Mutantfrog Travelogue Games

Biologist/ Richard Dawkins: [Evolution] is a highly non-random process. The big thing that everyone misunderstands about Darwinism is they think it s chance, they think it s an accident, and it s not an accident.
Colbert: Well, it s too complex for us to perceive, you know, it s like, I know a machine isn t an accident, either, there s a reason why it bounces from nail to nail, but it looks random to me, right?

Dawkins: Nothing in nature looks random.
Colbert: I want you to address my pachinko analogy!
Dawkins: I ve never even heard of it, what is that?

Colbert: You ve never heard of pachinko? Oh, it s like Japanese pinball. It s great, they make pornographic versions of it over there.

The Colbert character proves once again to be more complex than meets the eye. Just when you thought you knew his aggressively ignorant conservatism, off he goes and admits not only to an interest in other cultures but even a playful love of pornography!
But anyway, I d like to show you a little of what Colbert was talking about.

Yes, pachinko is similar to pinball, but unlike in the US where pachinko continues a slow fade into near-extinction, the vertically played Japanese game remains Japan s top gambling institution, beating out horse betting and lotto-type games (not necessarily in that order). The gambling business side of pachinko is only semi-legal and the parlor owners are well known for ties with North Korea.
As for the machines themselves, my personal favorites are the ones featuring the chinful mug of the game s biggest promoter, wrestling legend and former Diet member Antonio Inoki, who incidentally also has close ties with the North Korean elites:
Are there pornographic pachinko machines?

The series, featuring big-breasted anime women, may count:
More famously, there are numerous machines featuring 80s anime sensation Urusei Yatsura:
The game features the bikini-clad character , and the outside of pachinko parlors are often plastered with her image. Similarly, you ll also see some risque shots of Fujiko-san from Lupin III to advertise pachinko games based on the seminal anime series:
If you want to call these games pornographic I wouldn t object, but at worst they are the softcore stuff similar to what you d find in American comic books. The difference, I think, is that Americans visiting Japan (like myself) would probably feel uneasy with the flagrant, in your face placement of these images in public outside pachinko parlors, especially placed in the context of plentiful pornography (bikini shots in kid s comics, men reading newspapers featuring full nudity on the train) and casual misogyny found throughout Japan s pop culture.

Incidentally, there s been a recent (2004-ish) release of a pachinko version of the epic anime title Neon Genesis Evangelion, for those who might like that sort of thing:
Newsweek.com has which is apparently of such high quality that instead of putting it on the worthless physical pages of their magazine that people actually pay money for they made it WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY so that only the most elite, web connected readers that can understand high tech edgy things like Japan and video games would be able to read it.
Here are a few choice quotes to give you an idea of how awesomely insightful this article is.

Though I can t grasp the Japanese way of counting, I still remember the precise way to defeat Bald Bull in the old boxing game Punch Out. Those old-school games are nowhere to be seen in Japan today. The modern arcade is an exotic, sensory-overload, nearly impenetrable to foreigners.

Kazuki and Mizuki, two high school sophomores at a Shibuya arcade, told us they play purikura about once a week to capture memories.

He said he plays about twice a month at about $3 a game, though the stack of character cards in his hand betrays a deeper addiction. I can learn all the background and histories of the characters, he said, adding he also reads manga related to the Sangokushi saga.

[Ed: Clearly he wouldn t be playing the game because of a pre existing interest in the Chinese history/classical literature upon which it is based.]

My Japanese interpreter, fighting as a boxing-gloved Kangaroo with a snowboard on its back and scuba fins on its feet, was defeated in the game by a tattooed girl. [Ed: Wow!

A Tattoo!! Japanese arcades really are so much cooler than the US, where you would never see a kid with a tattoo!

]

young people dubbed neets (who live with their parents and refuse to get jobs), and freeters (who only have part-time work) are much-discussed social groups who exacerbate the population and workforce imbalance. [Ed: Gosh, I wonder what neet and freeter stand for. I bet the explanation would be way too complicated for foreigners like Newsweek writer Brad Stone or me to understand.

]

Adults want Japanese kids to leave the arcades, go to work and save the country. But they re too busy saving the world, one Gundam battle at a time. [Ed: He s right!

Nobody goes to arcades if they actually have a job or classes to go to! Arcades are probably causing the population decline!!

]

on a few gaming related blogs, but I think it s important to note the similarity to .

President George W. Bush received an early birthday present on Wednesday from Nintendo.

The game developer sent the president one of their DS Lite portable gaming machines and a copy of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day.
No word on whether Bush, who turns 60 today, is a fan of the company or video games.
In the letter addressed to the presidential birthday boy, Nintendo points out the game will help the president keep your mind sharp and suggests President Bush should try it out on his next long flight aboard Air Force One.

Happy Birthday!
Don t worry, turning 60 is an exciting milestone. As you know, you ve joined millions of other baby boomers in an invigorating new decade of your life.

And, like many boomers, you may be looking for ways to keep your mind sharp. That s where we come in.
Please accept our gift of a new Nintendo DS Lite system and a copy of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day.

You now join millions of people around the world who have fun challenging themselves with Brain Age. If you have never played a video game before, don t worry. Brain Age is part of our new Touch Generations brand, which includes games that are easy for people of any age regardless of their video game experience to pick up and start playing immediately.

It s obvious you don t have a lot of time to play games, which makes Brain Age such a great activity for you just a few minutes a day with more than 15 daily training tests will help keep your mind sharp. Training tests include categories like math, reading and memorization. Try it for a few days and watch your score improve.

Brain Age also comes with more than 100 sudoku puzzles these could make your next long flight on Air Force One a bit more fun! (Perhaps copies of Brain Age for journalists joining you on your next flight would be a nice distraction!)
Have fun exploring Brain Age with your Nintendo DS Lite and be sure to let us know your brain age!

Have a tremendous birthday!