Pachinko: Japan’s Unique Gaming Obsession That is Totally, Definitely Not Gambling

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com... for 10% off on your first purchase.
Love content? Check out Simon's other KZbin Channels:
Biographics: / @biographics
Geographics: / @geographicstravel
MegaProjects: / @megaprojects9649
SideProjects: / @sideprojects
Casual Criminalist: / @thecasualcriminalist
TopTenz: / toptenznet
Highlight History: / @highlighthistory
XPLRD: / @xplrd
Business Blaze: / @brainblaze6526
→Some of our favorites: • Featured
→Subscribe for new videos every day!
www.youtube.co...
This video is #sponsored by Squarespace.
Sources:
Kushner, David, The Secret Life of Pachinko, IEEE Spectrum, October 1, 2010, spectrum.ieee....
Reed, Dan, A Little About the Machines, and Who Makes (Made) Them, faculty.ccp.edu...
Master, Farah & Layne, Nathan, Taxing Times for Pachinko as Japan Considers Casino Gamble, Reuters, May 12, 2014, www.reuters.co...
Barra, Mathias, A Brief History of Pachinko: The Children’s Game That Became a Billion-Dollar Industry in Japan, Sort it Up, August 15, 2020, / a-brief-history-of-pac...
Pachinko Parlors, Japan Visitor, www.japanvisit...
Tang, Phillip, The Big Business of Japan’s Pachinko Parlours, BBC Travel, August 16, 2012, www.bbc.com/tr...

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/BRAINFOOD for 10% off on your first purchase.

[@TheSpark878]

Please stop with the weird jangly background music on this channel. It is distracting and has zero upside

[@nudetaynehatwobble]

*DO A VIDEO ON THE CREATOR OF BUTTER. CAN FIND A GOOD DEAL ABOUT ITS HISTORY, BUT NOTHING OF THE FATHER (OR MOTHER) OF BUTTER*

[@TheJocoHills]

fun fact, all uk bookmakers tried to implement virtual pachinko as a replacement for roulette machine stakes being lowered to £2 per spin. Buying more balls at £2 each and using multiple "packs" of balls in one game, You could spend £50 per spin. sneaky aren't they! Only lasted about 3 weeks before the gambling commission stepped in.

[@jeffsorrows]

Why do you keep clickbaiting us business blaze OG legends to your ither channels lol

[@foxyelen1203]

The younger generation merely switched over to gatcha games.

[@raydunakin]

As a teen in the early '70s I found a small metal ball in the street. At first I thought it was a ballbearing but on closer examination it had mysterious, alien-like symbols stamped in a band around the "equator" of the ball. I didn't find out what it was until a few years later when I saw a used Pachinko machine in an industrial surplus store.

[@midsue]

Cool 👍

[@trollololol3034]

Top quality comment right here.

[@blueberrypirate3601]

Like the ones in Starman 1984

[@BGNewsReporter]

The loophole is hilariously blatant. I've only ever been to one once despite having lived in Japan about 20 years. I went with a Japanese friend and I just watched. After he won a bunch of balls he traded them in for a plastic pack of biro pens, walked outside and to a shady little door we he basically slid the pack of pens through a slot and in return about $300 cash was slid back to him. Not a word was exchanged, couldn't even see who it was doing it. Yet perfectly legal, lol.

[@zzzzoot]

Prostitution works the same in Japan. The call girl works through an agency which serves as a legal loophole since you're technically paying the agency and not the woman directly.

[@thesheepersgame5199]

I've been in and out couple of times. Didn't play tho. Just watched around if I don't have anything to do.

[@ScooterinAB]

Yeah. I love the fact that no one is pretending it's anything but what it is. The exchange isn't even seen as a loophole. it's just a step in the process.

[@thesheepersgame5199]

@@ScooterinAB The exchange is a loophole since they are exchanging items/prizes they got from the pachinko parlors and trade them to 3rd party stores for money. The whole thing doesn't become gambling since the pachinko parlors never offer money upright to the players.

[@danurkresnamurti3598]

@@zzzzoot i think prostitution in term of copulation is prohibited in japan. but oral or hand job is fine. that is why legal JAV is censored

[@goldenhedgehog9]

Turn on CC and watch a different word/spelling be used every other time Simon says "Pachinko". I think Pajama was my favorite.

[@danielmiller3596]

This is the beginning of a great drinking game…

[@BigLord]

Lmao I noticed the exact same thing and now I read this comment. I have CC on by default. I wonder if it was done on purpose as a joke

[@christophermerlot3366]

I like the horror movie channel Dead Meat hosted by James A Janisse but I sometimes throw on the CC just to see if his name still comes out as James A Chinese when he introduces himself.

[@MrEnjoivolcom1]

@Miles Doyle You're in the wrong thread.

[@LegendaryAce73]

Bajingo had my dying.

[@QBCPerdition]

It's crazy that virtually every place that tries to ban gambling just ends up with some sort of loophole, which becomes popular, and even accepted by the very government that originally wanted to ban gambling entirely.

[@Deeplycloseted435]

As long as it is profitable to them, they suddenly stop the hyperbole about how legal gambling creates more crime and debauchery. These lootboxes are just a continuation of the long running scam that is gambling. Las Vegas exists. It exists because the house always wins, no matter what, eventually. I play, but with the understanding that I’m playing for fun, and that fun costs. I’m fine with scammer monetization, but it should NEVER exist in anything not rated M.

[@babblingbrooke8516]

Wall street is no different.

[@langreeves6419]

I live in Georgia. Gambling is "from the devil, it is evil and illegal." Also, the government is considering evil too. But somehow, if the government has a monopoly on gambling, like the lottery, well, that's fine....it's great, it funds our education system.

[@rex8255]

That's because eventually the Government figures out that it gets the only thing it loves more than power... tax money.

[@PetrSojnek]

I suppose it's a philosophical debate. People will always gamble. Maybe it's better if it's regulated, controlled and maybe part of profit goes to government that could use it to fix mess made by the gambling industry (I know hardly...). It's in the same box with smoking, alcohol, prostitution, drugs... maybe one day we will get rid of them, but it's gonna be very very long process.

[@markotrieste]

I think you forgot to mention the high volume of noise inside the pachinko parlors. According to our guide, it is kind of a feature, since for japanese, the casual chat with unknown people can be quite stressful, due to complicated etiquette and language rules depending on hierarchy, so, especially in the evening, pachinko parlors are filled with salarymen searching for a place where they don't need to speak for a while.

[@f.f.s.d.o.a.7294]

Agreed. This was the comment I was looking for.

[@ThePsh07]

He literally mentioned the noise in the second sentence introducing them lol.

[@markotrieste]

@@ThePsh07 Yes but he didn't explain the reason for it.

[@ThePsh07]

If that’s what you meant, it would be more accurate to say, “you forgot to mention the reason behind X” instead of, “you forgot to mention X”

[@SpontaneousCMan]

Fun Fact: The "Pachinko Mines" some people joke about are kind of a real thing. Certain companies that make pachinko machines as part of their operation, notably Konami, will send workers they feel have messed up or that upper management otherwise dislikes to work there as a "disciplinary" action for a few months. It says a lot about how these machines are and how a company values its workers to use their development process as a punishment.

[@dianapennepacker6854]

Konami was what made me first of this.

[@XSpImmaLion]

And the alias works both ways too, because it's often a steady revenue stream for those companies despite the bad fame... xD

[@1TieDye1]

Source?

[@shaynakfcmyhill]

My grandparents owned a pachinko parlour and many of my childhood memories are from there! I would exchange my prizes for sailor moon accessories and Pokémon dolls. The noise of the falling balls is like standing under a waterfall and made my grandma deaf. My family were Korean immigrants who immigrated to Japan during the occupation and opening up pachinko parlours were one of the ways immigrants could makes money as they weren’t considered Japanese citizens until the mid 70s and had a difficult time finding lucrative employment. paying off the yakuza was a “safety tax” and my mother told me that when she was a kid, a man came into her fathers office while she was there and just casually stabbed her father in the leg and walked out. My grandfather built a good life for his family and although he wasn’t a very warm person, he did get his three sons into medical school and each of them own their own private practice and married Japanese people and are all now fully integrated into Japanese society. He passed away a couple of weeks ago at 92. RIP Grandpa Terumasa.

[@jasonwilde197]

During the two years I lived in Japan, I noticed the Pachinko was everywhere! The buildings feature brightly colored signs, with neon accents on the outside. They are hard to miss. I have always walked past those places, only occasionally stepping inside. Once the doors opened, the loud music and chaotic sound was the first thing I noticed. The second thing I noticed was everyone had a Cigarette, as if that was a requirement for being granted entry. Walking around the room and looking at the people firmly seated in their chairs, their eyes firmly affixed to the machine in front of them, not one person was without a smoke. I probably should have at least tried to play the game, but I could not wrap my head around all the colorful signs.

[@thesheepersgame5199]

But it's a dying industry. Most of thier clientel are old people. The younger generation seems to have no interest in pachinko and most of the players now can't make a living out of it anymore.

[@jeffreykann213]

@@thesheepersgame5199 The younger generation use there money on Gachas now lol

[@simoc24]

That must be a while back 😅

[@dylan4125]

I was confused when Fact Boi wasn't walking around slapping the script &talking about cocaine. that's when I realized this wasn't business blaze.

[@Ramsey276one]

LOVED THIS XD

[@Tazza81]

*Brain Blaze

[@maxgrimm9589]

@@Tazza81 it will always be business blaze

[@diamondsmasher]

ALLEGEDLY

[@darenallisonyoung8568]

In middle school ('79-'81), my dad brought home a pachinko machine he'd found at a yard sale (US Army base). It ended up in my bedroom, and I spent MANY HOURS working that plunger, for no greater payout than fun. I eventually wore the thing out as we didn't know how to properly maintain it. I imagine those formative gaming sessions directly contributed to the pinball obsession that continued well into adulthood.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551.

[@R.Rileys-BION_Patreon-Podcast]

I couldn't imagine being addicted to something so frivolous as that. *Goes back to playing PlayStation as I have done all my life.

[@randolphphillips3104]

I was born in Japan while Dad was stationed there. Growing up, we had a pachinko machine Mom brought back. (I think a maker sold them to the US Military to sell in the exchange). Never connected it with gambling until I was older. We just had a "pinball" machine at home. They have changed a lot since then.

[@MrTak44]

Yeah I got super good with ours.

[@seanscumpet786]

The Gambling parlor in Pokemkn Red and Blue really hits different after watching this. Team rocket selling pokemon as gambling prizes.

[@armorbearer9702]

I still wished they lessened the amount you need for some Pokemon. I never used Porygon.

[@nicholasbiddle7893]

That's funny because its the first thing I thought of

[@pixelapocrypha]

Literally the first thing I thought of. Explains the two different buildings and why it's being run by a shady villain group.

[@badluck5647]

Sounds like Texas gaming machines. Slot machines are illegal in Texas, but "gaming machines" are legal. These machines operate like slot machines, but you win tickets that you can exchange for store credit instead of cash. Of course, these independent gas stations that operate the gaming machines definitely don't pay out cash and have a secret ledger under the counter 😉.

[@WolfgangDoW]

So gambling for company script? Sounds like texas tbh

[@Damaniel3]

There's also the concept of the Class II slot machine in the US, used in places where traditional slot machines are illegal but bingo is not. Class II machines are actually designed to determine wins and payouts based on virtual bingo cards and draws of virtual balls, and other than some machines showing the actual underlying bingo cards and draws somewhere on the display, look and play pretty much like any other slot machine. I ran into a gas station in southern California on tribal land that only had permission to run bingo games, and the station had a 'casino' with about a dozen of these machines. I didn't even know what they were until I went and looked up why there was a small bingo card at the bottom of the display.

[@gorilladisco9108]

An outstanding move.

[@gyro4250]

i remember a couple bars doing that in idaho for a while. the state shut them down and fined them

[@rex8255]

I know what you meant, but the "...and refrigerated lockers where housewives can leave their children and their groceries..." cracked me up.

[@nanoplasm]

Life-hack, we use it to store perishables even if not actually using the packinko parlor

[@w3irdn3rd]

Leaving your children in a refrigerated locker.. Dude that's cold

[@rex8255]

@@w3irdn3rd Yea, it does calm them down though.

[@chrisd1773]

I remember an old Power Rangers episode (90's) where the Red Ranger ends up getting addicted to a Pachinko machine.

[@jakeapplegate6642]

Doesn’t Rita turn it into a monster for them to fight? Not sure if I’m remembering it or if that’s just the shows plot formula. Probably a little of both.

[@Ramsey276one]

@@jakeapplegate6642 I was going to ask the same thing! XD

[@umbrascitor2079]

@@jakeapplegate6642 Yes. I've had the scene playing in my head throughout this entire video.

[@lestranged]

My dad took a lot of business trips to Japan and The Philippines in the 1970's. After one trip he brought back a pachinko game, it was large and heavy plus had at least 2 or 3 cups of balls. He put it in our basement rumpus room so I got pretty good at pachinko. Depending on how far back you pulled the lever, that changed the amount of force applied so you could get very accurate with shooting the balls right to the highest scoring areas. I think I learned a lot of physics playing it. I would not call it purely a game of chance, there is a lot of skill to it like with pinball and billiards.

[@Endocrom]

Mine was stationed in Japan before I was born and brought one back. It was open in the back and had exposed boards and switches you could just activate by hand.

[@lestranged]

@@Endocrom Yes ours was open in the back too. My dad was a civilian that worked for the Navy so he was traveling to US naval bases in Asia and he might have purchased the machine at the base exchange store.

[@TheInternetHelpdeskPlays]

I remember going to a pachinko parlour a while ago. I realised quickly look at the ashtray beside it, if it's full it means someone had been sitting there for a long time and winning, since the machines can't alter their odds, you can get a good set of wins quickly.

[@balaam_7087]

Methinks the board of directors at Konami has an addiction to this (completely not) gambling. All those incredible IP’s, utterly wasted in stagnation...

[@atomic_wait]

Metal Gear Survive is an incredible game that elevates the franchise to previously untold heights, and definitely not an embarrassingly lazy cash grab. Metal Gear themed pachinko is the same deal. Konami is a hotbed of creativity and innovation, duh.

[@SEMIA123]

If I'm ever a billionaire I'm buying the rights to castlevania

[@arcturionblade1077]

@@atomic_wait The name's Snake. Sarcasm Snake.

[@ParanormalEncyclopedia]

@@atomic_wait Never mind Survive. The real testimony to Konami's dedication to creativity and innovation is Silent Hills. I mean who would possibly think a marriage between: one of the greatest living game designers (Kijomi), on eof the greatest living horror directors (Del Tormo) and one of the most popular horror video game franchises would ever be profitable? Just sillyness.

[@tncorgi92]

One of my neighbors imported a pachinko machine and set it up in his rec room. It's fun to play and I can see where some people become addicted. The lights, music and clinking balls are stimulating.

[@DSan-kl2yc]

Is it? I've only seen them on screens. It doesn't seem like a game.

[@tncorgi92]

@@DSan-kl2yc it's not much of a game really. No skill involved. But look at slots and how many people get hooked on those.

[@luszczi]

"The tokens are micro-tagged to prevent them from being sold outside the system and then sold back to the pachinko parlor at wholesale prices." Why would anyone sell them at wholesale prices? That's selling valuable items at a massive loss, right?

[@aghastlyghost]

I think it's more buying similar/same items elsewhere at wholesale prices then selling them as though you won them for a profit. It does kind of sound like that though.

[@tektrixter]

I think he meant that the tokens could be *bought* outside the system at wholesale prices and then sold to the pachinko parlor at a high price.

[@nanoplasm]

What they are saying is the RFID prevents people from buying identical tokens else where at wholesale price, and then redeem them at the pachinko parlors for cash. Just like in Vegas, chips from casinos have RFID in them.

[@ClaudiusPunchinello]

The mention of slot machines is apt, as there is a historical parallel between them and pachinko. Early on, some manufacturers produced versions of slot machines that used gum as payout. In some venues, proprietors would exchange gum for cash in an effort to get around gambling laws (though not so successfully as in Japan). The gum had fruit flavors, which is why fruit icons were used on slot machines.

[@tgcgamergramp4417]

I first encountered pachinko as a US soldier stationed in Japan in 1996. I find it interesting that it originated in Nagoya, as I happened to be off-duty in that city when I walked into a parlor. It was exactly as Simon described, loud, obnoxious, and peculiarly Japanese! For me it was a memorable, one-off experience of modern Japanese culture.

[@grapeshot]

I remember seeing them games when I was over in Japan when I was in the military. I also remember that Futurama episode when Amy was playing Pachinko.

[@ThePrufessa]

I haven't seen that episode. Sounds funny.

[@grapeshot]

@@ThePrufessa yeah it's an episode on season 6. Leela was a writer on that Yo Gabba Gabba Show.

[@hanamiharue8769]

AISURU.TOKYO/angelina 💞 ( ˘ ³˘)👙 18 years and over KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@hanamiharue8769]

AISURU.TOKYO/angelina 💞 ( ˘ ³˘)👙 18 years and over KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@Tpainactual]

Memba-berries

[@deusexvesania1702]

The most evil about Pachinko isn't the gambling. It's how Konami led the Silent Hill series into those parlors for it to die.

[@GTFODeathknight]

And MGS

[@colinl992]

Huh they make different game themed ones didn’t know that.

[@westrim]

@@colinl992 Rather, Konami is so hooked on that sweet, sweet Pachinko money that they don't want to bother with their internationally beloved video game series that comparatively took more time, money, risk, and people to develop.

[@rifafahri7189]

@@westrim yeah they currently mostly focused to released pachinko machine lol

[@pokepress]

Lest you think this is confined to Japan, a ways back there was a Frogger scratch game run by the Wisconsin Lottery.

[@lydias2012]

In the 3rd grade I had a friend who's dad brought one back from over seas. No momey involved but we love playing it sorta of like a pinball machine. Loved it when you got hugh payouts. Never made money but never lost either.

[@petuniasevan]

My dad brought home 2 pachinko machines in the early 70s and I loved playing those. Don't know what happened to them over the years. I think he got them from a co worker who'd spent time in Japan on military service. Met hubby and found out that he was military brat born and raised in Japan. He also played pachinko a lot as a kid; maybe someday we'll get a pachinko machine for old times' sake.

[@sbcee2220]

I was 17 in 1990, and my father needed to get rid of all his flight miles, so off I went to Japan on my own. On one night I was taken to this two story non-descript building and into an environment just as Simon described. I was amazed to win an eraser and some pencils, which I then took out to that same shady box where they traded it for cold hard yen. I was blown away, and had loads of fun.

[@WaywardVet]

Cool! Ishikawa has a parlor in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I never thought much of it, and had no idea they'd placed a cultural icon in the story.

[@snorlax6691]

I thought about that as well, didn’t he use it as a way to hide some of Section 9’s activities? Or something to the effect of using the patrons’ cyberbrains for extra processing power? It’s kind of funny to think about that, considering what we learned from the video how pachinko is pretty much a front for Yakuza/corrupt government officials making money, lol.

[@A23ness]

i used to hate how loud those pachinko places were, even just walking past would be hell on my eardrums.

[@eonaon6914]

So Pachinko is getting phased out by Gatcha? Yeah I can see that.

[@Ramsey276one]

I'd rather IT DOES NOT

[@Kolbjornelenano]

I was playing Azur lane and Epic 7 while listening to this video...

[@marksusskind1260]

In the 1970s, my dad once bought a little pachinko game from a discount retailer in downtown Manhattan. The most I can remember of it was the pattern on the back of the machine, which traced out a pattern I called 'Martian on a Toilet Bowl' because of what looked like antennas on top, and curved paths on the bottom left and right.

[@Zerpersande]

The items I received for the balls were specially repackaged packages of lighter flints. But 1) that was about 25 years ago and 2) I only played on 3~4 occasions. I basically broke even. At least in the past, there were books/magazines on the game. Players learned to examine the games closely, looking at minute differences in how the pins are slightly bent, and the machines are constantly ‘tuned’ to counter that ploy.

[@SikenServent]

Saw a lot of pachinco plazas when I was stationed in sasebo 2011-2014, you aren't lying about the smoke pachinco granny's are worse than bingo granny's, And the lights are bright and flashy enough to cause seizures...... Your right about the name of the plaza on the balls I actually kept a ball from each one I went too

[@completebilingual]

I grew up in Sasebo since I was 9 until 18. I've been here for 30 years and haven't lived in Sasebo for 20 years. I personally hate that city, for every reason conceivable. Things I can explain, and things I can't explain. Reasons ranging from there just being too many hills and outright mountains, the locals frequently thinking they're entitled to outright use Americans for free English practice; to spiritual aspects like the general bad vibe.

[@matthewwells6636]

Yo that is hilarious my brother in law was also stationed sasebo... And he also kept a couple pachinko balls as souvenirs.

[@otakuman706]

@@completebilingual Huh, I'd never heard anyone mention the bad vibe. Care to elaborate? If you can/want to, of course, no worries if you'd rather not. Just curious 🤷‍♂️

[@arcturionblade1077]

Visited Sasebo once on TDY. It reminded me a little bit of Toyota (my father-in-law lives there) but next to the water. Pachinko parlors are deliberate sensory overload (father-in-law loved to hang out in them pre-Covid). Can't imagine how he does it with all the noise, smoke, and flashing lights.

[@otakuman706]

@@arcturionblade1077 Any input about 'bad vibes?'

[@robray8144]

My father owned one of these machines and I remember it working for a while. Most people I have spoken with have never heard of Pachinko though.

[@kgrfirdjy]

i fell in love with our family's pachinko as a kid and was mad when we donated it prior to leaving america for germany. however, my uncle had Nishijin Model B, and I got it years later in middle school. Eventually I figured out how to repair and clean it in college, along with two newer pachinko games (flying carpet from the late 1980's and king kong from around 2007). They are games I treasure

[@julianaylor4351]

Every culture has an unusual pastime, in the UK it's probably the small family run shops, that sell many things, give access to the National Lottery, sell pay as you go phone cards, top ups for travel cards and stuff you can't find in chain stores and chain supermarkets, to which many people go to to get something specific, and end up browsing and getting something else. Because shopping is a British nation pastime. 😁 I wonder how dangerous these ball filled Pachinko machines become in an earthquake. There are machines in the UK, often on seaside piers, where you can gamble, get tokens and then get a gift, usually toys and ornaments.

[@WolfgangDoW]

Lolwhot corner shops aren't a past time, you go there to buy shit at higher prices but more convenient location and open later They aren't comparable to pachinko palours like at all Some arcades have these games with coins and shelves though, where you're basically trying to get an avalanche of coins to fall down. That's the closest thing I can think of we have here

[@julianaylor4351]

@@WolfgangDoW You've got no sense of humour. 😁

[@ccggenius]

What you're describing is a bodega, and that's really more of a Latino thing. Pretty sure the British thing is technically taking other people's "things". @@WolfgangDoW Medal (coin) pushers and marble pushers are ALSO a Japanese thing, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Consequently, if you find the time, you should use youtube to see what the newer machines are capable of, they make those janky "coin dozer" machines you see in every Chuck E. Cheese look quaint by comparison.

[@IANF126]

it's like if you could turn your chuck e cheese tickets in for cash as well

[@rhov-anion]

My family somehow acquired a pachinko machine in the 80s. No one in America had heard of it, but it was seriously addictive. I'm sure it drove my parents insane as we kids fought over who got to play and steel balls ended up under the couch.

[@revimfadli4666]

Here in Indonesia Gen-Xers often reminisce about "dingdong" machines, which is apparently what they call pinball machines as. But one of my uncles pointed out that the "dingdong" in the past were vertical, and at that point I realized their "dingdongs" were actually pachinko machines

[@DaddyBeanDaddyBean]

I bought a 1960's Sanyo machine at auction, on a whim. I bought a bunch of balls online, figured out how to put it in working order, and the kids spent many hours playing it. I still have that one. Over the years I bought two more - coincidentally also 1960's Sanyos - and put them in working order, and gave them away as Christmas gifts.

[@matthewdopler8997]

It sounds like gambling with extra steps.

[@arcturionblade1077]

Sounds like? It's exactly what it is.

[@gorilladisco9108]

Modern problem needs modern solution.

[@Drknow1984]

I actually managed to buy a pachinko machine from the 70s at a garage sale, 10 bucks. No power to it except for a small plug for a light at the top, but outside of that totally mechanical. Has a sticker on the inside saying it’s from Okinawa. I could hardly contain myself when I saw it as I’ve always been a fan of the machines

[@jeffragar3493]

I had one in the 70s. I connected a 9V battery to the power input so it would light up.

[@morewubswithyourdubs]

I’m surprised to see that Gilles Messier from Our Own Devices is the author of this segment! Now I’m going to have to keep an eye on the credits to see if it was just a one off or regular collaboration between two of my favorite content creators 🤯

[@gravesclayton3604]

My father collected a few American pinball machines, and 3 Pachinko machines as well. As with his 3 pinball machines, each of his Pachinko machines was from a different decade going from one in 60's, one in the 70's, and one in the 80's. All 3 of the Pachinko machines have a built-in ash tray on the front lower corner that tilts for an attendent to go around and empty while the machines are being played, lol! They are very fascinating machines on the back side, which is why my father collected them, as well as the pinball machines.

[@kaltaron1284]

It's the same issue that Japan has no prostitution. Yeah, right. I prefer it when things are legal, controlled and safe. Both gambling and other activities. I tried entering a Pachinko parlor a few times but to be honest the noise and smell made me last only seconds. Edit: Lootboxes are using pretty much the same loophole.

[@shanemorris3554]

Gambling is legal in Australia but it's not very well regulated and we have a serious gambling problem. I think we have the highest gambling losses in the world

[@kaltaron1284]

@@shanemorris3554 Gambling is also legal in Germany and (as expected) quite regulated. And a big source of income for the state. No idea how we compare to the world.

[@nanoplasm]

Prostitution in Japan is legal but not in certain prefectures such as Tokyo. However, the government is no longer handing out prostitution business license, so the number of prostitution establishment is capped. Existing prostitution business license is extremely high valued.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@nanoplasm I'm pretty sure that prostitution has been illegal since 1956. Maybe some grandfather clauses were accepted. Normally prostitution in Japan is a bit more circumvent. Like you are paying for some service and the sex happens "voluntarily". To be honest, I don't have any experience with that kind of work so I can only go on what I know.

[@Ataso1]

@@kaltaron1284 You're correct. Nowadays they get around it by doing stuff like hiring someone for a massage and you just happen to hit it off and one thing led to another and yall had sex. They even have deriheru (delivery health) where the "massage therapist" will come to your house to perform your "massage". Previously places would get around it by skirting the legal meaning of sex, which up until a few years ago was penis in vagina. So they would offer everything but that.

[@Indyofthedead]

So, even Japan gets around gambling laws like how ticket prize arcades get around them in the US.

[@Craxin01]

I only ever played pachinko on a videogame emulation. It was also a bit raunchy with the anime girl you picked taking clothes off in a video animation when you won a round. No gambling payouts, unless you count some mild hentai a payout.

[@benn454]

You made sure to use lysol wipes on the machine first, right?

[@Craxin01]

@@benn454 LOL! It was on my PC, emulated from a Japanese arcade. If it were an ACTUAL machine, I'd douse it in enough Lysol to kill an elephant.

[@0311Mushroom]

Pachinko Sexy Reaction.

[@nanoplasm]

Just one small correction. Due to the morality law passed for Tokyo prefecture, amusement services are not allowed to open 24 hours a day.

[@Ramsey276one]

Makes sense People working the 3rd shift better invest in mobile games! XD

[@lp-xl9ld]

I have a vague memory from the 1970s of a department store in the New York area which sold stuff you couldn't get anywhere else...and they had (not rigged for gambling-which-isn't?) Pachinko machines. All I could make of it was "Japanese pinball". Okay, now I know.

[@habitsrabbit]

I'm just gonna say, screw Konami for cancelling Silent Hills and then creating a Silent Hill Pachinko machine.. why cancel such a highly anticipated game, just to milk the franchise for a slot machine.

[@hanamiharue8769]

AISURU.TOKYO/angelina 💞 ( ˘ ³˘)👙 18 years and over KZbin: This is fine Someone: Says "heck" KZbin: Be gone #однако #я #люблю #таких #рыбаков #Интересно #забавно #девушка #смешная #垃圾

[@ScooterinAB]

Probably because Konami hates their fans.

[@habitsrabbit]

@@ScooterinAB Yes. Yes they do.

[@arcturionblade1077]

Konami loves money more than their fans.

[@666Tomato666]

Because Konami is Konami, and Konami is the worst.

[@chefjrmz]

Used to have 2 of these when I was young. We got them when my dad was stationed in Holland. Eventually sold them in a yard sale to a guy who worked on them. Wish I still had them.

[@dwaynelangerhr6985]

We had two of these machines when I was a kid. I loved them.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551

[@about7grams]

i like when your business blaze side comes out on your other channels

[@alcid34]

So funny this popped up right after I bought a vintage pachinko machine.

[@tamconcord]

I wonder if you’ve ever heard of the Collyer Brothers. The topic is poorly covered on KZbin and it’s very interesting.

[@robertkobus5266]

I'm surprised Simon doesn't have a channel named "Fact Boy"

[@Grashan]

Come back in three months, he will.

[@WolfgangDoW]

Simon already runs 90% of KZbin channels tbf

[@mho...]

dont give him ideas!

[@ntlespino]

Yet

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

7:10 Housewives in Japan leave their children in refridgerated lockers? Why didn't the US think of that? No more need to hire babysitters.

[@joerobinson69]

LOL. I scanned the comments just to see if anyone else noticed that. While he was referring to leaving groceries in the refrigerated lockers, and children in the babysitting area of the parlor, the way it was worded made it sound like you could leave your kid in the fridge and go gambling.

[@WolfgangDoW]

@@joerobinson69 when you seriously need the kids to chill out

[@Fanney47]

🤣🤣🤣🙈 yeah at first I was like wait what? 🤣🤣

[@lestranged]

children are perishable, they can spoil if not refrigerated

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Weebs: "Japan is the most law-abiding country in the world!" Japanese: _Blatantly flount gambling laws_

[@ScooterinAB]

Japan is very law abiding. There is 100% totally nothing illegal about pachinko or other "metal" games. Totally legal. I don't know what you're talking about.

[@LyaksandraB]

Oh, god, so glad to see at least one more person that isn't dying to take Japan up the ass. It's not just weebs, btw. Remember those videos that make the rounds around social media, about roads and bridges being rebuilt in a single week, or politicians and CEOs giving away their salary because they got caught doing something shady or the business was in dire straits, and people are always going bonkers about how shitty the west is, like japan doesn't have a slew of issues. Some things are great, some aren't, just like everywhere else. People should stop idolizing, well, anything. Just keep it cool.

[@Gay_Priest]

Don’t forget Japanese cops: profiteering from loophole gambling

[@Gay_Priest]

@@LyaksandraB people are so caught up on the anime and video games and technology that they don’t even realize that Japan is still barely coming out of the 60’s in terms of civil rights issues. I can count the number of non-Japanese characters and non-straight characters that aren’t just played up for laughs or a bad guy that I’m aware of on one hand

[@thesheepersgame5199]

As long as it's not illegal then no one is breaking the law, so what you said means no sense. You could had pointed out other things and made sense.

[@lordmegatron4989]

I tried to play Pachinko while stationed in Japan but it was deafening with all the metal balls rattling around, I lasted about four minutes before leaving.

[@dannydaw59]

I had a Pachinko machine in the US as a kid. Couldn't plug it in because it needed a different voltage and hertz. There's another reason to visit Japan: to experience a Pachinko parlor.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551..

[@rafterman6476]

Great video! I've lived in Japan for years and still have never played pachinko. There's even a pachinko arcade on my street. Maybe I'll try it once lol

[@unclejoe7466]

My family had a pachinko machine in the house when I was a kid. Even with no prizes, playing it was almost hypnotic, and the winning lights and bells addictive.

[@ScipioAfricanus100]

I love it when Brain Blaze seeps into Simon's other channels like in the thumbnail here.

[@daveubermensch]

I grew up in South Florida in the 70s and 80s with a pachinko machine at my grandmother's house. I loved that game. I have a broken one in my garage. Unfortunately it cost more to fix it than it's worth.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551.

[@dizzylizzie]

Fascinating, my dad had a traditional pachinko machine and I loved playing with it as a kid. I had no idea the history of it! New bucketlist item to go to Japan to play

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551

[@DMZ_5]

7:13 lmao that phrasing, of course housewives place thier children in refrigerated lockers, where else would you store them

[@arnepianocanada]

1987: I was in a Pachinko parlour in Japan. Stack on stack of food-crusted plates and drink cups piled up over days; players stuffing machines, frozen-faced as robots; cigarettes and ash all around. Depressing.

[@Ramsey276one]

Not like Casinos elsewhere are paradises...

[@em1osmurf]

7:57 pikachus at the pachinko payout counter. you have genius people working there, bro.

[@RASK1904]

I have one. Brought to US in the 70s. Someone framed it and put metal feet on it. Always wanted one. My dad's friend had one he'd let us play as a kid.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551.

[@avgFloridian]

9:15 "The mafia and gangs were replaced by a state sponsored gang." That's how I heard it, at least.

[@Ramsey276one]

Sounds logical XD

[@alexdaland]

This is NOT gambling, we promise. Far from it *Japan makes casinos legal We are totally a gambling establishment. Please can we gamble in the casino?

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Your channels are truly time killing fuel. Thank you! It's like you have multiple personalities and it's as fascinating as your content.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551✅

[@cliff8669]

Stationed at MCAS Iwakuni April 80 to April 81. Went to a Pachinko parlor in Hiroshima. The noise level was deafening.

[@XSpImmaLion]

Small correction: Pachinkos were never at any point the only place you could smoke in public.... not sure where script writers came up with that. Pachinkos were famously thick with smoke when it was allowed, because they are usually inside closed opaque windows (or windowless) buildings that have the same effect of casinos - to obscure the passage of time for players. :P And so, with little ventilation and tight packed space with tons of smokers, you got the smoker fog. But smoking indoors got forbiden very very recently, being allowed only at designated spaces. Just as an example, on my trip there back in 2018, I still found plenty of restaurants, bars, cafes and whatnot that still had enclosed smoker areas. I also went there in 2007, no smoking ban at all that I can remember of back then. The general rule for closed spaces though was having separate areas for smokers. But smoking outdoor was already outlawed in 2018, with designated corners and booths popping out. In some places they were fully enclosed spaces with ventilation and filtration, in others they were just signs put close to cigarette butt trashcans, open space, no boundaries. I imagine it was the transition period... not sure how it's working now. But I still spotted people disrespecting it here and there.... japanese people, not tourists.

[@DXKramer]

Fun random fact: the game Plinko on The Price is Right is based on the pachinko game, has been around for over 35 years, and is regarded as the most popular game on the show, even though the top prize (a massive $50,000) has never actually been won.

[@toddnolastname4485]

My half sister bought one for my parents. It was kind of fun. I just searched for them on Amazon. All they offered was a book. Not even a PC or tablet game.

[@ccccha]

It seems funny that there was no video of the game play or noise of the parlor as Simon decribed it all in detail.

[@itryen7632]

Japan: Gambling is considered Arcade gaming Germany: Arcade gaming is considered Gambling

[@tempest_dawn]

My grandparents have a Pachinko machine in their home. We of course didn't play for any money but it's quite fun. Very loud though.

[@Desertdweller1965]

We had one growing up. There was an importer called Pachinko Palace. The machine ran off of a 6v dry cell. I'd love to find one today.

[@AaronLitz]

Pachinko is incredibly sleazy. "The pachinko industry is dying." HA! Konami's decision to stop making video games to focus on pachinko machines instead shows how incredibly stupid its executives are.

[@matthewdopler8997]

I really hope they eventually regret their decision and refocus back to games.

[@nanoplasm]

I think you got mobile gaming and pachinko mixed up.

[@takaotsu3592]

Gambling is everywhere. Horse race, boat race, bike race, pachinko. I was told my great grandfather was a professional pachinko player and he used to make side cash that way. Lol

[@stevelang3171]

in around 1960 my uncle gave me a pachinko machine that he had brought back from a deployment in Japan. he was a really cool guy. vertical machine with just a spring plunger, steel ball and metal pins. fun to watch for a while but it was too random for my taste.

[@EdgyShooter]

Totally heard that as "Refrigerated lockers where housewives can leave their children" 😂

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

JAPANESE: There's now way to gamble on a Pachinko. GAIJIN: Wanna bet?

[@blairpenny1526]

My Grandfather had a pachinko machine that we loved playing with whenever we visited his house

[@lairdcummings9092]

My father had a traditional Pachinko machine/game. We could never really see the point. I mean, it was briefly amusing, but after a short while, it became distinctly 'Meh.'

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551..

[@howyoudurrinhunneh]

Now I want to watch The Price Is Right

[@johnbagley5341]

We had a couple of these games in the house when I was very young (mid 1970's) that were brought back by family members who were in the navy.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551

[@DadJeff-jo7pm]

I had a Pachinko machine when I was around 11-12 yrs old. Idk where my Dad found it in Bakersfield CA. back in the 70's. I didn't have any instructions for it, I just flipped the balls around, and had a blast with it. Each ball was etched with symbols and Mark's. This one was no-frills, no flashing lights etc. just your plain Jane, low end sold to Americans and others around the world.

[@vixenqueenproductions3406]

Oh my god Simon I just watched the pinball video and saw you for the first time without a beard or glasses and the doctors say my sight will return but they don’t know when. Just joking but god man never get rid of that beard

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551.

[@carlramirez6339]

2:32 4% of Japan's GDP is generated by Pachinko?! And I thought us Australians had a gambling problem...

[@arcturionblade1077]

Funny story that my wife told me about a Brazilian couple who were friends with her dad. They were visiting him in Japan and happened to play pachinko by themselves and won a bunch of colored pens (which they were supposed to trade in for a cash prize). Naturally confused, they had no idea what they were supposed to do with these pens and started breaking them open to see if they hid a prize inside. My wife and father-in-law laughed when they told them what they did since they lost out on a good bit of money and couldn't turn in the broken pens.

[@cybertech9772]

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated. Feel free to message on Whats/App / Text For questions, Investment guide and tips. ✙14705745551

[@jnerdsblog]

I'm sure they're somewhere, but I haven't seen any 24-hour pachinko parlors personally here.

[@dreffon9213]

Something wrong with the numbers. 7.8 million players cannot generate a 250 billion $ revenue. That would mean they bet 30k a year. No doubt some of them do, but the average money spent by year should be around 1k$

[@GamesNTech]

Watching the closed captions change the spelling of Pachinko over and over again was very funny to me.

[@magusxxx]

"The air think with cigarette smoke, thumping techno music, and the deafening clang of thousands of careening steel balls..." Sure you're not talking about the Folsom Street Fair?

[@Turbo_Toad]

Hey have you ever thought about one day just screwing with every one of your multiple channels and start doing like biographies on the megastructures channels etc etc?