8.8 /10 1 Votes
Starring Shinya Arino Original language(s) Japanese Producer(s) Kan Tsuyoshi First episode date 4 November 2003 Number of episodes 234 | 8.8/10 IMDb Country of origin Japan No. of episodes 235 Running time 60 minutes Program creator Fuji Television Cast Shinya Arino | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Networks Fuji Television, Fuji Network System Similar Ame Talk, Mecha‑Mecha Iketeru!, Variety show, Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya, Run for Money | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GameCenter CX (ゲームセンターCX, Gēmu Sentā Shī Ekkusu), also known as Retro Game Master in other regions, is a Japanese gaming-variety show television program produced by Fuji Television and Gascoin Company. It stars Shinya Arino, a member of comedy duo Yoiko, who plays home console video games from previous decades and usually attempts to get the game's ending within a single day. The show has been on-air since November 4, 2003, with a new episode airing bi-weekly at Thursday midnight on Fuji TV One. 11 DVD sets have been released in Japan. In 2008 Fuji TV was looking for international distributors for subtitled DVDs.
Contents
Premise
The show is presented as a gaming variety show which follows a commentary-based longplay format. Shinya Arino challenges several games from previous eras, presented by his producers in order to get each ending. He is supported by the show's assistant directors (referred to as ADs) and sometimes other staff, both via moral support and actual gameplay. He also is featured in segments interspersed throughout the episodes where he goes to local arcade centers, as well as segments where he does a variety of things, such as interviews with game designers, showcasing classic console hardware or games, or a made-up game show where the staff participate.
GameCenter CX as a company
Arino is presented as an employee of the GameCenter CX company, which exists solely inside the GameCenter CX universe. His jumpsuit attire adorns the GameCenter CX logo, which with the second season onward lost the original brackets around the "CX". Arino formally greets anyone of status by serving him/her a business card. The CX company even promotes Arino depending on how well he does during the season. The phrase Arino says right before turning on the console, "Kachō on!", signifies his role as chief of the aforementioned company.
To continue on with the corporate theme of the show, a stock certificate was included with the second DVD collection to have the buyers feel like they owned stock in the company. In the last episode of season 7, Bandai Namco Entertainment president Ishikawa made Arino an honorary employee and presented him with a company card.
ADs
The assistant directors help provide creative input, construct settings, and work as camera crew at times, especially when on location. Their on-screen presence is typically precipitated by Arino struggling with a spot in a game. They will offer help of a varying degree, enough to dislodge Arino from his despair, but not so much as to raise questions about whether he beat the game on his own. These members of staff start as interns, and often they are promoted to various paid positions surrounding the show's production. Many have moved on to other Japanese TV shows.
Miscellaneous staff
Music
Main games
NOTE: An asterisk (*) is noted beside the episode number to indicate the episode's localization and release on Kotaku. Western titles in "quotes" are unofficial names Kotaku uses to refer to Japan-only games.
(This season featured a game series or game company as its main focus with Arino's challenge game as a secondary feature)
(episode numbering started with Arino's challenge games being the main feature)
(The season mascot changes from King to Queen)
(Season was shortened due to birth of Arino's daughter)
(The season mascot changes from Queen to Dark King)
(the season changes from Dark King to King. The Dark King makes a brief reappearance in #53)
(Season was shortened due to Arino being hospitalized)
(The season mascot changes from King to Fallen Warrior)
(The season mascot changes from Fallen Warrior to King)
(The season mascot changes from the King to Elephant King)
DVD-Exclusive Challenges
Each DVD-Box set released includes a game challenge exclusive to the DVD set. Most of these challenges were famicom games.
Video Releases
On June 23, 2011, gaming website Kotaku started streaming English translated episodes of the series. On January 13, 2012, Kotaku announced that their agreement to broadcast the show had ended; there will be no second season, and existing episodes will be removed when the rights expire. However, on February 28, 2012, Discotek Media announced via their Facebook page that they had acquired the rights to the 12 episodes shown on Kotaku and will release them on DVD. They are hoping for a summer release and the sales of the DVD set will determine whether more episodes will be released in the future. On April 24, Discotek Media announced on their Facebook page that the episode count will be fourteen. On May 17, Discotek Media set September 18, 2012, as the release date.
So far there have been eleven DVD sets put out with the latest released in December 2014. Each one contains key episodes, game center visits and a game challenge exclusive to the DVD set. They are not season compilations.
DVD-Box Vol. 5 also includes;
Tamage In South KoreaDVD-Box Vol. 6 also includes;
Game Center CX Museum Report／Cannes Infiltration ReportRevenge ChallengeLegend of the Mystical NinjaDVD-Box Vol. 8 also includes;
Revenge ChallengeThe Genji and Heike ClansDVD-Box Vol. 9 also includes;
Southernmost Gaming TravelogueRevenge ChallengeF-ZeroDVD-Box Vol. 11 also includes;
Revenge ChallengeFamicom Trainer Jogging RaceTamage In ASIA: Director's Cut EditionDVD-Box Vol. 12 also includes;
Tamage In Paris: Director's Cut EditionDVD-Box Vol. 13 also includes;
Tamage In Vietnam: Director's Cut EditionSegments
Each episode of Game Center CX is made up of a number of different segments. The only segment which appears in every episode is Arino's Challenge. The other segments vary by episode and season. However, the episodes that appear on Kotaku omit these segments, instead focusing only on the challenge of the week.
Video games
At the end of the 6th Season, it was announced that there were plans to make a GameCenter CX video game. The game, entitled GameCenter CX: Arino's Challenge, is for the Nintendo DS and was produced in a collaborative effort by Fuji TV and Bandai Namco Games. During the 7th Season, certain parts of the show featured the development process of the game. The game was released in Japan on November 15, 2007, and in North America by Xseed Games on February 10, 2009, under the title Retro Game Challenge. A second game, GameCenter CX: Arino's Challenge 2 was released in Japan on February 26, 2009. Xseed Games has stated that US release of the game is unlikely, due to its predecessor's not catching enough attention from the North American gaming community. A third game, "Game Center CX: 3-Choume no Arino" was released in Japan on March 20, 2015, and is the first installment in the series to come to the Nintendo 3DS.
Arino appears as a Mystery Mushroom figure in Super Mario Maker, which is unlocked by clearing one of his Event Courses added to the game on November 4, 2015.
Theatrical Film
GameCenter CX: The Movie - 1986 Mighty Bomb Jack was released on February 22, 2014, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the show.
Spin-Offs & Advertising
GameCenter DX starring a younger challenger (Masaru Hamaguchi, the other half of star Arino Kacho’s comedy duo “Yoiko”), and featuring many staff of the original, began in 2015 to showcase contemporary Nintendo titles, such as the latest entries in the Mario Bros. and Starfox series.