The COMPLETE HISTORY of the Game Corner in Pokemon

[@Frank_Erz]

My favorite part about PEGI's ratings is that gambling with fake money gets a higher rating but gambling games like FIFA that use real money don't

[@raptorstryke92]

Oh god that’s hilarious and also depressing

[@yukihoshikawa]

The only reason why I can think this is the case is that PEGI must think because you're always getting something, it's okay. As opposed to a slot machine, where you might lose. Either that, or because you don't get any financial reward, but are instead getting more characters or gear or whatever, it's not gambling. Which is dumb; it's the same damn thing.

[@christiandevey3898]

@@yukihoshikawaI think part of it is that it looks like gambling.

[@JamieC_94]

Setting a legal definition of gambling isn’t really a decision for PEGI, to be fair. It’s up to national governments to declare that loot boxes are gambling and to pass legislation to regulate them.

[@Whiteythereaper]

It's because lootboxes are always buyable via Virtual currency that doesn't directly have a set currency conversion/value in real money, it cannot be converted back into real money, and other regulation-skirting loopholes that allow EA and other companies to continue shilling microtransactions and Microsoft, Sony, Valve and Epic all still get their % of each transaction sold through their storefront. It's more the depiction of actual Casino games like Slot Machines and Roulette that got them removed, and it's only because The Pokémon Company didn't want all of the games to carry a 12+ Age rating in Europe, and now if they were to re-release RGBY again, they would have to be rated 18.

[@nohar9953]

As a European player, I can confirm that the slot machines were in Diamond and Pearl, but not Platinum. Also as a European player, I apologise that PEGI caused the end of the minigame and made the first four generations difficult to re-release.

[@yukihoshikawa]

It's not the biggest loss, truthfully, but it's interesting how this has caused there to be mainline Pokémon games with a rating equivalent of what would be a T rated game, with the first two gens having a rating of 12 in Europe.

[@monopolyrubix1875]

They would have stopped including them at some point anyway. It's rare for any feature to last multiple generations these days before being stripped away.

[@yukihoshikawa]

@@monopolyrubix1875 It's funny you bring this up, cuz one of the videos I'm working on right now starts out by mentioning this, lol

[@FamilyTeamGaming]

To be fair, having gambling in a game with primarily children as its target demographic is hardly the world's best idea, either. As much as it makes the re-releases and remakes of the games set in older regions awkward, this is for the best.

[@christiancinnabars1402]

18:03 Having the Game Corner return as an _actual_ Game/Arcade Corner would be a really cool way to bring it back in full. Similar to Mantine Surfing from USUM, you could have the player do various minigames to get points (prpbably stored in your Trainer Card in lore) instead of coins, and they could then redeem those points for items and move tutor moves. As for what minigames they could have, it could be anything from a remake of the Mantine Surfing minigame to revamps of the Berry Powder minigames from Gen 3 and even the return of the minigames from Pokemon Amie. There's a whole library of long forgotten minigames from previous Pokemon games that they could pull from that would make Move Tutor/Competitive Item farming a lot more fun. Because I know I spammed the hell out of Mantine Surf over running the Battle Tree to get my team ready in USUM.

[@yukihoshikawa]

That'd be pretty cool, yeah! Heck, Mantine Surfing is already somewhat arcade-y in nature, being a "go for a high score" kind of game; it'd be a pretty natural feeling fit in an arcade. Maybe add a timer and have infinite levels if you really wanna go the whole nine yards and fully arcade-ify it. ROM hack creators, take notes. 😂

[@HighPriestFuneral]

This is a neat idea, though let's go a step further. Let's bring back Pokemon Stadium-esque games, (maybe even you requiring one of the Pokemon in the game to play). If they're worried about gambling a minigame collection could really make it work and standout as something different from battling.

[@DeathScyther006]

I really loved Voltorb Flip. The other game corner games felt like a chore, but I occasionally found myself turning on the DS just to play a few rounds of V Flip regardless if I needed the coins or not.

[@yukihoshikawa]

Hell yeah; now *that's* the sign of a good minigame

[@GavinAstraWolf]

The slots in Hoenn machines are so complex for no reason. The reel time stuff is so stupid in how it works. I wish they made it more clear and more worthwhile to do. I've also seen the Chansey Egg Bomb to happen before and the animation for it is pretty cool. The Smeargle bonus game slots arent that bad, they get worse randomly but for the most part I found them pretty easy. I did some light research on the slot machines in Pokemon games before but this video went more indepth than my research. Good stuff!

[@yukihoshikawa]

Thank you!

[@Whiteythereaper]

Game Freak really had way too many plates spinning with Gen 3. There are so many abandoned or unfinished features that just baffle me. Shit, even the events were a mess. No Faraway Island event for non Japanese players? Deoxys forms split over the game versions? No Celebi for non-Japanese players and it being a Bonus disc for preordering? POKÉMON BOX BEING A POKECENTER EXCLUSIVE GAME IN THE US???. What a train wreck lmao

[@magnuspkmn]

As always killing it on the thumbnails! I had no idea about the Japanese game corner in HGSS having an actual slot with unique art!!

[@yukihoshikawa]

Yeah, it's a neat piece of Pokémon trivia! Getting the footage for this video was the first time I saw those slot machines; I knew they existed, but never saw anything of them. It was honestly kinda neat, if only cuz we weren't supposed to have access to them.

[@AzureFlute]

I know they had their reasons for removing it but considering there were games getting away with loot boxes and micro transactions with actual money, it's a shame we don't have the Game Corner in the Pokemon games anymore. It added a bit of worldbuilding and flavor that I miss seeing

[@chaoticbravealisdair2925]

In all my years playing Pokemon games, I've never actually seen what the Japanese HGSS Game Corner looked like until now! Shame the Smeargle thing never got through overseas as it has cute spritework. Also, given how tight PEGI can be, I'm surprised RBY wasn't rated any higher on the VC. If it was a 15 or 18, then looks like the fans would've finally gotten their gritty Pokemon game!

[@yukihoshikawa]

LMAO, imagine if that happened. I could totally see people using that to poke fun at people who want a gritty, mature Pokemon game.

[@Whiteythereaper]

The original reason they took game corner out of Platinum was because it would have bumped it to a 12. Now, Pegi's rule is that gambling is an automatic 18 rating which will stop any purchasable Gens 1-4 ever being available again. The only way they will get around it is through the Switch Online subscription Virtual Console because of some loophole they've used to skirt the regulations with existing games that are on there.

[@damonrichardson1999]

I've always wanted the Game Corner to come back with real games. I'd love the chance to get a cool and rare Pokémon that normally can't be found early on or is unique to the Game Corner and I always liked the TMs too. The main problem I've had with new games is that there's just not much else to do. There are some new elements I like, such as Mantine Surf, but they get really repetitive after a while.

[@yukihoshikawa]

Yeah, I know I mentioned this to another commenter, but, it's like... while I'll probably end up spending 95%+ of my play time on things like the main story, battling, catching, etc., having minigames is a nice way to shake things up a bit. Looking at the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, for example, those things are chock full of minigames, and it's really neat! Cuz, while the combat, story, and side stories are all good, the minigames are like a cherry on top (maybe 2 or 3 cherries in Yakuza's case, LMAO)

[@stefan-xaverscherrer7648]

2:00 In the Red Line: Who’s That Pokemon?

[@yukihoshikawa]

My guess is Pidgey, but I guess it could also be Spewrow? It's honestly kinda hard to tell, lol.

[@stefan-xaverscherrer7648]

@@yukihoshikawa It s Pikachu. ( joke^^) (I dont know.^^)

[@justarandompurplefox3243]

I’m grateful that gambling does nothing for me. That being said, I do wish we’d have more little minigames like this. It’s nice to take a break from the core gameplay

[@yukihoshikawa]

For real - whether it's this, contests, someone brought up Mantine Surfing in another comment - minigames are a great way to add a little more variety to any video game, even if 95%+ of my play time is gonna be doing the core gameplay.

[@some_tiny_dragon7411]

@@yukihoshikawa I'd even take spinoff battling like Pokestar and the contests. Plus with so many characters, they can easily incorporate a weaker rival or gym leader into the minigame as an incentive to keep playing it.

[@Slenderquil]

Slots always felt really slow and annoying, so i don't mind the removal of game corners personally. Voltorb flip was pretty fun though

[@yukihoshikawa]

Yeah, with the slots, you basically need a jackpot to get a profit. Otherwise, you're just kinda treading water, if that. I usually just buy the amount of coins I need for whatever prize I want.

[@EmeralBookwise]

It probably is best that the more overt gambling aspects of the Game Corner stay gone. However, I do agree that it could return as a place to play more skill-based arcade mini-games akin to Chucky Cheese's or circus carnivals. Maybe likewise changing the reward "currency" from coins to tickets.

[@yukihoshikawa]

Yeah, exactly, or even just some kind of points. It'd be neat to see that happen (even if I don't see it ever happening, lol)

[@Dinomaton]

Excellent video

[@yukihoshikawa]

Thank you; I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[@Ocarinist_Drew]

Fun fact avout the roulette table in Emerald: If you just keep pressing A at the roulette table, you WILL gradually gain coins. I forget the exact math behind it, but you will on average come out with more coins than you went in with, which means you can just farm coins by tapping A without even looking at the screen. It's still way slower than just buying the coins you need, but it's useful in challenge runs it you really want Ice Beam, Flamethrower, or Thunderbolt TM's.

[@yukihoshikawa]

LMAO, amazing; I'll have to keep that in mind!

[@coileachrua]

Great video

[@yukihoshikawa]

Thank you!

[@thearrivalcyberseignister8898]

8:34 actualy 🤓 in pokemon trading card game 2 the invasion of team GR, an identical mechanic to reel time existed

[@yukihoshikawa]

Oh wow, neat! I'm not very familiar with the TCG spinoff games, so I was unaware of that until now!

[@relicy]

Sandshrew is the most appealing pokemon what do you mean "less appealing"

[@yukihoshikawa]

Not a fan of actually using it, personally, but Sandshrew's a cute little fella!

[@dylanshadowstar9779]

Quick note: while Australia usually copies Europe. For platinum, we do have an actual game corner.

[@armorbearer9702]

(12:59) This is messed up. European and Korean gamers are going to have to blow their Pokedollars on coins.

[@yukihoshikawa]

I mean, I basically always spend money on coins to get TMs, regardless of Game Corner, but yeah, a discount on the cost of prizes to make up for the lack of slot machines would've been nice for them; save them at least a little grinding.

[@HarshESC]

Alright, I’m going to Vegas with these new fangled gambling skills I’ve learned

[@JustJulyo]

What's more addicting than gambling? Pokemon.

[@yukihoshikawa]

Damn straight!

[@JustJulyo]

@@yukihoshikawa Inject it straight into my veins!

[@JosephShemelewski]

You battle creatures that burn, electrocute, freeze, etc eachother but a slot machine is too much? I miss wasting time and blindly picking TMs

[@lucideirune1635]

This is the reason why Pokémon will not rerelease gens 1-4 on the Switch. If they did, it could easily get the AO rating since the Switch is region free.

[@icecreamorc]

This video makes me want to import a copy of HG or SS now.

[@clemdelaclem]

I am commenting to increase engagement metrics

[@yukihoshikawa]

Based

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

So New Denpa Men has Slot machines and Monster Betting (essentially dog fights) and while both Pokemon and Denpa Men are vastly different, I'm confused how Denpa Men got away with it when Pokemon isnt allowed to. Like I'd prefer the Game Corner to have something like Voltorb Flip instead of actual gambling, but it's now really stupid it's just gone

[@PixelOverload]

Hmm, I don't know if this system flies in Europe, but in NA we have game centers for kids where you buy the coins to operate the games and receive tickets for scores (I think some places have moved to point cards and such) which are then exchanged for prizes, as the tickets or points can't themselves be used to operate the machines in turn (or directly exchanged for money) it doesn't qualify as "gambling". Obviously the games can't be literal slot machines (for appearance purposes primarily, as many of the "games" are just as random/rigged), but otherwise it doesn't seem like there should be much for PEGI to complain about 🤷

[@DeepWeeb]

Personally I lost most interest in the Game Corner once they stopped offering rare Pokémon as prizes, I think getting stuff like Dratini early into the game or avoiding the hassle of catching Pokémon like Abra and Scyther are more satisfactory goals to work out on in the context of the main campaign than getting moves that are only relevant in the competitive scene But even then I think at the very least it offered a different type of side-activity in the games that wasn't a reskinned version of the battle system, and it's a shame how these games have evolved to offer increasingly _less_ variety, the Let's Go example turning the casino into an arcade parlor is a bit of a slap in the face because there was no way they were ever going to design at that many minigames lol

[@yukihoshikawa]

Yeah, I really feel like having some kind of little mini game can be a nice addition to the main gameplay. They kinda did this in the Scarlet/Violet DLC with Ogre Oustin', but... maybe I just suck at the game, but it feels too multiplayer reliant on the higher difficulty levels, which kind of kills some of the appeal to me.

[@DeepWeeb]

@@yukihoshikawa Legends Arceus had some "interesting" minigames with the balloon popping, but they really feel more like they're playing catch-up with Mega Man Legends _on the PSX_

[@lowkeyxd5538]

I hate voltorb flip

[@rustytoyota]

Why every Poketuber with a Girl PFP is a Transformer I'll never get...

[@yukihoshikawa]

A TRANSFORMER I LOVE IT