Promotional Consideration: Arino's Advertising Challenge

With XSEED recently revealing its intentions to localize Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge (U.S. name: Retro Game Challenge) for the North American market, we thought now would be an opportune time to feature an English-translated commercial for the Japanese game. Really, we'll make any excuse to post about this interesting title.

A quick rundown of the Game Center CX show and DS game, for those of you who didn't read about the release the first dozen times we posted about it:

• Game Center CX is a Japanese television series in which comedian Shinya Arino plays popular "retro" games
• In the Indies Zero-developed DS title, players are sent back in time to the 80s by Arino
• Players have to complete challenges in eight Famicom-styled games, like Star Prince (Star Soldier clone) and Guadia Quest (Dragon Quest clone)

There are a lot of great "meta" touches to the game, too -- a child version of Arino befriends and cheers you on against his older self, you'll have access to instruction manuals and Game Fan Magazine issues with tips and cheat codes, and Arino will even ask you if you're going to the bathroom sometimes when you pause the game.

Anyway, jump past the post break for the commercial; we've also included photos from train advertisements and a segment from the show as bonuses!



"It's nostalgic yet new."

It's a quick commercial, but publisher Bandai Namco made up for it by plastering trains in Japan with Game Center CX ads:

In case you're wondering, those posters aren't limited to just a few cars on the train:


Wow! Retailers also kept their stores covered with TVs playing Game Center CX trailers and Arino posters when the title first hit stores in Japan last November:

Here's a photo of the Shinya Arino business cards that came with every copy of the game (hopefully XSEED has something similar plan for the U.S. release?):