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Hooked on the Claw: How Crane Games Conquered Japan's Arcades
Claw machines generate over 60% of Japan's arcade revenue by featuring licensed prizes and engaging fan culture, helping sustain the industry despite arcade closures.
- This year, Japan's arcades are dominated by crane games, which now account for more than 60 percent of revenue while occupying the first two floors in Ikebukuro district, Tokyo.
- Putting plush toys into machines and Sega's 1985 'UFO Catcher' redesign, which introduced a brighter display, fueled the rise, with operators now tailoring prizes to local tastes.
- Arcade operators tune claw-arm sensitivity and prize difficulty based on cost and revenue, with Morihiro Shigihara noting, `You can also make the game easier to compete with a nearby arcade,' while Suzuna Nogi spends up to 3,000 yen at 100 yen per try seeking accomplishment.
- Industry experts say the machines sustain the sector, as arcade operators, machine manufacturers and prize suppliers depend on claw games that attract women and families.
- Fan culture like 'oshikatsu' has increased spending on character goods, with Benoit Bottos saying this largely explains the success of crane machines among collectors such as Akira Kurasaki, as manufacturers secured licenses for anime, manga, and Disney characters.
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Hooked on the claw: how crane games conquered Japan's arcades
As school and work wrap up, crowds fill Tokyo's many bustling arcade halls -- not to battle it out in fighting games, but to snag plush toys from claw machines.
·Cherokee County, United States
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Total News Sources42
Leaning Left5Leaning Right8Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Center
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center
43% Center
L 22%
C 43%
R 35%
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