Game Center CX

November 16, 2007 12:56 PM

"[Game Center CX] is comedic, dramatic, even a bit mental, but altogether it’s an unforgettable show about what sounds like a forgettable concept: a guy trying to beat old Nintendo games."

A longer description of the show:

This is an unofficial, detailed, episode guide for this Japanese show.Game Center CX is a video game show airing on Fuji TV’s "721" satellite network (and if you’re wondering, the show’s name comes from Fuji’s callsign, JOCX). With a heavy emphasis on retro games, the show appeals mainly to the game otaku set, but can be easily enjoyed by anyone who’s into old games and game culture.

In its first season, Game Center CX was more of an interview and history show, as host Shinya Arino (in a seafoam suit typical of Japan’s bubble-era workforce) visited legendary Japanese game companies and interviewed key creators. What turned out to be more entertaining were the chousen (challenge) segments, where Arino laid his unskilled hands at one of the companies’ classic games.

By the next season, Game Center CX had made the challenges the centerpiece of each episode, turning the show into something more like the stereotypical Japanese variety/reality show: a little bit louder, intense and ball-bustingly cruel.

And it worked. As the seasons went on, the show started to grow in popularity, becoming a "miracle hit" (if you believe the front of the DVD boxes) and climbing to the top of 721’s ratings. From a simple description, it’s easy to call GCCX something lame and dismissive like "Iron Chef with video games," but a viewing or two is all it takes to see it’s a lot more.

posted by chunking express (12 comments total)

o rly?
posted by C17H19NO3 at 1:09 PM on November 16, 2007

These episodes sound awesome. His attempt at finished Prince of Persia for example seems like an exercise in tedium. Damn that was a hard game.
posted by chunking express at 1:12 PM on November 16, 2007

Ahh, I just knew he had to do Milon's Secret Castle.

BTW: no video? :(
posted by zsazsa at 1:19 PM on November 16, 2007

This show looks so good that it's painful there are no videos.

I found this short clip on youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JsKrS7C86Yc, but so far that's it.
posted by ducksauce at 2:29 PM on November 16, 2007

Not to give it all away or anything but with a little quick googling I was able to find a torrent site that had a fansubbed episode available. Good times.
posted by jtron at 2:32 PM on November 16, 2007

I googled but all I saw was a torrent of the Game Center CX video game.
posted by rxrfrx at 3:19 PM on November 16, 2007

The torrent site is actually linked on the second page of the article.
posted by infidelpants at 3:50 PM on November 16, 2007

More YouTube.
posted by zsazsa at 3:56 PM on November 16, 2007

I don't know if this a proper fansub or what, but it's funny anyways.
posted by mcsweetie at 4:16 PM on November 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ah, and to think I was considering posting this very site yesterday, but didn't because there's really little in the way of video to be found on the internet.

Lemme guess chunking express, you read GameSetWatch too?
posted by JHarris at 10:33 AM on November 17, 2007

I actually saw it on Waxy. I thought it was cool even without the video. The guides are well written.
posted by chunking express at 11:04 AM on November 17, 2007

I think it's cool too, btw, I was just wondering if as many other people would have thought it was cool without video available.
posted by JHarris at 11:56 AM on November 17, 2007