Main Feature: Game Arcade in Japan 2011 / Creator's interview: Keiko Sootome, Japanese Illustrator
Main Feature: Game Arcade in Japan 2011
These are hard times for Japan's videogame arcades. The number across Japan has fallen from more than 40,000 at the peak to less than 20,000 in 2009 in the face of economic stagnation and the spread of cheap, high-spec domestic and mobile consoles and software. This edition of Imagine-nation reports from the All Nippon Amusement Machine Operators' Union's 2011 Amusement Expo on February 19th, both reviewing the latest trends in the struggling game arcades and imagining how they might be in the future. The latest attractions include 3D arcade machines with no 3D glasses, an arcade version of the love simulation game Loveplus, already much loved in its mobile incarnation, and award-winning gambling games. Industry giant Sega bucked the trend by opening two new arcades in Akihabara last year and plans two more in the same area this year. Why is Sega moving in now? What are the strategies to attract more customers? Which are the most popular machines? Here's the latest inside info on this still high potential industry.
Creator's interview: Keiko Sootome, Japanese Illustrator
Keiko Sootome is known for her surrealistic illustrations in vivid primary colors. Her unique, unforgettable works depict tense, weak-looking people in extraordinary detail but there is nothing weak about their impact or the sales of the books she illustrates. She also does magazines, advertisement and CD jackets. This versatile illustrator is now acting on stage, a TV personality and a columnist, too.
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