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Gashapon

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Gashapon capsules

Gashapon (ガシャポン), also called gachapon (ガチャポン), is a trademark of Bandai. Among the variety of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys that originated in the 1960s,[1] it became popular in Japan and elsewhere.

Gashapon is onomatopoeic from 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.[2] Gashapon is used for both the machines themselves and the toys obtained from them.

Popular capsule toy manufacturers include Tomy, which uses the trademark gacha (ガチャ, gacha) for their capsule machines, and Kaiyodo. In many countries and territories including Japan, China, the United States, the European Union (European Union trade mark) and the United Kingdom, Gashapon is a registered trademark of Bandai.[3][4][5][6][7] The capsule toy model has been adapted digitally into numerous gacha video games, such as mobile phone games and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs).

Description

Capsule toy machines in Hong Kong

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), Bandai's gashapon can cost anywhere from ¥100 (US$0.91) to ¥500 (US$4.56) and are normally a higher-quality product, followed by other Japanese manufacturers. 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.[8]

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 spreading elsewhere in the world, especially among adult collectors. It is not uncommon for sets marketed specifically for adults to feature risqué female figurines.[9]

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 may hope to get a 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.

Bandai has been selling Gashapon toys since at least 1977. As of March 2021, Bandai Namco has sold 3.711 billion Gashapon toys for ¥100–500 each, generating approximately between ¥371–1,860 billion ($3.38–17 billion) in estimated sales revenue, since 1977.[10]

Types

Blind-boxes

In recent years,[when?] capsule toys 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.[11] One brand that does blind boxes is Chinese toy brand Pop Mart, which does designer toys, is very popular with teenagers and young adults.

Bottle cap figures

Another variety of capsule toys is bottle cap figures. These small figures are mounted atop plastic bottle caps, as might be found on soda bottles. 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

Gacha mechanism in gacha games

Main article: Gacha game

Games—often freemium—largely based on a gacha mechanism of monetization are referred to as gacha games.[12][13] Gacha mechanism (or gacha) is essentially a monetization model which the user pays with in-game currency to enter a draw in order to obtain the character or item they want.[14] If a player does not obtain what he hoped for, there is the option of paying with his own money for more draws, and this is the main way to monetize the Gacha games.[14] The gacha game model arose in the early 2010s, faring particularly well in Japan.[12][13] Gacha can be free to play; however, rare or valuable gaming items often need to be obtained through special gacha purchased with real money.[15] The games may feature different tiers of gacha pulls, which give different sets of rewards.[12][16] Examples of gacha games include Genshin Impact,[17] Fire Emblem Heroes,[12][18] Puzzle & Dragons,[12] and Dragon Collection.[13]

Many free-to-play massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) and mobile games also use gacha mechanics, with randomly generated items of varying market values being acquired via microtransactions. In addition, paid console games have included gacha-style progression based on random items but with no in-app purchases, such as Work Time Fun.

The anime-oriented subculture surrounding the production of gacha games has also given birth to the term gacha pop, referring to J-pop songs in diverse genres (from those of pop act Yoasobi to rock musician Kenshi Yonezu) associated with anime soundtracks or aesthetics sought by a global audience.[19]

Impact of gacha mechanism on players

Gacha mechanism has come under scrutiny for its resemblance to gambling. Similar to gambling, gacha manipulates the emotional state of the player, specifically the player’s sense of luck, satisfaction and insecurity, as well as the player’s financial stability and dopamine release to ultimately cause a gaming addiction and encourage continued game play.[14] Problematic use of gacha have also indicated to high levels of gambler’s fallacy.[14] Gambler’s fallacy is a luck-related erroneous belief that a certain event is less or more likely to occur, based on a previous series of events.[20] Winning high ranking virtual items in gacha is extremely rare and unpredictable. As a result, this can ultimately trigger the gambler’s fallacy in players. To minimize the relationship between gambling and the use of gacha, in 2016, the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) passed a law stating that companies must disclose the probability of drawing items in paid gachas so consumers can understand their chances of winning.[21][22] This law is now respected and followed by every Gacha game today.[21]

Besides gambling, gacha games are also commonly associated with a social phenomenon called parasocial relationships.[23] Parasocial relationships refer to a sense of attachment that develops between receivers and media characters.[23] In terms of gacha games, Gacha players develop a parasocial relationship with in-game characters which players obtain through gacha mechanism.[15][23] This parasocial relationship is primarily developed based on the character’s aesthetic and rich narrative element.[15] Rentia and Karaseva’s study demonstrated how players are initially attracted to gacha games due to the games' aesthetic although moving forward, players grow to greatly value the narrative elements associated with the gacha characters.[15] When a new character is introduced for the first time in a game, many gacha games will release a quest that follows the character’s life events, including the character’s life, intentions and aspirations, giving the opportunity for players to get acquainted with the characters. In Genshin Impact for example, when players pull a character, they receive more information and backstory about that specific character.[15][24] Players can also read information on what characters think about other characters and their relationships.[15][24] It is at this stage in which some players develop an intense emotional connection and as a result, engage in a parasocial relationship with an in-game character. For many players, the charming anime-style design of gacha characters create a strong attraction which in due time evolves into a strong emotional connection then a parasocial relationship with the character.[15][23] As a result of parasocial relationships with in-game characters, it is interesting to note how gacha players will personify the probability of drawing characters.[23] Mackenzie and Lax’s study discovered how gacha communities traditionally referred to the successful acquisition of a desired character as the character ‘coming home.’[23] This reflects how, because of the strong emotional attachment they feel towards the character, gacha players will personify or give human life to character so much so the character develops a human capacity to acknowledge the player’s desire and therefore returns home to where they belong.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gachapon: The Culture & History of Japanese Capsule Toys". 9 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Dengeki Hobby::誕生40周年「ガシャポン」進化の歴史とは？史上最も話題となったアイテムが7月に復活!!". hobby.dengeki.com.
  3. ^ "Gashapon Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number 4015069 :: JPlatPat". j-platpat.inpit.go.jp.
  4. ^ "Gashapon Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number 4409039 :: TM View". www.tmdn.org.
  5. ^ "Gashapon Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number 2864782 – Serial Number 78158256 :: Justia Trademarks". trademarks.justia.com.
  6. ^ "Gashapon Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number 001997709 :: EUIPO". euipo.europa.eu.
  7. ^ "Gashapon Trademark of Bandai Co., Ltd. - Registration Number UK00901997709 :: UKIPO". trademarks.ipo.gov.uk.
  8. ^ "What is a gacha gacha?". Gacha Gacha World. 2013-02-15. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
  9. ^ "Curiosities from Japan's porno shops". demonbaby. 2005-08-22. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  10. ^ Fact Book 2021. Bandai Namco Group. 2021. pp. 3–6. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Astro Toy with Rob Bricken: Dragonball x One Piece Dream Fusion". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
  12. ^ a b c d e "'Fire Emblem Heroes' Is a Gacha Game". Inverse. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  13. ^ a b c "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.
  14. ^ a b c d Lakić, Nikola; Bernik, Andrija; Čep, Andrej (2023). "Addiction and Spending in Gacha Games". Special Issue Game Informatics. 14 (7): 399. doi:10.3390/info14070399. ISSN 2078-2489.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Rentia, George-Gabriel; Karaseva, Anastasia (2022). What Aspects of Gacha Games Keep the Players Engaged?.
  16. ^ Koeder, Marco Josef; Tanaka, Ema; Mitomo, Hitoshi (2018). ""Lootboxes" in digital games - A gamble with consumers in need of regulation? An evaluation based on learnings from Japan". Econstor.eu. Calgary: International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
  17. ^ "Genshin Impact review - "A true AAA gacha game"". www.pocketgamer.com. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  18. ^ "Nintendo's Mobile 'Fire Emblem' Is a 'Gacha' Game, Here's What That Means". Waypoint. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  19. ^ Hashimoto, Shohei (2023-06-15). "「Gacha Pop」はJ-POPに代わる新ジャンルになるのか？" [Will "Gacha pop" become a new genre that will replace J-pop?]. Natalie (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Gambler's Fallacy: Overview and Examples". Investopedia. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  21. ^ a b "ネットワークゲームにおけるランダム型アイテム提供方式運営ガイドライン". CESA:一般社団法人コンピュータエンターテインメント協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  22. ^ Feit, Daniel. "Gacha Watch: Japan's Social Game Industry Shifts Gears After Government Crackdown". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g Lax, Gawain Lucian; Mackenzie, Madeleine (2015). "Against All Odds: Desire and Monetisation in Japanese Mobile Games". Authors & Digital Games Research Association DiGRA.
  24. ^ a b Genshin Impact: Beginner's Guide. Retrieved 2024-04-10 – via www.youtube.com.
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