Introduction to
Pachinko
If you go to Japan and suddenly happen
to find yourself surrounded by flashing colorful lights, noise and
music that plays at almost 100 decibel and cigarette smoke that
will make you a second hand smoker, then you have probably ended up
in a pachinko parlor.
It's in these places where you find the addicting gambling game
pachinko. These gambling machines look like an upright standing
pinball game, but it differs some from pinball.
History
The origin of pachinko is uncertain, but it is said that it was a
children's toy in the 1920s. The pachinko's at this time weren't
called pachinko; it was first called Korintu Gemu then later became
know as Pachi-Pachi. These ones differed a bit from the ones that
later showed up in a pachinko hall. It was among other things set
horizontally and had a wooden stick that the balls where launched
with.
At first this was a game that was designed for home use only, but
later on it changed to a machine where children could win prizes
like sweets, fruits or pencils. This became very popular and the
machines started to show up in sweetshops, markets and at
festivals. Soon the adults started to spend their time with the
machines, but the prizes were then changed to things like tobacco,
vegetables, soy sauce, or soap.
In the end of the 1920s the machines developed a bit. Now they
where set vertically and the wooden stick was exchanged for a metal
spring. The machine was now also covered with glass for the obvious
reason that the balls wouldn't fall out. The game was now called
Gachan or
Gachanko, and it started to spread rapidly over
Japan.It was in the 1930s that the name Pachinko was started being
used.
Pachin is a Japanese word for
the sound of the balls dropping down, Ko is for ball.
During World War II all of Japan's pachinko parlors were closed,
but when they re-emerged in the late 1940s they were very popular
due to the shortage and the fact that you could win tobacco. It
became even more popular in the 1950s when the pachinko machines
got a new design by the "pachinko king" Takeichi Masamura from
Nagoya. Now the nails weren't just set randomly but instead
systematic placed to direct the flow of the pachinko balls, and
turning wheels were also added.
Several new types of pachinko machines were developed and now the
pachinko won recognition.But it was in the 1980s that the real
pachinko boom started, and this due to the new computer technology
that was integrated into the machines. It now had graphics and
sounds that made the game more exciting. And now you didn't need
experience to be a winner, and this because of the random generator
winnings. You can say that this was the transfer from the old to
the modern pachinko. And since then the pachinko's haven't
experienced any dramatically changes, besides slight modifications
and a modernized style.
How to Play
You start off with buying some small
steel balls that you are going to fed the machine with; usually
it's about 4 yen per ball. You put your pachinko balls in the
machine and then it starts. The only thing you have to do is to
control the speed that the pachinko ball is thrown into the
pachinko board.
The pachinko board consists of pins and gates, and the goal is to
get the balls into the gates. It's a bouncy ride for the balls that
usually ends up in a hole in the bottom and disappears into the
machine. But if you get a ball into a gate, then you'll get
rewarded with more balls and also get to watch (if digital
pachinko) a colorful video slot spin like animation on a LCD or LED
screen that can give you a jackpot or "fever" mode, which is the
highest payout mode. There are also several other modes that can be
accessed depending on which machine the player is seated at.
Once in a higher payout mode, the player usually gets more balls
from the gates. You should also know that there are many different
pachinko machines that vary in things like decoration, music,
modes, gate settings etc.
Since gambling is illegal in Japan, the parlors can't pay out cash,
but they have a way around this. You can take your balls to the
pachinko parlors' gift shop and exchange them for prizes, but can
also exchange them for merchandize that you can bring to an
exchange center just outside of the pachinko parlor, and there you
can exchange the merchandize for money.
Industry and Profits
While talking about money, one should mention that the industry
generates annual gross wager of approximately 30 trillion yen
(about $277 billion), but then you should also know that there are
about 40 million Japanese residents that play pachinko, and an
estimated 25 million play at regular basis. With these numbers it
comes to no surprise when Pachinko is rated as the most popular
source of leisure entertainment in Japan.
But it's not only Japan who makes a profit of this, a large number
of pachinko parlors are run by foreign corporations like North
Korea whom are involved in about one-third of the Japanese pachinko
facilities. Even the Yakuza are linked to some of the pachinko
activities. Incidentally, the Pachinko industry has a pretty bad
reputation because of the illegal gambling and crime related
connections but is still a common acceptable place to spend time
at.
Give it a try and try not to
get addicted!
Pachinko is well-known, widely
played, and amazingly addictive, but despite this, Pachinko is here
to stay and we invite you to try it for your self should you find
yourself in the area. It's worth trying at least once.