If you're a retro gaming fan, you might be familiar with Shinya Arino. Part of a Japanese comedy duo called Yoiko, he began presenting a show called GameCenter CX in 2003, in which he attempts to complete one generally difficult retro game in each episode, as well as visiting a different arcade in Japan every time.
Recently, Arino has even partnered with Nintendo to play some Wii Virtual Console games, as well as the two 3D Classics currently available on 3DS in Japan.
Despite the success of the show (it's currently in its 15th season) the West has not had anything similar. In 2009, North America received Retro Game Challenge on the DS, a translated version of a game based on the show, with the manual promising that the show itself would also come westward, but nothing materialised — until now.
Gawker Media has secured the rights to stream the show online, and will be doing as such every Thursday on Kotaku starting June 23. They say they can show an entire season, and can easily acquire the rights to more episodes if it proves successful. There's some conflicting stories on whether the show will be dubbed or simply subtitled, though we hope it's the latter — we don't think anyone can replicate Arino's screams of agony and joy in English.
If you love older games, this is a must-see. Arino has challenged games like the infamous Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 and Ghosts 'n Goblins, and even though he isn't much of a professional gamer he usually manages to pull through, though it can very frequently take him over half a day.
Keep an eye on Kotaku to catch the episodes. They'll air every Thursday at 8 PM EST.
[source kotaku.com]
Comments 23
Cool. I loved Retro Games Challenge, a show about will be interesting.
awesome!
Will the videos be available for North American IPs only. I bet it will.
@edhe I hope not. I love this show. Ive found a few translated episodes online previously and love it. Ive been waiting for more episodes to be translated by fans but if this succeedes it will be just as good and probably more frequent too.
Plus if it does succeed then it could possibly mean a translation of Retro Game Challenge 2. The first one was excellent and I was very disappointed when I found out we wouldnt be getting the second.
I am very excited about this. I love this show. If you want a taste of what to expect, there are many subbed episodes up on Youtube.
I recommend that you first verify that all parts of the episode are available before watching it. I got burned the other day on the Rockman 3 videos. The last part wasn't there, so I don't know how it ended.
Oh why can't we get it on British UK TV, it would be soooooo interesting!!! I'm going to take a look at this on youtube.
Neat does this mean we'll see retro game challenge 2 in the west finally?
Nope will never happen.
This, eShop, and new Futurama make Thursdays awesome for once!
Awesome, hopefully as PSICoffee said, this will somehow lead to Retro Game Challenge 2 coming this-a-way! (Or maybe a future 3D sequel?) A guy can dream.
Sweet. Can't wait to check it out.
@DrKarl: That one is a two-parter. I saw the entirety of Part one yesterday (which covers everything up to the beginning of Wily's Castle).
I actually used to visit Kotaku daily until they changed to that confusing layout, and I switched to Destructoid
Retro Game Challenge was GREAT... such a shame the sequel didn't make it here.
Pft. We have the Angry Videogame Nerd.
Pfft, I'm the true "Retro Game Master".
Seems like an interesting show though, I'd totally check it out.
YES! I love this show! Even people outide can understand the humor in it, Arino is just THAT funny
I'll definitely be tuning in for it; I loved Retro Game Challenge and I really enjoyed the handful of subbed episodes Game Center CX that I've managed to see. Plus, I have nothing else to watch on Thursdays until Parks & Rec and Community come back.
Love it
There used to be a couple of channels on YouTube that had translated episodes, but they were taken down or removed, likely due to copyrights. They were so fun to watch so I can't wait for this!
Why did they have to schedule this for a time at which I have prior commitments? I hope they save the videos for later viewing.
I actually hope it's dubbed. I mean y'know, where it makes sense (I don't think anyone would try replicating his screams, for example). It just doesn't make sense to read subtitles when you're trying to watch the action on the screen, right?
Still getting it at all is a treat! Thank you GAWKER and Kotaku!
This seems like it's going to be a very promising idea! I'm already looking forward to Shinya Arino's program! Now let's hope every one in the world can watch it online. I hate, and I mean, really hate, all region-coding and IP-segmentation and "Oh, we forgot the English subtitles" things. Everyone should have easy access to everything. There are so many wonderful things made all over the world, let's share these joys people!
I doubt he can top the Angry Video Game Nerd.
I mean, would this Japanese fellow rather take a diarrhea dump in his ear than play awful games?
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