Decades later than this, in '97 the early 2000s, I found four six-story arcades in downtown Kyoto. This floor was the pinball games, this floor was the claw machines, this floor was the purikara (“print club” = photo booth) machines… I have a list somewhere of the amazing input devices I saw that day, but off the top of my head I remember the following:
- fire hoses that you’d point at the screen, with water appearing on-screen in a firefighting game
- several different kinds of DDR-like drumming games: conga, taiko, even a drum kit
- Typing of the Dead, whose most remarkable bit was the on-screen ad showing teenagers fighting zombies by typing at them
- a bus-driving game where AFAICT (not speaking Japanese) you were scored by driving safely. What fun…?
- a dog-walking game, where you walked on a treadmill and pulled a leash, trying to keep your goddamn dog from behaving antisocially
- a county fair comedy duo game. On screen you see a couple guys on stage razzing each other in front of a standing audience. The input device is a plush human mannequin you stand next to, a copy of one of the guys on screen. Whenever that guy talks smack about you, you’re supposed to bash him in the face, or smack him upside the head, with your avatar mimicking on-screen your chosen beatdown.
