Game Center CX - the inspiration for the game that came out over here as Retro Game Challenge - is an awesome show. Centered around Japanese comedian Shinya Arino (of Japanese comedy duo Yoiko), Arino delves into the world of retro gaming, and on every episode his is typically given a particular game and either asked to compete a certain task in it, or outright beat the game. Beyond that, Arino done numerous little side-segments, such as going to arcades recommended to him by viewers, talking to game developers, or other such things.
Up until now, the show had mainly been available to Westerners via either fansubbed or raw downloads scattered around the internet. Now, it seems, Kotaku - yes, THAT Kotaku, as in the gaming news website - has made an official deal to start running the show. The show, under its Western name Retro Game Master, will start next week, and new episodes will hit Kotaku every Thursday night at 8pm EST.
Being that I have absolutely no connection to Kotaku, the only reason I'm shilling this is because this is such a fantastic show, and I'm glad to see it finally get some sort of official English release. I never would have expected it to come via a source like this, but I guess that's the awesome power of the internet.
Kotaku Exclusively Brings Japanese Cult Hit Retro Game Master to the United States
NEW YORK Gawker Media's influential gaming website Kotaku will be the first media outlet in the United States to air a U.S. version of Japan's wildly successful cult television hit Retro Game Master.
The show, known in Japan as Game Center CX, features comedian Shinya Arino playing Japan's most popular video games a perfect fit for Kotaku. Kotaku, in partnership with RGM, will feature new episodes made for United States viewers weekly starting in June.
Peter Block's A Bigger Boat helped secure the rights for RGM from Yuko Shiomaki's pictures department. Yuko Shiomaki's pictures department acted as international representative on behalf of rights holder Fuji Television, Japanese international sales agent STYLEJAM, and Producer Tsuyoshi Kan of Gascoin.
Says Block "Watching RGM is addictive...I knew we had something special when we couldn't stop watching our first episodes, and when people would stop for a quick peek and stay for 30 minutes. It's Iron Chef for the Gamers."
Eric Spiegelman of Jetpack Media brokered the deal between Gawker Media and A Bigger Boat.
Retro Game Master will be featured exclusively on Kotaku every Thursday night, posting at 8pm EST, starting June 23, 2011.
