This book presents a scholarly investigation of the development and culture of Japanese videogame arcades, both from a historical and contemporary point of view.
Providing an overview of the historical evolution of public amusement spaces from the early rooftop amusement spaces from the early nineteenth century to the modern multi‑floor and interconnected arcade complexes that characterize the urban fabric of contemporary Japan, the book argues that arcade videogames and their associated practices must be examined in the context in which they are played, situated in the interrelation between the game software, the cabinets as material conditions of play, and the space of the venue that frames the experience. Including three case studies of distinct and significant game centres located in Tokyo and Kyoto, the book addresses of play in public, including the notion of performance and observation as play practices, spatial appropriation, as well as the compartmentalization of the play experience.
In treating videogames as sets of circumstances, the book identifies the opportunities for ludic practices that videogame arcades provide in Japan. As such, it will appeal to students and scholars of Game Studies and Digital Media Studies, as well as those of Japanese Culture and Society.
By:
Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 360g
ISBN: 9781032226927
ISBN 10: 1032226927
Series: Routledge Contemporary Japan Series
Pages: 178
Publication Date: 27 October 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Acknowledgements List of Figures List of acronyms and abbreviations Part I - Contextualizing Play in Japanese Amusement Spaces 1. Introduction: Play in Japanese Videogame Arcades as a Culturally Situated Practice 2. Balls, Medals, and the Other: Techno-Orientalism in Videogame Arcades and the Early Amusement Spaces in Japan (1903-1978) 3. Policing and Centralization: Game Centre Spaces from the Shinfūeihō Reform to the Interconnected Arcade (1976-2016) 4. Software, Hardware, and Space: Theoretical Aspects of Public Gaming Part II – Case Studies of Play and Space in Japanese Game Centres 5. Player-flâneurs and Extended Spatiality: Play Between Performance and Observation in A-cho 6. Old Surfaces, New Interfaces: Palimpsest and Territorialization in Tsujishōten 7. Media Mixes and the National Network: Compartmentalizing Play in Sega Ikebukuro GIGO 8. Conclusion: Game Centres and Videogame Arcade Play as a Rupture of the Quotidian Index
Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada.
