game or two, though, and this beats the real deal any day of the week.

Unfortunately, the game isn’t available to play right now, but thankfully enough people have captured the highlights on video. It has gone through three iterations (the most recent being Japan World Cup 3), and I think it has gotten better each time.

You’ll start to notice that the beginning of these are all pretty much the same. It’s the action at the end that’s worth watching (also, seeing if you can guess who wins). Try on this next video. Did you win? I definitely did not. My horse got his rear end drilled.

Let’s try again. I’m betting on the Ninja. Ninjas never lose, right?

I’m beginning to think it’s impossible to choose right…

But, it’s not ALL crazy… right? Right??? The beginning of this video is pretty normal, at least…

So far we’ve only been looking at Japan World Cup 3. Let’s look at Japan World Cup 2 – you can see that some of the racers are different… but the weirdness never changes.

Alright, so there’s no hope for any of these races to be anything like a regular horse race, so let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum. Things can get pretty wild.

But, what about the game? To get a better idea of how the game works, take a look at this video of someone playing it.

I gotta say, it’s the announcer that makes this game so awesome. Sure, the characters are weird and they do weird things, but if it wasn’t for the announcer (way better if you understand Japanese… but you probably can appreciate him no matter what) this game would be nothing. It’s quite impressive – I almost (just almost) feel like I’m actually there.

This game was made by Riichiro Mashima (@Gibmelson on Twitter). He’s also known for making the game “Ski Jumping Pairs” … which, of course, is also absolutely ridiculous.

To watch more videos, just do a search for “Japan World Cup 3” or “Ski Jumping Pairs” on YouTube. You will not be disappointed, and your Saturday will be properly wasted away. Enjoy!

Neeeeeh!

I’m guessing most of you know what Sumo is. Along with karate, ninjas, and Hello Kitty, Sumo is about as Japanese as it gets. Over the last week or two, there’s been a ton of hub-bub about a big, nasty Sumo-related scandal. So what in the world (er… in Japan) is going on here?

What happened

In criminal investigations, police have discovered through text messages sent among wrestlers in the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) that matches have been rigged. Wrestlers have been caught buying and selling victories, or just outright trading them.

Police discovered these text messages after investigating the JSA for another scandal – illegal gambling on baseball games. This baseball gambling scheme revealed seedy connections between the JSA and the Yakuza. These text messages showed wrestlers deliberately throwing matches for money or future victories. One wrestler, Kasuganishiki, was caught red-handed, sending a message to another wrestler saying “I’ll go with the flow and put up at least a little resistance.”

The real mystery, though, is figuring out how these Sumo wrestlers were texting. I mean, c’mon. Big thumbs.

Why is this a big deal?

This is the equivalent of a Starcraft match-fixing scandal in Korea – that is to say, it’s huge. Sumo is tremendously important sport in Japan for a lot of different reasons.

The JSA is regulated by the federal government so any scandal in the JSA looks bad for the government too. Sumo even gets guaranteed coverage by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Japan’s equivalent of the BBC.

Sumo is also a very significant cultural institute in Japan. The sport is hundreds of years old, and has deep roots in Shinto traditions.

People have suspected match-fixing in sumo for a long time. Some statisticians have speculated that the numbers just don’t add up, and former wrestlers have claimed that most matches in the JSA are fixed. What makes this scandal so different is that for the first time in JSA history, people have concrete evidence that matches have been rigged.

This is SO huge (haha, huge, get it?) that the spring Grand Sumo Tournament has been canceled, the first time a major sumo tournament has been canceled in over 60 years. This is disappointing to many sumo fans, who feel like they’ve been betrayed by both the wrestlers and the JSA.

What’s Happens Next?

Chairman of the JSA, Hanaregoma (who in typical, badass sumo fashion only goes by one name, kind of like Madonna) has apologized to the public, and the organization has opened its own internal investigation. If the JSA’s investigation isn’t enough, the matter could be escalated to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Some think that the damage may have already been done to the sport. This scandal has been compounded by many others, including sumo ties to the Yakuza, deadly hazing, and drug use. Many Japanese have become jaded with the sport, or prefer more Western sports like baseball or soccer. Despite all this, it’s hard to imagine a Japan without sumo.

Any hardcore sumo fans out there? What do you guys think about this scandal?

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