Promotional Consideration: Arino's Advertising Challenge

by Eric Caoili { Jul 13th 2008 at 11:30PM }

With XSEED recently revealing its intentions to localize Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge (U.S. name: Retro Game Challenge) for the North American market, we thought now would be an opportune time to feature an English-translated commercial for the Japanese game. Really, we'll make any excuse to post about this interesting title.

A quick rundown of the Game Center CX show and DS game, for those of you who didn't read about the release the first dozen times we posted about it:

Game Center CX is a Japanese television series in which comedian Shinya Arino plays popular "retro" games
In the Indies Zero-developed DS title, players are sent back in time to the 80s by Arino
Players have to complete challenges in eight Famicom-styled games, like Star Prince (Star Soldier clone) and Guadia Quest (Dragon Quest clone)

There are a lot of great "meta" touches to the game, too -- a child version of Arino befriends and cheers you on against his older self, you'll have access to instruction manuals and Game Fan Magazine issues with tips and cheat codes, and Arino will even ask you if you're going to the bathroom sometimes when you pause the game.

Anyway, jump past the post break for the commercial; we've also included photos from train advertisements and a segment from the show as bonuses!

Gallery: Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge

"It's nostalgic yet new."

It's a quick commercial, but publisher Bandai Namco made up for it by plastering trains in Japan with Game Center CX ads:

In case you're wondering, those posters aren't limited to just a few cars on the train:

Wow! Retailers also kept their stores covered with TVs playing Game Center CX trailers and Arino posters when the title first hit stores in Japan last November:

Here's a photo of the Shinya Arino business cards that came with every copy of the game (hopefully XSEED has something similar plan for the U.S. release?):

Okay, as promised, we've embedded a five-minute clip taken from the actual Game Center CX show. In this episode, the second half of a two-part series, Arino is struggling to finish Super Famicom classic Super Mario World. Our hero actually has a bad record with 2D Mario games, having previously failed to complete Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 3.

This video starts as Arino begins his third day with the game -- he has spent a total of 26 hours with the game already, and he's having trouble with Super Mario World's final encounter, a boss fight with Bowser. Apparently, Arino panics whenever Bowser stomps around and he ends up running right into Koopa King's clown craft.

Notice that after 85+ attempts, Arino has only one life remaining to beat Bowser. He actually clutches his heart from the stress of it! That cloth stuck to his forehead? It's a reikyaku sheet, an adhesive cooling pad for decreasing his temperature.

"Yatta!"

Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.

Tags: bandai-namco, fuji-tv, game-center-cx, indies-zero, retro-game-challenge, shinya-arino, super-mario-world, xseed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Josh @ Jul 14th 2008 1:51AM

This show *has* to be released subtitled in English. It's just too good.

And poor Arino...He has so much trouble. Could be the lag from that LCD monitor...

elend @ Jul 14th 2008 5:46AM

That game looks great. I'd definitely buy a translated version. :D

aj @ Jul 14th 2008 7:48AM

This game looks like it could be fun.

But is that a TV show where a man just tries to beat old video games?

If so, why is it entertaining?

I mean.....I would watch it. But why do other people watch it? Is it just one of those Japan things that make no sense?

ramuji @ Jul 14th 2008 1:01PM

There are a few reasons it is very entertaining. (For me, the best program on Japanese TV at the moment.)

First of all, Arino is simply a funny man, and his comments, belittling of his own gaming skills, and interaction with the on- and off-camera staff are usually very humorous. (However, I'm not sure how much of it will translate well out of Japanese.)

Also, it isn't just 60 minutes of watching a man play a game. Arino also interviews game company executives and designers, visits neighborhood video game arcades (usually on request from a viewer), and hosts segments on the history of home video gaming featuring a different piece of hardware on each episode.

Although I've never actually timed it, my guess is that only 30 to 40 minutes of any episode is Arino playing the featured game (often a 12 to 20+ hour session, condensed and edited), with the remaining time filled with the other mini-sections.

There are often other special features, such as Arino's visit to the Tokyo Game Show (where he met and shared the stage with Miyamoto, among others), his visit to South Korea for hands-on experience with gaming in that country, behind-the-scenes looks at the planning, design, and sale of the Game Center CX DS game (over multiple episodes), and his recent trip to the Cannes Film Festival to promote and market the Game Center CX program DVDs to overseas publishers.

Hopefully the DVDs will get picked up by a publisher and get a good translation treatment. (But, the clips I've seen feature the voice-over work of an American-born entertainer in Japan who I really can't stand, and he think he ruins everything he touches. Hopefully that isn't the final version.)