Retro_Game_Master

<i>GameCenter CX</i>

GameCenter CX

Japanese gaming-variety television show

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 [ja]. The name is a combination of "game center" (the Japanese term for an arcade) and Fuji TV's call sign, JOCX-TV. 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. As of 2023, 20 DVD sets have been released in Japan. In 2008, Fuji TV was looking for international distributors for subtitled DVDs.[2][3]

Quick Facts GameCenter CX, Genre ...
Quick Facts GameCenter CX 20th Channel, YouTube information ...

Premise

The show is presented as a gaming variety show which follows a commentary-based long-play format. Shinya Arino challenges several games from previous eras, presented by his producers 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 participates.

GameCenter CX as a company

Arino is presented as an employee of the fictitious GameCenter CX company. His jumpsuit attire is adorned with 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.

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To continue 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.

In addition, the company is set in a fictional universe featuring characters in the style of Dragon Quest, which also features several characters as a form of commentators: The King and the members of his family, Queen and Prince. Both Queen and Prince appeared earlier as main commentators in earlier seasons, but later ended up as DVD-only characters by replacing the King. This universe also features villains, such as Skull King, Black Satan, Onitengu and Tuxedo Clowns. An elder scientist called Hakase also exists, but he was only featured as a commentator of THE Game Maker DVDs.

ADs

The assistant directors help provide creative input, construct settings, and work as a 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 varying degrees, 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. After they left the staff, sometimes they reappeared in the next seasons or special DVD challenges.

  • Naoki Yamada (山田直喜) - Season 1 (first episode only)
  • Shinichirou Toujima (東島真一郎) - Seasons 1 & 2
  • Hiroshi Sasano (笹野大司) - Season 2
  • Shun Urakawa (浦川瞬) - Seasons 3 & 4
  • Yuuya Inoue (井上侑也), a.k.a. Inoko MAX (イノコMAX) - Seasons 5 & 6, was part of the main staff since the end of season 13-22 seasons as director
  • Sachi Takahashi (高橋佐知), a.k.a. Meijin,Sensei (名人,先生) - Season 7
  • Takeshi Tsuruoka (鶴岡丈志) - Season 8
  • Tomoaki Nakayama (中山智明) - Seasons 9 & 10
  • Hiroyuki Emoto (江本紘之), a.k.a. Emoyan (エモヤン) - Seasons 11 & 12
  • Akane Itou (伊藤茜) - Seasons 11 & 12 & 13
  • Yuuki Katayama (片山雄貴), a.k.a. Katakin-kun (片きんくん) - Seasons 13 & 14 & 15
  • Junpei Takahashi (高橋純平) - Seasons 13 & 14 & 15
  • Atsushi Itou (伊東篤志) - Season 16
  • Gen Matsui (松井現) - Seasons 16 & 17 & 18
  • Hideaki Yanai (矢内英明) - Seasons 18 & 19
  • Ryo Osuka (大須賀良) - Seasons 19 & 20
  • Hirotaka Watari (渡大空) - Seasons 20 & 21
  • Yuta Kaga (加賀祐太) - Seasons 21 & 22
  • Tasuku Iwahashi (岩橋資) - Seasons 22 & 23
  • Kusuda Kenta (楠田健太) - Season 23
  • Kobayashi Kyosuke (小林恭介) - Season 23 & 24
  • Motonao Inotani (猪谷元直) - Seasons 25 & 26 & 27
  • Naoki Yaegashi (八重樫直希) - Season 27

Miscellaneous staff

  • Kouichi Abe (阿部浩一) - Cameraman
  • Masayuki Kibe (岐部昌幸) - Art Director, Writer
  • Tsuyoshi Kan (菅剛史) - Producer, Narrator
  • Yuuichirou Suda (須田祐一郎) - Video Editor
  • Muneaki Tanizawa (谷澤宗明), a.k.a. Tanii (タニー) - Voice Mixing
  • Kensaku Sakai (酒井健作) - Planner
  • Yuko Watanabe (渡邊優子) - Assistant Director, left the staff in the 12th season. Came back as director in 17th season.
  • Tsukasa Nagahashi (長橋司) - Assistant Director
  • Tatsuya Fujimoto (藤本達也) - Production
  • Fukutomi Mikan (福富ミカン) - Assistant Director (AD)
  • Tomoyuki Ogawa (小川友希) - Promotion (PR)

Music

  • Audio clips from the videogame Kid Icarus (光神話 パルテナの鏡) are often used to intro segments with The King.
  • The song used during Arino's arcade field trip adventures is called 異国のしらべ from HEAT WAVE.
  • The song during his trip north is "Between the expansive sky and large land" by Chiharu Matsuyama.
  • The second and third seasons made extensive use of the soundtracks from the games Headhunter and Headhunter Redemption to highlight the show's dramatic segments.
  • The show also frequently features popular music by contemporary artists such as Phil Collins, Jesse McCartney and Madonna, as well as music from film scores like Jurassic Park and Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
  • The song used for showing elements from games at Season 9 and onwards is called Hijacked from the library audio album called Hollywood Premieres by 615 Trax and Warner Chappell Production Music.

Segment Songs

  • "Game Collections" uses the songs The King Of Pleasure (seasons 1 & 2 only) and Reaching For The Stars (all seasons, bar 10th) by Fantastic Plastic Machine.
  • "Arino's Ring-Ring Tactics!" uses both the opening and ending songs from Monkey, Monkey Magic and Gandhara.
  • "Urawaza Jet Stream" uses the songs "The Intimacy of My Woman's Beautiful Eyes" by James Carter (for only one episode) and "Romeo Is Bleeding" by Tom Waits for the rest the segments. Episode 25 uses the song "Night Birds" by Shakatak while Arino is reading the postcard.
  • "The Aces of Hardware Won't Disappear" uses (and is named after) the song "Heart No Ace ga Detekonai" by Candies.
  • "The Romance Never Ends" uses (and is named after) the song "Romantic ga Tomaranai [ja]" by C-C-B.
  • "Game & Watch, I Can't Leave You Alone" uses the song "Hottokenai yo [ja]" by Seishiro Kusunose [ja].
  • "Famicom Manga Café"'s song is based on Hello Goodbye [ja] by Yoshie Kashiwabara.
  • "GameCenter CX NEWS" uses the song Eternity by Capsule.
  • "Singing About Whatever the Hell You Want" uses (and is named after) the song "Katte ni Shiyagare [ja]" by Kenji Sawada.
  • "Retro Read-Aloud" uses the song Naturish by Marsh and Nox Vahn.
  • "Everything Important in Life, I Learned From Video Game Strategy Guides" uses the theme song from the 1999 film The Road Home, by San-Bao [ja; zh].
  • "A Waste of Color" uses the song Sailor Fuku o Nugasanai de by Onyanko Club;
  • "Project CX" uses the song Earthly Stars by Miyuki Nakajima.
  • "Barcode Battler" uses the songs Liar Game and Electrode Spark 0101 from Liar Game.
  • "Famicom Sniper" uses a special arrangement of the Main Theme from Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode.
  • "When I Looked Back, He Was There" uses the song "Yah Yah Yah" by Chage and Aska.
  • "Game Center MSX" uses the song Overnight Success by Teri DeSario
  • "DJ Monster Battle" uses the song "Anasthasia" by T99.
  • "Chief Arino's Bonus Assessment" uses the song "En Aranjuez con Tu Amor" by David Garrett.
  • "2P Battles Without Honor" uses the song Jingi Naki Tatakai from Battles Without Honor and Humanity.
  • "Good-Bye Game Boy" uses the song Good Bye Natsuo by Aya Matsuura.
  • "Until the Udon Boils" uses the song 634 (MUSASHI) from NHK Pro Yakyuu at the end of each episode.
  • "KACHOxFAMILY" uses the song "Mixed Nuts" by Official Hige Dandism.
  • "Dangerous Safety Zone" uses the song Wine Red no Kokoro by Anzen Chitai at the end of each episode.

Original songs

  • Last Continue by former AD/AP Tomoyaki Nakayama
  • Sayonara Game by former AD Yuko Watanabe
  • Tatakae! Kacho Fighter by producer Nozomi Ishida
  • Momoko-chan Koi Uta by former AD Takeshi Tsuruoka (originally from Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi)
  • Last Continue (English version) by former AD/AP Tomoyaki Nakayama
  • Ken o Nuke! GCCX MAX by multiple staff from the show as Messe Messe Club (Gen Matsui, Yuta Kaga, Kouichi Abe, Ryo Osuka)
  • ENDINGRATULATION by accekk (writer Masayuki Kibe and former AD Tasuku Iwahashi's band duo)

Game challenges

Not counting duplicated appearances, segment-only appearances, and Nintendo eShop episodes, the publisher who made more appearances on the show is Konami with 57 different games.[lower-alpha 1]

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.

1st season

(This season featured a game series or game company as its main focus with Arino's challenge game as a secondary feature)

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2nd season

(episode numbering started with Arino's challenge games being the main feature)

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3rd season
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4th season

(The season mascot changes from King to Queen)

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5th season

(Season was shortened due to birth of Arino's daughter)

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6th season

(The season mascot changes from Queen to Dark King)

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7th season

(the season changes from Dark King to King. The Dark King makes a brief reappearance in #53. Sarina Suzuki from Mecha2 Iketeru! appeared as a guest in the Tamage segment on episode #45)

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8th season
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9th season

(The season was shortened due to Arino being hospitalized; all episodes from #64 and onwards started to be in HD and 60FPS)

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10th season
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11th season
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12th season

(The season mascot changes from King to Fallen Warrior)

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13th season

(The season mascot changes from Fallen Warrior to King, it was shortened due to Arino getting a free rest of 100 days)

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14th season
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15th season
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16th season
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17th season
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18th season

(The season mascot changes from the King to Elephant King)

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19th season
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20th season
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21st season

(During Episode 244, the staff switched to a CRT monitor during the light gun stages.)

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22nd season
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23rd season
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24th season

(The season mascot changes from King to Frozen King and then to Penguin King.)

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25th season

(The season mascot changes from Penguin King back to the King)

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26th season
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27th season
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28th season
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Notes
  1. Not including titles from Hudson Soft before their self-absorption, this number goes down to 33.
  2. Managed to get a Bad Ending
  3. Cleared until Mission 3
  4. Managed to get a Good ending
  5. Cleared later as a DVD-exclusive challenge
  6. Cleared later on Episode #136
  7. Used a ruler to clear the game
  8. AD and guests helped, did not beat World 9
  9. Only the first run was cleared
  10. Beat Mamu only once, AD cleared all stages with all characters
  11. Missed final shot at the final boss
  12. Demoted two ranks to Senior Staff
  13. promoted two ranks to Chief
  14. Managed to get the Worst Ending
  15. Both Arino and ADs managed to get the same ending all the times
  16. Cleared with the second Bad ending
  17. Arcade mode cleared, lost against staff
  18. Skipped through Level 7–5 with a password, failed against Dracula's third form
  19. Cleared later in Episode #41
  20. Bad Ending, but still ruled as "Cleared" by Arino
  21. Had a choice to play Ninja Hattori-kun (1986) or GeGeGe no Kitaro: Yōkai Daimakyō (1986), cleared only the first loop, won against staff, AD did the second loop with the ending
  22. Managed to get the Best Ending
  23. Stuck on Floor 79
  24. Stuck on Floor 98
  25. Spelunker (1985) was used as a backup plan if Arino managed to clear the game earlier, ended up as a DVD-exclusive challenge
  26. Cleared without any Chaos Emeralds
  27. Aired during Arino's rest in the hospital, several legacy segments were aired as reprises
  28. Warped to World 3
  29. Won against AD Nakayama
  30. Aired as a short special featuring Arino plus Toshi Kato from Unagi
  31. Cleared on Tricky difficulty over Taxing, cleared later as part of a live show
  32. Failed to beat the game in Normal mode, considered a clear due to beating all characters and the Final Boss plus hidden characters through a Memory Card
  33. Cleared later after the broadcast
  34. Also won against staff in the DVD versions of the episode
  35. Cleared most levels on Taxing difficulty, several levels were beaten by ADs due to time constraints in Arino's schedule
  36. Both Arino and AD managed to get a Bad Ending, member from staff managed to get the Best Ending
  37. Tried to revenge in a special live later
  38. Game has no Ending, all stages cleared
  39. Failure at both 1 Player Mode (Hardest difficulty) and lost against staff
  40. Did not manage to get the Best Ending
  41. ADs played the game for most of the part due to Arino's slow progress
  42. Failed to match the last two figures for the secret password
  43. Game was frozen by a small hit in the cartridge
  44. Standard difficulty only, cleared later on Expert as a presential-only event
  45. Completed the first loop in 12 hours, AD did the second loop
  46. Cleared later in a event aired later as episode 143
  47. Was supposed to be Failed, as grinding levels and stats after the final match were not allowed
  48. Due to a Disk Error from the disk itself, the Wii Virtual Console re-release was used for most of the challenge
  49. Failed to beat the game in 150cc, but won against staff
  50. Finished in 2nd place with the help of multiple ADs
  51. Cleared later as part of a live event
  52. Cleared later after the broadcast ended
  53. First time used as an actual challenge in order to celebrate the 15 years of Fuji TV ONE, TWO, and NEXT; cleared later through the Budokan event
  54. Cleared on Normal difficulty, lost against staff
  55. Bad Ending in the hardest difficulty, lost against staff
  56. Full status:
    Super Mario Bros.: Cleared (World 8–4)
    Ghosts 'n Goblins: Cleared (Defeated Red Arremer)
    Punch-Out!!: Failed (Did not defeat Soda Popinski)
    Derby Stallion: Cleared (Got Nippon Derby Champion)
    Street Fighter II: Failed (Lost against Manager Noda)
  57. Managed to get all Game Over variants as a bonus
  58. Got a Bad Ending due to clearing the Final Boss with zero continues
  59. Managed to get the Normal Ending
  60. Managed to get both Bad and Good Endings
  61. Failed to clear the secret stages in a single continue run
  62. Cleared Part I only
  63. Cleared in the easiest difficulty, AD managed to get the Ending in the hardest difficulty
  64. Also won against staff
  65. Cleared later as a part of a presential-only event
  66. Managed to clear later as a rushed New Year Live Special, all footage of the ending was shown in episode #211
  67. Managed to get a Bad Ending due to strict time limits from the game itself
  68. Cleared in 1 hour and 35 minutes, the fastest time clear ever
  69. Managed to get the Bad Ending, tried to clear during a New Year Live special and ran out of continues to play, leading to a Game Over
  70. Uses a proper CP System board with necessary hookups to the monitor and an external Arcade Stick
  71. Won with the help of staff, including Producer Kan
  72. All cups on Novice difficulty
  73. Continued on episode 237
  74. Cleared later in a event
  75. Tried to revenge in a presential-only event, but failed as well.
  76. Managed to get both Bad and Good endings
  77. Also won against the staff
  78. Also lost against the staff
  79. Cleared later through the Makuhari Messe event
  80. Managed to get a Bad Ending, lost against the staff in a minigame battle
  81. Managed to clear both loops
  82. Had less time than normal due to a strict time schedule on the same day
  83. Full status:
    Ninja Gaiden: Cleared
    Bomberman: Failed (lost against Abe)
    Super Mario Bros. 2: Cleared (8-2)
    Märchen Maze: Cleared
    Punch-Out!!: Failed (Lost against Soda Popinski)
    SOS: Cleared (Bad Ending)
    Majyūō: Cleared (Bad Ending)
  84. Normal run only, AD cleared it in the Pro [Ura in Japan] mode
  85. Managed to get two Bad Endings
  86. Promised to clear and show the ending later
  87. Played through MOTHER 1+2 on Game Boy Player to grind levels outside the show; Episode 285 also contains an interview with Shigesato Itoi.
  88. Cleared with a Good Ending
  89. Full status:
    Super Mario Bros. 3: Cleared
    Panel de Pon: Failed
    The King of Fighters '98: Cleared (won against Nakayama)
    Ninja Spirit: Failed
    Bomberman '94: Cleared (everyone wins but Nakayama)
  90. Cleared with the Richter ending
  91. Cleared all 50 stages with skips, AD managed to get the ending without a single skip
  92. Good Ending with photos of 63 Pokémons taken
  93. Game has no ending, all stages cleared
  94. Cleared in the Normal difficulty, PR Ogawa cleared in the Hard difficulty later
  95. Managed to get the Good Ending, but lost against staff
  96. Aired as a simulation of Arino playing Nintendo Switch games in 2037
  97. Played later as part of the Saitama Super Arena event, result still pending
  98. First loop only, AD cleared the second loop
  99. Played in the Beginner and Advanced difficulties
  100. Sega Saturn version only, Mark III version cleared by AD
  101. Managed to get 2 Bad Endings
  102. Cleared the Story Mode, lost against staff
  103. Cleared with a Good Ending
  104. Cleared on Tour Mode only, AD managed to get the Ending on Panic Mode
  105. Cleared later as part of an online broadcast through the show's official YouTube channel
  106. Both games were Cleared
  107. Won against Staff
  108. Full status:
    Punch-Out!!: Cleared (Soda Popinski defeated)
    Super Mario Bros. 3: Cleared (World 8-Airship level cleared)
    Mega Man 2: Cleared (passed through all Quick Man Stage's Force Beams without help)
    Tokyo Bus Annai: Cleared (Ome course at night-time)
    Contra III: Cleared (Final Boss defeated)
    Captain Tsubasa: Failed (did not win with a weaker team against Touhou Academy)
    Dragon's Lair: Failed (did not defeat Singe)
    Additionally, Star Force (1985) was also featured as "Opening Act", but was played (and Cleared) by former AD Toujima instead.
  109. Also won one quick match of Moero!! Pro Yakyū (1987) against AD Yaegashi as a break in the challenge
  110. Failed on winning a match against Mr. Sandman, completing less than a half of the game

DVD-Exclusive Challenges

Each DVD-Box set released includes a game challenge exclusive to the DVD set. Most of these challenges were Famicom games.

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Notes
  1. Game has no actual ending, Arino managed to get the 8 hidden letters, ADs were forced to draw an ending
  2. Won against Staff in Battle Mode
  3. 8 out of 9 objectives, failed at Robot Ninja Haggleman 2
  4. Revenge challenge
  5. Game has no actual ending, all stages cleared, Arino drew one
  6. 2 out of 3 objectives, got a Bad Ending on Mutekiken Kung-Fu
  7. Won against Staff in Breakshoot
  8. Cleared without any Chaos Emeralds
  9. 0 out of 3 objectives
  10. 1 out of 3 objectives
  11. Lost against Staff
  12. Cleared with an E rank (over 10 hours, more than 30 saves)

Nintendo eShop-exclusive specials Challenges

These challenges became officially inaccessible by the closure of Minna no Nintendo Channel on June 28, 2013 for Wii and on March 28, 2023, by the closure of Nintendo eShop for 3DS and Wii U.

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YouTube channel content

The channel was opened as a celebration of the show's 20th anniversary in November 2022. Some episodes include their BGM swapped compared to their original TV airings or even the DVD versions.

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Video releases

On June 23, 2011, gaming website Kotaku started streaming English-translated episodes of the series.[4] On January 13, 2012, Kotaku announced that their agreement to broadcast the show had ended; there would be no second season, and existing episodes would be removed when the rights expired.[5] On February 28, 2012, Discotek Media announced that they had acquired the rights to the 12 episodes shown on Kotaku, releasing them on DVD on September 18, 2012.

DVD Boxes

So far there have been twenty DVD sets put out with the latest released in December 2023. Each one contains key episodes, game center visits, and a game challenge exclusive to the DVD set. They are not season compilations.

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Rental DVDs

Rental DVDs are budget versions of DVD boxes, containing several challenges, several Tamage and a little bonus video.

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Other DVDs
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Notes
  1. Director's Cut version, which includes moments not included back when it was aired.
  2. Full version of episodes that had 2 or 3 episodes back when it was aired.

Segments

Each episode of GameCenter 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 of focusing only on the challenge of the week.[6]

More information Segment, Featured in; ...

Media

Video games

See also: Retro Game Challenge

At the end of the sixth season, it was announced that there were plans to make a GameCenter CX video game. The game, entitled GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō, was developed for the Nintendo DS as a collaborative effort between Fuji TV and Bandai Namco Games. During the seventh season, certain parts of the show featured the development process of the game. The game was released in Japan on November 15, 2007,[7] and in North America by Xseed Games on February 10, 2009, under the title Retro Game Challenge. A second game, GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 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, GameCenter CX: 3-Chōme no Arino, was released in Japan on March 20, 2014, and was the first installment in the series to release on Nintendo 3DS.[8]

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.

A remaster of the first two games on Nintendo DS, named GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 1+2 REPLAY for the Nintendo Switch was announced by Fuji TV and is set to be released only in Japan by February 22, 2024. Currently, no news of English localization from either Fuji TV or Bandai Namco has been announced.[9]

Books

Several books of the show were been manufactured and released by Ohta Publishing from 2004 to 2011. These books cover secrets and interviews with the TV show's staff:

The Japanese Magazine CONTINUE (also from Ohta Publishing) has a frequent habit of interviewing Arino over the years as well.

CD

GameCenter CX 10th Anniversary Soundtrack (HMCM-1120) is a music CD containing 16 tracks used in the show, manufactured by Happinet. Some of the tracks are part of the original songs, others are Staff themes and standard game music from games that Arino played in the show. It was released on July 24, 2013, as a part of the show's 10th anniversary.

BONUS STAGE (LNCM-1454) is a music CD from accekk (also called AXK, created by Staff writer Kibe and named by Arino), manufactured by Mastard Records. It was released March 4, 2023. Of the 9 tracks included, two of them, ENDINGRATULATION and ASSISTANTDIRe:CTION, are used in the TV show.

Theatrical Film

GameCenter CX: The Movie - 1986 Mighty Bomb Jack was released on February 22, 2014, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the show. It features excerpts of the Mighty Bomb Jack episodes alongside a fictional side-story set in 1986 focused on a boy named Daisuke constructing a love relationship with a girl named Kumiko by borrowing his cartridge. As with the show's DVDs, it was distributed by Happinet.

Spin-Offs & Advertising

Biohazard EX (SDS-12863) is a special bonus DVD that came with early pre-orders from Japanese copies of Resident Evil: Extinction in Blu-Ray, DVD, and UMD discs, manufactured by SPEJ. The disc itself includes an interview with Arino discussing his thoughts on Resident Evil games and movies, as well excerpts of the Capcom episode from the show's first season. It was not sold as a retail disc.

THE Game Maker was a series of DVDs focused on a variety of content from video game companies, as a tribute to the show's first season. It features Arino & Yoshiuki Hirai doing playthroughs with live commentary, as well as extended Game Collections, interviews, and other kinds of extras (varying by disc). These DVDs were manufactured between 2010 and 2011. The companies featured were Irem, Jaleco, Namco, Sega, Sunsoft, Taito and Tecmo (the Sega edition was sold in a DVD box with two DVDs rather than a single one).

GameCenter DX, starring another 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.

Yowiko no xx de xx Seikatsu (Yoiko's Everyday Life in [something]) is a spin-off of both GameCenter CX and GameCenter DX, featuring Arino and Hamaguchi playing games for Nintendo Switch and being run by Nintendo's Japanese YouTube channel since 2017. Notable games played by the duo are Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition, Super Mario Maker 2 and Nintendo Switch Sports.

Since 2023, the TV show's official YouTube channel made Arino do collaboration crossovers with known personalities from Japan, such as Eiko Kano's CritiKano Hit,[10] Nijisanji's Hyakumantenbara Salome[11] and Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games.[12]

Nintendo eShop-exclusive specials

On occasion, special GameCenter CX programs were produced for the Nintendo Channel for the Wii.

Later, when the Nintendo eShop succeeded the Nintendo Channel, additional specials were produced, such as a special where Arino and late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata interviewed each other and played Balloon Fight, which Iwata had programmed during the early years of his career.

References

  1. [1]
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