Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

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Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

One fun way to see what anime or game series are currently popular with kids and otaku in Japan is to visit an arcade and take a look at the prizes up for grabs in the crane machines, or UFO catchers, as they’re often called in Japanese.

Unlike North America, arcade culture is still going strong in Japan and UFO catchers are one of the main attractions. Always found on the first floor of arcades, these machines are stocked with the latest limited-edition figurines and plushies of popular characters, many of which can only be acquired as UFO catcher prizes (or on Amazon at obscene prices).

Japanese toy company Banpresto has announced their newest lineup of CRANEKING arcade-exclusive prizes, available this October. Check what toys are hot on the Japanese arcade scene below!

■ I LOVE EVEE Plushie series Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Capibara-san Super Delux Christmas Plushie 2012 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Kamen Riders Wizard DX Deformed Figures Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■MY Pokemon Collection Plushies Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Smile Pirikura! Power Up Tiara Plushie Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■One Piece Plushie Thriller Pack Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■I LOVE EIEVUI High Quality Eevee Plushie Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Gintama Deluxe Figure Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Recommembers　One Piece Plushie Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Chibi-kyun Gintama vol. 2 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Chibi-kyun Nisemonogatari vol. 2 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■One Piece Scultures vol.3 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Gundam Seires World Collection Figure vol. 1 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure DXF Passione vol. 3 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Kamen Riders Head Pack vol. 3 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■ K-on! Movie DXF Figure 2 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Puella Magi Madoka Magica SQ Figure Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Pokemon Move Museum vol. 003 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■TIGER ＆ BUNNY World Collection Figure vol.4 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■TIGER ＆ BUNNY MASTER STARS PIECE THE Kaburagi T. Kotetsu Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■One Piece DXF ～THE　GRANDLINE　MEN～ vol.14 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■One Piece World Collection Figure vol.28 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Chibi-kyun Character K-on! Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Macross Frontier Movie 2: Sayonara no Tsubasa DXF Figure NURSE ver. Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Uta no Prince-sama Serious Love 1000% Plushie Vol. 1 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Uta no Prince-sama Serious Love 1000% Plushie Vol. 2 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

■Natsume’s Book of Friends Big Nyanko-sensei Plushie No. 3 Eyes on the Prize: A Look at Japanese Pop Culture Trends Through Arcade Prizes 【October 2012】

It looks like Pokemon, One Piece and K-On! are as overwhelmingly popular as ever. Tiger & Bunny also made a good showing, no doubt thanks to the success of the 2011 anime and sure-to-be-successful movie scheduled to release September 22.

I’m personally considering a trip to the local arcade to get my hands on one (or all) of those I Love Eevee plushies. According to the campaign website , those who fill out a survey at participating arcades are eligible to win one of twenty giant Eevee plushies through December 7. Though I can never decide on which stone to use…

Source: 4Gamer

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