Issue #3: Akihabara's Sega Arcade is closing down
The arcade industry is one step closer to extinction
Hello everyone,
And welcome to the third issue of TÉKUNI, a newsletter about technology in Japan. You can read more about it here.
Japan is currently in a state of unrest following the resignations of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The effects of this event will ripple not only on Japan’s tech scene, but virtually on every aspect of the country’s society.
As far as this newsletter is concerned, however, what is in today issue regards the closure of Akihabara's Sega Arcade and the trend of arcades closing down in Tokyo.
I have spoken to Dr Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games, an independent consultancy focused on Japan's game industry, about this.
👨💻 TÉKUNI Exclusive - Dr Serkan Toto, Kantan Games
Serkan is a German national who went to Japan in 2004 for the third time, and remained there since.
Officially, he moved there as he had won a scholarship from the Japanese government for his graduate studies in economics at Keio University in Tokyo.
His actual, underlying reason to return to Japan, however, was his interest in Japanese video games, a passion he had since his high-school time in Germany.
"I basically wanted to live long-term in 'gaming paradise', and the scholarship paved the way."
In 2013, right after graduating, Serkan founded Kantan Games, but the consultant's professional journey started earlier than that, around 2006.
"With no money, no connections and no work experience in gaming, I actually started blogging about tech, startups and gaming in Japan - in English."
That gave Serkan exposure "for free" and at a time when the world's first free-to-play mobile games started popping up in Japan.
"The idea for the business came through unsolicited consulting inquiries, which I answered and later built a business around."
According to Serkan, Tokyo’s gaming community is extremely scaled, very concentrated, and very mobile-heavy.
"Strangely, community or industry events have always been relatively rare, even before the current pandemic started."
Because of that, Serkan thinks interactions between game industry people in Japan are relatively limited when compared to the US, for instance.
Talking about the closure of Akihabara’s Sega arcade, Serkan says the event was "unfortunately just a question of time", as he believes the arcade business is slowly dying.
"My feeling is that there will be more closure of arcades in Japan in the future, further continuing a year-long trend."
The difference, Serkan explains, is that this specific arcade's building had an iconic design.
"The decision was certainly accelerated by the pandemic," he adds, "because of how people behave inside arcades, they are prime candidates for public spaces deemed problematic in the situation we are in now."
Serkan believes a lot of people will feel sad about the closure due to the iconic status of the building and because fans realise the arcade industry is one step closer to extinction.
"Hopefully Sega and other arcade operators find ways to reinvent themselves: they are trying."
Overall, the games consultant's views about Akihabara's gaming landmarks are optimistic, if a little nostalgic.
"Akihabara is constantly changing. I visited the first time in spring 1999, and back then, Akihabara was grungy and full of game stores.
"Today, the area has been redeveloped and is now home to totally different things and attractions, for example, a lot more fan good stores, otaku event venues or maid cafes."
According to Serkan, there is a chance this trend will accelerate, particularly to cater to the rapidly rising number of tourists coming to Japan and visiting Akihabara.
❓ Want to find out more about the latest tech news in Japan?
🔗 Here is the newsletter’s link section:
Japan’s ispace updates design of lunar lander - Space News
Researchers new way to forecast solar flares - The Asahi Shimbun
Japan planning space debris removal by laser on satellite - Kyodo
AI device read stress level from pulse, voice, face - The Asahi Shimbun
Self-driving amphibious vehicle to go on trial in eastern Japan - Kyodo
Touching the past through 3D modeling - NHK News
Amazon to help Toyota build cloud-based data services - Reuters
Using"energy forests" for woody biomass power generation - Kyodo
Shibuya's anti-flooding facility can hold 4,000t of rainwater - TimeOut
Do cloth masks work? Supercomputer Fugaku says yes - Nikkei
Japan's Kounotori cargo transporter ends final space mission - Kyodo
7,600 Japanese Facebook accounts stolen in suspected scam - Kyodo
Akihabara’s Sega arcade will close at the end of August - TimeOut
Govt. warns vaccine developers of cyberattacks - NHK News
Another iconic Akihabara building is closing this month - TimeOut
The Stranded Ship Near Mauritius Just Split in Two - Gizmodo
Shinkansen service disrupted by greenhouse - NHK News
High-pressure over Japan bring extreme heat - The Asahi Shimbun
Yahoo Japan discloses data on rejected ads - NHK News
Old Computer Systems Hamper Economic Recovery - Bloomberg
Flexible display shows full-colour images on skin - The Asahi Shimbun
Enjoy a cold drink without taking off your mask - Sora News 24
'Monkey dogs' and tech keep simians at bay - The Mainichi
‘Stay’ in a Japanese castle without leaving your sofa - Sora News 24
Ramen chain debuts delivery robot for social distancing - Grape
Japan Railways announces a Pixar themed bullet train - Sora News 24
Anti-infection elbow-use toilet doorknob on trial - NHK News
Tokyo pitches disaster prevention with Animal Crossing - Kyodo
Testing out Japan’s fully functioning mini iron - Sora News 24
Japan's 'flying car' gets off the ground - Japan Today
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