There are 5 different designs!.Price for 1 randomly dispensed capsule toy. Pokemon Gashapon Slot Machines Pokemon’s recurring “gambling” gimmicks have long been the target of censoring, so much so that Game Corners have either been removed or significantly altered in the most recently released Pokemon titles—and this only makes the Pokemon Gashapon Slot Machines line all the more appealing to collectors.

1. Gashapon Vending Machine
2. Gashapon Usa
3. Gashapon Store
4. Gashapon Pokemon Slot Machine Game
5. Gashapon Pokemon Slot Machine Games
6. Bandai Gashapon Machine
7. Gashapon Shop

Pokémon Card Game Gacha (Japanese: ポケモンカードゲームガチャ) was an arcade game developed by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. released only in Japan. By playing various mini-games, it offered an alternate method of obtaining cards from the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Unlike card game franchises that have branched into arcade such as Yu-Gi-Oh! or those originating from arcade like Lord of Vermilion, which have specialized cards to be used on their respective platforms, Pokémon Card Game Gacha solely supplied regular cards to be used in the TCG. The cards available depended on the current expansion at the time and machines were typically stocked soon after an expansion's official release. Support for the title ceased following the XY BREAK Era.

Gameplay

Each machine costs ¥100 to operate. The console itself features only two buttons: one on the left, which glows red when in use, and one on the right, which glows blue. Upon starting a player can choose between two game modes, which varied depending on the latest TCG expansion. Each game mode consists of three rounds lasting between 15 and 30 seconds, with the main objective of adding Poké Balls to the gauge at the bottom of the screen. A player can accumulate a maximum of 15 Poké Balls over the three rounds, and they may also acquire higher-grade Poké Balls by performing well in a particular round. After all three rounds are complete the machine dispenses three cards, which can be collected from the opening at the bottom of the machine. Amassing more Poké Balls and earning Great Balls or Ultra Balls all increase the chance of obtaining a rare card.

Game modes

Pokémon Card Game Gacha was first available to play shortly after the release of the Rising Fist expansion, and offered two game modes. The console software was usually updated following the release of an expansion, changing the game modes available to play; however, the cards stocked did not always immediately follow suit. The dual Fever-Burst Fighter and Cruel Traitor expansion, released on June 17, 2016, was the final set to be supported. The table below summarises the game modes present for the duration of each expansion:

Gashapon Vending Machine

Poké Crane (Japanese: ポケクレーン) allows a player to control a crane in attempt to gather Poké Balls, mimicking traditional claw crane games. At the start of each round, the player can use the left button to move the crane further to the right from its starting position, and the right button to confirm their choice. The crane will then drop, and the player will be prompted to repeatedly press the left and right buttons in effort to fill up the gauge that appears. The more the gauge is filled, the more Poké Balls the crane will pick up, as well as increasing the chance of picking up a higher-grade Poké Ball amongst them. Typically, the maximum amount of balls that can be captured per round is five. The captured balls are then deposited and added to the Poké Ball gauge on the bottom of the screen.

Poké Slot (Japanese: ポケスロット) operates in much the same way as a conventional slot machine game, in that the aim in each round is to attempt to match the scrolling images on each of the three reels. Images can be matched horizontally and diagonally, and matching at least one set of images will activate Fever, adding at least four or five balls to the Poké Ball gauge. The four images in Poké Slot comprise Pikachu, Inkay, Victini, and a Poké Ball. Pikachu and Inkay provide no additional Fever bonus, while Fever with Poké Balls will change all images into one Pokémon, with an increased chance of including a higher-grade ball on the Poké Ball gauge. Lining up two Victini will activate Victory Chance, and prompt the player to press the left and right buttons in attempt to fill the presented gauge. Filling up the gauge enough will increase the probability of achieving Fever with Victini, which will include at least one higher-grade ball on those added to the Poké Ball gauge.

At the start of each round in Poké Fishing (Japanese: ポケフィッシング), the player automatically casts a line and a shadow will drift around on the lake before going for the bait. Once this happens, a gauge with a sliding Poké Ball will appear and the game will prompt the player to press one of the two console buttons in effort to keep the Poké Ball as close to the center of the gauge as possible. The left button slides the Poké Ball right and the right button slides it left. The direction and speed at which the Poké Ball slides is random. After 15 seconds have elapsed, the player will be prompted to press the left and right buttons simultaneously to reel in 3 Water-type Pokémon (called Get), thereby adding four or five balls to the Poké Ball gauge. Finishing a round with the Poké Ball slider close to the center of the gauge will increase the chance of achieving a Big Game Get, which includes at least one higher-grade ball on those added to the Poké Ball gauge. Though purely aesthetic, the possible Pokémon available for capture include Poliwag, Magikarp, Gyarados, Milotic, and Clauncher.

In Poké Hydro Pump (Japanese: ポケハイドロポンプ), the player assumes the role of a Blastoise. A rock is placed in front of Blastoise at the start of each round, and the player will be prompted to repeatedly press the left and right buttons in attempt to fill up the presented gauge as Blastoise uses Hydro Pump on the rock. Upon filling the gauge, the player will be prompted to press the left and right buttons simultaneously for the Last Attack, which will break the rock and release a number of Poké Balls. These Poké Balls are then added to the Poké Ball gauge. A rainbow-colored rock sometimes replaces the regular rock at the start of a round, which has an increased chance of including a higher-grade Poké Ball when broken.

Gallery

• Poké Crane gameplay

• Poké Slot gameplay

• Poké Fishing gameplay

• Poké Hydro Pump gameplay

• Game logo

• Alternate game logo

Gashapon (ガシャポン), also called gachapon (ガチャポン), are a variety of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys popular in Japan and elsewhere. 'Gashapon' is onomatopoeic from the two sounds 'gasha' (or 'gacha') for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and 'pon' for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray. 'Gashapon' is used for both the machines themselves and the toys obtained from them. Popular gashapon manufacturers include Tomy, which uses the shortened term gacha (ガチャ, gacha) for their capsule machines, and Kaiyodo. In the United States, 'Gashapon' is a registered trademark of the Bandai Company,^[1] and gashapon are referred to as blind box sets due to packaging requirements by retailers prior to official distribution of the actual gashapon machines. The gashapon model has been adapted digitally into numerous gacha video games such as mobile phone games and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs).

Description[edit]

Gashapon machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen outside grocery stores and other retailers in other countries. While American coin-operated vending toys are usually cheap, low-quality products sold for a few quarters (US$1 or less), Japanese gashapon can cost anywhere from ¥100–500 (US$1–5) and are normally a much higher-quality product. They are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain more molding detail and intricately painted features. Many gashapon are considered collector's items, with rare ones fetching extremely high prices in secondhand markets.^[2]

Gashapon toys are often licensed from popular characters in Japanese manga, video games or anime, or from the American entertainment industry. These highly detailed toys have found a large following among all generations in Japan, and the trend is filtering to the world, especially among adult collectors. It is not uncommon for sets marketed specifically for adults to feature risqué female figurines.^[3]

Virtually all gashapon are released in sets—each series will have a number of figures to collect. They are, by nature, a 'blind purchase'; people insert coins and hope to get the toy or figure they desire. Such an amusement element may become frustrating, as one risks obtaining the same item repeatedly.

Enthusiastic collectors will buy sets from gashapon stores in places such as Tokyo's Akihabara or Osaka's Nipponbashi (Den-Den Town). Depending on the store, the sets are usually cheaper than buying them randomly out of a machine.

Types[edit]

Blind-boxes[edit]

In recent years, the term gashapon has also come to refer to blind-box trading figures, which are essentially the same product sold randomly out of sealed packages instead of a machine.^[4]

Bottle cap figures[edit]

Gashapon Usa

Another variety of gashapon is bottle cap figures. These small figures are mounted atop a plastic bottle cap, as might be found on a twenty-ounce soda bottle. They are sold both in machine capsules and blind boxes. The caps are not functional as they lack screw threads to secure them to the mouth of the bottle.

Video games[edit]

Mini games[edit]

Gashapon machines and their random payouts have inspired trinket-collection mini-games in many video games, most notably the Legend of Zelda series' similarly named 'Gasha Trees' in Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, and, to a much higher extent, the random figurine payout in The Minish Cap. Gashapon have also appeared in some Mario games such as Mario Party 5 and well as Super Smash Bros. Melee where the player inserts a desired amount of coins and gets a trophy of a Nintendo-related nature in return. In both The Minish Cap and Super Smash Bros. Melee, the more the player spends in one go, the higher the chance of getting a new item in return. The bonus stage in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is also gashapon-inspired. Yoshi's Crafted World also uses a gashapon machine for receiving costumes. Gudetama mobile game app Gudetama Tap features a variety of 'eggarapons' that dispense prizes for use in the larger game.

Gacha-expanded games[edit]

The gashapon concept is taken to the next level in SD Gundam Gashapon Wars, a game based on the SD Gundam television series, in which a gamer can activate extra characters from the game by buying certain series of SD Gundam gashapon toys in real life, namely SD Full Color STAGE:61, then use the password bundled with the toy to unlock the corresponding character in the video game. This is the same marketing tactic used by Kinder Surprise for the online surprises, except there is no online access involved

Gacha mechanic (Gacha games)[edit]

Many free-to-playMMOs and mobile games have mechanics inspired by gashapon, with randomly generated items of varying market values being acquired via microtransactions.

• In the NES game Mega Man 4 there is an enemy named Gachappon which is a gashapon vending machine modified to shoot energy shots and other kinds of projectiles. The Chip Trader from the Mega Man Battle Network series also functions similarly to gashapon machines. In addition, in Mega Man X: Command Mission, gashapon machines can be found in various places, and contain figures of various Mega Man characters.
• In the online massively multiplayer online gamePangYa the gashapon is a small Adobe Flash-powered mini-game in which users buy coins using real money, and in turn will give out items ranging from common, low-value items to rare, high-value items. There is also a consistent theme of gashapon items being released in sets, much like their real-life counterparts.
• The machines also appear in the Dreamcast game Shenmue, in which the main character Ryo Hazuki could spend yen to collect various figurines, including series of characters from the Virtua Fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog series of games as well as those of other known and lesser known Sega franchises (e.g. Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Hang-On).
• The GameCube game Gotcha Force is completely based on gashapon toys, pitting a massive variety of capsule toy-sized/themed aliens (called Borgs) against each other and the Galactic Emperor. As the player progresses, they earn new fighters that open from capsules, some of which require multiple parts to complete. Tying into the capsule toy theme even more are the variants that come in a range of styles from an alternate coloring to completely transparent to solid silver, gold, and black versions.
• They are also seen in Killer7, in which all of the figures are required to open a specific door.
• During the course of Resident Evil 4, the player can take part in a shooting range mini-game to unlock models of characters and enemies that are viewable in the Keys/Treasure inventory. There is one figure in each set that requires a higher score to unlock, which could be considered the 'rare' figures. This is also done in Resident Evil 5, which models of characters and enemies are unlocked for viewing by obtaining Completion Points.
• In Kingdom Hearts II, there is a rare type of Heartless called the 'Bulky Vendor,' based on a gashapon machine. Only appearing in certain areas of some worlds, its HP bar drops quickly and it jumps and moves faster as time goes on. The player is required to catch up with it and use a Reaction command, from 'Capsule Prize' up to 'Prime Capsule' to receive a capsule which explodes into orbs and an item prize. This is the only way (besides treasure chests) to gain the valuable Orichalcum item.
• The PSP game Work Time Fun consists of nothing but playing small mini-games for money to spend in gashapon machines. The machines deposit trinkets whose descriptions often poke fun at common gashapon trinkets.
• In the 1998 Yu-Gi-Oh! Toei Animation-produced anime series and the original manga, there are a series of episodes where players play a game called Capsule Monsters (Capmon for short) that involves the use of a gashapon machine to obtain the game pieces in which players used. Mokuba is seen playing this game the most, and is usually Yugi's enemy when it comes to playing this game. In a series later on that was released after the final episodes, there was a special movie that used these Capsule Monsters as a main part of the game. However, unlike the other Capsule Monsters, these ones were made out of bronze or gold, and were shot out from a capsule shooter to battle.^{[clarification needed]}
• In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, there are gashapon machines in the stores such as the PokéMart in Pyrite Town that appear to have Poké Balls inside. Poké Balls are inspired by the capsules for gashapon machines.^{[citation needed]}
• Gashapon is also used in the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, the player earns yen by completing tasks, allowing them to put money in the machine; the more money the player puts in, the more likely they will get a gashapon. This system is used for getting miniature figurines, soundtracks, and collectible cards in-game.
• In Tales of Vesperia, on both the isle of Nam Cobanda and at the Yumanju hot springs there are gachapon machines which on rare occasion give out figurines for a sidequest.
• The Crank-a-Kai machine in Level 5's Yo-kai Watch series is a capsule machine, from which the main character indirectly receives the titular device. By inserting coins, the player can obtain capsules containing items or Yokai. In homage to this, Yo-kai Watch merchandise can be found in gashapon machines in Japan. There is also a Yo-kai who presides over the world's gashapon machines, including the Crank-a-Kai. It fights using capsules obtained within its own personal gashapon machine.

Gashapon-style item distribution has been adopted by many massively multiplayer online games, particularly those using the free-to-play model as a form of premium transaction made with real money, often granting access to items exclusive to that system. Examples are:

Gashapon Store

• In the MMO MapleStory, the gashapon is used as a gambling type machine, wherein players can purchase with real money tickets which, when used at the gashapon, will allow the player to receive a random item of random value.
• Similarly, in Mabinogi, the premium shop sells gashapon items that hold a variety of in-game items the player can use, such as dyes or armor as well as exclusively colored items and exclusive armor and clothing.
• The MMO Cosmic Break uses a gashapon machine called 'Garapon'. It has 5 rarities signified by the color of the capsule. Gold is the highest rarity in the game. However, the Garapon is highly controversial due to the pricing and extremely low chance of obtaining these items. It usually costs $3–5 per spin, as such, due to rarity issues, people have had to spend hundreds of dollars to just get one gold capsule.
• In Second Life, many stores run by users of the game have created their own gashapon-style devices called 'Gacha' that sell random objects in their shops.
• In Digimon Masters Online, an MMO created by Digitalic and now owned by Move Games, it uses Gachapon Coins on a vending machine that has a chance to give one of four colored capsules.

Gashapon Pokemon Slot Machine Game

Gacha games[edit]

Games—often freemium—largely based on a gacha mechanism of monetization are referred to as gacha games.^[5][6] The gacha game model arose in the early 2010s, faring particularly well in Japan.^[5][6] Players may be given free or discounted gacha, but have to pay to get more.^[6] The games may feature different tiers of gacha pulls, which give different sets of rewards.^[5] Examples of gacha games are Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius,^[5]Fire Emblem Heroes,^[5][7]Puzzle & Dragons,^[5] and Dragon Collection.^[6] The mechanism has come under scrutiny for its similarity to gambling, and some countries require drop rates to be made public, or have banned certain practices (e.g., complete gacha).^[8]

Gashapon Pokemon Slot Machine Games

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'GASHAPON Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number 2864782 – Serial Number 78158256 :: Justia Trademarks'. trademarks.justia.com.
2. ^'What is a gacha gacha?'. Gacha Gacha World. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
3. ^'Curiosities from Japan's porno shops'. demonbaby. 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
4. ^'Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Dragonball x One Piece Dream Fusion'. Anime News Network. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
5. ^ ^abcdef''Fire Emblem Heroes' Is a Gacha Game'. Inverse. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
6. ^ ^abcd'Gacha: Explaining Japan's Top Money-Making Social Game Mechanism [Social Games] | Kantan Games, Inc. – CEO Blog By Dr. Serkan Toto'. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
7. ^'Nintendo's Mobile 'Fire Emblem' Is a 'Gacha' Game, Here's What That Means'. Waypoint. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
8. ^Feit, Daniel. 'Gacha Watch: Japan's Social Game Industry Shifts Gears After Government Crackdown'. WIRED. Retrieved 2017-05-23.

Bandai Gashapon Machine

External links[edit]

Gashapon Shop

• Gashapon at Bandai(in Japanese)