Post by LJ on Apr 13, 2009 5:46:21 GMT -6
Bon Jovi slot machine comes to Japan
By Hoyt April 13th, 2009
From one of our favorite Japanese culture websites, PachiUniverse comes this tidbit of information. PachiUniverse, as the more intelligent among you have likely already surmised, covers the release of new Pachinko machines in Japan. Pachinko machines in Japan are essentially ‘joined at the hip’ with what are known as ‘Pachislo’ machines. Pachislo machines look like the traditional slot machines that you see in any Las Vegas casino, with the difference being that the spinning reels are stopped by the buttons on the front. They’re sometimes referred to as ’skill stop’ slot machines since the player’s timing and reflexes stops the reels as opposed to a random number generator stopping them automatically like they do in US casinos.
A recent pachislo release by Kitac features well known 1980’s hair metal band Bon Jovi and their formerly poodle tressed Arena football team owning lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. Celebrity tie-ins for pachinko machines are nothing new, and they’ve become ubiquitous for US slot machines as well. It’s actually getting hard to find a slot machine in Las Vegas that *isn’t* themed with something or someone. The Bon Jovi pachislo machine amused us for several reasons: for one thing, notice that the band isn’t actually pictured anywhere on the machine. You’ve got a silhouette of them on the glass, and a cartoon caricature of them in the logo but they’re not exactly integrated in the theme.
We tried to find some game play video but since it is such a recent release came up empty. We did head to the Kitac website, and found that they had set up a dedicated site to plug the game at’bonjovi777.com’ which breathlessly exclaims that the machine will usher in a ‘new page in Japanese slots’.
The site takes a minute to load even on a broadband connect but its worth it. You’ll see a glossy multimedia tribute to the band past, present and future. What you won’t find is any detailed specs or information about the machine itself. It’s as if the band signed on with the slot machine company, but insisted that they not really be associated with the actual slot machine itself. This could be the most self serving cash grab by a rock band, and the stupiest corporate acquiesence to such a cash grab, since the comically one sided relationship between KISS and World Championship Wrestling back when Eric Bischoff ran the show.
The comment from PachiUniverse is pretty funny, saying its possibly ‘the first machine that I’ve been speechless on’. We really don’t see how this is some new era of Japanese slot machines, but we’ll take their word for it.
By Hoyt April 13th, 2009
From one of our favorite Japanese culture websites, PachiUniverse comes this tidbit of information. PachiUniverse, as the more intelligent among you have likely already surmised, covers the release of new Pachinko machines in Japan. Pachinko machines in Japan are essentially ‘joined at the hip’ with what are known as ‘Pachislo’ machines. Pachislo machines look like the traditional slot machines that you see in any Las Vegas casino, with the difference being that the spinning reels are stopped by the buttons on the front. They’re sometimes referred to as ’skill stop’ slot machines since the player’s timing and reflexes stops the reels as opposed to a random number generator stopping them automatically like they do in US casinos.
A recent pachislo release by Kitac features well known 1980’s hair metal band Bon Jovi and their formerly poodle tressed Arena football team owning lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. Celebrity tie-ins for pachinko machines are nothing new, and they’ve become ubiquitous for US slot machines as well. It’s actually getting hard to find a slot machine in Las Vegas that *isn’t* themed with something or someone. The Bon Jovi pachislo machine amused us for several reasons: for one thing, notice that the band isn’t actually pictured anywhere on the machine. You’ve got a silhouette of them on the glass, and a cartoon caricature of them in the logo but they’re not exactly integrated in the theme.
We tried to find some game play video but since it is such a recent release came up empty. We did head to the Kitac website, and found that they had set up a dedicated site to plug the game at’bonjovi777.com’ which breathlessly exclaims that the machine will usher in a ‘new page in Japanese slots’.
The site takes a minute to load even on a broadband connect but its worth it. You’ll see a glossy multimedia tribute to the band past, present and future. What you won’t find is any detailed specs or information about the machine itself. It’s as if the band signed on with the slot machine company, but insisted that they not really be associated with the actual slot machine itself. This could be the most self serving cash grab by a rock band, and the stupiest corporate acquiesence to such a cash grab, since the comically one sided relationship between KISS and World Championship Wrestling back when Eric Bischoff ran the show.
The comment from PachiUniverse is pretty funny, saying its possibly ‘the first machine that I’ve been speechless on’. We really don’t see how this is some new era of Japanese slot machines, but we’ll take their word for it.
