The Localization of Japanese Video Games in Taiwan

Title The localization of Japanese video games in Taiwan
Advisor(s) Wong, HW; Edwards, LP
Author(s) Wong, Chi-hang;
Wong, C. []. (2013). The localization of Japanese video

games in Taiwan. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam,
Citation Hong Kong SAR. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.5353/th_b5194781
Issued Date 2013
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/197549
Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommerical 3.0 Hong Kong

Rights License
Abstract of thesis entitled
The localization of Japanese video games in Taiwan
Submitted by
Wong Chi Hang
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

at The University of Hong Kong
in August 2013
The aim of this research lies in the study of how Japanese console videos
games have been re-territorialized into Taiwan in Taiwanese context. Since
making its debut in 1970s, video game industry has developed into a
multi-billion dollar business in which Japanese console and game developers
have been the pioneers. Academic studies on video games, however, had been
largely focusing on the physical and mental affection of video game playing, and
it is until recent years that video game has begun to be analyzed as a cultural
product. Looking to fill the research space of how video games have been
consumed and received under different geographical and social contexts, this
research examines how Taiwanese, the former colonial subjects of Japan, localize
Japanese console video games through measures during the process of
production, re-production, circulation, and consumption in the context of
Taiwanese society. Attention has been particularly paid to Taipei City Mall, where
gamer gatherings of a Japanese video game had been regularly held. Through
intensive participatory observation on the gathering and in-depth case studies on
a few selected personalities, the author will show how a Japanese cultural good is
being re-territorialized under an alien social context. The thesis then argues a
new paradigm, in which the individual desire is considered as equally important
with other mediation factors, should be adopted in conceptualizing the migration
of a cultural good.
The localization of Japanese video games in Taiwan
by
Wong Chi Hang

B.A. H.K.; M.Phil. H.K.
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
at The University of Hong Kong
August 2013
Declaration
I declare that the thesis and the research work thereof represents my own work, except where
due acknowledgement is made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis,
dissertation or report submitted to this University or to any institution for a degree, diploma
and other qualifications.
Signed ..
Wong Chi Hang
i
Table of Contents
Declaration.................................................................................................................................i
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................ii
Chapter 11
Introduction
Chapter 2.......15
Introduced, Removed, and Revived:
A Background History of Japanese Cultures in Taiwanese Society
Chapter 3...................................................................................32
The History of Japanese console Video Game Industry
and its Re-territorialization into Taiwan Market
Chapter 4.64
Lets Go Hunting:
Introducing Monster Hunter 3G as a Game
Chapter 5..95
An Account of Taipei City Mall and
the Gamer Gathering on a Typical Weekend
Chapter 6...126
Identity Searching, Building, and Consolidating:
Case Study of Crow
ii
Chapter 7148
Contrasting Styles, One Goal:
Case studies of the Cousins, SOS and AHL
Chapter 8177
Playing Video Games in Lego Way:
Case Study of Yui
Chapter 9....197
Conclusion
Bibliography...........205
iii
Chapter 1
Introduction
Aim of Research
The aim of this research lies in the study of how Japanese console videos
games have been re-territorialized into Taiwan in Taiwanese context. Since
making its debut in 1970s, video game industry has developed into a multi-
billion dollar business in which Japanese console and game developers have been
the pioneers. The soaring sale of video games reached $68.3 billion in 2012, up
from $41.9 billion in 2007, surpassing movie industry in the process and is
expected to keep growing.1 Academic studies on video games, however, have
been largely focusing on the physical and mental impact of video game playing,
and it is until recent years that video game has begun to be analyzed as a cultural
product. Looking to fill the research space of how video games have been
consumed and received under different geographical and social contexts, this
research will examine how Taiwanese, the former colonial subjects of Japan,
localize Japanese console video games through measures employed by different
agents in the context of Taiwanese society, in which elements of Japanese culture
have been deeply planted since the colonial years. Attention will be particularly
paid to Taipei City Mall, where gamer gatherings of a Japanese video game had
been regularly held without an organizer. Through intensive participatory
observation on the gathering and in-depth case studies on a few selected
personalities, this dissertation will show how a Japanese cultural good being re-
territorialized under an alien social context, and how it could be further related
and mean to individuals differently.
1 Report: Global Video Game Sales to Reach $68.3 Billion in 2012, Digital Media Wire Daily, 18 June 2008
(URL: http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/06/18/report%3A-global-video-game-sales-reach-
%2468.3-billion-2012)
1
Literature Review
Despite the rapid development of the video game industry in the past
decades, academic studies on video games have been limited. Berger (2002)
suggests video games could be studied in different academic disciplines, such as
psychology, ethics, aesthetics, politics, economic, sociology, gender studies, and
semiotic studies.2 Aarseth (2001), on the other hand, insists it is always difficult
to put computer (video) game studies under any existing discipline. Because of
the unique characteristic of rich genres involved in video games, focusing on one
aspect would probably result in neglecting other unique features it pocesses.3
Therefore creating a new discipline of video games, given its ever-increasing size
of business and huge potential for research, is necessary.
Berger would not struggle to find examples of video games being studied in
the disciplines of psychoanalytic and ethical, as video game studies have long
been dominated by discussions on impact of video game playing. Greenfield
(1984) is one of the pioneers who discussed the growing concern over the
possible negative psychological effect on the video game players. Since then
studies concerning negative psychological impact of video game playing has been
flooding. Just to name a few as examples, Calvert and Tan (1996) connect virtual
reality and young adults' aggressive thoughts; Griffiths (2002) has concerns
about gaming addiction by adolescence; Carnagey (2006) finds that exposure to
violent sports video games would lead to aggressive behaviors and positive
attitude toward aggression in sport; Anderson, Gentile, and Buckley (2007)
provide a detailed overview of the existing empirical research on negative impact
by video game playing, before exploring the public policy options for controlling
the distribution of video games.
Academics also love to explore the ethical aspects of video games. Attention
has been particularly paid to the concerns over the violence, sex, drug and values
2 Berger (2002), p.3-8

3 Aarseth (2001)
(URL: http://www.gamestudies.org/0101/editorial.html)
2
involved in video games, taking a similar course with those studying
psychological effect to discuss the unwelcomed impact on children and
adolescences. Sicart (2009) has concerns about the ethical issues involved in
video games, while Beck and Wade (2004) argue that the sex and violence has
been unfairly and unnecessarily bundled with video games. While critics have
been focusing on the negative effects of video game playing, there are also
studies trying to reveal the positive side of video games. Gee (2003), Prensky
(2006), and Hutchison (2007) all point out in their research that video games
could indeed lead to more efficient learning by young children. Gallagher (2012)
argues that commentators, critics, and game developers are tend both to ignore
games unique characteristics and to misrepresent their potential as vehicles for
creative expression in judging the elements of sex by using standards
developed in relation to other media forms.4
Gender issues have also been found in video games. Gailey (1996) studies
at the mediated messages about gender, class, and cosmos in video games; Kafai
(1996) looks at the building of gender differences by children in video game
world; Walkerdine (2007) discusses gender issues in video games and argued
that new approaches should be adopted for the study of children and
multimedia.
In recent years, the widespread usage of high-speed Internet allows video

games to be played by multiple players simultaneously. The growing interactions
between players has fostered the creation of countless online communities, in
which the players culture and mechanism has generated a lot of academic
interests. Bloustien and Woods (2013) examine Second Life, a game of virtual
world in which users can interact with others through self-created avatars
similar to the way of real life, and reveal how users tried to re-create
themselves to replica or replace their offline selves. Pulos (2013) investigates a
Mass Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMOPRG) and argues the
construction of sexuality within the virtual world has created an oppressive
4 Gallager (2012), pp.1
3
atmosphere for individuals who do not adhere to a heteronormative lifestyle.5
Meanwhile, the widespread usage of smartphone has broadened the entrance to
virtual world that even non-gamers could easily become a participant in
cyberspace. Similar to the above studies of examining second identities outside
the offline self, Dijck (2013) discusses how social media such as Facebook and
LinkedIn are being used as a way to perform the self. Social media are also
being used to achieve non-personal goals. As Choi and Park (2013) demonstrate
the case in South Korea, Twitter, a popular online social platform, has been used
to mobilize people for political goals.
The above research show that video games have become a fountain in
which fluxing texts and topics are available for different fields of research
interest. While many of them claim video game is a new medium, Berger (2002)
argues that video games should be viewed as an art form. Similar to the other art
forms such as novels, films, and television programs, Berger insists we can think
of each video game as a text, a work of popular art that is created collectively. 6
Again Berger would not struggle to find research that are considered video
games as a form of art and analyzed the game as a text. From the sociological
studies on the inter-avatar relationship, personalities and values within the
virtual world in The Sims series (Griebel, 2006), to the symbolic female image of
Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series (Kennedy, 2002), or the revised orientalism
appears in various military shooting games which often portray the war between
Islamic world and the West and Evil vs. Hero (Hoglund, 2008), video games have
been analyzed in different angles as text and provided huge potential for
different fields of academic studies as Berger has suggested.
While video games have also been studied as an art form similar to films
and television programs, one could struggle to find many studies that treat video
games as a form of cultural good, and to see how video games are being received
in markets away from its originated country. Indeed the process of re-
territorialization of cultural goods has long been studied, and television
5 Pulos (2013), pp.77

6 Berger (2002), pp.49-50
4
programs and popular music are the two of the most frequently studied subjects.
Hu (2004) points out that many pirated Japanese television dramas have been
circulated to the West through the underground global Chinese network, and the
element of Japanese-ness is weakening due to the products are heavily
associated with the oversea Chinese communities. Leung (2004) investigates the
romance and the ganbaru (, striving hard for a certain goal) spirit in
Japanese television dramas, stating that they are transnational and lead to the
construction of hyper-reading among Hong Kong audience, that is, an
opportunity for audiences to reflect their own real-life experience with the
situation encountered by the characters in the dramas. Wong (2009) examined
the development of Hong Kong TV industry in postwar period and the important
role played by Japanese TV dramas in the early years. By comparing linguistic,
inter-textual and cultural codes in the Dutch and the Australian version of a
British reality TV format, Keulen and Krijnen (2013) argue that localization of TV
formats is overrated as protection of cultural diversity.
On the re-territorialization of popular music, Iwabuchi (2002) shows how

Japanese music companies became a filter that indigenized American pop music
into local music in Asian markets. Kotarba and Vannini (2009) examine how
popular music has been received in global context. Through studying how British
and American popular music being consumed by teenagers in Poland and
investigation on the Spanish rock music movement in Texas, they conclude,
musical scenesforce us to play and listen locally and interact globally.7 Zhuo
and Tarocco (2007) study how Karaoke, originated from Japan, has been received
and situated differently in different countries in Asia, Europe, and America.
Studies on re-territorialization of video games are rare. While studies on

Japanese video game companies oversea strategies have been done by many
Japanese researchers, such as Yata (1996), Asakura (1998), Hamamura (2007),
Mizoue (2008), and Ishijima (2009), most of them are producer-centric and
neglecting how the products are received and localized in local context. Ng
7 Kotarba and Vannini (2009), p.157
5
(2006) is one of the advocates in studying localization of Japanese video games,
by showing how Japanese arcade fighting games Street Fighters and King of
Fighters have been localized in Hong Kong. Ng points out that it is never the game
producers intention to localize the game for other markets; instead it is indeed
the local players and other media such as Hong Kong comic publishers who took
the initiative to localize content such as negotiating new rules, creating jargons,
and giving new meaning to the game in the process of re-production, circulation,
and consumption of video games.
While Ngs work itself is inspiring, it also reveals a huge research potential
in the field. Ngs work tends to generalize Hong Kong players as a one big group,
thus it fails to show how a game could mean differently to individual players and
consequently generate different playing styles and interactions between
individuals. The changing relation between Japanese cultures and the local
society in historical context, which could be a huge factor in shaping the
localization strategies, is also largely absent in Ngs work. Getting to understand
how Japanese cultures matter in local society by tracing the domestic social
history, I assume, would be crucial in answering the question of why the re-
territorialization of a particular cultural product has been done in a particular
pattern.
While the tails of Japanese popular cultures could be seen everywhere in

Hong Kong, Taiwaneses passion to the cultures of their former colonial rulers is
probably at another level. Since the lift of ban on Japanese cultural products in
Taiwan in early 1990s, Japanese popular cultures have been playing a major part
in many aspects of the local cultures. One of them is console video game, which
has naturally drawn the attention of many Taiwanese scholars. Their research,
however, were generally conducted in a similar way of how video game study has
been approached: Lin (2003) examines the addictions possibly caused by video
game playing. Liou (2008) studies the impact on parent-children relations from
video games. Hou (2008) analyzes the struggles for power between players in a
MMORPG. Lai (2013) examines the Asian cute games that appealed to many
young Taiwanese girls aged 10-15. Based on Japanese comics, Lai defined the
6
game genre as a combination of American digital entertainment and Asian
urbanized culture. In one of the rare studies on how Taiwanese players received
American and Japanese console video games, Huang (2008) conducts interviews
with a few heavy-users, revealing that players desire to be different and unique
in real life has become the driving force for them to participate in repetitive and
boring sequences in game world. Concluding the above typical research on video
game in Taiwan, one should notice there is a glaring research gap in explaining
how Japanese console video games have been re-territorialized in Taiwanese
context.
Theoretical Framework
I plan to relate this research to the migration of transnational culture

debate. Howes (1996) suggests that there are two major paradigms in evaluating
the cultural effects of the migration of goods within the world market system: the
global homogenization paradigm and the creolization paradigm. The former
suggests cultural differences are increasingly being eroded through the world-
wide replacement of local products with mass-produced goods which usually
originate in the West.8 The paradigm of global homogenization is similar to the
thesis of cultural imperialism. They both emphasize that the exporting end is
taking the active role in influencing the receiving end and the receiving end is
passive in the process. On the other hand, the creolization paradigm, which
concerns the same issue but from the perspective of the receiving end, argues
that goods always have to be contextualized (given meaning, inserted into
particular social relationships) to be utilized, and there is no guarantee that the
intention of the producer will be recognized, much less respected, by consumer
from another culture.9
The homogenization paradigm, on one hand, as Sahlins (2000a) criticizes,

tends to neglect the fact that the local natives would take on the meaningful
places in local schemes of things no matter how powerful the transnational
8 Howes (1996), p.3
9 Howes (1996), p.5-6
7
culture is.10 In other words, even the society of receiving end did change because
of the influential incoming culture, the changes would undergo according to local
logics, hence any form of fixed or proportionate relationship between the
incoming culture and changes is non-existent. Indeed many empirical research,
as Wong and Yau (2010b) suggest, have showed the weakness of homogenization
paradigm. Wong (2009), for example, details the development of Hong Kong TV
industry and its relations with the influx of Japanese TV dramas in postwar Hong
Kong. While a large quantity of Japanese TV dramas had been imported and
showed by Hong Kong TV stations since 1970s, Wong insists the migrated
products had never been viewed as more than a secondary option, or Vitamin
pills as termed by Wong, by the TV stations and audiences. As Japanese TV
dramas mainly played the role of providing elements that had been lacked in
early Hong Kong local TV dramas due to insufficient talents and resources, a wide
range of genres could be found among the imported Japanese TV dramas. Once
the locals became capable of producing various genres of TV dramas of high
quality on their own, the range of genres of imported Japanese TV dramas has
greatly decreased because those previously lacked elements are available in local
products now. This shows selection and consideration according to local logics
were in place when receiving a transnational good.
The creolization paradigm, on the other hand, has its own problem. Wong
and Yau (2010b) point out its ignorance of the fact that transnational forces
have their own force, shape, and causes, which can also make a difference to their
effects on the local.11 While there is no guarantee that the intention of the
exporting end could be fully taken and received by the local, one has to admit
that it would be inappropriate to completely and arbitrarily overlook the force,
shape, and causes of the transnational force.
In their attempt to relate the relation between the transnational Japanese

adult videos and the emergence of Cable Television in post-war Taiwan, Wong
and Yau (2010b) suggest a new theoretical framework is required to
10 Sahlins (2001a), p.417

11 Wong and Yau (2010b), p.188
8
conceptualize the migration process of a transnational cultural good, as both the
homogenization and creolization paradigms fail to capture the complexity of the
transnationalization of Japanese cultural products in general. 12 One of the
possible answers, as Wong and Yau point out, lies in the event theory proposed
by Sahlins. Sahlins (2000b) defines a historical event into three parts, the
happening, the structure, and the mediation between them. The same happening
could have different effects on different local structures due to the mediations
from different circumstances involved. Two assumptions of the event theory, as
Wong and Yau insist, stand out to show the theory is suitable for analyzing the
transnationalization of a cultural good. Firstly, it assumes that native cultures
have a crucial role not only in defining the nature of the transnationalization of
cultural goods, but also in determining its historical effects, 13 thus the
importance of local agency is emphasized. Secondly, the theory also assumes it
is difficult, if not totally impossible, to specify from the cultural logic of the
global/transnational force or the character of the local society the historical
consequence of the transnationalization of cultural goods without examining the
mediation between the transnational force and local society.14 In other words, as
neither structure nor the happening alone determined the historical effect of an
event, or more specifically, of the transnationalization of cultural goods, the
mediations between them are thus very important in understanding the
migration process. As Wong and Yau conclude, the event theory has an analytical
focus on the mutual engagement between the character of transnational force
and the socio-political order of local society, the structural logic that motivates
such a mutual engagement, and the agency involved.15
While the event theory provides a possible answer to conceptualize the

migration process of a transnational cultural good, it has its own blind spot. The
theory assumes the structure, or the local society, is more or less a constant, and
tends to focus on the interactions between the migrated culture and the society
12 Wong and Yau (2010b), pp.211

9
as a whole. While it is understandable to generalize every individual, who
altogether formed the society, for the purposes of analysis and examination, one
could not deny the fact that each individual within the structure has his own
agenda in receiving a particular culture.
Just as Bourdieu (1990) points out that the social-structural form such as
marriage system alone is not sufficient in leading to actual marriage,16 every
individual, I assume, should be treated as an unique subject in receiving and
mediating a culture according to his own logics, which when formed with others
collectively could be arguably considered as the basis of a structure or society.
Among the factors that shaped the individual logic, family should be ranked at
the top of the list. By putting psychoanalysis in his discussion on Chinese family,
Sangren (2013) considers family as a mode of production of desires, for the fact
that the family, as a notable social arrangement, is responsible for people coming
to desire what they do less as a consequence of what they are taught to want
(e.g. cultural values) than as a result of experiences of denial or limitation
endemic to relations with those with whom they are most intimately associated.
17 In other words, desires exist because people inevitably encounter social
situations that they do not control but that they wish they could control,18 and
those social situations are often caused by the limitations and expectations
placed by their families. As desires tend to motivate and shape behaviors, which
include peoples attempts to produce, realize, or control social relationships,19
tracing each individual family background as the subsequent desires produced, I
assume, would be one of the better ways in understanding an individuals logic in
receiving and mediating a particular culture or cultural good.
Combining the aforementioned event theory and the concept of desire, I

shall show in this research that how the migration of a transnational cultural
good, the Japanese console video game in this case, could be better understood
16 Bourdieu (1990), pp.126

17 Sangren (2013), pp.283
18 Sangren (2013), pp.284
19 Sangren (2013), pp.283
10
by not only studying the happening, the structure and the mediations between
them in the process as Sahlins suggests, but also by in-depth investigations on
participating individuals, the gamers in this case, with their family and growing
backgrounds put into focus. I believe that the structure is the collective sum of
every individual behavior, in which the gaming behavior of each individual is
indeed a reflection of his desires, which could not be better understood than
investigation on his family background. In short, this research shall show a new
paradigm to better conceptualize the migration process of a transnational
cultural good.
Methodology
Detailed and comprehensive empirical data has been the emphasis of this
research from day one. In order to obtain the empirical data of how Japanese
video games being localized in Taiwan, four sets of methods were employed.
Firstly, past studies on video games and migration of transnational cultural goods
have been located and studied. By re-visiting the related past studies and
research, a better understanding of the current status on the field has been
obtained, and potential research gap(s) has been also located. In order to know
the role played by mass media in the localization process, past issues of video
game magazines from both Japan and Taiwan have been carefully studied.
Conversations and activities in video game online communities in Taiwan have
been also regularly checked. The online and offline interactions between
communitys users have been given special attention. Echoing Sahlinss emphasis
on importance of the structure, the history of local Taiwanese society, in
particular of the Japanese cultural influence, have also been studied.
Secondly, I have conducted interviews with close to hundred and fifty

individuals representing various agents in localizing Japanese console video
game in Taiwan, including Japanese game developers, console developers, local
game developers, game shop staff, game magazines editors, online community
founder and editors, second-hand game shop owner, and the general players. In
addition, I have also visited numerous promotional events and game shows held
11
by Japanese video game companies in Taiwan. By analyzing and crosschecking
the data obtained from the interviews with above individuals whose background
cover the production, re-production, circulation and consumption of Japanese
video game in Taiwan, I could construct a full, if not clear, picture of how the
cultural good is being localized in Taiwan.
Thirdly, I have conducted participatory observation in a regular gathering

well known to many Taiwanese gamers. Without an organizer and stated rules, a
group of gamers gather regularly at Taipei City Mall to play a Japanese handheld
console game, the Monster Hunter 3G. By participating in the gathering regularly
and actively for close to a full year, I came to understand the unspoken rituals and
rules involved and how a game could be played in a way that Japanese developers
probably did not foresee. More importantly, my participation has helped me to
build close relationships with many gamers that allowed me to proceed to the
following step of my research.
Lastly, in-depth interviews have been conducted with several gamers from
the gathering. Through regular interviews and many other activities that we
together participated in, I was able to understand not only each gamers gaming
pattern and behaviors, but also how his family background and experiences in
growing years has caused and shaped the pattern and behaviors. Four gamers
have been selected and turned into case studies in this thesis. It should be noted
here that the selection of these four cases is a calculated result from the author,
for not only the uniqueness involved in each case, but also the interesting
interactions and relationships between the four gamers. As I have insisted in the
previous section, each individual should have his unique logic and desires which
cause and shape his behaviors, thus the case studies in this thesis do not intend
to serve the purpose of representing or generalizing Taiwanese video game
players.
Dissertation Structure
This study is an attempt to outline and conceptualize how Japanese console
12
videos games have been re-territorialized into Taiwan in Taiwanese context.
Following the event theorys framework in studying a historical event, this study
tries to present a detailed account of the happening, the structure, and the
mediations between them in the process of migration of Japanese console video
games. Recognizing the importance of understanding individuals desires that
could cause and shape ones gaming behaviors, case studies on individual gamers
will be presented in the later chapters to see how family backgrounds and
growth experiences could produce such desires. In short, this study presents, as
the following chapters will show, how a new paradigm could be adopted to
evaluate the migration of a cultural good.
Chapter 1 presents a literatures review on how video games have been

studied in academic circle so far. I argue that while video game has provided tons
of research space for many different fields, it is not often studied as a cultural
good, and its re-territorialization into other markets does not receive attention as
much as other art forms such as television programs and popular music do.
Reviewing how Japanese console video games in oversea markets have been
studied, I point out there is a notable research gap of how Japanese console video
games have been re-territorialized in Taiwan. I also suggest a new paradigm, as
discussed above, could be adopted to study the migration of a cultural good.
Chapter 2 provides a brief but pinpoint background of how Japanese

language and cultures have been introduced to, swept from, and revived in
Taiwanese society under the rule of different regimes in the past century. I argue
while the status of Japanese cultures had been positioned and re-positioned to
serve different political agendas, the Taiwanese people always found ways to
respond according their own needs.
Chapter 3 shifts the focus to video game, which is becoming a multi-billion

dollar business since making its debut in 1970s. The chapter begins with an
overview of the history of Japanese console video game industry, tracing how the
Japanese companies dominated the worldwide market for thirty years. The
second part of the chapter narrows the scope on Taiwan, where Japanese video
13
game products have been localized by both legal and illegals means for thirty
years.
Chapter 4 introduces Monster Hunter 3G, a popular Japanese handheld

console game. In order to understand how Japanese video games meant to
individual players, this research conducted a participatory observation at Taipei
City Mall, where gamer gathering of Monster Hunter 3G had been regularly held.
By deconstructing how the game work as an action and multiplayer game, the
chapter suggests the developers have put various incentives in the game to
encourage linkup play and to foster interactions between players.
Chapter 5 is a tour of Taipei City Mall and the Monster Hunter 3G gamer
gathering on a typical weekend afternoon. By showing the changing scenes and
how people utilized the public space and interacted with each other, the chapter
demonstrates Taipei City Malls role as a platform in providing an open space for
self-initiated usages. The tour resumes with a visit to the Monster Hunter 3G
gamer gathering, in which unwritten rules and rituals, negotiated by the players
themselves to play the game with each other efficiently, are shown in details. A
few selected personalities, whose cases will be presented and studied in the later
chapters, also made their appearance in this one.
Chapters 6-8 are case studies, in which the cases of four gamers are
presented. By performing close observations, and conducting in-depth
interviews on not only their gaming habits, but more importantly on their family
backgrounds and growing experiences, these chapters try to relate their gaming
behaviors to their backgrounds, in which various behavior-shaping factors are
located and discussed.
Chapter 9 starts with concluding the empirical findings in this study, before
showing how the event theory and the concept of individual desires could be
combined to analyze the migration process of a transnational cultural product.
Limitations of this study and recommendation for future research are added to
round off the thesis.
14
Chapter 2
Introduced, Removed, and Revived:

A Background History of Japanese Cultures in
Taiwanese Society
Introduction
In order to trace how Japanese video games have been consumed under the
context of Taiwanese society, one has to understand how Japan matter in the
island. While it is tempting to quickly conclude that Japan is important in
Taiwanese society merely because of its fifty-year colonial rule, one should also
recognize in what extent the Japanese cultures matter to the legitimacy of
different regimes in Taiwan, and how the cultures had been positioned and re-
positioned in the society over the course of past century. More importantly, one
should also carefully examine how local Taiwanese, the ultimate receiver and
consumer of the cultures, responded and received the culture under different
circumstances. Thus this chapter is an attempt to provide a brief but pinpoint
background of how Japanese language and cultures have been introduced to,
swept from, and revived in the Taiwanese society the past century. Particular
credit should be given to Wong and Yau (2010a) here, for their excellent study on
relating the migration of Japanese adult videos into Taiwan with the changing
political agendas of different regimes. This chapter will closely follow the
timelines and events outlined by in their study, and investigates how Japanese
culture matter in the Taiwanese society in the past century.
The Japanese Colonial Era: 1895-1945
When Taiwan was ceded to Japan as a part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki

signed by the Qing and Meiji Japan governments, it was not the first time that the
island was under control by a foreign power. As early as seventeenth century, the
Dutch had gained control of southwestern part of the island and turned it as an
15
important midway point for their trade in Far East.20 They were soon followed by
the Spanish who hoped to establish their influence in northern part of Taiwan,
only to be driven out by the Dutch force after fourteen years. While the Dutch
was forced to leave the Island by Zheng Cheng-gong and ended their 40-year
rule, Taiwan had been consistently tagged by other western powers, such as the
British and French, for its strategic and commercial values.21 The western
powers, however, never viewed Taiwan more than a stepping-stone to their other
ambitions in the region, thus the urge or need of governing the island similar to
the way in their many other colonies, was largely absent. Even the Qing
government was not really sure what to do with this dangerous and far away
island after taking over from the Zheng regime in 1683.22
Therefore when the governing power over Taiwan changing hands once
again in 1895 following Qings government defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War,
it was probably the first time in history that the island was being governed and
ruled as a colonial subject. As a non-Christian country, Japan could not send
missionaries which western colonial powers often employed to minimize and
smoothen the resistance from colonial subjects.23 Indeed Japanese politicians
had started to use Kokutairon (), or the State Theory, since early
eighteenth century to be its own unreligious religion to legitimize its power
domestically.24 One of the principals of Kokutairon is emphasizing the equal
status shared by every individual in the state regardless of his class in the society,
as every individual in the state was assumed to be genealogically related to the
Emperor, the ultimate leader. Facing the glaring and fundamental gap between
Kokutairon and the situation in Taiwan, where the inhabitant were obviously
genealogically unrelated to the native Japanese, the colonial government in
Taiwan intended to assimilate, or douka () the inhabitants to legitimize both
Kokutairon and the governments ruling status in Taiwan.25
20
Tsai (2011), pp.28-36
21
Tsai (2011), pp.97-165
22
Tsai (2011), pp.9
23
Chen (2009), pp.62
24
Maruyama (1990), pp.29-31
25
Chen (2009), pp.104
16
Chen (2009) points out that the early colonial government had recognized
there were two major parts in douka, namely douka in modernization and
douka in race. 26 As the Taiwanese society were considered as far inferior to the
Japanese domestic one which had just gone through a full-scale modernization,
how to turn the inferior Taiwanese society to a level at least comparable to the
Japanese one had become the prerequisite for further assimilation at any level.
As a result the colonial government decided to emphasis on douka in
modernization, hoping the Taiwanese society could be modernized in a same
way the home country had just experienced.27 To achieve modernization, the
system of education is perhaps the most important aspect besides the
construction of hardware. The widespread use of fluent Japanese language was
particularly essential to the success of reforms to be taken thereafter. Therefore
offering primary education to all Taiwanese children and asking them to learn
Japanese language was a major policy in the early colonial administration. 28 By
learning the Japanese language in the education system and using it regularly in
daily life, the colonial subjects were not only able to be modernized by absorbing
the customs and social standards based on western value, but also found
themselves culturally closer to the native Japanese. Wong and Yau (2010a) point
out that when Den Kenjiro, the first civilian governor-general in colonial Taiwan,
stressed the importance of developing a sense of loyalty toward the Japanese
emperor upon assuming the office in 1918, it was exactly at this time when
Japanese cultures were massively appropriated onto local inhabitants. 29
While the douka in modernization was largely successful as the local

inhabitants had been transformed into a group that could be at least comparable
and communicable with the native Japanese in daily life, they were still not
considered under the same race. In order to prepare for the possible military
confrontation with the Republic of China government, the colonial government
recognized the urge of completing the douka in race, in other words, to solidify
the loyalty of the local inhabitants to Japan and the Emperor. Thus Japanization,
26
Chen (2009), pp.42-44
27
Chen (2009), pp.461
28
Tsai (2011), pp.219-210
29
Wong and Yau (2010a), pp.102
17
known as Kouminka movement (), was launched in Taiwan in mid
1930s.30 Wong and Yau define Kouminka as a grand design to eradicate the non-
Japanese cultural elements in Taiwanese society, and instill absolute loyalty in
the colonial subjects. 31 The Kouminka movement included encouraging
Taiwanese to speak Japanese language as much as possible, as recognition in
forms of certificates, medals, and extra rationed food would be given to families
who were proved to be speaking Japanese all the time.32
In 1940, a name-changing program was launched to encourage local

inhabitants to abandon their original names, and change it in the format of
Japanese name. As Wong and Yau state, the program aimed at detaching Han
Taiwanese from their descents and ancestral homes in China.33 The local
inhabitants, however, had been mostly lukewarm to the program, as less than
two percent of the local households had replaced their Chinese names by
Japanese one.34
Between 1940 and 1943, a series of reforms on education system had been
carried out. Wong and Yau specifically pointed out two measures that had
significant impact to the Kouminka movement. Firstly, the integration of the
previously separated education systems of native Japanese and Taiwanese,
allowing the latter to relate themselves as imperial subjects even though they
could not become a real native Japanese genealogically. Secondly, the
introduction of six-year compulsory primary education ensured every school-
aged kid on the island to have opportunity of learning how to be a loyal imperial
subject, and possibly joining the army in the future.35
The colonial government also intended to reform the society in

sociocultural aspect. Wedding and funeral of Japanese style were promoted,36
30
Tsai (2011), pp.242
31
32
Tsai (2011), pp.242-243
33
34
Tsai (2011), pp.244
35
36
Huang (2001) vol. 2, pp. 160-163
18
Japanese way of life and furnishing were injected, which led to the emergence of
Japanese style architectures and residential buildings across the street.37 The
culture of drinking coffee was introduced as cafe shops were blossoming in
Taipei.38 It should be noted that, however, while the above Japanese style of life
was introduced to Taiwan, very few local inhabitants could actually afford the
hefty cost involved. Hence these Japanese styles of life did serve to signify the
different social statuses among the local inhabitants.
Analyzing how local inhabitants received the Japanese language education

before and after the Second World War, Chen (2009) concludes that the colonial
subjects neither entirely embraced nor rejected the douka from the colonial
rulers, instead they tried to employ the strategy of resisting douka by accepting
douka. By actively learning Japanese language, Chen suggests, local inhabitants
hoped the language could help to accelerate the modernization process in the
society, which would, as they hoped, make the differentiation and discrimination
between the native Japanese and local inhabitants become unjustifiable, and
inevitably advocation for equal status between the two groups could be
legitimately claimed.39 To the local anti-colonist, as Hsiau (2012) points out, the
success of the anti-colonist movement was hinged on how far the local
inhabitants could civilize and modernize themselves, in order to gain an equal
status to compete with other races, the Japanese included.40
Despite both camps bids in utilizing douka for their own ambitions met a
sudden halt as the defeat in war marked the end of the Japanese colonial era in
Taiwan, Wong and Yau suggest the 50-year long rule is still significant in three
aspects. Firstly, the colonial rulers have accidentally created a common identity
for the local inhabitants. As Qing and the previous dynasties never had a clear
idea of what to do with the island, Taiwan had long been a place temporarily
inhabited by traders, fishermen, pirates, and refugees from the coastal provinces
37
Huang (2001) vol. 2, pp. 160-163
38
Chen (2011), pp.22-29
39
Chen (2009) pp.157-215
40
Hsiau (2012), pp.108
19
of China without a long-term development in sight.41 When Japan took over the
island in 1895, a two-year grace period was given to the inhabitants to make the
decision of going back to China or not, hence the identity question of Qing or not
Qing had to be answered for the first time. By staying put, inhabitants had
virtually declared to become a part of a group which the colonial rulers called
islander, thus for the first time in history the inhabitants on this island had a
collective, though still loose, identity as a group. The identity was getting more
concrete and clear in the following year that, as Wong and Yau suggest, is
arguably the prototype of the contemporary Taiwanese consciousness.42
Secondly, the Japanese rule have made significant impact on a group who
born in 1920a and 1930s, for not only receiving Japan-centric primary education
which generally developed a positive attitude to Japan, but also for their ability to
speak Japanese, entertain Japanese culture, and maintain many aspects of
Japanese lifestyles.43 Indeed most of my major informants in this study claimed
their grandparents could speak and even write fluent Japanese, an aspect that
could not be overlooked when one tries to understand their pattern of
consuming Japanese popular cultures.
Thirdly, Japanese cultural elements had been massively and fragmentarily

absorbed into the Taiwanese everyday life. Wong and Yau observe that Japanese
lifestyles are conspicuous in daily language, unisex hot-baths, the use of Japanese
furniture, food, and entertainment in modern Taiwan.44 Wong and Yau go on to
trace how native Japanese intended to turn Hsimenting into a recreational place
which was essentially Japanese in nature and content during the colonial era,
and many of the Japanese style facilities still can be found in modern Taiwan, that
provided the essential seedbed for the hari (, craze for Japan) culture.45
Despite Chen (2009) does not reject the notion of the impact of Japanese
41
Tsai (2011), pp.7
42
43
44
45
20
colonial rule on the formation of Taiwanese identity and everyday lifestyle, he
argues that it was until the Kuomintang (KMT) governments assuming power in
Taiwan after the war that Taiwanese really started to embrace Japanese language
and culture as a way to differentiating the others from the Taiwanese.46 When
the KMT government took over Taiwan in 1945, the regime was initially
welcomed by the former colonial subjects as thousands of people were waiting at
harbor overnight to witness the anticipated arrival of the first batch of KMT
army.47 Yet the anticipation was quickly replaced by disappointment, as the
Taiwanese found that the KMT officials were inferior to the Japanese colonial
rulers in many ways. Being considered as corrupted and inferior,48 the KMT
regime worsen the situation by accusing the local inhabitants had become
slaves to the Japanese, and prohibited the use of Japanese language, forcing the
islanders to learn and use Mandarin in daily life. The language policy generated a
widespread resentment, and the resentment was finally turned into resistance in
28 February incident, in which thousands of people, local inhabitants and KMT
people included, were killed. Ironically, as Chen suggests, it was the ban of
Japanese language, not the Taiwanese language (Tig ), caused the
resentment and the eventual resistance. It is even more ironic to find that the
former colonial subjects became much more willing to use Japanese language as
a way to differentiate themselves from the new rulers from the Mainland China.
By privately speaking Japanese and performing cultural habits left by the former
colonial rulers, the Taiwanese build a collective identity of being a modernized
and superior group, in contrast to the Mandarin-speaking new inhabitants who
were considered as inferior and even uncivilized. In short, as concluded by Chen,
while the islanders were speaking the same Japanese language before and after
1945, the motivations behind are hugely different. Before 1945, it was a passive
act to reject the douka by accepting the douka in modernization. After 1945,
however, it had become a way to actively build a collective identity to distance
themselves from the new colonial rulers in KMT government.49 It could be
argued, once again ironically, that the Japanese language culture has since been
46
Chen (2009), pp.476
47
Huang (2001) vol. 1 pp. 29
48
Lee, (2010), pp.263
49
Chen (2009), pp.477
21
given a higher status among Taiwanese people, in a way the former colonial
leaders had been striving hard to achieve before 1945.
The Martial Law Era under KMT: 1949-1987
After taking over Taiwan from the Japanese in 1945, the new KMT
government in Taiwan determined to make a clean sweep of Japanese influence
that they considered as cultural poison.50 The use of Japanese language in
schools, which had been a major way of obtaining new and modernized
knowledge for local inhabitants, were banned in September 1946, and mandarin
should be used as the primary medium of instruction in two years. 51 Another
platform for absorbing knowledge, the newspapers and magazines of Japanese
version, were also banned from publication in the following month. As a result,
the former elites of the colonial era, who could speak and read Japanese well, had
lost their influence and status in the society because they could not extend their
influence on others publicly and effectively anymore. It was simply too difficult
for them to master a relatively new language in Mandarin.52 In the eyes of KMT
rulers, as Hsiau (2012) suggests, the ban of Japanese language and the
subsequent installation of Mandarin as the official language was labeled as a sign
of unity, which could only be achieved and enhanced through a unified language.
The Taiwanese, however, often viewed it as a source of oppression and
consequently generated a hostile attitude toward the KMT rule.53
The 28 February incident in 1947 prompted the KMT government to

further tighten its rule in the island. A comprehensive martial law was
introduced in May 1949 to ban a wide range of activities which was supposed to
be allowed under the constitution, including the rights of assembly, rally, forming
party, strike, and the freedom of religion.54 The tighten control was extended to
the sociocultural aspects in 1950s, and elements of Japanese culture were often
50
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.72.
51
Xue (2010), pp.27
52
Xue (2010), pp.39
53
Hsiau (2012), pp.48
54
Xue (2010), pp.57
22
the target. Strict censorship had been placed on all movies and publications came
from Japan in 1950, and it was essentially a complete ban. Even in some rare
cases of obtaining the permit to import, a detailed report on the articles had to be
submitted to the governing body to make sure not one single copy of Japanese
cultural product could pass the custom without inspection.55 A few months later,
the use of Japanese language was banned in all newspapers and magazines. This
act had virtually removed the ability of obtaining information for many middle-
aged men in Taiwan, whose status as one of the most literate area in Asia at that
time was largely built on the compulsory learning of Japanese language in the
colonial era. 56 In 1958, a newly passed law on publication allowed the
government to halt the registration of any print media it did not like. The law
gave the government ultimate power to control the voices in society that were
even against by some KMT officials, and was viewed as the last stroke to remove
the freedom of speech from Taiwan.57
Broadcasting was another aspect that the rulers aimed to clean up. Besides
banning Japanese songs early from radio broadcast, the KMT government also
ordered to burn down all Japanese albums still processed in Taiwan, as a part of
the removing cultural poison campaign.58 In 1958, all radio stations were put
under governments total control according to an amendment of the martial law.
The strict censorship on music saw over 250 Mandarin songs was banned in
1961 alone.59 In 1971, a new broadcasting law was passed to restrict the number
of TV stations at three instead of four previously. As the existing three TV stations
were all firmly controlled by the government, it showed KMTs determination in
keeping its hands firmly on the broadcasting sector,60 and Japanese TV programs
could never be shown on the TV channels in Taiwan. An outright ban of Japanese
movies was ordered in 1973 as a response to the establishment of official
diplomatic relation between Japan and People Republic of China,61 essentially
55
Xue (2010), pp.84
56
Xue (2010), pp.94
57
Xue (2010), pp.158
58
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.72
59
Xue (2010), pp.191
60
Xue (2010), pp.242-243
61
23
eliminating all Japanese cultural products on official channels.
Measures were also taken to control and regulate the local habits in the
society. Under the name of resource-saving, several local customs, such as
wedding, funeral, and birthday banquet, were required to changed from their
forms of habit to the ways advised by the government. All kinds of custom and
habit of Japanese style inherited from the colonial era were expectedly degraded.
It was viewed as the KMTs attempt to extend its control and influence to the
grassroots in the society.62
Wong and Yau (2010a) make a comparison on Hsimenting in different eras

to show how KMT regime tried to carry out policy of de-Japanization in post-
war Taiwan. Under the colonist rule, numerous establishments had been built in
Hsimenting to serve the purpose of injecting Japanese style of life. Markets that
offered various Japanese products, and theatres that showed Japanese movies,
which were concurrently screened in Japan, were built. These establishments did
not only provide the blueprint for the later consumption landscape in Taiwan,
but also gave birth to the earliest version of riben tongbu (,
synchronicity with Japan), a common rhetoric used to sell all kinds of Japanese
popular culture.63 The later influx of Japanese residing in Taipei had seen
Hsimenting became a recreational area dominated by Japanese content. Japanese
styles radio shops, bicycle shops, garages, public baths, game shops, music tea
houses, public food halls, photo shops, record shops and tailor shops could be all
found in the area. All these establishments, as termed by Wong and Yau, were by-
products of Japanese colonialism, and paved the way for the large-scale
consumption of Japanese popular culture in modern Taiwan.64
The KMT determined to put Hsimenting subject to de-Japanization because

it was the very icon of Japanese imperialist rule.65 Names of the streets and
62
Xue (2010), pp.172
63
Wong and Yau (2010a), pp.110-111
64
65
24
establishments have been changed to one of Chinese style. The former Japanese
market was emptied and rented to be a center for performing Chinese arts
including Shanghaies Opera, dramas, story telling and juggling. A large shopping
and entertaining complex, named Zhonghua Mall (), opened business in
the area in 1960s. Consisting of over a thousand shops that offered a very wide
range of goods, the mall was the landmark of Hsimenting in 1960s and 70s.
Subsequently numerous entertaining establishments, such as nightclubs,
cinemas, snooker rooms, and department stores could be found in the area,
turning Hsimenting to a central commercial and entertainment district for both
Taiwanese and mainlanders in the process. Wong and Yau conclude by stating
that while the KMT meant to create a new cultural hierarchy with the Chines on
the top, relegating the Japanese and local population to the bottom(however) a
sense of the Japanese touch still existed there. 66
The KMTs strict censorship and ban on Japanese cultural products,

however, were often countered by the local Taiwanese in different ways. Japanese
books and comics, for example, had been smuggled into Taiwan and widely
circulated in the black market. Since 1930s, rental bookstore began to emerge in
Taiwan. These bookstores were often the major source of the banned Japanese
books in the martial law era.67 Similarly, comic stalls were the major source of
reading the prohibited Japanese comics. Mainly situated in the small alleys and
parks of the residential areas, these tiny stalls offered rental comic service that
had been very popular among children. Paying about two cent of Taiwanese
dollar for a comic, children read different genres of comics of their choices on a
small stool provided. Since 1960s Japanese comics, often locally pirated, had
become the most popular one in these stalls.68 Thus reading these Japanese
comics was arguably the best entertaining option for the generation born in
1960s, when TV and other expensive options were not still generally affordable
for many families in Taiwan. The KMT government seized over four millions
prohibited articles, many of them were Japanese-related, in 1969 alone, showing
a huge demand and volume of circulation of these banned products in the black
66
Wong and Yau (2010a), p.113
67
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.39
68
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.44
25
market.69 In order to pass the inspection from authorities, these pirated Japanese
comics were often edited and amended by the local publishers to remove the
Japanese element inside, such as replacing the Japanese names of the characters
by Chinese names, and erasing the kimono (a Japanese style costume for woman)
wore by the characters and replaced them with Cheongsam.70
The Taiwanese also found ways to penetrate the blockade in broadcasting

sectors. While the government controlled the radio stations and Japanese songs
were banned, many of the popular Tig songs ( Taiwanese language
songs) since 1950s were indeed adapted from melody of Japanese songs. 71 While
the phenomenon could be viewed as simply a shortcut employed by Taiwanese
song composers for quicker and easier production, these songs popularity could
be also argued as a sign of Japanese taste remained in the mind of Taiwanese.
Since the Taiwans first TV station opened in 1962, the KMT government
had strictly controlled the television broadcasting. The addition of two new TV
stations later in the decade did not change the fact that these stations served
their role of glorifying the KMT as the sole legitimate government of China,72 and
Japanese TV programs would not be played on the channels. While Japanese TV
programs could still be received by installation of private satellite dish at home, it
was illegal and very expensive that very few households in Taiwan could afford
the cost in 1960s and 70s.73 The ban, however, could not hold the Taiwanese
from watching Japanese TV programs for long. Utilizing the Community Antenna
Television (CATV), some local people started to illegally screen videotapes to
paid subscribers in the neighborhood.74 It is probably the prototype of the
Fourth Station (disitai ), which referred to the additional TV channel to
the existing three stations controlled by the government. It should be noted the
Fourth Station was not a real and existing TV station, it was only a term generally
referred to the illegal cable TV channels received through the aforementioned
69
Xue (2010), pp.229
70
Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International, issue 376, pp.104
71
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.73
72
73
Wang (2010), pp.322
74
26
CATV system. The boom of illegal cable TV operators across Taiwan in early
1980s had seen the Fourth Station became very popular among Taiwanese. For
example, some ice and fruit shops (binguoshi ) tried to attract customers
by screening Japanese wrestling matches through the Fourth Station.75 The fierce
competition between operators then helped to spread the Fourth Station into
general households, as the operators competed with each other by not only price,
but also genres of program. Along with movies from Hong Kong and Hollywood,
the TV programs from Japan that had been banned on air such as dramas, variety
shows, animations, and music shows were the most popular programs in the
Fourth Stations. As the government was evidently unable to control the
widespread illegal operations, some operators began to screen Japanese
pornography in order to attract more subscribers. It generated a huge sensation
in Taiwan,76 as Taiwanese could now do the unthinkable in the past in watching
hardcore adult video from Japan, an combination of two strictly prohibited
elements under the KMT regime. Cheng (2000) regards the boom of Japanese
adult video on the Fourth Channel as an unsophisticated response from local
Taiwanese to the unhealthy nature of strictly state-controlled broadcasting
sector, challenging the frame of KMTs authority.77
While Huang (2010) suggests the clash of values between two very
different regimes had seen many positive Japanese values, such as being
punctual, serious and responsible, was slowing disappearing from the postwar
Taiwanese society,78 it could be argued that the Japanese influence never
retreated from the island with the colonial rulers. Considering the strict
measures employed by the KMT regime to make a clean sweep of Japanese
culture in Taiwan and the corresponding counter moves made by the Taiwanese,
it is safe to assume that the KMT rulers were unsuccessful in removing the
poison from a society where seeds of Japanese culture and desires had been
firmly planted since the colonial era. The de-Japanization, as Wong and Yau
(2010a) remark, thus could not stop their (Taiwaneses) interest in Japanese
75
Scanning Taiwan Volume 3, p.24
76
77
Huang (2001) vol. 3, pp.24
78
Wang (2010), pp.319
27
media products; at best it forced the locals to consume it secretly.
Lee Teng-huis Regime and the Lift of Ban: 1988 Onward
When Lee Teng-hui assumed the office and became the president of
Republic of China in 1988, Taiwan was on the brink of a massive reform. The
martial law had just been lifted in the previous year, and the call for political
reform led by the newly found Democratic Progressive was getting louder in the
society. Succeeding the presidency after the sudden death of the then-president
Chiang Ching-Kuo, Lee announced a series of political reforms aimed at shifting
the power from the mainlanders to local Taiwanese.79
Lees cultural policy, highlighted by lifting the ban on Japanese language

and cultural products in early 1990s, was also an integral part of his vision in
nation building. Wong and Yau (2010a) suggest that in order to separate Taiwan
from the Mainland China and confirm its status as an independent nation-state,
Lee intended to stress the heavy Japanese-ness that could be found in the
Taiwanese culture to support his claim that the cultural origins of China and
Taiwan are indeed different, thus it is legitimate to consider Taiwan as a
separated state. Reviewing Lees cultural policies, Wong and Yau conclude that
the lift of ban was a part of Lees plot to (re-) Japanize Taiwanese culture(and)
by doing so, Lee could cut the genealogical tie to China through establishing a
cultural connection to Japan80
Indeed even before the official lift of ban, Japanese cultural products had
been widely consumed by Taiwanese by different channels. Pirated and localized
Japanese comics had been the most popular genre of comics among Taiwanese
young generations since 1960s. Japanese TV programs were dominating the
Fourth Stations daily schedule and the authority was helpless, and sometimes
indifferent, in stopping the illegal viewing. A big hit of Japanese adult video had
arisen after the pornographic content was added to the Fourth Station, showing
79
Xue (2010), pp.278
80
28
the ban was essentially non-existent in practice. Video games from Japan, both
genuine and pirated, were also imported by businessmen and, as the next
chapter will show, openly on sale without any kind of intervention from the
government. Indeed It is an open secret that many of these Japanese cultural
products could be bought at Wannian Building (), a five-story shopping
complex, in Hsimenting.
Considering how the local Taiwanese had already been routinely

consuming Japanese cultural products during the ban time, one should not be too
surprised to see the Japanese imports flourished in Taiwan once the ban was
lifted.. Japanese TV dramas were constantly showing on both air-channels and
the Fourth Stations, as the high rating received by Japanese TV dramas brought a
considerable and stable stream of income to the TV stations. 81 Sparked by the
big hit of Japanese trendy TV dramas, the hari boom spread all over Taiwan in
late 1990s: News of Japanese entertainment industry and idols could be read on
the newspapers regular section on Japanese entertainment; localized fashions
magazines provided guides of Japanese style make-up; Japanese variety shows
and animations could be watched from not only the Japanese-only channels of
cable televisions, but also from other regular local channels; countless websites,
online discussion groups and chat rooms were established to publish and
exchange the news and views on Japanese popular cultures.82 The new Cable
Radio and Television Law passed in 1993 did not only legalized the business of
the Fourth Station, but also legalized the broadcast of Japanese adult videos.
Wong and Yau (2010a) examine how the new law encouraged the consumption
of Japanese adult videos by allowing the pornographic products to enter the
households legally.83
The impact of Lees cultural policy could be also reflected by how

Hsimenting became the base of hari culture in Taiwan. The large influx of
Japanese of cultural products following the lift of ban in early 1990s has seen the
opening of shops selling the Japanese goods. Radiated from the Wannian
81
Lee (2003), pp.50
82
Lee and Ho (2003), pp.16
83
29
Building, countless number of shops selling Japanese goods could be found all
over Hsimenting, turning the area into a major shopping and entertaining area
for Taiwanese youth, who tended to consider the Japanese popular culture as
cool and trendy, thus Hsimenting have since become a Hari City for the Harizu
( Group of people who craze for Japan).84 Continuing their observation on
the area and relating the areas development to the governing regimes cultural
polices, Wong and Yau quickly affirmed the revival of Hsimenting in 1990s was
largely shaped by Lees attempt in re-Japanizing Taiwan. Concluding the change
of Hsimenting under different regimes contrasting cultural policies in the past
century, Wong and Yau consider the changes was best to illustrate the struggles
of the respective states to convey their legitimacy over the new territory through
a specific treatment of Japanese culture in Hsimenting. All these regimes, as this
chapter has shown, strived to showcase their legitimacy over the newly
acquired Taiwan. 85
Conclusion
This chapter is an attempt to provide a brief but pinpoint background of

how Japanese language and cultures have been introduced to, swept from, and
revived in Taiwanese society under the rule of different regimes in the past
century. Since Japanese colonial rulers took over the island in 1895, the local
society was constantly absorbing elements of Japanese cultures through different
stages of douka movements and the later Kouminka movement. Yet ironically it
was until KMTs came to power in 1945 that the local inhabitants have really
started to truly embrace the Japanese cultures the way that the colonial rulers
strived hard to achieve. Considering Japanese cultures as a poison to the society
and a threat to its rule, the KMT government determined to make a clean sweep
of Japanese language and cultures, generating resentment and resistances from
the local Taiwanese in the process. To the local Taiwanese, one of the ways to
resist against the ban was to consume the cultures secretly, and the fact that
many Japanese cultural products were routinely consumed in Taiwan during the
84
Chi (2003), pp.80-82
85
30
ban years shows the seeds of Japanese cultures had been planted in the society.
Therefore when Lee, acting upon a political agenda, lifted the ban on Japanese
cultural products in early 1993s, no one should be surprised to see the boom of
Japanese cultures in the Taiwanese society. In the next chapter, the focus will be
shifted to video console games, one of the most popular Japanese cultural
products in Taiwan, and examined how the products being re-territorized to
Taiwan since 1980s.
31
Chapter 3
The History of Japanese console Video Game Industry and its

Re-territorialization into Taiwan Market
Introduction
In the last chapter I have given an account of how Japanese cultures matter
in Taiwanese society under different regime. In this chapter the focus will be
shifted to video game, one of the Japanese popular cultures benefited from the
lift of ban on Japanese cultures in Taiwan. The chapter will begin with an
overview of the history of Japanese console video game industry, tracing how the
Japanese companies have dominated the worldwide market for thirty years. The
second part of this chapter will narrow the scope on the market of Taiwan, who
began the re-territorialization of Japanese video games largely by illegal means.
Then I will try to locate different agents involved in localizing Japanese video
game products and Taiwan, examining the ever-changing measures taken by the
agents in the process.
Classification of Japanese Video Games
The Japanese video games can be classified into four major categories,
namely Arcade Games, Computer Games, Consumer Games, and Mobile Games.
Arcade Games refer to video games that can be played on coin-operated

machine, which is also known as video game arcade cabinet because of its size
and appearance. These arcade game machines, usually come with a big screen
and a broad control panel, can be often seen in indoor structures for entrainment
purpose, such as amusement centers, bars, and department stores. Since the
coin-operated nature of arcade game tends to make players more hesitated in
trying new games, the video games designed for arcade purpose are usually
games with gentler learning curve, which aims at allowing players to master and
32
get addicted to the games in a short time. In recent year, in order to distinguish
arcade games from ever improving visual quality of consumer games that now
can be played on big flat screen TV at home, the arcade game producers tend to
implement motion-sensing play into the machines, and the size of the machines
are getting bigger to a point that it is no longer appropriate to call them cabinets.
Computer Games can only be run on certain operation systems of personal

computers. In order to play computer game, user is often required to install the
game software into the hard disk of their computer, before running the game
through operation system. While the installation itself usually require certain
computer knowledge from the user, unforeseeable events such as crashes
between the hardware and the software could occur due to the huge variation of
users computers. The widespread usage of high-speed Internet in recent years,
on the other hand, has helped the rise of popularity of personal computer-based
online games. While its popularity is still limited in Japan, it has gained huge
popularity in many Asian markets such as Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China.
Mobile Games mean games designed for mobile devices. Mobile phones
had been the sole mobile device for mobile games until the emergence of
personal multimedia devices such as tablet computers in recent years. In Japan,
mobile games had been mostly developed by game companies and distributed by
network service providers, as users could download mobile games directly to
their phones through wireless carriers. The recent emergence and growing
dominance of new mobile devices operation systems in Apples IOS and Googles
Android have changed the business model of mobile games, as mobile games are
now available for download in the app stores of the operation systems.
Consumer Games refer to video games that can only be played on specific
hardware that is designed mainly for gaming. Player has to purchase both the
game machine and corresponding game software to be able to play the video
game at his choice of place and time. Consumer Game machine can also be
divided into two sub-categories: Home Console and Handheld Console. The
former comes without a screen and cannot be played without connecting to a
33
display screen such as home TV; the later is much smaller in size but comes with
a built-in screen that offers players greater flexibility and mobility by carrying
the game machine with them, yet its longevity is also limited by battery life.
When compared to other types of video game, consumer game has its advantage
over arcade game in availability for purchase and permanent ownership, which
allows greater flexibility to users; while video game playing is one of the many
functions that can be used on cell phones and PCs, home console and handheld
console are specifically designed for video games. It should be noted that,
however, many video games are now available on more than one aforementioned
platform simultaneously without obvious distinctions between them. Although
the multi-functional nature of the latest consumer game consoles and mobile
multimedia devices is blurring the boundary between two groups of devices,
producers and consumers in general have consensus in distinguishing their
intended market and function. The following history of Japanese video industry
will be focused on the consumer game, including both the home consoles and
handheld consoles.
History of Japanese Console Video Game Industry
1940-1960s: The Birth of Video Game
Video game historians have been divided over the first ever video game in
the world. It can be traced back to as early as 1947 when Alan Turning, a British
mathematician, wrote the first ever computer Chess program. 86 The next decade
and half had seen a large variety of computer programs that could be interacted
with human users through processing pre-stored commands, ranging from a
computerized version of Tic-Tac-Toe in Noughts and Crosses (1952), Tennis for
Two (1958), and Mouse in the Maze (1961). In 1961, three MIT students invented
Spacewar!, a shooting game competed by two human players, has been widely
viewed as the first influential computer game due to its novelty and availability
on user-friendly computers.87 In 1971, Galaxy Games, a new game largely based
86 Donovan (2010), pp.4

87 Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Tosca (2008), pp.50-51
34
on Spacewar!, was invented by a Stanford University student available to play on
a coin-operated machine, which was the first ever arcade video game in the
world.88
1970s: The birth of first TV game( ) in Japan
Well before Galaxy Games and other arcade video games were put into bars
and amusement facilities in America in 1971, Ralph Baer, a television engineer,
had been already exploring the potential business possibilities of video games
since 1966. Baers plan was to utilize the eighty millions sets of television that
had been set in the America families and to connect them with separated video
game machine. The major television manufacturers had initially opposed his plan
until August 1972 when Baer reached an agreement with Magnavox and put
Odyssey, the first ever home console video game machine, on market.89 Odyssey
users could use its designated controllers to interact with the basic movement of
light points and lines shown on TV screen without any sound effect. Ping-Pong,
one of the more popular games of Odyssey, had inspired an engineer of Atari,
which would become the leader of video game industry later in the decade, to
adapt it into an arcade game called Pong. Pong was an instant big hit not only in
America but also all over the world. In 1973 when a Japanese company Taito
introduced the Pong to Japanese market, it was first arcade video game in Japan,
joining other coin-operated arcade machines in amusement centers and
department stores.90
The Odyssey made its official debut in Japan in 1974. It was distributed by
Nintendo, which had been a playing card and electronic toys company in Japan
since 1889. Similar to other markets across the globe, the sales number of the
Odyssey was considered as a failure in Japan and Magnavox called a halt to the
production line in 1974. In the next year Epoch, a Japanese toy company, released
the countrys first ever home console video game system. The console, named TV
88 Donovan (2010), pp.15-20

89 Understanding Video games, pp.52
90 Donovan (2010), pp.26
35
Tennis (), was designed with the aid from Magnavox, and looked
almost identical with the Odyssey on screen.91 Unfortunately TV Tennis had also
inherited the weaknesses of its American counterpart: It could only run the pre-
installed tennis game at a relatively steep price (19,500 Yen). 92
When Nintendo made its attempt to release its own home console in 1977,
the Japanese video game market in general was on the rise. More and more
arcade video games were seen in Amusement centers and department stores
since 1975 when Taito released Speed Race, the first ever arcade video game
solely developed by a Japanese company. On the other hand, the home console
version of Pong had not only flourished in American market since its debut in
1975, but also in other markets as clones of Pong could be found in all over the
world. In 1977 Japan saw a succession of Pong-based home consoles released on
the market by different companies, highlighted by Bandai, Epoch, Hitachi, and
Nintendo. 93 Between 1977 and 1980 Nintendo had released six versions of Color
TV, a Pong-based home console, and had recorded over three millions sets in
sales.94 It did not only give Nintendo a considerable profit, but also encouraged
the company to venture deeper into the video game market in the future.
Just when the Japanese companies were catching up in technologies, Atari

released an innovative new home console in 1977. The console, called Video
Computer System (VCS), allowed users to change games by inserting different
cartridges of games that sold separately. Instead of limiting the users to play the
pre-installed games that came with the home consoles, users now could play
virtually unlimited number of games without replacing the console. To Atari,
selling a game cartridge for $30 at the cost of a few dollars represented an even
bigger business opportunity.95 Although the sales number was average at best
due to Ataris production line failed to meet the serious demand in holiday
season in 1977, the sales number had been climbing up and reached its peak in
91 Oyama (2010b), pp.38

92 It could also play a few other pre-installed games, which were mostly based on the same tennis
game with a few variations. It cost 19,500 Japanese Yen at retails.
93 Donovan (2010), pp.154
94 Sheff (1999), pp. 27
95 Donovan (2010), pp.66
36
1982. The rocketed sales number showed that this feature had appealed to the
consumers well. The success of VCS did not only bring video games further into
the doorstep of households, but had also laid a solid model for Japanese
companies to follow, as the next decade had seen Nintendo surpassing its
American counterpart and evolving into a dominant power in video game
industry.
1980s: Nintendos Rise to Power
Entering 1980s, the video game market reached its first peak, largely
thanks to two Japanese titles that brought many people around the world into a
craze for video games and further confirmed video games status of an
entertainment industry that could rival movie and popular music one day. In
1978, Taito, the Japanese pioneer of arcade game development, released a
shooting game called Space Invader. Benefitted from the improved computer
chips, which greatly enhanced the visuals, the human-versus-alien title became
an instant hit in Japan. The coin-operated game did not only cause a shortage of
100 yen coin in Japan and prevented people from buying subway tickets and
using phone booths, it also helped to bring arcade video games into other places
such as bowling alleys, Parchinko parlors and even grocery stores, further
introducing video games to the Japanese public.96 It had a similar impact in
America, where machines of Space Invader were all over the shopping malls,
convenient stores and cafes.97 The coin-operated business in U.S. had been
tripled to 1,333 million in 1979 from the previous year, with the Japanese title
was believed to be accounted for a large portion of the gain.98
When Pac-Man was released in May 1980 in Japan and in October the same
year in U.S, it was unlike any other arcade games on the market, which had been
dominated by Space Invaders and its clones. For the very first time, players could
control an identifiable character, the Pac-Man, to escape from its enemies in a
maze. Adding the cartoonish character design and colorful screen thanks to
96 Donovan (2010) pp.76-77
97 Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Tosca (2008), pp.55
98 Donovan (2010), pp.77
37
improving technology, the game immediately caught the attention of not only the
existing gamers, but also non-gamers including a large number of female players.
The game recorded a remarkable success for Namco, the game developer who
used to be a branch of Atari in Japan before. The game was truly heating up when
it made its debut in U.S. a few months later. Besides the fact that the machines
were selling extremely well for over 300,000 sets, Pac-Man the character had
become a popular icon which saw a lot of related merchandises, from T-shirts to
towels to mugs, flooding into American retails.99 When Space Invader and Pac-
Man were adapted for Atari VCS in 1980 and 1982 respectively, it helped to boost
the sales number of the home console to its peak. More than twelve millions
copies of the Pac-Man cartridge, for example, were sold worldwide.100 With its
closest rivals in home consoles markets was trialing by over twenty millions in
machines sold, Atari could now concentrate in development of new games.
The utter success of Space Invader and Pac-Man on VCS, however, had also
hidden a tail of Ataris later abrupt collapse. Since the home consoles debut in
the market, all VCS games had been solely developed by Atari itself, as a result
the quality of each game had been assured in certain extent. Yet the sales success
of the console and games had led to a belief that developing VCS games would be
a hugely profitable business to other companies. What made it even worse for
Atari was the company had never thought a third-party company would develop
a game for VCS, thus they had done nothing to prevent it from happening in both
technological and legal senses. Low-quality VCS games by third-party companies
were flooding in the market, and Atari could do nothing to restore the confidence
of consumers who had been repeatedly disappointed by the quality of video
games, especially in an era that information of games could not be obtained
easily before purchase. Consumers had stopped buying new games and it was
best exemplified by millions of unsold game cartridges of E.T. was buried under
the desert of Texas in 1983 because the demand had been hugely overestimated
in the previous holiday season. From 1982 to 1984 Atari took an unprecedented
hit in sales number, dropping to one-thirtieth of its peak in 1982. The rapid
99 Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Tosca (2008), pp.61-63

100 Donovan (2010), pp.89
38
downfall of Atari, known as Atari Shock, had dragged the video game industry
to a new low point as sales number across the markets had been dropping until
the middle of the decade.101
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Nintendo had been quietly becoming
a major player in domestic market in early 1980s. First came the handheld game
console, the Game & Watch, in 1980s. The wallet-sized handheld console, came
with a monochromatic LCD screen and buttons on the surface, had become an
instant hit since the release of its first title Ball in 1980. The handheld would go
on to sell over more than 30 millions units of 12 game titles it released in the
1980s.102 The year after the release of Ball, Nintendo released a highly popular
arcade game named Donkey Kong, which did not only confirmed Nintendos
status as an elite game developer in Japan, but also marked a successful launch of
career for Shigeru Miyamoto, who would later become a indispensable
cornerstone of Nintendos success in the decades followed.
The success of Game & Watch and Donkey Kong had given Nintendo
confidence to carry out the next step of its plan: releasing a cartridge-based
home console. The initial success of Atari VCS in early 1980s had attracted
several Japanese companies, such as Bandai and Epoch, to try their luck in
cartridge-based home console market, only to find them failed. One of the major
reasons of their failures was the price, as the consoles were selling for over 50,
000 Yen. Less than a double of this price the consumers could indeed buy
themselves a NEC or Fujitsus home computer system, which provided a lot more
variety in usages and software. Nintendo determined not to repeat the fate of the
existing cartridge-based home console producers, and its solutions were: 1)
offering high visual quality and 2) selling at lowest possible price.103 When
Nintendo released its first cartridge-based home console, Family Computer, or
known as Famicom in Japan, in 1983, the solutions above had been clearly
reflected on the opening day. By impressively adapting the popular arcade game
Donkey Kong into Famicom as one of the three opening titles, Nintendo showed
101 Tachibana (2010), pp.8

102 Donovan (2010), p.155
103 Oyama (2010b) pp.39-41
39
that the console was capable of re-producing the same visual quality and
smoothness in control of arcade machines. Yet more importantly, Nintendo was
selling the machine at a stunning low price of 14,900 Yen, which is about one
third of the price of its major competitors. Nintendo told the retails in a pre-sale
briefing that the company considered the machine was no more than a tool to
sell software, as enormous potential profit of selling game cartridges had been
expected.104
The sales number of Famicom was indeed average in its first two years, as
consumers confidence in cartridge-based home console had yet to recover in the
aftermath of Atari Shock. In order to restore consumers confidence, and more
importantly, to ensure Nintendos profit level, a new software production system
had been implemented by Famicom by Nintendo. To prevent low quality games
to flood the market again, third-party game developers were only allowed to
develop games for Famicom after getting permission from Nintendo. Advanced
payment was required for every to-be-developed Famicom game, while Nintendo
had the final say of putting it on shelf or not after completion of development.
Nintendo also monopolized the production of the game cartridges. Besides
charging a royalty for every cartridge produced, the company also had the right
to decide the number of cartridge to be produced. Nintendo also had a cut for
every sold copy. Even the developers were willing to pay for producing more
stocks after the game was sold out, it was Nintendos decision to decide when
and how many to produce. Although the system was harsh to third-party
developers, it had indeed successfully maintained the quality of Famicom games
at a high level and had restored the consumers confidence. By 1985 over eight
millions sets of Famicom had been sold in Japan, the craze for the machine had
also helped many game developers to recorded huge profit, in some cases a game
could sell a million more copies on Famicom than the home computer platforms.
The success on domestic market had made Nintendo even more confident
in oversea markets. Renamed as Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the
console was on put on shelf in American retails in 1985. The sales number of the
104 Donovan (2010), pp.158
40
console was just average in Christmas 1985, as U.S. market and consumers had
yet to recover from what they had just witnessed in Atari Shock. The situation
had changed since the release of the game Super Mario Bros, which marked the
return of Mario, the princess-saving hero in Nintendos popular arcade title
Donkey Kong. Super Mario Bros highlighted the birth of a new game genre,
platform game, in which the game world is not confined to the size of TV screen
as the previous video games were. Instead players could explore the seemingly
unlimited game world with their jumping and running characters. The game
itself was an instant hit across the world, and it greatly boosted the sales of NES
in the America market.105 Gathering momentum, Nintendo further confirmed its
status of undisputed leader in home console market by releasing other big hit
titles of different genres in The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Castlevania. By 1987
NES has become the number one selling toy in America, as the Fortune Magazine
claimed the console had singlehandedly revived the game business.106 Overall
Nintendo had sold over 60 millions of Famicom/NES and other localized versions
of the machine across the world until finally closing the last production line in
Japan in 2003.107
The success of Famicom also marked the shift of platform for different
genres of games and helped Role-playing game (RPG) becoming a popular genre
among Japanese players. Before mid-1980s, RPGs was basically an unknown for
most of the Japanese players who did not understand the genre originated from
the pen, paper and dice games that had been popular in the West for many years.
To Japanese players, RPGs represented difficult games suited only for hardcore
home computer players gathered in Akihabara, the major electronic district in
Japan.108 The glaring absence of the genre in Japanese market had caught the
attention of an American designer called Henk Rogers, whose company then
launched a straightforward dungeon exploration game, a typical RPG, in The
Black Onyx in 1983. After an initial setback, the game recorded an unexpected
success in sales number and, more importantly, had introduced the genre to
105 Donovan (2010), pp.169

106 Donovan (2010), pp.170
108 Oyama (2010b), pp.51
41
many Japanese games media and consumers.109 Noticing the genres potential in
generating enormous revenue in Japanese market, Japanese games publishers
had started to develop their own RPGs with elements that would suit for
domestic players in mind. In 1986, Japanese publisher Enix launched legendary
RPG series Dragon Quest, marking the beginning of Japanese RPG (JRPG). When
compared to its western counterparts of RPG, Dragon Quest was user-friendlier
in many aspects, further removing the hardcore image of western RPGs that was
still scaring off some Japanese gamers.110 Aided by Famicoms dominance in the
home console market, Dragon Quest was an instant hit and the platform had
since seen many more RPG titles recording huge success and becoming
household names in Japan, such as The Legend of Zelda by Nintendo itself, and
Final Fantasy by Square.
On the other hand, the strict censorship system implemented by Nintendo

on Famicom had seen the shift of the genre bishoujo () game to the
platform of home computer. Bishoujo game, literally refers to games of beautiful
young girls, was originated from a sex guide called Night Life released by Koei on
NEC computers in 1982. The commercial success of Night Life had led game
developers to explore the business potential of combining interactive visuals in
video games with narratives related to young girls, which had been a popular
genre in Japanese comics.111 Since then the Japanese video game industry had
created a unique new genre, as Bishoujo games were gaining popularity in the
market could be seen on different platforms including home computers and
home consoles. Yet the huge success of Famicom did not only establish
Nintendos dominance in the home console market, but also expelled the genre of
Bishoujo from the home console market as the erotic content that often
associated with the genre would not be allowed under Nintendos censorship. As
a result Bishoujo games have been mainly released on home computer platform.
Although the genre had appeared in home console market again when other
home consoles with less restriction gained popularity, Bishoujo games are still
109 Donovan (2010), pp.159-160

110 Oyama (2010b), pp.51-52
111 Donovan (2010), pp.155-158
42
heavily-associated with platform of computer in Japanese video game market
today.
To further consolidate its dominance in video game industry, Nintendo

released Gameboy, a cartridge-based handheld console, in the hope of combining
the success of Game & Watch and Famicom in 1989. Instead of being limited to
one solitary game pre-installed in the Game & Watch machines, Gameboy players
could now play different games on the monochromatic handheld in a similar way
to Famicom. Players could also use a designated cable to connect two units and
play linkup in some games. Indeed cartridge-based handheld console was not a
new invention as other companies had released such devices before, such as
Game Pocket Computer by Epoch in 1985. Yet it was Gameboys powerful lineup
of games inherited from Famicom that really attracted consumers to have a
handheld that could play popular titles such as Super Mario anywhere and
anytime they want. The attractive titles, coupled with competitive price and
endurance in battery life, had made Gameboys competitors with higher visual
quality, such as Segas Game Gear, failed to threaten the Gameboys dominance in
the market. In the next decade Nintendo released several new models for the
Gameboys family, including Color Gameboy with color screen and Gameboy
Advance with better processing power. It is estimated that Nintendo have sold
more than 100 millions units of Gameboy family all over the world,112 marking its
absolute domination in handheld market until mid-2000s.
1990s: The Rise of Sega and Sony
Carrying the momentum generated by the success of Famicom, Nintendo

released a new home console in Super Famicom in 1990. During the peak years
of Famicoms domination in late 1980s, two Nintendos competitors, Sega and
NEC, tried to compete with home console equipped with 16-bit processing
power, which was significantly more powerful than Famicoms 8-bit CPU. PC
Engine, the NECs console, was particular revolutionary that it was the first video
112A
Brief History of Game Console Warfare (Online)
(URL: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/7.htm)
43
game console equipped with a CD-ROM drive, which had since become a
standard device for the coming generations of video game consoles. Another
characteristic of PC Engine was its adaption of many Bishoujo games from the
computer platform. Despite the sales number of PC Engine could not threaten the
dominance of Famicom, the home console is still remembered by long-time
gamers for the often erotic game genre on the platform.113 Sega, on the other
hand, did not have a smooth start for their new console Mega Drive. Having
hoped that the adaption of its popular arcade game titles such as Golden Axe
would help to challenge Famicoms dominance, Sega was embarrassed by the
sales number that they could not even outsell NECs PC Engine. Recognizing the
need of creating a mascot character that could represent the company similar to
what Mario had done for Nintendo, Sega came with Sonic, a cartoonish hedgehog
featured in that platform game Sonic: the hedgehog in 1990. The reception of the
game and the hedgehog was way better than expected, particularly in U.S., where
the Mega Drive had eventually outsold Nintendos Super NES.114
Facing competition from NEC and Sega, Nintendo released its own 16-bit
home console in Super Famicom in 1990. Besides improved visuals resulted from
better processing power, the new console also distinguished itself from Famicom
with a new controller, which featured six buttons of A, B, X, Y, R and L, instead of
only A and B on the old one. The increased number of buttons did not only open
up possibilities in game design and genres, but also marked the beginning of an
era that had seen video games control become more complicated. The added
buttons were particular important for full adaption of popular titles from arcade
games, such as Capcoms popular fighting game Street Fighter 2, which required
six buttons. It scontinued its worldwide popularity when adapted into Super
Famicom in 1992. Coupled with a very strong lineup of franchises inherited from
Famicom such Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, Nintendo was able to
maintain its status of leader in home console market. Despite unable to match
the overwhelming result made by Famicom, Super Famicom still recorded an
impressive sales number of more than 47 millions and marked the second
113 Oyama (2010b), pp.41

114 Donovan (2010), pp.159
44
generation of Nintendos golden years.115
Nintendo faced the stiffest challenge it had seen since 1983 when both Sony
and Sega released new home consoles with 32-bit CPU in 1994. Sony, a giant in
electronic devices production, had wanted to step into the video game industry
since mid-1980s. The company had indeed co-developed a new version of Super
Famicom equipped with CD-ROM, tentatively titled Super Famicom PlayStation,
before breaking up the partnership in the last minute due to dispute over
licenses of games.116 Sony then continued to develop a home console of its own
based on the framework and experience derived from their previous alliance
with Nintendo. In December 1994, Sony PlayStation, a 32-bit home console
highlighted by 3D graphic and CR-ROM drive, was launched in Japan. When the
configuration details was released in the previous year, the video game industry
and gamers were skeptical about the combination of 3D graphic and video game
as Panasonics 3D-based home console of 3DO had just recorded a failure, partly
because its expensive price tag.117 Ironically it was Sonys competitor Sega who
gave a helping hand by releasing a fighting game Virtual Fighter, in which all
characters were made by millions of polygons and showed the possibility of 3D
gaming that raised many gamers eyebrows. As a result both new 32-bit home
console of Segas Saturn and Sonys PlayStation recorded impressive sales
number when they launched almost at the same time in Japan in end of 1994, yet
Sony PlayStation had eventually beaten its rival worldwide thanks to its
comprehensive big-dollar marketing campaign.
There are two major factors that should be accounted for PlayStations
success. Firstly the usage of CD-ROM instead of cartridge did not only increase
the volume of the software media, but had also greatly reduced the production
cost of each video game sold to consumer, who thus could buy a PlayStation game
at about 5,800 yen, or half of what a Super Famicom cartridge would cost.
Secondly, Sony abandoned Nintendos one-sided game publishing system, which
had been favoring Nintendo at the expense of third-party companies interest.
115 Mizoue (2008), pp.127

116 Asakura (1998), pp.35 - 80
117 Donovan (2010), pp.266
45
Third-party developers were now allowed to decide the quantity of copy to be
produced with a much lesser royalty paid to Sony. As a result more and more
third-party developers, including the very small ones, were willing to develop
games for PlayStation, whose lineup of games had been strengthening over the
years.118 In 1996 when Square announced that Final Fantasy, the long-running
mega RPG franchise that had been exclusively on Nintendos platform since its
launch, would have its latest episode released on the PlayStation platform, it
marked the change of era that Sony had risen to the top of home console market.
Nintendo actually had been aware of the potential of 3D graphics and the
technological gap between Super Famicom and the next-generation consoles
made by Sony and Sega. Since ending the alliance with Sony, Nintendo had turned
to Toshiba to co-develop the successor of Super Famicom. Recognizing 3D
gaming would be the direction of video game in the future, Nintendo vowed to
make a 64-bit console where all games would be ran in 3D. The ambitious project
proved to be a difficult one, as the release date of the console had been delayed
for several times due to technological issues and Miyamotos insistence in
perfecting the launching titles.119 When the new console, named as Nintendo 64
(N64), was finally on shelf in 1996, Sony PlayStation had already been well ahead
in market share that Nintendo found impossible to catch. While the quality of
most N64 games were as good as advertised, the difficulty of making a full 3D
game had discouraged many developers from making risky investment and huge
effort in developing a N64 game. Although N64 was highlighted by Nintendos
popular franchises in Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time,
the console did not offer many titles from third-party companies. Gamers had
made their choices and the shift of power was confirmed, and the race was not
even close. N64 had recorded a sales number of 30 millions, a respectable figure
until comparing with the 100 millions sets of PlayStation sold by Sony. The
chairman of Nintendo chairman even conceded the company had lost its edge to
Sony within one year of N64s launch.120
118 Asakura (1998),pp.123188

119 Donovan (2010), pp.278
120 Donovan (2010), pp.279
46
2000s and Beyond: The Return of Nintendo
Entering 2000s, Sony PlayStation was the unquestioned leader in the home
console market. Answering the challenge from Sega who had released a new
console in Dreamcast in 1998, Sony also developed the successor of PlayStation,
the PlayStation 2, and launched it in 2000. Equipped with more advanced
hardware to further enhance visual performance, PlayStation 2 was highlighted
for its usage of DVD-ROM as media of storage. It was a breakthrough at that time
when DVD was still at its infant stage that most households, even in more
advanced countries of Japan and U.S., did not have a DVD player at home. Sony
did not only market PlayStation 2 as a video game console, but also a low-priced
DVD player: the opening price of PS2 was even cheaper than most standalone
DVD players on the market at that time. Combining the anticipation as a DVD
player and a solid fan base inherited from the predecessor, PlayStation 2
recorded impressive number in initial sale, selling over 1 million units within the
first week. Despite the sales failed to keep up in the following months due to its
mediocre lineup of games, PlayStation 2 picked up the pace in the next year with
the arrival of several long anticipated titles. The major competitors in home
console market, such as Segas Dreamcast and Nintendos GameCube, were
unable to compete with the Sonys console, and Sega even quitted making home
console for good in 2001. PlayStation 2 would go on to become the best-selling
video game console in history, recording over 160 millions of units sold
worldwide. 121
Another noticeable change that could be found in the PlayStation 2 was the
design of its controller. Besides splitting the buttons of L and R into four buttons
of L1, L2, R1, and R2, two analog sticks similar to the joystick that could be found
on most arcade game cabinet, had been added. Once again the added buttons and
sticks had allowed greater flexibility in game design for developers and greater
preciousness in control for players. In fact many PlayStation games from 1990s
47
had started to require players to perform more precious and timely control.
Playing Mario Brothers on Famicom in 1983 with two buttons of jumping and
running, and playing Metal Gear Solid, a popular action-adventure stealth game,
on PlayStation in 1998 with all kinds of shooting, jumping, rolling and couching,
are two very different gaming experiences.
Besides complex control, the changing game content was another reason
that made video gaming further away the Famicoms era of easy-to-learn gaming
experience. Aided by ever improving processing power equipped to home
consoles, game developers could now try to produce different genres of games
and were not restricted to cartoonish presentation style due to hardware
limitation. From the aforementioned action games Metal Gear Sold and Street
Fighter, to horror games Resident Evil and Dino Crisis, Japanese games were not
limited in cartoonish style, instead the presentation of many games tended
toward real-life-like style which had been traditionally associated with games
from the west. The association between video games and toys that could be
traced from 1980s had been blurring, instead it was becoming an entertainment
for adults.122 From mid-2000s the sales number of both hardware and software
in Japanese video game market had been decreasing, showing the number of
video game player might be decreasing. Tachibana (2010) calls this phenomenon
as Separation from game, which was resulted from the increasing difficulty of
game control and complicated game content. As options of other entertainments
had been increasing rapidly, people had been less willing to spend time on
complex video games. 123
Losing a large portion of market share to Sony in home console, Nintendos

Gameboy series had remained the unquestioned leader in the handheld console
market. When the news of Sony was developing a handheld console of its own
broke out, Nintendo knew it was time to launch a brand new series to continue
its dominance in the handheld market. When Nintendo launched its latest
handheld, the Nintendo DS (NDS), it was a console that no one had seen before. It
122 Donovan (2010), pp.274

123 Tachibana (2010), pp.26-27
48
came with two screens; one screen assembled with the lid of the console, with
another screen below that could detect touching movement. While the double-
screen design of NDS had enlarged the viewable area for players, the touchscreen
had greatly expanded the possibility of game design for developers. In most NDS
games players were encouraged to utilize the designated stylus pen to control
the game action through its touchscreen, making it easy to learn and control even
for non-gamers. The user-friendly interface and control method, coupled with its
revolutionary style of gameplay, had made NDS an instant hit when it was
launched in 2004. By March 2013 over 153 millions units of NDS had been sold
worldwide, a number that was even more impressive than PlayStation 2s record
of 160 millions given its shorter span after launch. A new version of the
handheld, named Nintendo 3DS (N3DS), was released in 2011. Besides the new
feature of presenting three-dimensional visual without the use of glasses, N3DS
was widely viewed as a mere upgraded version of NDS, and had been
disappointing in sales number until a significantly price cut only six months after
the launch.
Many of the NDS players had not been regular gamers of any kind before,124
representing a business opportunity of a group of potential video game
consumers.125 Nintendo tried to capitalize this opportunity by launching another
innovative home console, the Wii, in 2006. Similar to NDS, Wii introduced a
brand new control method in motion-sensing control. Instead of using traditional
controllers with buttons, Wii players controlled the game action by swinging a
wireless controller and a sensor would detect the movement, which would then
be implemented into the game accordingly. The motion-sensing control did not
only give players a new gaming experience, but also helped Wii to establish an
image of a healthy console that encourage more exercise.126 Wii was a big hit
worldwide and had been leading the sales of home console over major rivals in
every month since its launch. By March 2013, near 100 millions units of Wii had
124 Hamamura (2007), pp.55

125 For example, brain-training games had attracted a lot of retired people in Japan to become a
NDS player.
126 Nintendo did release Wii Fit in 2008, a fitness game of yoga and exercise that came with a
motion sensing board.
49
been sold worldwide,127 marking the remarkable return of Nintendo to the home
console market. Through the success of both NDS and Wii, Nintendo had
expanded the player demographic by creating innovative gaming experience
through back-to-the-basic control, and once again had become a pioneer in the
industry.128
While Nintendo tried to attract new video game players by innovative ways
of gaming, Sony concentrated in solidifying its existing fan base through
improving visual quality in games. When Sony released its first handheld console
in PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2005, it was marketed as a powerful handheld
that could offer gaming experience comparable to PlayStation 2s. While PSP met
expectation by successfully inheriting PlayStation 2s fan base and its strong
lineup of popular franchises, its sales number could never match with NDSs.
Without innovative new features, PSP could not attract new customers as NDS
did, and could only rely on core gamers to support its sales.129 The availability of
high-speed wireless LAN on the handheld console, however, opened up
possibility of convenient and free linkup play between players, and paved way for
the success of many popular titles, including the Monster Hunter series that will
be discussed in details in the following chapters.
Sony met similar difficulty in attracting new players on the home console
front, when the companys third home console system, named PlayStation 3, was
on the market in 2006. Equipped with powerful processer and Blu-ray drive that
enabled gaming in High-Definition, 130 PlayStation 3 is the superior console by far
when compared to Nintendos Wii. Yet the sales of PlayStation 3 had been
struggling from the very beginning, trailing Wiis number by a large margin, and
could barely stay with another competitor on the market, Xbox360 developed by
American software giant Microsoft. The rocketing game development cost is
probably one of the major reasons contributed to the failure of PlayStation. The
127 Consolidated Sales Transition by Region (Online).

(URL: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/library/historical_data/pdf/consolidated_sales_e1303.pdf)
128 Mizoue (2008), pp.30-37
129Tachibana (2010), pp.164-165
130 The volume of a single regular Blu-ray disc is equivalent to five DVD disc, enabling even higher
visual quality which would require enormous space in storage.
50
development cost of a regular PlayStation 3 title has been doubled from the
PlayStation 2 era, and six times more than a PlayStation title.131 As a result
developers have been reluctant to go away from the proven formula of the
previous successful titles, making the games of PlayStation 3 even less innovative
than their Wii counterparts.
The rise of mobile games led by the widespread usage of smartphones in

recent years has casted further doubt on the future of console games in Japan.
Many traditional big-name console game developers have moved their popular
franchise to the mobile platform, which ironically is becoming an important
source of revenue to cover the deficit posted by the console game department.
Being sandwiched between trailing the western developers in technology and
failing to match mobile games in generating profit, the Japanese console game
industry is probably facing its biggest ever challenge, and expanding the oversea
markets is probably the solution for them.
The Re-territorialization of Japanese Console Video Games in Taiwan
When Nintendos handheld console Game & Watch was becoming a big hit
worldwide in early 1980s, Japanese video games were still prohibited in Taiwan.
From 1983, Taiwanese students studying in Japan had been employed to smuggle
the consoles from Japan to Taiwan, opening the chapter of Japanese console
video games in Taiwan. Encouraged by the remarkable sales number of Game &
Watch, the Taiwanese businessmen then tried to import Nintendos another
console, the Famicom. After initial setback, Famicom had become a big hit in
Taiwan following the release of Super Mario Bros. Recognizing the market
potential of Taiwan, the chairman of Nintendo Japan came to Taiwan and
appointed Zeng Ai-yu, the major importer of the smuggled Nintendos products,
to be Nintendos sole, though unofficial, distributor in Taiwan in 1985. 132 Since
then a large number of Japanese console video game products have been re-
territorialized to the Taiwan market through different agents at production, re-
131 Oyama (2010a), pp.30-34

132 Next Magazine Taiwan (306), May 4 2007, pp.22-26
51
production, circulation, and consumption. The second part of this chapter will
then try to locate and examine the roles played by these agents in localizing
Japanese console video games since 1980s.
Console Companies and Game Developers
When Japanese video games were allowed to legally import to Taiwan in

early 1990s, Taiwanese players had been playing consoles directly imported from
Japan. While there were certain inconveniences generated by playing consoles
intended for Japanese local market, such as the system interfaces and Japanese
instruction manuals, the fact that Japan and Taiwan are using identical standard
in electronic socket and voltage had saved the Taiwanese player from dealing
with the extra procedures that players in other areas might need to handle.
Therefore when Japanese consoles officially entered Taiwan in early 1990s, the
major adjustment that console companies had to do was simply providing an
instruction manual in Chinese. The situation did not change much when Sony
began to distribute its PlayStation products themselves in early 2000s, with the
setup of hardware maintenance centers was the only visible additional
localization measure employed by the companies. Since mid-2000s, however,
localization strategies at different stages of sale have been given greater
importance by the console companies. Chinese system interfaces have been pre-
installed; the region code of the built-in DVD drive and Blu-ray drive has been set
to read discs for Taiwan; packages are re-designed to specifically appeal the local
market; online store solely for Taiwanese customers has been added; Taiwanese
celebrities are invited to participate in Taiwanese promos based on original
Japanese version;133 game demonstration booths can be widely seen in not only
video game shops, but also in places that would not be considered for promoting
video games in Japan such as fashion shopping mall, department stores, and even
airports; video game contests are held, and the winner could represent Taiwan to
compete with winners from other regions; promotion events are often held in
133For example, S.H.E., Taiwans popular girls group was invited to participate in a series of
marketing campaign in very similar format to Japanese version, which were performed by Arashi,
a popular Japanese boys group.
52
conjunction with the celebration of local festivals such as Chinese New year; and
the largest booth in the annual Taipei Game Show are often held by Japanese
console companies with the presence of popular Japanese game developers.
Sony, in particular, is aggressive in communicating with the locals. Through

meeting with the representatives of distributors and retailers in Taiwan as
frequent as weekly, it is hoped that the vision and future planning of the
company could be delivered and understood by the local businessmen in video
game industry.134 As an experienced Taiwanese journalist in video game told me
in an interview, it was Sonys aggressive approach in marketing its PlayStation
series since mid-2000s that have really pushed other console companies to
multiple their effort in localizing their products in Taiwan.
Translating game content, in most cases texts, is probably the most visible
localization measure of all kind. During the heyday of Japanese console video
games in 1980s and 90s, the strong and ever growing domestic demand inside
Japan, coupled with the limited consumption power of many Asian countries, had
made the Japanese game developers tended to overlook secondary oversea
markets outside United States and Europe. Adaptation of Japanese games into
other languages had been rare, and most of the adapted games were in English
and at least a year later than the original release in Japan. The first ever game in
Chinese that could be played on Japanese consoles is The Eagle-shooting Hero
(Shediaoyingxiongzhuan ), a PlayStation title co-developed by Hong
Kong and Japanese developers. Adapted from a popular martial art novel in Hong
Kong, the Chinese and Japanese version of the game were simultaneously
available in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, recording an encouraging sales
number in Hong Kong and Taiwan where the markets were dominated by piracy.
Following the success of The Eagle-shooting Hero, a team specialized in

translating Japanese game into Chinese was formed by Sony in 2002. Based in
Japan, the team worked on several PlayStation 2 titles by outsourcing the
translation work to multiple freelancers in Taiwan and Hong Kong, before
134 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (300), August 5 2010, pp.6
53
standardizing the translated text again in Japan.135 The complicated procedures
did not only limit the quality of translation, but also made the time gap between
the release dates of Japanese and Chinese version could not be shorten. Adapted
games such as ICO and Sakura Wars were released almost two years later than
the original version.
Entering the PlayStation 3 and Wii era, as piracy were largely put under
control in Hong Kong and Taiwan by the built-mechanic of the consoles, the fast
growing sales number of genuine games in the area raised the eyebrows of
Japanese game developers,136 who were struggling with the contracting domestic
market and stiff competition from mobile games. Looking to expand the markets
in overseas, releasing localized game thus has become Japanese game
developers most direct way to gain access to the new customers. Microsofts
Xbox 360, while known for its powerful lineup of western games, once pointed
out the importance of localizing Japanese games in order to get into Taiwan
market.137 At first it was mainly family-oriented leisure games would get
adapted into Chinese, targeting the light users who are less likely to invest more
time in understanding the game content in Japanese; very soon the trend was
spread to hardcore games as well. Popular franchises such as Konamis Winning
Eleven, Polyphony Digitals Gran Turismo and Square Enixs Final Fantasy have
been adapted into Chinese version. While the time gap between different
versions of all three games above has been largely reduced, it was Final Fantasys
announcement of its thirteenth episode of the series would be adapted into
Chinese that delighted most.138 Releasing the text-heavy RPG in Chinese version
first time in the franchise history, the developers admitted the biggest reason
behind the decision was the expectation of big sales number.139 A localization
center was later established in Taipei in 2011 by Sony, responsible for a large
scale of adaption games into Chinese.140
135 ibid, pp.10

136 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (292), June 10 2010, pp.31
137 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (232), March 13 2009, pp.7
138 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (289), May 13 2010, pp.53-54
139 ibid, pp.59
140 SCET (Online).
Published by Bahamult on May 3 2013.
54
It should be noted that while console companies and game developers are
taking different measures in localizing games for Taiwanese players, Taiwan is
often considered along with Hong Kong as a combined market by video game
companies. With a combined population of more than 30 millions, Taiwan and
Hong Kong represented a potential market as large as Australia and New
Zealands, and game companies would not put equal emphasis on the region had
two places been considered as two separated markets.141 While it is probably
true that greater attention would be put on the region as a combined market,
compromises would have to be made in finding a balance between two places
similar but different cultures. For example, both Taiwan and Hong Kong use
traditional Chinese characters in texts, yet there are local phrases and usages of
words that could only be understood by either Taiwanese or Hong Kong people.
In this case, the localization team has to be very careful in finding the
vocabularies and grammatical usages that could be understood by both
groups.142 In some rare cases, in-game voices would be also adapted into
Mandarin, a measure often draws resentment from the players in Hong Kong.
Local Distributors
Before Sony and Nintendo set up their local branches in Taiwan, the local
distributors had been responsible for selecting, importing, circulating, marketing,
and providing warranty service for, video game products. Through deciding
which game to import, distributors indeed served a role in filtering the genres of
games that could be played by Taiwanese players. And by the very limited
promotions that usually came in forms of advertisements on print media,
distributor also served the role of introducing Japanese video games to general
public in an era that video game information could not be easily obtained.
While the console companies have setup branches in Taiwan to distribute

and promote their games themselves since 2000s, many third-party games are
(URL: http://gnn.gamer.com.tw/1/79771.html)
141 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (289), May 13 2010, pp.59
142 Weekly Famitsu Taiwan International (292), June 10 2010, pp.30
55
still distributed through local distributors. These local distributors do not only
have good knowledge in Taiwanese video game market, but also tend to maintain
close relationship with the retailers, who are supposed to have the first hand
information on customers preference and opinion. One of the ways employed by
these local distributors to promote the sale now is giving out bonus gifts along
with the game in limited quantity. These gifts usually come in forms of
accessories such as smartphone cases and USB memory drives, as these items
would cause minimum copyright issues.143
Retailers
There were three major types of retailers of Japanese console video games
in 1980s. First of them was video game shops specialized in selling video games,
including console games and computer games. Secondly, console games were
also sold in general toyshops whose merchandizes included a wide range of toys
such as dolls, models, robots, cars, guns, and board games. Finally video games
were also available in some bookstores that were also selling toys. The video
game shops were particular important in re-territorializing Japanese consoles
video games into Taiwan market. Beside the fact that these shops were the major
channels of buying consoles and games, these retailers also provided rental
services to people who could not afford the price of purchasing one, which would
cost over NT 4000, a figure that was not generally affordable by Taiwanese
households. There were two kinds of rental services: customer could pay a lump-
sum to bring a console and a selection of games back home and keep it for a
period of time; or playing the console inside the shop at the rate of NT 1 per
minute, which was very popular to young kids. Through providing rental services
which were illegal in many ways, the video game shops did not only earn
considerable income, but also indirectly promoted Japanese video games to many
Taiwanese young kids who could access to the games by playing or watching
their friends play in the shops.
Entering the era of Super Famicom in early 1990s, many video game shops
143 Gzone (254), September 27 2010, pp.33
56
in Taiwan involved in a piracy practice that ironically had further popularized
Japanese console video games in Taiwan. Using a complimentary machine
connected with Super Famicom, owners of Super Famicom could play pirated
games by uploading game data stored in multiple floppy disks to the machine.
Offering service of copying games to customers floppy disks for about NT 80 per
disk, many retailers found it was a much more profitable business than selling
genuine software. A catalogue would be put on the front desk of video game
shop, listing the downloadable games information such as game code, name,
genre, and volume. After selecting games of their choices, customers then would
write down the corresponding game codes on a tiny paper, then passed the paper
along with the floppy disks they had brought with them to the shop staff. As
selling and buying the complimentary machine was not considered as an illegal
act, coupled with the convenient and inexpensive nature of copying games from
video game shops, playing pirated Super Famicom games became a norm for
many Taiwanese gamers in 1990s. Entering 2000s, while piracy gaming was still
very popular in Taiwan, the media of pirated games had been shifted from floppy
disk to CD ROM and DVD ROM. While some of the video game shops still sold the
pirated discs to customers, the risk of judicial consequences had turned many
shops to provide piracy-enabling hardware configuration service only.
As piracy gaming has been largely suppressed in recent years, selling

genuine games has once again become an important source for retailers. As the
retail price of each game is more or less fixed by distributors, the video game
shops tend to compete with each other by providing additional services. One of
the major services provided is pre-ordering. While most of the console games in
Taiwan now are being distributed by an official distributor, some hardcore
players still prefer the original Japanese version for its authenticity and in some
cases exclusive bonus gift come with the game. Pre-ordering the game through
these video game shops thus is the most convenient way to obtain these Japanese
games. In fact some video game shops in Taipei put up eye-catching posters of
the upcoming games on the shop windows, listing all the pre-ordering bonus of
Japanese version to attract the gamers.
57
Piracy
Since the early years of Famicom, piracy have been a major agent in re-
territorializing Japanese console video games to Taiwan. A pirated game
cartridge could cost only one fifth or less of a genuine Famicom game, and the
former usually came in form of collection that multiple games had been installed
in one cartridge. The significant difference in price, coupled with the fact that
many players did not even know how to distinguish a cartridge is genuine or not,
playing the X games in 1 collection cartridge was very common in 1980s. As
more than one experienced players told me in interviews, these cartridges were
produced locally in Taiwan, and were also exported to Hong Kong and other
Southeast Asian markets. The aforementioned complimentary machine that
enables piracy on Super Famicom was another Taiwanese invention that in
certain extent, as my informants described, contributed to the widespread of
Japanese console video games. Highlighted for its game data editing function,
which was not illegal in nature, in a full-sale marketing campaign including a
large amount of commercials on TV, the machine was very popular among
Taiwanese gamers, who then could afford to try different genres of games at a
much lower cost.
When the media of games shifted from cartridge to CD and DVD ROM after
the emergence of new consoles such as PlayStation, the cost of manufacturing
pirated games was even lower. The piracy business in Taiwan, often controlled by
triad groups,144 was fast growing that shops selling pirated music CDs, movies,
PC software and video game discs could be seen everywhere in Taiwan. Many
video game shops were selling pre-configured consoles to customers, allowing
piracy gaming from the get-go. Similar to the complimentary machines in the
previous era, the pirated CD and DVD game discs again allowed a greater variety
in game selection.
The business of these pirated discs shops, however, has been going
downward since two technological developments in early 2000s. The widespread
144 Next Magazine Taiwan (306), May 4 2007, pp.22-26
58
of high-speed broadband connection at home, coupled with the increasing usage
of DVD ROM writers in PC, had allowed players to download the game files from
Internet and burn it into DVD disc at a cost even lower than buying a pirated disc.
Most of the websites providing free game download were based in Mainland
China. Besides providing the game file, these websites also offered game
information, such as screenshots, game plot and ratings from other players, for
players as references. Some of the game files had been even edited and all in-
game text had been turned to Chinese, in most cases in simplified Chinese only.
Some Taiwanese players claimed that these pirated games had forced them to
learn to read simplified Chinese that they used to hate before.
Mass Media
Print medias have long been an important agent in localizing Japanese

console video games in Taiwan. In 1990s, there were two major types of video
game magazines: one of them was a complete translation of a Japanese video
game magazine into Chinese without official authorization; another was a hybrid
consisted of content copied from Japan and by local editors, such as Galaxy
Gaming Magazine (Xingjiyoulezazhi )and TV Gaming
Magazine( Dianshiyoulezazh ). Analyzing these two bi-weekly
magazines, one could find they shared a similar distribution in their content:
Section Content
News All the news about the video game industry, such as
sales number, rumors, and game companies
business report
Preview Introducing upcoming games based on information

released by developers.
Guide Helping players to complete the game or to

understand the game content. It can be categorized
into four groups:
1. Walkthrough
59
2. Translating Japanese phases appeared in games
3. Novelizing the whole game plot
4. Listing in-game hidden data
Review Reviewing games on the market with a rating
Japanese popular cultures News and information of other Japanese popular

cultures such as music, models, comics, and
animations
Fig. 3.1 The general distribution of content of Taiwanese console video game
magazines in early 1990s.
These local magazines played an important role of localizing the Japanese

video games by providing valuable video game information to the Taiwanese
players, who had limited sources in obtaining video game information in 1990s.
The guide section was particularly important for playing some text-heavy
Japanese games, in which the language barrier was often the issue faced by most
Taiwanese players. In 2004, Ching-Win Publishing was officially authorized to
publish Taiwanese edition of Weekly Famitsu, a top-selling console video game
magazine in Japan. Closely working with the Japanese publishers, the Taiwanese
version could be on shelf just one day later than the original version in Japan. As
the chief editor of Taiwanese version told me in interview, instead of merely
translating the Japanese content into Chinese, the adaption involves much more
issues such as pictures copyright and phases used in text, which is strictly
monitored by each game developer in Japan. Some local content, such as reports
on gaming event and interview with visiting Japanese game developers, are often
included in the magazine as well.
Information and news on console video games could be also seen on other
medias in Taiwan. Game GX, a long-running TV show made its debut in 1997, has
been popular by providing different kinds of video game information to
Taiwanese players. Apple Daily, the top selling newspaper in Taiwan, has a
regular column on video game daily. Many video game websites have been also
created since entering 2000s. In addition to reporting industry news and offered
game previews and reviews as gaming magazines do, these websites also
provided a platform in discussion board that allows players to discuss and
60
exchange information of video games. The widespread internet connection at
home, coupled with the usage of smartphones, have turned many players to
obtain video game information from these websites, which hold an advantage of
being able to show gameplay video on demand over other traditional medias.
Bahamult, a top-five online community and the biggest video game community in
Taiwan, had over 2.5 millions registered member and over twenty millions
viewed pages daily in 2011,145 showing the popularity of the online platform.
Players
As the ultimate receiver and consumer of Japanese console video games,

the players themselves naturally also played a role in localizing the products.
While the aforementioned agents above have various of measures to re-
territorialized and localized Japanese video games, the players themselves still
hold the power of deciding how to receive and interpret the games. Going to any
online video game community such as Bahamult as mentioned above, one could
notice how a video game is being localized through the interactions between
players in the online community: reviews, previews, walkthrough and tips of
games are shared; game plot and hidden message are discussed in depth; edited
screenshots are uploaded to the community for fun. Noted that these online
communities could not, and should not, be understood as a mere Japanese video
game community happen to be built in Taiwan. Instead it should be read under
the Taiwanese context that cultural consensus and understanding are required.
These online communities also served as a platform for teaming up with

other players Taiwan. As many video games provide the option of linkup play by
either online or face-to-face, finding partner(s) have become essential for players
in order to fully explore the games. Failing to find the right partner(s) from circle
of real life, some players would look to team up with others through online
communities. Notices of Partners wanted and Team members wanted are
145 sega Online)

Published by Bahamult on December 8 2012.
(URL: http://gnn.gamer.com.tw/4/60444.html)
61
frequently posted on the board. Many of these groups are well organized and
managed by a leader, who would clearly state all the rules in the notices. For
example, Monster Hunter 3G has generated the forming of many hunting team
on Bahamult that regular gatherings have been held across Taiwan.
The following chapters in this thesis, however, will try to look at another
kind of gamer gathering. On every weekend there are dozens of Monster Hunter
players sitting on the floor at Taipei City Mall, playing the game together
regularly. Unlike the aforementioned hunting team formed in online
communities, the gathering at Taipei City Mall is not organized or managed by
any individual, and stated rule is also absent there. By participating in the
gathering regularly and actively, I will try to find out how Japanese console video
games being localized by the players under the Taiwanese context in another
way.
Conclusion
This chapter is an overview of the history of Japanese console video game

industry and how its products being re-territorialized into Taiwan market. Since
Nintendo released its first ever home console in Famicom in 1983, Japanese
video game companies have been dominating the worldwide console market,
leading the industry by both technological breakthroughs in hardware and new
ideas in game development, transforming video gaming from mere movements of
dots on to undistinguishable virtual reality. The early success of Japanese
console video game industry, however, had probably made the Japanese
companies overlooking secondary oversea markets outside American and
Europe. One of them was Taiwan, who was still under the shadow of martial law
when Famicom made its impressive debut, and Japanese cultural products were
still largely banned in the island. Entering the Taiwan market through smuggling
activities and popularized by the rental services offered by retailers, Japanese
console video game products had soon become a popular entertainment option
among young kids. The lift of ban on Japanese cultural products in early 1990s
sparked a boom of Japanese popular cultures, and one of them was console video
62
game. By carefully examining the re-territorialization process of Japanese
console video game into Taiwan, I have located different agents involved in
localizing the products, namely console developers, game developers, local
distributors, retailers, piracy, mass media, and players. Through examining the
ever-changing localization measures taken by these agents, one should be able to
see how Japanese console video games being received and consumed by
Taiwanese gamers under the Taiwanese context generally. The focus of the
following chapter will be shifted to Taipei City Mall, where a group of players
regularly gathered there to play the a Japanese game together, to see how a
Japanese cultural product meant differently to individual Taiwanese players.
63
Chapter 4
Lets Go Hunting:
Introducing Monster Hunter 3G as a Game
Introduction
This chapter is an account of Monster Hunter 3G as a game. In the last

chapter I have examined the history of Japanese console video game industry and
how its products being re-territorized into Taiwan market by different agents. In
order to understand how Japanese video games meant to individual players, the
author decided to conduct a participatory research at Taipei City Mall, where
gamer gathering of Monster Hunter 3G, a Japanese video game, had been
regularly held. This chapter serves as an introduction to show how Monster
Hunter 3G worked as a game, and more importantly, how linkup play was
fostered by the developer.
History of the Monster Hunter series
Monster Hunter is an action game series developed by Capcom, one of the

biggest Japanese video game developers. Debuted in 2004, the series have seen a
dozen titles released on various console platforms, recording impressive sales
number of tens of millions,146 and is arguably one of the most popular brands in
Japanese video game industry.
When Monster Hunter was released on PlayStation 2 in 2004, it was widely

viewed as a copycat title of a popular game on Sega Dreamcast and PC called
Phantasy Star Online. The Phantasy Star Online series, developed and published
by Sega in 2001, was an action game adapted from an earlier RPG title Phantasy
Star. Besides turning the basic game mechanism from turn-based command to
146
(Online)
(URL: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/business/million.html).
(Accessed: June 1, 2013)
64
action-based monster slaying, Phantasy Star Onlines biggest breakthrough from
the previous titles was perhaps its utilization of Dreamcasts strength in allowing
linkup play over the Internet. Connecting to the Sega server, player could join
other players and play together online. The game was a success for Sega in sales
number and receptions, and a similar success was also recorded on the PC
platform. In 2004, PlayStation 2 had become the runaway leader in the home
console market, yet the platform did not have a title similar to the Phantasy Star
Online series in genre. Recognizing the huge market potential of the genre on the
biggest home console platform, Capcom developed Monster Hunter, an action
game that shared the basic principle in gameplay with Phantasy Star Online: a
cycle of slaying monsters in order to get better equipment, which is required to
level up and beat the next line of stronger monsters.
Slay
Get Level Up
(stronger)
Equipment
Monsters
In order to
Fig. 4.1 The cycle of gameplay in Phantasy Star Online and Monster Hunter
Similar to Phantasy Star Online, Monster Hunter was divided into two major
parts: offline mode and online mode, in which players could linkup with other
players through the PlayStation server. Despite the online mode was far less
popular than Phantasy Star Online due to complicated procedures and extra
monetary cost in setting up online play on PlayStation 2, it did lay a basis for the
sequels of the series. Recording a satisfying sales number of about 290,000,
Capcom released an upgrade version, named Monster Hunter G, on PlayStation 2
ten months after the original title. The major addition in the upgraded version
was expanding the weapon types from five to six, raising the difficulty of beating
65
the game by adding an extra class of monster called Level G, and adding a new
training mode, which made previously limited offline mode of the game richer in
content.
Perhaps recognizing the potential of Monster Hunter series might have been
hindered by the inefficient PlayStation 2 network, Capcom decided to release the
next title of the franchise on PlayStation Portable. When the Sonys new
handheld console was put on shelf in Japan in 2004, it was marketed as a
handheld console that could run games that were comparable to PlayStation 2
games in quality. Many developers, aiming to capitalize players eagerness in
playing quality games on the new platform, adapted their popular PlayStation 2
titles to the handheld, in the hope of bringing the existing fan base to the new
market. Consequently, Monster Hunter series also made its debut on handheld
console with the release of Monster Hunter Portable in December 2005. Adapted
from Monster Hunter G, new elements such as farming and mining systems, in
which players could collect useful resources without slaying monster, had been
added to the game. Yet there was no change more important than enabling linkup
play through local wireless LAN. Utilizing PlayStation Portables capability in
linking up with multiple machines through built-in network device, the game
allowed four players to play the online mode face-to-face without extra cost.
Players now could join up and slay monsters together anytime by simply
bringing the handheld with them, avoiding the complicated and costly
procedures of PlayStation 2. This new feature, combined with the increasing
popularity of PlayStation Portable in the market, helped the game to triple the
sales number from the previous title, reaching the million mark in both domestic
and oversea markets. The appeal of linkup play was indeed reflected by the drop
of sales number of the franchises third episode on PlayStation 2, the Monster
Hunter 2. Returning to the home console platform with a refined system, some
new areas and new weapon types, the lack of mobile connectivity had seen the
2006 title could just barely reach the half million mark in sales.
Inheriting the framework from Monster Hunter 2, the second generation of

the handheld version was released on PlayStation Portable again in 2007.
66
Despite the game, named as Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, did not introduce any
significant change over the previous title beside shorten loading time and
debugging, recorded great success in sales number once again. By selling 1.7
million in Japan and 2.4 million copies worldwide, the potential of the franchise
on handheld platform had been confirmed. Yet it was only a prologue. The
upgraded version released in the following year, the Monster Hunter Portable 2nd
G, was the title that had really marked the franchises place in Japanese video
game history. With the usual addition of new weapons and Level G monsters, the
sales number rocketed to over four millions and three millions in Japan and
overseas markets respectively. The exploding sales number might suggest
Capcoms marketing team had rightly highlighted the games biggest strength:
connecting with others easily. Among the many television commercials of the
game, one could easily find the common theme was the game offers most fun by
playing with your friends, regardless of players individual skill level in the game.
In one commercial, a group of four male variety show artists were playing the
game at backstage. Even the played hours of each member, as highlighted in the
video, varied from zero to hundreds, each of them looked having a good time
playing together.147 In another similar commercial casted by a group of four
female variety show artists, one girl, who had been portrayed as an isolated
person due to her weirdness in personality and appearance in the shows,
claimed she had met her boyfriend through playing Monster Hunter.148 As
Hamamura (2007) pointed out, the success of Monster Hunter on handheld
console was largely due to a simple fact that the game was fun to play together,
and obviously Capcom was successful in marketing the game in this way.
The success of Monster Hunter on the handheld did not stop Capcom from
continuing the series on home console platform. Rumored to make the sequel a
Sonys PlayStation 3 title, the franchise surprised many by making its debut on
Wii, the Nintendo console whose image as a family-oriented game console was
147
MHP 2nd G CM (Online)
(URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfThcWKdOzM)
148
MHP 2nd G CM (Online)
(URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJTPLd0If_U)
67
probably not a perfect match with the monster slaying franchise. Capcom,
however, did show its determination in bring the series to the best selling
console in the market at that time. Besides designing a traditional game pad to
solve the control difficulty brought by the Wiis original motion-sensing
controllers, Capcom had also renovated the game with entirely new story
background, areas, weapons, monsters, and trading systems. The number of
quests available for challenge had been greatly increased, and for the first time in
the series, player character could actually swim and fight with monsters in water.
Despite the new contents had given the game generally positive reviews from the
media and players,149 the game had just sold slightly over a million copies in
Japan and less than two millions worldwide, only barely passing the number of
PlayStation 2 versions but only one-forth of the Monster Hunter Portable 2nds
record in the previous year. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons of the games
disappointing sale numbers was, once again, the complicated and costly
procedure to play the game with others. In order to play the game online, players
were required to not only connect the console to Nintendos server with high-
speed and stable broadband connection, but also pay a monthly subscription fee
to use the service. Once again the biggest attraction of the previous handheld
versions in fun and easy to play together was disappeared in the home console
version, making the disappointing sales number entirely understandable.
The status of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G as the best selling PlayStation
Portable game was replaced by the sequel on handheld platform, Monster Hunter
Portable 3rd, in December 2010. By selling 4.7 millions copies in Japan, the game
was also the tenth-best selling game in Japan video game history. 150 Instead of
renovating the game system and gameplay as Monster Hunter 3 had, the game
was largely based on the framework of the proven formula from the previous
149
2009 8 28 (Online)
(URL: http://www.famitsu.com/game/dendo/1226501_1065.html).
(Accessed: June 1, 2013).
150
Japans 30 Best Selling Video Games of All Time (Online)
(URL: http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/07/08/japans-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time/)
68
handheld titles, removing the controversial water battle and highlighting the new
monsters in promotional campaigns. In fact for the first time in the franchise
history, the game cooperated with many companies in Japan to have various
kinds of crossover campaigns, from selling T-shirts and accessories with the
games logo and faces of monsters in a popular chained clothing retailer, to
allowing players to download special weapons adapted from popular comics.
The game was later remade into a high definition version on PlayStation 3 in
August 2011.
When Sony revealed the development of its next handheld console in PS

Vita, probably most of the Monster Hunter players would expect an appearance
of the next title in the franchise on the new Sonys handheld, assuming the
successful marriage between Monster Hunter and PlayStation portable should
be resumed on the Sonys powerful handheld which had the potential to bring
the franchise to another level visually. Turned out Capcom had opted to present
the visual breakthrough in another way: the naked eye 3D technology by
Nintendo 3DS. Similar to the reaction on the release of Monster Hunter 3 on Wii
before, the decision had surprised many by the questionable match of the
franchise and the kid-based handheld platform. Concerns over the action-filled
games playability on 3D had also been raised. As indicated by the titles name in
Monster Hunter 3G, the game was indeed an upgrade version of the Wiis Monster
Hunter 3. Inheriting the game world from Monster Hunter 3, the game also
welcomed the addition of monsters and battlefields from Monster Hunter
Portable 3rd, and expanded the weapon types to twelve. As a tradition of title
name followed by G, the game also offered an extra difficulty in Level G
monsters. Similar to the previous handheld titles on PlayStation Portables, the
game could also played through local wireless LAN conveniently, while additional
quests and equipment would be updated and available for download every week.
Despite following the franchises formula of success as mentioned above, the
games sales number was still short of two million,151 less than half of the series
record high, probably partly due to the lesser popularity of Nintendo 3DS than
151
(Online)
(URL: http://www.4gamer.net/words/004/W00456/)
(Accessed: Jun1, 2013).
69
the PlayStation Portable. A high definition version of the game was also released
with the launched of the Nintendos latest home console, the Wii U.
The above brief history the Monster Hunter series showed that the
franchises popularity and sales number had been largely hinged on the console
platform. After carefully studying the ups and downs of the franchise, one could
safely assume the series had gained its brand name through offering
straightforward linkup play on handheld consoles. The following parts of the
chapter will try to show how the game mechanism worked to make the linkup
play its biggest appeal.
Titles
(Names in Japanese) Platform Date of Release
Monster Hunter
() PlayStation 2 11 Mar 2004
Monster Hunter G
(G) PlayStation 2 20 Jan 2005
Monster Hunter Portable PlayStation

() Portable 1 Dec 2005
Monster Hunter 2
(2) PlayStation 2 16 Feb 2006
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd PlayStation

( 2nd) Portable 22 Feb 2007
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G PlayStation

( 2nd G) Portable 27 Mar 2008
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Monster Hunter 3
(3) Wii 1 August 2009
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd PlayStation

( 3rd) Portable 1 Dec 2010
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Version

( 3rd HD Ver.) PlayStation 3 25 Aug 2011
Monster Hunter 3G
(3G) Nintendo 3DS 10 Dec 2011
Monster Hunter 3G
(3G HD) Wii U 11 Dec 2012
Fig. 4.2 Monster Hunter series on console platforms
The basis of Monster Hunter 3G as a single player action game
Player character creation
Before the start of the game player would be asked to create his own
character in the game. After inputting the characters name in Japanese or/and
English and choosing the gender, player could now customize his or her own
character by picking the characters appearance from lists provided by the game.
Take creating a male character as an example; the player could customize his
character from four inner clothing styles, twelve inner clothing colors, eleven
face types, twelve beard colors, fourteen hair styles, twelve hair colors, twenty
voice types, and the darkness of skin color. In theory it should be hard to find two
players character that had exactly the same appearance. It should be also noted
that on the page of inputting characters name, player was reminded by the game
71
that any inputted name should be well-considered in order to prevent offending
others in linkup play.
Plot/Story
Adapted from Wiis Monster Hunter 3, the plot of Monster Hunter 3G was
consistent with the series tradition of asking the player to save an isolated
village in a fantasy world from threat of monsters. The opening movie of the
game introduces the anonymous player character was on his adventure in the
wild before encountering an earthquake. When the player character resumed his
journey and entered a small village, the village chief claimed that some
mysterious gigantic monsters, which had been seen in the wild outside the
village by villagers, could be the cause of earthquake. Declaring himself as a
professional monster hunter, the player character was invited to investigate the
case with the promise of both material and monetary rewards. The investigation
of the wild areas had inevitably led to countless encounters with various kinds of
monsters, and the village was on the brink of ruination when a ancient sea
dragon of over fifty meters long was found awaken from years of sleep. At the
end the player character was able to defeat the sea dragon and restored the
peaceful scene to the village.
Basis of gameplay
As mentioned earlier in the chapter, the Monster Hunter series is always

about the cycle of slaying monsters to get better, in order to beat the next line of
stronger monsters, and Monster Hunter 3G was no different. Besides slaying
monsters, however, the series has also been finding other means for getting
better, adding many complementary elements in the recent episodes to enrich
the game content and, more importantly, to keep players occupied by the game
tasks which could prolong the total game time. Therefore when summarizing the
gameplay of Monster Hunter 3G, the chart would be slightly different from the Fig.
4.1 and shown as below,
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In order to
Fig. 4.3 The cycle of Monster Hunter 3G gameplay
While the cycle is still the cored gameplay, additional tasks of fishing, farming
and foraging have been added to the game. Through doing these additional tasks,
players could obtain extra materials and items that could be essential in crafting
certain weapons and armors, or helpful in battles with monsters. While the game
would tell players which materials were required to craft certain equipment,
players are left to find out where and how to obtain those materials on their own.
Since it is almost impossible to beat the game without continuously upgrading
the weapons and armors equipped by the player character, knowing how to
efficiently obtain different materials and items through different means thus has
become an important key to success. Capcom, however, would publish an official
guidebook of hundreds of pages for purchase, with detailed data on every single
part of the game. Game magazines such as Famitsu would also run a serial to
reveal the data on weekly basis.
Moga Village
Moga Village, the fictional village where the game plot situated in, offers
different spots for player character to visit for different purposes. Centered in
the village was the player characters House, where player could change their
weapons and armors, manage their items and materials, and save the game
73
progress by sleeping on bed. Next to the Houses eastern end are Stores of
Weapons and Armors, where player could purchase, craft, and upgrade their
equipment after submitting required game currency and materials. Then there is
a bridge connecting the stores and the entrance to Moga Forest, a wild area in
which player could forage various useful materials, and randomly encounter with
gigantic monsters. There is no limitation on the entrance to the forest or the span
of time spent there, as player could use the area as field of resource and training
ground. Certain materials and slayed monsters have a special value for the village
chiefs son, who constantly stands just next to the entrance. By handing those
materials of special value to the young man, an amount of Resource Points
equivalent to the value of the materials would be recorded on players account.
Players could spend the accumulative Resource Points for many different
purposes in the village. One of them is handing the farmers working in the Farm
a single unit of certain materials, and farmers could plant and multiply the
materials at the cost of Resource Point, saving players time in continued
foraging. Resource Point could be also spent at the Pier, from where fishing boats
would sail to the ocean at the players request to find fishes and other materials.
Some materials collected from the Moga Forest and fishing boats have unique
value to exchange rare items from the Merchant Ship, which travels around the
fantasy world and berthed at Moga Village on regular basis. Next to the western
end of the House there are two facilities that players would visit most frequently.
The first one is Quest Counter, where a list of quests would be available for the
player to take, and the list would be kept updated along with the players
progress in the game. Right next to the Counter is Canteen, where player could
spend a combination of game money and Resource Point to have meals that
would boost his attributes in the next quest. By choosing a combination of meat,
milk, vegetable and bread, player could obtain different boost in attributes such
as better stamina and health, or raising the players resistance to certain
elemental attack from the monster. Any boost in attributes resulted from eating
in canteen would be disappeared at the end of the next quest. Opposite to the
Quest Counter was Grocery, where player could purchase less rare items and
commodities by game money, and it is particular useful place for player to refill
consumables, such as health-restoring portion and antidote, that would be useful
74
in quests. Finally there is another pier where player could board on a connecting
boat to reach a nearby port called Port Tanzia, which is primarily intended as a
platform for linkup play and a detailed account of the place will be followed in
the next section of this chapter.
Quests
As mentioned above, player need to take on quests from the Quest Counter
in Moga Village to progress in Monster Hunter 3G. Quests available there have
been categorized into nine levels based on difficulty, with Level 1 the easiest and
Level 9 the hardest. Each level has about 10 quests, and player need to complete
majority of them in each level to open up an Urgent Quest, which must be cleared
to make the next level of quests become available. Quests from Level 7 to Level 9,
also known Upper Level quests, were particular challenging for some, as the
difficulty in those quests would be significantly higher. There are three major
types of quests in game, including killing boss monster(s), capturing boss
monster(s), and foraging certain materials. Player could also fail a quest in three
major ways, which are dying (health become zero) for three times, unable to
meet the quest goal within time limit of fifty minutes, or killing a boss monster
that was supposed to be captured. Player could challenge each quest for
unlimited time for different purposes, such as foraging certain materials,
perfecting his skill against certain monsters, or in need of certain body part of a
monster to craft weapons and armors. After completing a quest, player would be
entitled to have certain amount of game money and a collection of items as his
reward. The combination of the items is randomly generated by the game from a
hidden list, and the rarity of items is related to the difficulty of the quest. It is not
unusual to hear players bemoaning their lack of luck for failing to get the item
they want even though having completed the same quest for many times.
Areas
In each quest player would be sent to a designated area where the player
need to complete the quest. These areas include Deserted Island, Flooded Forest,
75
Sandy Plains, Tundra, Volcano, Misty Peaks, Great Desert, Underwater Ruin,
Tower 3, Sacred Land, and Tainted Sea. Each area consisted of about ten sub-
areas that are indicated in Arabic number in the game map. Players are usually
required to travel between these sub-areas for multiple times in order to
complete a quest. Thus knowing the map of each area well, such as using a
shortcut connecting two areas in order to catch a fleeing monster, could be
essential to be a good Monster Hunter player. Daytime or night in some areas
could also have an impact on what player need to do in a quest. A quest in Great
Desert, for example, at daytime and night would require the player to bring cold
drink and hot drink respectively.
Boss Monsters
The Boss Monsters, instead of the player character, have been the leading
protagonists in Monster Hunter series. In Monster Hunter 3G there are over fifty
species of Boss Monsters, and they could be categorized into eight groups,
including Bird Wyvern, Flying Wyvern, Piscine Wyvern, Leviathan, Brute Wyvern,
Fanged Beast, Fanged Wyvern, and Elder Dragon. In most quests, player needs to
defeat or capture one or more Boss Monster in order to meet the quest goal.
Besides a colorful and imposing outlook, Capcom also tried to give life to Boss
Monsters by designing each monster in very detailed fashion. Fig. 4.4 is an
attempt to list out the types of characteristic that each Boss Monster processed.
Characteristics Remark
Inhabited Area The area(s) that a monster could be seen. A Piscine
Wyvern, for example, could only be found in an area
with water.
Size Each species has a range of size that would be
randomly generated by the game.
Physical Attack Pattern Each species could process five to ten attacking
moves, such as charging, swing tail, head butting, or
spinning in water.
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Special Attack The attack that would result temporary effect on the
player character, including Poison, Paralysis and
Slumber.
Elemental Attack Besides physical attack, many Boss Monsters also
processes one or more elemental attacks. These
elemental attacks include Fire, Thunder, Water, Ice,
and Dragon.
Physical Strength and Each monster have varied resistance levels in
Weakness different parts of its body, i.e. a successful attack on
the weakest part of the monster body would deal
more damage to the monster than the other parts.
These parts included head, neck, wings, front legs,
back legs, chest, abdomen, claws, and tail.
Vulnerability to Special Each monster reacts differently to the players special
Attack attacks that generated temporary effect of Poison,
Paralysis and Slumber on monsters. Usually monsters
are immune from the special attacks they could
generate.
Vulnerability to Hunting Each monster react differently to hunting
Consumables consumables used by players, including Traps, Flash
Bomb, Sonic Bomb and Barrel Bomb
Elemental Weakness Each monster is vulnerable to at least one elemental
attack from the player, including Fire, Thunder, Water,
Ice, and Dragon. Naturally monsters are also immune
from the elemental attacks they could generate.
Status While the game would not show the remaining health
processed by the monsters, player could distinguish
which status the monster was currently at by
observing each monsters unique and changing
behavior. The statuses included Alerted, Angry, Tired,
Fleeing, and Dying.
Harvestable Parts The body parts that is harvestable after the monster
77
was killed. It is randomly generated by the game in
each quest.
Fig. 4.4 Types of characteristics of Boss Monsters in Monster Hunter 3G
It should be noted that most species of monster have a variety called sub-
species, which shares an almost identical outlook with the original species, only
with different color and elemental characteristics.
Battle with Boss Monster
One of the most attractive parts of the game is probably fighting against
gigantic Boss Monsters that looks formidable and unbeatable at first sight.
Entering the designated area in a quest, the very first thing a player would do is
to collect the consumables provided by the game in a sub-area called Base Camp,
where player could recharge their health by sleeping on a bed. Yet those
consumables, in most cases including health-restoring potions and food for
stamina recovery, are usually insufficient for an average player to complete a
quest of reasonable difficulty. An experienced player would constantly check his
backpack, which has a limit on the quantity of items that could be carried during
a quest, before starting any quest to avoid running out of consumables during the
heat of battle.
The next thing player needs to do is finding the monster. An inexperienced

Monster Hunter player would often find himself running around the ten sub-
areas for fifteen minutes without seeing the Boss Monster, which would travel
around sub-areas by a route randomly generated by the game. Some player might
rely on using consumables called Eyesight of Thousand Miles, which would
indicate the position of the Monster on the radar map temporary. An
experienced player, however, could always limit his scope of search to a couple of
sub-areas because he knew the basis of the random generation.
After locating the Boss Monster, the battle will officially begin. Players could
78
use very different strategies to fight with monsters, but in general there is one
principle in gaining advantage over the monster in battle: Knowing the monster
well. From Fig. 4.4 we can see the strengths and weaknesses that could be found
in Boss Monsters. Despite all these information would not be revealed to the
player inside the game, players could indeed study and memorize each monsters
characteristics by observing them carefully during battles. A player who could
memorize all the physical attacking pattern of each monster should have much
better chance of dodging a deadly attack simply because he knows the attack is
coming before it even starts. For example, a slight swing of a monsters tail could
indicate the monster was going to perform a claw attack, which is eventually
dodged by the player because he could read the slight swing of tail as a sign.
Knowing a Boss Monster well could also mean having a clear understanding of
each monsters physical and elemental weaknesses. Facing a monster with
weakness in head and vulnerable to fire, an experienced player would equip with
a weapon with fire damage and concentrate his attack on the monsters head.
Some rather complicated strategies, such as using consumables to put the
monster into state of paralysis before placing numerous barrel booms around the
sleeping creature, are possible only after knowing the monsters strength and
weakness well enough. For players who do not want to spend time on learning
and memorizing in the game, reading the guidebook would be a shortcut.
Subject to the goal of each quest, player would have to either kill or capture
the Boss Monster to complete a quest. Killing a Boss Monster will allow the
player to harvest the corpse for three times, and the game will randomly
generate the body parts that the player could get, in addition to the rewards for
completing the quest. In the quests that required killing a monster, player could
also opt to capture it. Although capturing the monster meant the player could not
harvest the corpse, some additional body parts of rarity could be included
randomly as bonus rewards for quest completion. Thus many players preferred
capturing a monster to killing, in order to maximize the probability of getting
rare body parts of monsters.
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Item System: Raw Materials, Consumables and Combination
There are hundreds of items in the game, and players could obtain them
through various means including harvesting, farming, fishing, purchasing from
Grocery, trading with Merchant Ship, or combining multiple items to make a new
one. All items could be also sold to the game store for an insignificant amount of
game money. While it is a complex system often confused newcomers, the
comprehensiveness of the system is also a key trick to make the ecosystem in the
game world looked alive to players, who as a result are motivated to spend time
in collecting and gathering these items by doing different things besides simply
slaying monsters in the game. I hereby try to categorize the items into two major
groups as shown from Fig.4.5 to Fig. 4.6 below.
Group 1: Raw Materials
Raw Materials are materials that players could not use or consume inside a
quest, and it could be only either used as a component for upgrading
consumables, or to be combined with other Raw Material(s) to make a new item.
It includes all materials obtained in the game through harvesting, farming,
fishing, foraging in the wild, purchasing from Grocery, and trading with merchant
ship. Monsters body parts from either harvesting or reward of quest completion
are also considered as Raw Materials, since they could not be used for any
purpose except weapons and armors crafting. Here are some examples of Raw
Materials in the game:
Raw Materials Mean(s) of Obtain Usage*

Monsters body parts Harvesting / Reward of Weapons and armors crafting
quest completion.
Blue Mushroom Foraging/ Farming Upgrade Herb to Health Potion
Honey Foraging/ Farming Upgrade Health Potion to Mega
Potion
Dragon Toadstoo Foraging/ Farming Upgrade Mega Potion to Max
80
Potion
God Bug Foraging Combine with Blue Mushroom to
make Nutrient
Stone Foraging Combine with Bone to make
Pickaxe for mining
Raw Meat Harvesting Combine with Poison Mushroom
to make Poison Meat
Barrel Purchase from Grocery Combine with Gun Powder to
make Barrel Bomb
Scatter Fish Fishing Upgrade Barrel Bomb to make
Barrel Bomb L
Pale Extract Trade with Merchant Upgrade Demon Drug to Mega
Ship Demon Drug
Fig. 4.5 Examples of Raw Materials in Monster Hunter 3G
Most Raw Materials have more than one usage. The list only shows the
usage that was most frequently used.
Group 2: Consumables
Consumables are items that players could use inside a quest that would
offer positive impact on the battle if used appropriately. Consumables could be
obtained by all the means same as getting raw materials as shown above, in
addition producing a new item by combining multiple Raw Materials. In some
cases multiple Consumables could also be combined to make an upgraded
version of an item or a new type of item. Since consumables would be used up,
therefore players are required to continually stock up the items in order to
progress in the game. Here are some examples of Consumables in the game:
Consumables Mean(s) of Obtain Usage inside Combined from*

quest
Herb Farming/ Foraging Restore Health N/A
Health Potion Purchase from Grocery Restore Health Herb +
81
/ Combination Blue Mushroom
Nutrient Combination Increase God Bug +
maximum Health Blue Mushroom
Sushi Fish Fishing Restore Health N/A
Hot Drink Purchase from store/ Keep body from Hot Pepper +
Combination freezing Well-done Steak
Shock Trap Combination Capture monster Trap Tool +
Flash Bug
Golden Fish Bait Purchase from store/ Fishing Snakebee Larva +
Combination/ Trade Mega Fishing Fly
with Merchant Ship
Whetstone Purchase from Store/ Restore weapons N/A
Foraging sharpness
Far Caster Purchase from store/ Travel back to Bomb Casing +
Combination/ Trade Base Camp Exciteshroom
with Merchant Ship instantly
Barrel Bomb Combination/ Trade A bomb that could Barrel +

with Merchant Ship be used on Gun Powder
monsters
Fig. 4.6 Examples of Consumables in Monster Hunter 3G
* Some consumables could be produced through more than one combination.
Weapons and Armors
Besides learning and memorizing the characteristics of each monster,

equipping an appropriate set of weapon and armor is probably the biggest key to
success, and is also the most addictive part to many Monster Hunter players.
Indeed there are two folds of meaning regarding the word appropriate. The first
meaning, in most straightforward sense, is to equip the strongest weapon and
armor possible. Appropriate could also mean picking a set of weapon and
armor, while not necessarily having the highest number in attributes, could
expose the major weaknesses, and at the same time resist the major strength,
82
processed by the monsters. Below I will try to explain the complex systems of
weapon and armor in Monster Hunter 3G separately.
Weapons
There are twelve types of weapons could be equipped in Monster Hunter

3G, including Sword and Shield, Dual Sword, Long Sword, Great Sword, Hammer,
Hunting Horn, Lance, Gun Lance, Switch Axe, Light Bow Gun, Heavy Bow Gun,
and Bow, with each of them has over half hundred of models. Each type of
weapon had a unique control method and designed for different style of play. For
example, weapons of larger size, such as Great Sword and Hammer, could deal
bigger damage in one hit at the expense of limiting players mobility. Conversely,
weapons of smaller size such as Dual Sword and Lances lacked of explosive
power in one hit were compensated by the extra mobility. Bow Guns and Bow,
while only giving minimal damage in one hit, allow players to attack the
monsters from distance. Players could switch to any weapon of their choice
during the course of the game, yet only one weapon could be equipped in each
quest. All weapons in the game must be obtained from the Store of Weapons and
Armors in the game through either purchasing by game money or crafting one by
submitting required materials. In most cases game money, however, could only
purchase weapons of least rarity and value.
As a result collecting the required materials to craft a better weapon has

become a key task for players in order to make progress in Monster Hunter 3G.
While each model of the over five hundreds weapons in the game has an unique
list of required raw materials for crafting, one could still find a basic formula of
how a new model could be crafted as shown below:
Level Y Materials A(s) + Level Y Materials B(s) + Level Y Materials C(s)

= Level Y+1 Weapon
In order to craft a better weapon to challenge the next line of stronger

monsters, players would have to gather materials at the level he is currently at.
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For example, a player who has just completed all Level 3 quests might find the
newly available Level 4 quests too difficult for him. To craft a weapon that is
powerful enough to challenge the Level 4 quests, the player would have to gather
multiple materials from Level 3 quests, usually by harvesting and receiving
reward from quest completion. Since the required quantity of each material for
crafting is often large and unachievable by completing a quest only once, players
are often asked to take on the same quest for multiple times in order to gather
the required quantity. Moreover, since both the harvestable body parts of
monsters and the rewards for quest completion are randomly generated by the
game, it is not unusual to hear some players claimed they have completed the
same quest for double digit times but still found themselves without enough
materials to craft a certain weapon.
Each weapon model has been given a numerical value, varied from under
hundred to over a thousand, to indicate the level of physical damage from one hit.
The actual damage received by the monster, however, depends on the hitting
position and the relative strength of the monster for that particular part of body.
Besides physical damage, some weapon models could also deal additional
elemental damage of Fire, Water, Thunder, Ice, Poison and Dragon to the monster.
Thus picking a weapon with elemental effect according to the monsters
weakness could give players an edge, which is particular important when facing
monsters from the Upper Level in which physical damage alone could be found
insufficient to overcome the monsters in fifty minutes.
Armors
There are over two hundreds sets of armors in Monster Hunter 3G, with
each set consisted of five parts in Helm, Mail, Vambraces, Greaves, and Faulds.
Most of the armor sets are derived from a corresponding Boss Monster in the
game, inheriting the characteristics of the monster. For example, given armor set
A was derived from Boss Monster A, whose characteristic of weakness in Fire and
Strength in Ice would be inherited by the armor, meaning the armor would be
vulnerable to fire but immune to ice. In addition to the inherited elemental
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characteristics, each set of armor also processes a couple of Special Skill that,
when activated, would be helpful for players in battle with monsters. I will use
the data of three dummy armor sets as shown in Fig. 4.7 to explain the complex
system:
Armor Set A
Parts Helm Mail Vambraces Greaves Faulds
Elemental Ice +2 Ice +2 Ice +2 Ice +2 Ice +2
Characteristics Fire -2 Fire -2 Fire -2 Fire -2 Fire -2
Special Skills Stamina +4 Stamina +2 Stamina +2 Stamina +6 Stamina +4
Run +6 Run +4 Run +2 Run +4 Run +2
Swim + 2 Swim + 4 Swim + 4 Swim + 2 Swim + 4
Armor Set B
Elemental Thunder +2 Thunder +2 Thunder +2 Thunder +2 Thunder +2
Characteristics Ice -2 Ice -2 Ice -2 Ice -2 Ice -2
Special Skills Dodge +2 Dodge +6 Dodge +4 Dodge +4 Dodge +2
Counter +6 Counter +4 Counter +6 Counter +4 Counter +2
Harvest + 2 Harvest + 2 Harvest + 2 Harvest + 2 Harvest + 2
Armor Set C
Elemental Dragon +2 Dragon +2 Fire +2 Fire +2 Fire +2
Characteristics Water -2 Water -2 Water -2 Water -2 Water -2
Special Skills Forage + 4 Forage + 6 Forage + 2 Forage + 6 Forage + 4
Trap +6 Trap +4 Trap +6 Trap +4 Trap +2
Poison +2 Poison +4 Poison +4 Poison +4 Poison +2
Fig. 4.7 Data of three dummy armor sets in Monster Hunter 3G
As players were allowed to mix and match different parts from different
armor sets in the game, deciding the right combination of parts to be worn for
each quest is as important as picking the right weapon. In order to activate a
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bonus Special Skill, the combined rating from the five parts must be at least 10.
For instance, if a player wanted to process Special Skill of running faster in the
next quest, he might choose to equip Helm A (Run+6) and Mail A (Run+4), and
the Special Skill of running would be activated. If the player wanted to process
another Special Skill of making his poison weapon more powerful, he could
choose to equip Vambraces C (Poison +4), Greaves C (Poison +4), and Faulds C
(Poison +2), as the combined rating of Poison from these parts would activate the
Special Skill. Therefore by equipping the aforementioned parts of armor from
different sets, the player could process Special Skills of his own that would be
helpful for him in the next quest. In addition, this combination would also lead
the following elemental characteristics of the armor: Good at Thunder resistance
(+4), average at Fire resistance (+2), and vulnerable to Water attack (-4). It
should be noted that the above set of dummy data has been simplified for
explanation purpose, and the complexity of the real data of over two hundreds
sets of armor in the game does take much more time to be familiarized with.
With almost countless possible combinations that players could choose to equip
their armor, the armor system is one of the most addictive parts of the Monster
Hunter series for players to explore.
The rest of armor system was actually very similar to the weapon system. All
armor parts in the game must be obtained from the Store of Weapons and
Armors in the game through either purchasing by game money or crafting one by
submitting required materials. Again game money could purchase armor parts of
least rarity and value. The parts of greater rarity and value could only be crafted
by submitting certain amount of required materials, which could not be possibly
gathered without completing the same quest of previous level for multiple times.
Awards
Monster Hunter 3G offers 44 awards for players to make their achievements

in game more measureable. Each of these awards requires player to completed a
goal, varied from the easier one of clearing all Lower Level quests in Moga
Village, to the one of ultra difficulty such as obtaining every single set weapon
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and armor in the game. While all awards are obtainable through single play, the
task could be easier by playing linkup with others, as some of the awards are
related to the quests at Port Tanzia that will be discussed in the next section.
From the above account of Monster Hunter 3G as a single player game, one
should be able to see that while Monster Hunter is an action game, it is not a game
that solely required skill of reflexive control, but also asked players to familiarize
himself with the complex mechanic and system of the game. In order to be a
successful hunter in the game world, players are required to remember all
characteristics of each Boss Monster, be familiar with the geographical details in
each area, collect materials and consumables by differently means efficiently, and
pick the right weapon and combination of armors parts that suits for the next
quest and his own playing style. While it is interesting enough to see how a
player would adapt himself in the complex game world in single play, the next
section of this chapter will try to show how Monster Hunter 3G works as a
multiplayer game.
Monster Hunter 3G as a multiplayer game
Taking the connecting boat from Moga Village, players would be led to Port
Tanzia, the base for linkup play of Monster Hunter 3G. While all quests in Moga
Village could be only played by a single player offline, there are separated sets of
quests at Port Tanzia available for linkup play up to four players.
Port Tanzia
Port Tanzia are divided into two major areas. One if them is Harbor, where
player could find facilities that are equivalent to the Stores of Weapons and
Armors, the Grocery, and the House in Moga Village. In addition, a Post Office
could also be found at the Harbor and allows player to manage other players
Guild Cards, a key component of the multiplayer part of the game that I will
explain later.
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Another area of Port Tanzia was Bar, which functions as a lobby that could
accommodate three incoming players to form a party to take on quests in Port
Tanzia. While player could also find Canteen and Quest Counter in the Bar, the
Quest Counter here offers two sets of quests, Arena Quests and Guild Quests, to
players.
Arena Quests and Guild Quests
Arena Quests are a set of pre-conditioned quests for one to four players to
challenge the Boss Monster(s). Most of these conditions put limitations on things
such as number of participating player, duration, type of weapon and level of
armor equipped, Special Skill activated, and the type and quantity of consumable
could be carried. While players could not harvest the corpse of monsters after
killing the monsters, a special item in Hunter Coin would be given to the
participating players as a symbol of the glory of completing these quests of extra
difficulty.
Similar to the quests in Moga Village, Guild Quests are a set of quests
divided into multiple levels. From Level 1 to Level 3 it is called Lower Level, and
from Level 4 to 5 is Upper Level. From Level 6 to 8, it consisted of G Level quests,
which has been absent from the Monster Hunter 3 on Wii and is newly added to
the N3DS version of the game. The game flow here in Guild Quests is also similar
to the one in Moga Village that players need to complete certain key quests of
each level in order to make the next level of quests available. The major
difference is, when compared to the exclusive single play in Moga Village, the
Guild Quests allow linkup play up to four players. While player could also take on
the quests as a single player, one would find the difficulty of the quests are
generally inversely proportional to the number of participating players, even
though the game would scale the difficulty in certain degree according to the
number of players. There are obvious advantages in taking on quests with
multiple players in hindsight, such as avoiding being the only target of the
monsters attacking moves and making strategic cooperation between players
possible, making each quest easier to beat in the process. It should be also noted
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that a Guild Quests would be considered as fail if the combined death count of all
participating players reached three, creating some possible tense moments
between players for blaming each other for the failure.
The success of killing the monsters as a team, however, would not

automatically translate into receiving rewards as a team. In Guild Quests, each
participating player would have his individual probability, once again generated
randomly by the CPU, of obtaining materials and items through harvesting,
foraging and rewards of quest completion. As all items processed by players in
the games, save a few consumables of least rarity, could not be transferred or
exchanged between players, the nervous moment of revealing what kind rewards
that each individual player got has become an interesting scene after each
completed quest: while a frustrating player is bemoaning his luck in failing to get
the material he wanted after his fifteenth attempt, his less experienced teammate
who has just stupidly killed himself twice in the game could be celebrating for
getting a material of utmost rarity. The addictiveness generated from this reward
system would probably lead the frustrating player to launch the same quest, with
his still smiling teammate, for the sixteenth time.
Through taking on Guild Quests, the game would give player a ranking,
generated through a formula factoring various data in, to reflect the experience
level that the player is currently at. The level is called HR, as all players started
from HR 0 at the beginning of the game. By progressing to HR 1, HR 2 and
onward, players would be able to participate in some Arena Quests that requires
certain HR level for entry. The HR label on each player, on the other hand, is also
a key component for Hunter Search Engine and Guild Cards, the two important
tools in Monster Hunter 3G that helps to foster interactions between players.
It should be noted that, however, the concept of leader was not intended
to exist in linkup play. The host player does not enjoy any additional power over
other players besides being able to pick and launch quest. The HR level of each
player does not have any impact on the status of any player in a quest either. In
fact the lesser HR player is supposed to have equal probability of getting valuable
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items with senior players. The seemingly system of equal status between players,
as I observed, did encourage inferior players to team up with senior without too
much hesitation.
Hunter Search Engine
Hunter Search Engine was a built-in tool inside the game that allows
players to search for and connect with nearby Monster Hunter 3G players. When
activated, the engine would constantly search for other N3DS consoles that are
running the game with activated Engine within a perimeter of about a dozen
meters. On the page of Hunter Search Engine, player could check the following
information of each detected player:
Name
HR Level
Total played time
Self-introductory remark
Weapon currently equipped
Engaging Quest (if any)
Quest Status
Vacancy of the players lobby
Other players in the lobby
If there is vacancy for the upcoming quest and the host player has enabled
the option of allowing other players to join, then other players would be able to
enter the Bar area of the host players Tanzia Port and join the quest before it is
started. In fact Hunter Search Engine is an important function in locating
possible companion among a group of strangers. It was particular useful in
finding a right partner by checking players HR level and equipping weapon,
which could indicate if the two players skill level and play styles could be
matched and meshed with each other.
Guild Card
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Guild Card is essentially an identity card for players in the game world. The
card consisted of seven pages, summarizing the progress that the card owner has
made in the game so far. Breaking down the seven pages, it includes:
Page 1
Name
HR Level
Self-introductory remark
Number of times of quest completion at each level
Weapon model and armor parts currently equipped
Number of times detected by card owners Hunter Search Engine
Friendship Rating: it was a numerical rating given by the game on how
close the two players had been. It is calculated by an unknown formula
that likely put the number of times and duration of linkup play by the two
into consideration. When a Friendship Rating reach certain number, a
bonus item would be given to both players as an incentive to linkup play.
Page 2
Frequency of Weapon Usage: this page records the number of times
of each type of the twelve types of weapons that the card owner has
used at different levels.
Page 3
Hunter Diary: It records the most recent quests the card owner has
taken and its result. Companions, the size of killed/captured monsters,
and the Awards obtained in the quest would be also listed here.
Page 4
Awards: Listing the Awards the card owner has obtained in the game.
Page 5
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Hunted Monsters Record: Listing the number of times of each
species of Boss Monster that the card owner has hunted, with both the
largest and smallest sizes of each hunted species are also shown.
Page 6
Arena Quests Record: A list that compares the recorded time in each
Arena Quest between the card owner and the viewing player.
Page 7
It is a picture constantly shown on the upper screen of N3DS inside
Guild Card. The picture features the player character in a posture
decided by the card owner, who could also input another self-
introductory remark at the bottom. The background of the picture is
also changeable from a list provided by the game, and new
backgrounds would become available in the list by progressing in the
game.
There are two major ways in obtaining other players Guild Card. One of
them is initiating card exchange when two players were at the same Port Tanzia,
or in other words, linking up. Another way is utilizing a N3DSs unique function
called Street Pass, which allows two N3DS consoles in sleep mode to exchange
game data automatically, when the two machines are close enough to each
others detectable area. Guild Cards obtained by either means would be
transferred to the aforementioned players Post Office, where player could check
the Guild Cards temporarily stored there. In order to encourage players to
exchange Guild Card with each other, bonus items would be given to player for
every ten new Guild Cards stored in the Post Office.
Player then could decided which Guild Cards to be placed on his Card List,
which has a cap of a hundred slots for card storage. Guild Cards stored in the
Card List could be categorized into various default group such as Friend, Class,
School, Family, Tutorial School, Club, Special, VIP, Company, Rival
and Elite, and player could also input his comment on the card owner as well.
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From the above account of Monster Hunter 3G as a multiplayer game, one
could assume that the developer have tried to offer incentives to encourage
linkup play between players. Firstly, the G Level quests, the hardest quests in the
game, are intended for linkup play up to four players. Even to the most
experienced and skillful players, teaming up with other players, beside netting
extra bonus items, would be the most efficient way to completely beat the game
and obtain all of the 44 awards. Secondly, The supposedly equal status among
players of different level tends to encourage the lesser HR players to linkup with
senior players without hesitation. Thirdly, the individual reward probability
randomly generated by the CPU was likely to create dramatic and interesting
moments in linkup play when players received different rewards of extreme
rarity. Fourthly, the game does provide useful tools in Hunter Search Engine and
Guild Card to foster interactions between players. The Guild Card system, in
particular, allowed individual to build his identity as a hunter, which could
probably help some players to reduce the uneasiness and anxiousness in
interacting with strangers in the real world. Lastly but not least, the game is
perhaps simply more interesting to play with others, as strategic cooperation
between players have become possible.
Conclusion
In this chapter I have given a detailed account of Monster Hunter 3G as a

game. By looking back to the history of the Monster Hunter franchise, I pointed
out that the up and down popularity of the series on different console platforms
have been largely related to the availability of convenient linkup play without
extra cost. In the following part of the chapter, I have sketched the basis of
gameplay of Monster Hunter 3G as a single player action game, examining the
complex systems in the game that made the game addictive to the players. The
chapter was concluded by analysis on the game as a multiplayer game,
suggesting the developer had put various incentives in the game to encourage
linkup play and to foster interaction between players. Having understanding how
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Monster Hunter 3G worked as a game, the focus of the next chapter will be shifted
to Taipei City Mall, where the author would participate and observe the regular
but informal gatherings of Taiwanese Monster Hunter 3G players.
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Chapter 5
An Account of Taipei City Mall and the Gamer Gathering on

a Typical Weekend
Introduction
In the previous chapter I have outlined the history of Japanese video game
industry and discussed how the hardware and software had been re-territorized
into Taiwan market at the moment of production, circulation, and consumption.
This chapter will focus on Taipei City Mall (), an underground market
where players of the Monster Hunter series gathered in front of a video game
shop and played the game together on weekly basis. Without an organizers or a
leader, the gatherings had been built on each players assumption of the presence
of other players there, and their willingness to play with strangers. I consider the
gamer gathering in Taipei City Mall as a very good example to show how
Taiwanese video game players used a Japanese video game in a way that differed
from the producers original intention, thus creating a new meaning for the game
and to the players themselves in the process. In this chapter I shall lead a tour of
Taipei City Mall where I had spent a year as my major research field, sketching
the contour of the underground street and its users on a typical weekend, and
more importantly, showing how the gamer gathering worked through the
unspoken rules and rituals negotiated by the players themselves.
Taipei City Mall: the facts
Taipei City Mall was opened in March 2000 and became one of the major
underground markets in Taipei city. Underground market, commonly known as
underground street (DiXiaJie ) literally in Taiwan, was introduced to the
island in 1978 when the city of Kaohsiung built and opened an underground
street to restore the citys economy, only to see the underground arcade utterly
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demolished by a fire in 1989. The Taipei City Government had begun its study on
building underground streets in Taipei city since 1986, hoping to re-shape the
citys environment following the move of railways toward underground in the
Taipei Main Station area.152 The study concluded that the city should construct
seven underground streets, five of which would be located around the Taipei
Main Station and connected to each other. Among the proposed underground
streets, the Taipei City Mall was the largest one and chosen as a site of settlement
to the former tenants of Zhonghua Mall, which had been demolished in 1992 as a
part of plan to re-shape the Zhonghua Road in Hsimenting area. When the
underground street was opened in 2000, it vowed to be a young, trendy,
international and modernized shopping mall.153
Built just under Shimin Boulevard, the complex of road and flyover that
runs through the heart of Taipei City from west to east, Taipei City Mall is a 825-
meter long underground complex overlapped with arguably the busiest traffic
area in Taipei. It is surrounded by terminals of several transportation systems,
such as Taipei Main Station of Taiwan Metro, Taiwan Railway and High Speed
Rail, the Taipei Bus Station where passengers of over hundred long-distance bus
lines boarded and alighted, and stops of bus lines heading to every corners of the
city. The railways alone have over 270,000 passengers using Taipei Main Station
to alight or to broad every day,154 and the number excludes the incalculable
figures of those using city and long-distance buses. Connecting each
transportation systems with exits leading to each other, the Taipei City Mall is
actually a hub of Taipei city transportation systems that allowed commuters to
transit or to reach their destinations in the area quickly regardless of weather
and traffic on the surface. Indeed there was a study showed that the peak hours
of number of people in Taipei City Mall is coincided with the rush hours on
weekday evenings, showing the major function of the underground street tends
to be a passage for commuters. Although the peak hours are extended to early
afternoon on weekend days, the number of people drops earlier than other
nearby shopping and dining areas such as Hsimenting, showing the underground
152 Wang (2008), pp.21-24

153 Wu (2004), pp.54
154 2006 2006
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street is regarded as a passage rather than a final destination of shopping.155
The complex consisted of two floor, with the lower floor used as car park
while the upper is a shopping arcade, which was known for its larger-thanusual
space in the corridor area.156 Over 260 tenants spread through the arcades four
major sections of Clothes, Shop (Merchandise), Information, and Food, despite the
division could be loose at times. Figure 4.1 shows the number of shops in
different sections.
Section Number of shops

Clothes 99
Shop (Merchandise) 28
Information 85
Food 49
Figure 5.1 Distribution of shops in different sections.157
Among the many types of merchandise that could be found in Taipei City
Mall, the Japanese ACG products (Animations, Comics, and Games) were probably
the more popular one. The most crowded shops in the arcade were often the one
selling Japanese ACG products. Among the customers most of them were young
men under age of thirty, which indeed was echoed in other studies.158 The
management office of Taipei City Mall might also have recognized this as the
arcade used a Japanese girlish character in Rion to be the mascot and invited a
Japanese voice actress to cover for the mascot. The arcade also tried to appeal
Japanese ACG fans by putting up decorations of Japanese style, such as Japanese
lanterns and torii (gateway of Japanese shrine), and organizing Japanese events
such as summer festivals and Yukata (Japanese bathrobe) catwalk shows.
155 Chen (2008), pp.54-78

156 Chen (2008), pp.55-78
157 (Online)
(URL: http://www.taipeimall.com.tw/product/index?category_id=32)
(Accessed: May 01, 2013)
158 For example, Chen(2008) revealed the group of male aged 20-29 was the most frequent
commuters found in the Taipei City Mall.
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Fig. 5.2 Appealing to Japanese ACG fans in Taipei City Mall. (Left) A young man
was taking picture of the mascot, Rion; (Right) A Torii and a paperboard cartoon
girl in Yukata in the Food section
A tour in Taipei City Mall
It was a typical Saturday afternoon of wintertime in Taipei. The

temperature had dropped to 12 degree Celsius and the endless scattered rain
had made the coldness even bitterer. Having wrapped myself in layers of clothes
to keep myself warm, I took a city bus from my home in Zhongshan district and
arrived at the Taipei Main Station after a ten-minute ride. On my way to Taipei
City Mall to attend the weekly gamer gathering, I walked through the Main
Stations lobby and noticed an unusually long line was queuing up in front of the
ticket office, reminding me that the Chinese New Year was fast approaching.
People were rushing to buy their train tickets in order to spend the holidays with
their families back home. I bought a bottle of water and some snacks from a
convenient store in the lobby, as I know it would be another busy afternoon
fighting against monsters after monsters with other gamers at Taipei City Mall
that I would not have time to have a proper lunch.
I then took an escalator to the Main Stations basement floor, where I could
immediately find another escalator going further down to the Taipei City Mall.
This escalator led me to the Exit 6 of Taipei City Mall, one of the twenty-eight
exits that connected the Taipei City Mall with transportation terminals and
shopping malls. Just when I was about to head straight to the gamer gathering
area, my mobile phone rang. SOS and AHL, a pair of cousins who had been my
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regular teammates in Monster Hunter 3G, told me that they would be late for an
hour, and asked me to team up with other gamers first. Rather than following
their suggestion, I decided it was a good opportunity for me to observe the Taipei
City Mall.
Clothes section
Exit 6 was located at the Clothes section (), where most of the exits
connected with the Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Bus Station, Zhongshan Taipei
City Mall and a big shopping mall, making it the busiest section in Taipei City
Mall. The crowd in this section could go even bigger whenever there is an activity
or function held on the mini stage located at the eastern end of the Clothes
section and of the Taipei City Mall. On this day a Chinese orchestra of teenagers
was performing on the stage. Audience of about a hundred filled up the long
benches in front of the stage, and many others surrounded the stage area in
semicircular shape. Unlike the video game contest held at the same venue in the
previous week that had drawn a lot of youthful audience, many middle-aged
parents who looked very proud of their children on the stage dominated the
crowds around the stage this week.
The Clothes section did have approximately eighty percent of its shops
selling textile products and shoes, and most of them were women fashion. Many
of these shops were selling inexpensive and brand-less products, and a big sign of
NT100 for 1could often be found at eye-catching position in front of the shops.
Besides competing by price, some shops tried to distinguish their products by
putting a small sign of MIT on them, referring to Made In Taiwan. On this day
there were not many customers shopping in these shops, and most of the
shoppers were domestic helpers from Southeast Asian countries such as
Philippines and Indonesia, who could be often found in a circle centered from
Taipei Main Station on weekends. Since the inexpensive merchandises in these
shops were affordable to those foreign domestic helpers, who therefore had
become one of the major customers for these shops.
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The foreign domestic helpers also filled up the benches outside the toilet of
the Clothes section. Each bench was about 1.5 meters long and could take three to
four persons. One of these benches immediately drew my attention. A foreign
domestic helpers group of five were sitting on a bench and laughing loudly.
Despite the fact that all five were women with petite bodies, they had to put
themselves extremely close to each other in order to share the bench together.
The woman sitting in the middle was holding a big photo album and everyone
were sharing big laughs and eating some snacks that I had never seen before.
They all looked having a good time there as if they had been sitting on a
comfortable sofa in their living room at home. In fact they were often gazed by
the passing-by Taiwanese and the benches outside the toilet were hardly
comfortable; one would feel difficult to find appetite for snacks in an area full of
smell of bleach.
Not far away from the benches outside toilet was Mr. Brown Caf, another
popular spot for hanging around in the Clothes section. Mr. Brown Caf is one of
the biggest chain store cafe brands in Taiwan, in which one could often find
people doing things of their own with a drink from the cafe. This Saturday was no
different from other weekends that it was over 90% full by my observation.
People inside were chatting, reading, playing mobile devices, using laptops, or
sleeping, all with a cup of drink in front of them. It was not, however, a popular
place for foreign domestic helpers as I could only find a few of them inside the
cafe. Price might be the reason why the foreign domestic helpers preferred the
benches outside toilet to this well-decorated cafe; the average price of drinks
here were over NT100, and a sign in the cafe reminding each customer should
order at least one drink. Indeed just two week before I was politely, but also
sternly, reminded by a staff here to order something fifteen minutes after
starting an interview with my informant in the cafe.
On this day a middle-aged woman had drawn my attention. She was

occupying a small rounded table with her three young kids, the oldest one looked
under twelve. Her children were all busy with smartphones in their tiny hands,
tapping the colorful screens while lowering their heads. The mother looked
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bored and was aimlessly looking around. Then there was a moment we caught
sight of each other and I could felt her uneasiness of being gazed. I moved my
head toward the direction of her kids with a smile, showing my sympathy for her
being isolated. She nodded to me with a forced smile before I continued my tour.
At the west end of the Clothes section I could find a kind of business that
was irrelevant to clothing at all. A few body-massage shops offered varieties of
massage service at a small corner of the Clothes section, while some of them
looked fascinating to me. On my left there was a shop providing regular body-
massage service performed by some middle-aged women, who looked bored in
their uniform of orange and purple with no customer to serve at the moment.
When they found I was looking at them, their straight faces quickly broke into
smiles and asked gently,
Hi handsome you want some massage service?
I shook my head with an embarrassing smile before I quickly walked away. I

did not know why I felt embarrassing as I did have experience of receiving
massage service before. Looking back now, perhaps my uneasiness was due to
the openness of the massage area. There was not any kind of blockade between
the massage chairs and the corridor; hence passing-by people could easily see
what happened inside the shop. While the shop might consider this as a way to
attract more customers, it could turn away someone like me who want more
privacy.
To the opposite of the regular body-massage shop I could find another one,
only this one provided its massage service in a different way. This shop offered
shoulder-massage service performed by visually impaired staff. A big sign of
NT100 for 10 minutes was hanging above a row of massage chairs at the front.
These massage chairs were designed specifically for shoulder-massage; A leather
cushion with a big hole was mounted to a small rounded seat, so that customer
could laid his head into the hole when receiving shoulder-massage service. A few
customers were receiving the service and to me it was even more transparent to
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public than the previous one. The customers there varied from young men to
elderly women, and they all looked enjoying the service, even though they were
essentially being massaged and gazed by strangers in public.
The last shop at the west end of the Clothes section was yet another
massage shop, and it was the one looked most fascinating to me. The sign
hanging outside the shop claimed they use kitchen knife to provide back-
massage, which could lead to relaxation of body nerves. A tiny TV inside the shop
was showing a video demonstrating the procedures and explaining the scientific
rationale to prove its effectiveness. I stood and waited outside the shop, in the
hope of seeing a customer to receive the service in person, before being hustled
out by the unfriendly gaze from the shopkeepers.
Shop section
Next to the Clothes section was Shop section ( / merchandise area),

and the two sections were separated by a small area called plaza, one of the
thirteen basketball court-sized open spaces in the Taipei City Mall. In this plaza I
could find some temporary stalls and a vast array of lady fashions, and I could
hear a middle-aged woman bargaining loudly over a pair of high heels with the
seller, who looked disinterested in dealing with her.
I did not wait for their bargaining result and moved on to the Shop section.
While it was the smallest section of the four in Taipei City Mall, one could find a
wide range of merchandizes here. Varied merchandizes in this section included
DVDs, Buddha statues, jewelries, watches, war game equipment, and books. Mag
Freak, a chain bookstore known for its wide range of books, magazines, and
comics imported from Japan, had been my frequent stop here in the Shop section.
Before going to the weekly gamer gathering on every Saturdays, I would go to
Mag Freak, where I have a membership discount of 10%, to buy the latest copy of
the Chinese version of Famitsu, a weekly video game magazine which would
make me more popular instantly among gamers, thanks to its detailed weekly
coverage on the game Monster Hunter 3G that revealed hidden data in the game.
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On this day it was no different, as SOS had reminded me over the phone the day
before to get this issue because a valuable treasure map in the game would be
included. I went straight to the left corner of the shop swiftly and picked up a
copy of Famitsu from the shelf. I noticed that the original Japanese version, which
should be placed next to the Chinese version, had been sold out. While I was on
my way to cashier, I was curious why the Japanese version sold out quickly this
week, before finding a long line of customers were queuing for checkout. I was
not really surprised by this because I had seen this on other Saturdays before.
While waiting at the line, I tried to observe the queuing customers ahead. Most of
them were young males who looked under twenty, and some of them were in
school uniform. Most of them were queuing quietly except a pair of youngsters in
school uniform just ahead of me. In the five minutes of waiting time, I could hear
they keep talking about the upcoming release of the latest AKB48s CD and where
they could order the limited edition in Yilan. I glanced at the school name on the
back of their uniforms and realized they were high school students from Yilan.
Finally it was my turn to checkout my Famitsu, I asked the staff if the Japanese
version had been sold out, she nodded her head quickly with the slightest smile,
Yes, sir. This issue came with a gift. Next please!
Information Area section Part 1
Leaving Mag Freak with Famitsu in my hand, I headed to the Information

Area section (). While the name of this section could lead to some head
scratching moment for foreigner, the term Information here was actually
referring to merchandizes of information technology. This section was perhaps
the reason why Taiwanese referred the Taipei City Mall as Video Games Street
(). There were eleven shops selling video game products, brand new and
secondhand included, in an area of about a hundred-meter from one end to
another. Before visiting each shop one by one in my usual pattern, I noticed that
people other than domestic helpers had filled up the benches in this section.
They were mainly youngsters with electronic devices, either smartphones or
portable gaming machines, and they were all lowering their heads and focusing
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on their little devices in hand. While I could tell some of them were playing
games together by linking up their portable gaming machines, many of them
looked like using their devices independently. It was a familiar scene that
reminded me of the Mr. Brown Cafe in the Clothes section; with only the smell of
coffee becoming a smell of bleach.
The first stop of my regular video game shop tour was a secondhand video
game shop called DeZhou. It was the only video shop in the Taipei City Mall that
allowed customer to consign their used game to the shop. The seller could set
their own selling price of which the shop could keep ten percent as commission.
It was different from the usual practice of the used game transaction in other
shops who bought games from sellers at discounted price, before re-selling the
game at a higher price as a used game. I went inside the shop and checked if the
game I had consigned a week ago had been sold or not, only to find the game
were still at that left bottom corner where I had last seen it the week before.
Are you Mr. Wong?
A staff suddenly asked from behind.
Yes? You can remember me?
I turned my head and probably looked surprised.
Yes, because your accent did not sound like Taiwanese. Your
game is still here. Usually business here will be better after
Lunar New Year, maybe you can check back by then.
I thanked her for her kindness before leaving the shop. It was not the first time
that people could tell I was not Taiwanese by my accent, and I had learned not to
consider it as an embarrassment, instead it should be an advantage that could
help my fieldwork here.
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A couple of shops away from DeZhou were another two secondhand video
game shops. Unlike DeZhou whose games on shelf were mostly the relatively new
games for the latest generation of game machines, the games in these two shops
could be considered as vintage games of the past generations, such as Nintendos
Famicom and Segas Mega Drive in 1980s and PlayStation and Saturn in 1990s. I
had a brief chat with the owner of one of the shops, the Dreamer, on the other
day and she told me the shop name had actually explained why she wanted to
open the shop. She thought it was a childhood dream for many people like her
growing up in 1980s to own a Famicom and shelves of its games. By opening this
shop, she could not only realize her childhood dream, but could also help others
to do the same by buying the games that they had not been able to afford when
they had been young.
Performers at plazas
I did not stay long in these two shops on this day, as their merchandizes did
not change very often. I kept walking in the westward direction, and at the same
time I was looking at the electronic notice boards hanging overhead along the
corridor. My attention was caught by one of the announcements from the boards
that the Taipei City Mall would be opened as usual during the Lunar New Year,
before hearing a round of lukewarm applause up front. The clapping was
followed by a soft guitar play, and then a clear and melodious singing from a girls
voice emerged. I walked toward to the source of singing and founded a girl
standing at the center of plaza, holding an acoustic guitar and singing in front of a
microphone stand. The equipment she was carrying, including the guitar, the
microphone, and a tiny amplifier, looked nowhere near professional level. Yet the
amateurish nature did not stop her from enjoying her own performance, moving
her head and body along with the lively rhythm came from the strings of her
guitar. The performers devotion was in a stark contrast to her indifferent
spectators. A few rows of benches fully filled up in front of the performer, yet
many of the occupants were not even looking at the girl, who looked about
twenty of age to me. Some of them were playing their smartphones, reading
newspapers, or chatting with each other. The audiences that interacted with her
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most were those standing behind the benches. Another round of lukewarm
applause emerged after two quick songs, and some of the middle-aged women on
the benches took out their purses and asked their children to put some money
into a little box placed in front of the performer. I decided to do the same as a
token of encouragement to her. She thanked me with a satisfied smile, without
looking at the amount of money I put in.
The plaza here was a little crowded on this day. It was not only because the
mini-concert held here, but also because of the demonstration of video games
outside a video game shop. Software World was the biggest video game shop in
Taipei City Mall, where it had two stores that were less than fifty meters apart.
On this day the branch at east side had a huge crowd at front door, where a
demonstration of games using body-sensor technology was held. Microsoft, the
leader in such technology with its best-selling product Kinect, sent out a team
comprised of young staff in eye-catching tracksuits to promote the product
outside Software World. Using the big TV mounted inside the shop window,
players playing a baseball game could see their body motion being captured and
reflected on the game screen almost simultaneously. Laughs and exclamations
could be often heard from the standing crowd, who were mostly in groups of
families. The promotion team often further animated the atmosphere by some
cracker jokes. This scene actually showed that it was Microsoft Taiwans strategy
to target Kinect family-friendly games, as discussed in chapter three, to be its
focus in Taiwan market.
Next to Software World was another video game shop, Game Start. With
fifteen branches, it was the biggest chain video game store in Taiwan. On this day
it also offered free trial of a Kinect game outside the shop. As the Microsoft
promotion team had drew a lot of crowd to Software World, the scene on this side
was relatively listless, with only a South Asian man trying to show his steps in a
dancing game. He was actually not a stranger to me, as I had seen him playing the
same game here many times before. On this day, like the previous occasions, he
came with a fellow female South Asian in Hip-Hop style dressings, dancing in
front of the big TV as if he was performing on stage. He did not care about the
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occasional teasing laughs from the people passing by. He did not look at the
cameras pointed at him. He, just like the young girl singer twenty meters apart,
put himself on a virtual stage of his own here in Taipei City Mall.
Information Area section Part 2
Passing Game Start I could find a couple of models shops. Besides video
games, models were another most frequently seen merchandize in the
Information Area section. Models of various kinds, including vehicles, battleships,
planes, robots, games characters, animation characters, and movies characters,
could all be found in these models shops. There were a lot A4 sized paper pasted
on the shop window, showing the details of upcoming models, such as its picture,
producer, size, release date, starting date of order, and price in Japanese Yen.
Most of these models were imported from Japan, and among them the animation
characters were the majority in those A4 flyers. While many male customers,
both youngsters and middle-aged, were gazing the models with their nose almost
touching the shop window, another group of customers standing in front of flyers
were also busy with their calculators function of their phones, calculating the
estimated cost in New Taiwanese Dollar. It was because the shop would never
give its customer an exact figure of selling price in Taiwanese Dollar when they
placed the order; the price was fluctuating along with the exchange rate between
Japanese Yen and Taiwanese Dollar. Then I heard two familiar voices were
talking just beside me. I turned my head and found the pair of high school
students from Yilan that I had met in Mag Freak. Once again I tried to overhear
their conversation. They were lamenting the model shop in front of them had
stopped taking order on a upcoming mini figure of Hatsune Miku, a popular
character in Japan. They were at a crossroad of either putting their names on
reserve list of this shop, or ordering at another shop in Taipei City Mall at a
higher price. One minute later I saw them entering the other model shop just
next to this one. It seemed to me they had made a decision.
Comparing to the dozen of male customers outside the model shops, a card
games shop right next to them had drew an even bigger number of male
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customers inside. Although it was a shop selling game cards, one could only find
a small corner where the games cards were put for sale. Most of the space inside
the shop of about sixty-square feet had been filled with long tables and seats,
where over 50 male customers were playing card games or simply spectating. It
was a game usually competed head-to-head by two players, using game cards
that could be bought in some random combinations in a package of a dozen of
cards. I stood beside a table and tried to observe one of the battles there.
Although I could not fully understand the exact rule of the game, it looked very
similar to the traditional role-playing video game to me, with elements of magic,
classes and turn-based battle involved. Some considered both role-playing video
games and this table card games had been actually derived from some pencil-
and-paper adventure games such as Dungeons and Dragon.159 I could see there
were various kinds of cards with different pictures being placed on the table in
orderly rows and decks, and players were often in deep thinking before every
single action in the game. Many players were also carrying a large album, in
which their game cards had been carefully stored and arranged in plastics
transparent bags of card size. As the game cards had been bought in blind
combination, it was very usual for players to exchange or trade their spared game
cards with each other to meet their specific needs. Negotiations were taken
places all over the shop, and many of them were involved with real money as I
overheard. This shop in Taipei City Mall did not only serve as a retailer in selling
game cards to players, but also providing a venue and platform for the players to
play, to trade, and to exchange.
I continued my tour and arrived another stop at the second branch of the
Software World in Taipei City Mall. This is the shop where I bought the game
Monster Hunter 3G and N3DS, the handheld console that could run the former. I
entered the shop and went to counter to pick up a flyer in which all events and
discounted goods had been listed.
Please feel free to take one. What do you want this time?
159 Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Smith and Tosca (2008), pp.47
108
A female voice emerged from behind. I turned my head and saw a familiar face, a
young female staff who had helped me in purchasing the N3DS here before. I
responded with a smile and she did the same to me. My accent should be once
again the reason why she could remember me. But she also left an impression in
my mind because of a different reason: She was a frequent visitor to my home
in my N3DS.
In N3DS there is a built-in software called Street Pass, in which N3DS could
interact with the machine of another owner automatically, even in sleep mode,
when the two owners meet on the street. Owners avatar, recent gameplay info,
home state, and greeting remark would appear in others machine. The avatars of
other users could be stored in the home plaza in the owners machine, as if
visitors had been invited to stay in owners home. Since the avatar could be
produced by another built-in software, which generated ones cartoonish
character by real person picture, recalling which real person you had met in real
life could match with the cartoonish avatar had become an interesting feature of
the machine.
I had seen that young female staff played with her N3DS in the shop more
than once before. While we had not talked to each other since the day I
purchased my N3DS, I could tell it was her avatar that pop-up in my home plaza
whenever I visited the shop. That avatar looked exactly the same with her face.
Although the self-description of her avatar showed that her home state was
Tokyo city, I understood she could not choose Taiwan because she had a Japanese
version N3DS, which only allowed owners to choose from a list of Japanese
prefectures and cities. Since Taiwan and Hong Kong had not had an official
regional distributor until August 2012, players in Taiwan and Hong Kong had
been only able to choose from Japanese or American versions of N3DS before
that. While I had indicated my nationality as Hong Kong Chinese in my greeting
remark to other players, my home state showed to them was actually Ehime. In
fact over ninety present of the avatars stored in my home plaza had Japanese
home states, showing the dominance of Japanese version in the Taiwan Market.
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Seeing the young female staff reminded me that I had yet to checked my
home plaza, which could automatically store ten avatars temporarily. While the
machine could hardly record a visit from other avatars in other part of Taipei city,
the quota of ten could be filled in thirty minutes here in Taipei City Mall. I left the
shop and took out my N3DS from my jacket pocket, and saw ten avatars,
including the familiar one of the female staff, were queuing up in one line. I read
their greetings carefully to see if anyone special appears. Greetings were written
in either or combination of Japanese, English and Chinese in form of Japanese
Kanji. I quickly stored all of them into my home plaza, before turning my machine
into sleep mode again in order to store another ten avatars.
An odor of lemon flavor of Pledge160 was getting stronger and stronger

when I headed westward to continue my tour, reminding me that I had almost
arrived the place where the gamer gathering was held: Plaza 5. While the smell
was not really coming from usage of Pledge by the cleaning staff here, the source
of odor was a shop located just beside Plaza 5. It was a shop exclusively selling
camphorated oil, which smelled like the lemon flavor of cleaning spray. It has
been well documented and proved that sense of smell could construct human
memory as well as other senses of our body do. It was particular true in my
experience in Plaza 5, where I had spent number of weekends with the pungent
odor to a point that the scene of gamer gathering would jump into my mind
whenever I used Pledge at home.
I looked at my watch and it was still twenty minutes away from SOS and
AHLs arrival, I decided to skip Plaza 5 and continued my tour westward before
coming back for the gamer gathering later. The benches in this area had been
filled up by groups of youngsters as I walked through the end of the Information
Area section. Most of them were holding a Nintendo DS (NDS), the previous
generation of N3DS, and playing a game called Pocket Monster. I did not really
know how the game system worked but they all looked enjoying their time there.
While some of the groups had larger number of people that a bench could not
take all of them, the extra bodies then chose to sit on the floor beside the bench,
160 A house cleaning spray produced by American company SC Johnson.
110
without caring about a toilet was just next to them. During my time spent in
Plaza 5 for Monster Hunter 3G gatherings, I had never seen a Pocket Monster
group playing there. It seemed to me that there was an unwritten rule in place to
maintain order and to assign areas for different gamers.
Food section
After passing by Sky Dragon, the only video games shop that openly
provided conversion service to enable pirated game playing here, I had finished
the Information Area section and immediately arrived Food section, the last
section of the Taipei City Mall. Smell in the area had changed once I entered the
Food section, and I could quickly tell it was coming from a Taiwanese style meat
soup restaurant. Yet there was no other traditional Taiwanese cuisine could be
found in the section. Among others, Japanese style restaurants, such as Ramen,
Omelet Rice and Don (Japanese style bowl of rice), were the majority in the
section. The dominance of Japanese restaurants in the section was actually
reflected on the paintings on wall in the section, where Japanese style of cartoon
characters and festival decorations had been used to promote the Food section.
In one wall painting that had particularly drawn my attention, an array of
Japanese red lanterns were hanging in a Japanese shrine, as each lanterns had a
name of restaurant in the Food section on it. It looked rather strange to me to see
the names of Taiwanese and Italian ice-cream shop appeared on Japanese red
lanterns. On this Saturday, even in lunch hour, there were not many customers in
the Food section, as most of the restaurants had under fifty present of their tables
occupied.
At the end of Food section I found another restaurant of Japanese style, a

maid cafe. A young girl in maid costume was standing outside the cafe and trying
to draw the attention from people passing by. She spoke in loud and sharp tone in
both Chinese and Japanese while bowing repeatedly. There was a painting on
wall behind her, with a cartoonish maid saying, Welcome back to the Taipei City
Mall, Master. I took a glance at inside and found all tables had been occupied
except one with a reserved sign on it.
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The dancers
Just when I thought I had finished the tour and about to return to Plaza 5, I
noticed there were a lot of people moving their bodies in identical direction and
rhythm at the western end of the Taipei City Mall. As I walked toward them,
music of strong beats aroused and I realized they were dancing group that I had
seen multiple times in Shuanglian Metro station. There were dozens of
youngsters dancing there in several groups, and they all looked under twenty of
age. Wall-sized glass mirrors had been mounted on all over the wall, obviously
serving the purpose of providing dancing area here in Taipei City Mall. Since this
end of the Taipei City Mall rarely had heavy stream of people due to its
remoteness from major public transportations, dancers and pedestrian were
unlikely to bother each other. I stood there and observed their dancing. Unlike
the South Asian dancing in front of video game shop, some of the young dancers
here seemed a little uneasy of having spectator. Some of them turned their heads
toward me occasionally while dancing, before giving me a glance in annoyance
when my mobile phone rang loudly. SOS and AHL told me they had arrived Plaza
5, then I nodded my head to the dancers as apology, before heading eastward to
Plaza 5.
Taipei City Mall as a space
The first half of the chapter have illustrated how Taipei City Mall had been
utilized by different groups of people as a space, even though many of the
activities I found there were probably not the Taipei City Government had
foreseen. While the underground market had filled its expected role as the site of
settlement to the former tenants of Zhonghua Arcade, its larger-than-usual
corridor area had allowed usages beyond sale of goods: Domestic workers could
spend their weekends here not only for shopping inexpensive goods, but also for
gathering with their fellow countrymen by sitting on the benches outside toilets,
without having to pay for drinks to sit in the Mr. Browns Caf. Massagers utilized
the public space in front of their shops to provide massage services, and perhaps
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more importantly, to showcase their mysterious services to potential customers.
While some performers had obtained permits from the city government to
perform at the plazas in Taipei City Mall, the dancing game opened for free trial
in front of video game shops also provided opportunities for some, such as the
aforementioned South Asians, to turned the space in Taipei City Mall to a virtual
stage of their own. Magic card players did not only play the game inside the card
game shop, but also utilized the space outside the shop to trade and exchange
with each other. The dancers had turned the western end of the underground
street into their regular place for practice. Players of different handheld video
games, most noticeably Monster Hunter, held regular gamer gatherings by sitting
on the floor. There is a shared characteristic of the above users of the Taipei City
Mall: they utilized the space beyond the intention of the city planner according to
their own needs. While all these usages and gatherings could not be found on the
official information board, a consensus had been built between the users, the
tenants, and the management office. The users understood they should refrained
themselves from disturbing other users and tenants, while the tenants and the
management office would tolerate those users activities if it did not bring too
much inconvenience to other shoppers. As a result the users had successfully
negotiated their own way of utilizing the space in Taipei City Mall.
Taipei City Mall as a hub of Japanese popular cultures
It is easy to note that many Japanese popular cultural products are

available at Taipei City Mall. Latest comics, magazines, models and video games,
often directly imported from Japan, could be purchased from the shops here.
Coupled with the Japanese cuisines in the food section, the Taipei City Mall is a
place for concentrated Japanese popular cultures consumption that could not be
found in any other place in Taiwan. While some other shopping areas, such as
Hsimenting, also offer wide range of Japanese popular cultural products, they
could not provide a platform for interaction between customers similar to what
Taipei City Mall does. To many fans of Japanese popular culture in Taiwan, the
biggest attraction of going to Taipei City Mall is probably not only purchasing
products, but also the interactions with other users, an integral part their
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consumption behavior. The space of the underground market helps to make
various interactions possible, from gamer gatherings to exchanging the latest
AKB48 photos outside MagFreak. Combing the wide range of Japanese popular
cultural products and sufficient space for interactions between the fans, the
Taipei City Mall has become a hub of Japanese popular culture in Taiwan. On one
hand it provides a major channel of purchasing cultural products from Japan, on
the other hand it facilitate and foster the interactions and exchanges between the
fans.
The gamer gathering
The Plaza 5 and Space in front of Magical
While the open area where gamer gathering had been held at was called
Plaza 5 in official guide map, I doubt if any gamer actually knew the official name
of the place they had spent hundreds of hours on. It was probably much better
known as Space in front of Magical among gamers. Magical was another chain
video game shop with three stores in Taipei, yet it was the branch in Taipei City
Mall the most popular one among gamers. Known as Video Game Street, the
Taipei City Mall had been Mecca for Taiwanese video gamers since 2005 when
several video game retailers moved their stores here from the renovating Guang
Hua Digital Plaza, a popular mall of electronic products mall. Besides buying
video game products, going to Taipei City Mall could serve other purposes such
as getting latest game information from shop owners, and exchanging with other
gamers hanging out there, particularly in the earlier years when Internet had not
been widespread among Taiwanese. Magical just happened to have a relatively
large open area in front (Plaza 5), where allowed gamers with sufficient space to
stay and to interact with other gamers. Then in 2007, Space in front of Magical s
status of venue for gamer gathering had been confirmed by the release of
Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, a 2007 PlayStation Portable title which encouraged
linkup play in person. Gamers who struggled to form a group of four, the optimal
number of players to play the game, would come to Space in front of Magical on
weekend and look for partners. After a few Monster Hunter titles later, as I had
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been told by many gamers, they still regarded here as the primary platform of
exchanging with other hunters.
It should be noted that, however, the gamer gathering here at Plaza 5 was
not anything close to an organized one. While there were other Monster Hunter
gatherings organized and regulated by individuals from online video game
forums, the gathering here at Taipei City Mall was built on the consensus
between players to assume partners of different levels could be found there on
every weekend. The role of leader was absent in the gathering, as the ritual and
rules I am going to illustrate below is probably the result of continued
negotiations between players of equal statuses throughout the years.
I arrived Plaza 5 and saw SOS and AHL, in T-shirts and jeans as usual, were
sitting on the floor beside one of the six pillars in the plaza. The floor just outside
the Magical had already been fully occupied by about two dozens of gamers, who
were sitting in barely recognizable shape of groups of four. Each of them had a
N3DS in their hands, looked busy in playing with their head lowered. SOS saw me
and called my name loudly, asking me to come while waving his hand. I sat just
next to him with my back closed to a pillar, worrying if I would block the passage.
SOS did not tell me the reason why he was late, as he just kept telling me how he
killed a powerful monster alone at home the previous week. I took out my N3DS
from my pocket, checking another ten new visitors from Street Pass, before SOS
interrupted as he asked me nervously,
Where are you Sammo? I cannot see you in my game!
Sammo is my nickname in the game. I told him I still had not launched the
game, asking him to wait me for two minutes. He looked very eager to start the
game as early as possible, kept asking AHL and me which monster we should
challenge this time. After a minute of loading time and then using the partner-
searching function in the game, I found myself, or my N3DS, had successfully
entered SOSs world. I suggested to kill a specific monster, a relatively weak one,
in order to get the required materials to forge a new weapon for my character,
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despite the fact that both SOS and AHL had already beaten this monster dozens
times before. They agreed with my suggestion. AHL browsed the game menu
swiftly and had opened the mission in spite of seconds. After a few round of easy
battles, I lamented my luck did not come today as the materials I wanted had not
dropped yet. While AHL had been apparently bored by the repeated and
unchallenging actions, SOS patted my shoulder lightly and said in encouraging
tone,
Don't worry Sammo. We will keep fighting with you until it

drops!
Just when we were about to start another round, a fourth player and his
character had entered the game. We looked around the plaza and tried to find
who was the newcomer, yet there were a few people who looked like playing the
game alone at the plaza, and we could not tell who was the one joining our game
through the partner-searching function.
Lets see who he is through Guild Card. AHL suggested.
AHL invited the newcomer to exchange their Guild Cards, and then a moment
later I had received a card-exchange invitation from the newcomer, too. To AHL
and perhaps other gamers here, getting to know someone did not necessarily
mean meeting him in person or asking about his background in real life; the
game-related personal details included in Guild Card was all they cared about.
From his Guild Card I got to know he was a heavy user at a much higher
experience level than we did, and left me wondered if he wanted to keep fighting
against the weaker monster with us. Fortunately the material I wanted finally
dropped in the very next round. SOS was very excited and gave me a high-five,
before we found our new partner had already left our game.
SOS suggested we could move closer toward Magical, pointing out that a
tiny space just outside the shop had become available. AHL looked reluctant to
move because he thought there was no difference between two places. Yet SOS
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insisted in moving as he thought it was better to get closer to other gamers. We
decided to move to the space as SOS suggested, sitting under an advertisement
lamp-box mounted outside Magical. As we tried to find the most comfortable
sitting positions without blocking the corridor, I accidentally kicked the back of a
gamer from another group sitting just next to us. I apologized to him
immediately; he gave me a quick glance and nod to show his understanding of my
situation before lowering his head to focus on the game again.
We ended up with a rather awkward position as I was sitting back to back

with AHL. Just when we were ready to go for another round, a male voice broke
from the top,
Any vacancy here? (You Que Ren Ma )
It was a usual line used in gamer gathering to ask for permission of joining a
group. I looked up and saw a young boy in his early teen. He wore a cap in light
blue with a print of Hatsune Miku, and a keychain of the virtual idol was tied with
his backpack. He looked no more than sixteen of age to me. SOS welcomed our
new partner with enthusiasm, squeezing every possible inch to let the young boy
sitting in. We exchanged our Guild Cards once the young boy was in our game,
before SOS exclaimed with admiration,
Your armor looks so good. Which set of armor it is?
It is armor of Sea Dragon. I have killed over fifty of them for

the required materials. The young boy replied calmly and a
little proudly.
Oh it was awesome. I want to have one too. It must be hard

but I really want to have one. Sammo, do you want to forge
one for yourself? Look at his helmet! Sammo, do you want
to forge one?
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I was not really surprised by SOSs excitement as I had seen it many times before.
I told him the extra bonus in skill rating brought by this set armor did not fit with
my style of play, but I would fight with him if he wanted to forge one. The young
boy also said that he did not mind to fight against Sea Dragon again because he
still needed some materials from the monster to forge a sword. The battles did
not go smoothly as my character had died multiple times, and the number would
be doubled had AHL not saved me repeatedly by using life recovery items on me
at timely fashion. I apologized for my limited skill but they all looked
unconcerned. AHL, a usually calm presence, looked particularly fired-up by the
extra difficulty brought by my incompetence, roaring a few times that I had rarely
heard from him.
After a few rounds of longer-than-expected battles, the young boy noticed

my strange accent and asked if I was Taiwanese. I told him I was a student from
Hong Kong and the purpose of my stay in Taiwan. Apparently He was not
interested in my story at all, and started asking questions about the upcoming
Hatsune Miku concert in Hong Kong. He said he had bought a ticket of the concert
in Taipei, but he wanted to see another one in Hong Kong, where he thought the
Japanese animation and comic products were cheaper. I told him I would see if
anything I could help in getting a ticket for him, before a ringtone of Hatsune
Miku was ranging from his backpack. He took out his IPhone from the backpack
and it was his mother calling. He told her to wait him at the lobby of Taipei Main
Station fifteen minutes later. He then finished the round with us in ten minutes,
before exchanging MSN contact with me and then left Plaza 5.
Just when we watched our latest teammates leaving plaza 5, an innocent

and childish voice whispered behind me.
Can you play with me?
I turned my head and saw a young kid was crouching just next to me. He was no
more than eight of age to me, as his thick and heavy-looking glasses could not
hide his youthfulness. I was utterly surprised, as I had never thought young kid of
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this age would also come for gamer gathering, and I could also notice the
puzzling faces of the cousins. Then I noticed the young kid was hold a PSP in his
tiny hands, with an older version of Monster Hunter game was running on the
handheld. SOS explained to the young kid gently and patiently that we could not
link-up because we had different consoles and games, it was the kids turn to
have a puzzled face. Then a middle-aged couple came to us and patted the young
kids shoulder, asking him not to disturb to us. They were the young kids parents
and they explained to us that their son loved video games but unable to find any
friends at his age to play together. He had begged his parents to bring him here to
link-up with other, while they had no idea why their son knew about this place.
Hey kid, if you really to play, come again tomorrow. I will

bring my PSP to play with you.
Said SOS in soft tone. I was not really surprised by his kind suggestion because I
had seen him being friendly toward other minority players for more than once.
On one occasion a man with apparent difficulty in body muscle control wanted to
join a group here Plaza 5. While many gamers showed their reluctance in
accepting him into their groups, it was SOS who actively asked the man to join
our group. Although the man was incompetence in the game, SOS was his
enthusiastic self in enjoying the game with our companion. The young was very
excited after hearings SOSs suggestion, urging his parents to bring him here the
next day before leaving Plaza 5 in parents holding hands.
We were down to three players again. It was almost 5 p.m. and the number
of gamers had started dwindling. With only about four groups of four remained
on the floor, we adjusted our sitting positions to be more comfortable. I
intentionally positioned myself at the middle of other groups, enabling me to
observe other groups while fighting with mine. Then a familiar voice of male
came from behind, I turned my head and saw Crow, the very first Monster Hunter
player I had met and played with at Taipei City Mall, was sitting there and playing
in a group. Crow was a constant presence in the gaming gatherings here.
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Stop your attack! I am using sleeping bomb on the monster!
Coward, run ! run !
(Here I go!)
(What a pity!)
On this day, just like every other Saturdays, he was giving orders to his
teammates in a firm tone and exclaiming in English and Japanese phrases at
times. His teammates looked indifferent to Crows command and expressive
style, focusing on the tiny screen in front of them.
Oh Sammo, your machine is flashing.
The voice of SOS had brought me back to our group. I saw a red light was flashing
from the top of my N3DS, indicating the machine was running out of battery.
Since N3DSs battery life could only last for about four hours in link-up play,
running out of battery had been a constant problem for gamers who wanted to
spend the entire Saturday afternoon at the gathering. Some of them would buy an
external battery pack to supply extra power for their machines. Other gamers,
like SOS and AHL, would seek help from Magical.
Dont worry Sammo. I go to ask the shop to let us use its

socket.
Here was probably the biggest reason Magical was so popular among
gamers: it allowed gamers to use their electronic sockets by leaving their identity
card in shop as a form of assurance. One informant told me that the shop owner
did not think it would cost them much in bill, however it could build a positive
reputation among its potential customers, the gamers. SOS quickly took out his
identity card from his wallet and rushed into Magical. He came back in a minute
and urged us to move to another side in front of the shop, where the electronic
socket was located. I took out my charger from my pocket, connected it with my
N3DS before plugging it into the socket. The green light was back.
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We were now playing just beside a small counter outside the shop. The
counter had a TV and a PlayStation 3machine mounted for demonstration
purpose. On this day there was a young man standing in front of the counter,
bringing his own PS3 and games with him and playing alone. I had seen him do
the same thing many times before, and I kept wondering why he did not simply
stay home and enjoy the game with more privacy and perhaps more comfortably.
I had tried to talk to him but it seems he could not understand my accent.
Sometimes he would talk with the spectators nearby enthusiastically in
Taiwanese dialect that I could not understand, it seemed he enjoyed sharing the
gaming experience with others.
Any vacancy here?
Another gamer asked to join our group when we were about to start a new round
in the new place. In T-Shirt and jeans and at the age of early 20s, the newcomer
looked very much alike with the cousins, only his skin was not as dark. We
exchanged our Guild Card once he entered our game. While he was at a much
higher level that I had expected, it was his total playing time really shocked me.
His Guild Card showed his name was Puppy, with hundreds of playing time on his
back. A quick calculation in my mind told me it was equivalent to an averaged ten
hours of playing time per day since the games release date. SOS and AHL also
noticed this astonishing number, offering praises for his endurance. SOS, in
particular, kept asking Puppy about later stages that he had not beaten yet. He
went into details and asked about every map, monster, trap, and weapon that he
might encounter later. Puppy was apparently annoyed by SOSs curiosity,
answering his questions in cold tone.
I did not really pay much attention to their conversation, not only because I
was not interested in the stages looked light-years ahead for my level, but also
because I had been bothered by a disgusting smell. The smell of Pledge had been
replaced by a smell of disgusting sour since a middle-aged man came and stood
just next to me, spectating the PlayStation 3 gameplay. He looked like, and
certainly smelled like, he had not had bath for an extended period. AHL offered
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his sympathy as he gave me a smile and a quick glance at the middle-aged man.
Usually we would try to find another place nearby to avoid this problem, yet I
could not move now because my machine is still charging.
The middle-aged man finally left after thirty minutes, just when we were
about to called it a day as 7 p.m. was approaching. When I closed the lid of my
N3DS, I found Yui, another constant presence here in gamer gathering and one of
my informants, was sitting at the other end of the shop and playing with another
young man. Yuis N3DS of shinning pink was eye-catching as usual, and he was
playing the game relaxingly with one hand, while eating a Japanese rice ball with
the other. I could recognize that Yuis partner was a staff of Magical called Kirby,
who was known for his superior skill and reluctance in playing with
inexperienced players. Being curious in their current level, I opened my N3DS
again to check via partner-searching function, only to find myself smiling with
disbelief as both of them had reached HR 150.
The cousins and I had gained five levels in game from the play this day, and
we were all satisfied. On our way to MRT station, SOS kept talking about the
battles we just had and how excited he was but the prospect of forging top class
armors in the future.
Oh Sammo, I forgot to read your Famitsu...by the way, which

weapon you want to forge next?
I smiled and said I did not know yet. All I knew It would be an endless cycle.
Unspoken rules and rituals in the gathering
While some might be able to notice a pattern of teaming up with strangers in

the Monster Hunter gathering from the above passages, Fig. 5.1 below serves to
illustrate the flow of join a session at Plaza 5:
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Fig. 5.3 The flow of joining a Monster Hunter session at Plaza 5
Look for vacancy
There were two major ways in finding a group with vacancy. The most
direct way was looking at the grouping structure on the floor. As members of
most groups formed on the floor tended to form a circle by facing each other, it
was reasonable to assume vacancy if less than four players was sitting toward
each other. Another way was using the games built-in Hunter Search Engine,
which could detect the ongoing sessions and their member structure within the
perimeter.
Ask to join
When a player located a group that he thought vacancy might be available,
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he could then approach the members of the group and ask, Any Vacancy here?
(). The newcomer should also avoid asking the question at the heat of
the ongoing battle, which could be always told through observing the level of
anxiousness of each member. For players using the Hunter Search Engine, they
could simply send a joining request to the host player of the session.
Introduce oneself
Instead of revealing personal information in the real life, exchanging Guild

Cards was seen as a more natural way to introduce oneself to the new
teammates. As explained in the previous chapter, the information on the Guild
Card did not only serve as a way to build your own identity in the game, but also
let your new companions to know your fighting style and level in the game at a
glance.
Select quest
The host player was responsible for selecting the next quest for the group.
Besides consulting each member for their preferences (some might looking for a
drop from a certain monster, for example), the host should also should also
consider different factors, such as the levels and playing styles of each member,
before making the decision.
Fight adequately
As most teams at Plaza 5 were only temporarily formed by players of

different levels and styles, good teamwork or any kind of strategy was not
considered as an indispensable part in the gathering. Yet there was a minimum
requirement for each player: avoid unnecessary death. As a quest would be failed
when the combined death count of the team reached three, players should always
avoid death that was avoidable, such as charging toward the monster recklessly
or resisting to use recovery items even the health bar was low. Players of lesser
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level, when joining the more experienced players to fight against formidable
monster, would tend to step aside and avoid any direct confrontation with the
monster.
It should be noted that the above flow and rules of the gathering was not
set or standardized by any individual or group. Instead it was a consensus shared
among the players who had collectively negotiated their own way of playing the
game efficiently through countless hours on the floor together. While some might
regard it was merely a set of procedures rather than rule, I would argue it was
indeed a set of unspoken rules, something that could lead to certain punishment
(e.g. no one wanted to linkup with you) if player did not follow.
Conclusion
This chapter is an account of Taipei City Mall and the gamer gathering on a
typical weekend. By showing the changing scenes of different sections and how
people from different races, classes and age groups utilized the public space and
interacted with each other, Taipei City Malls role as a platform of providing an
open space for different purposes of usage, most of them were initiated by the
users themselves, have been sketched. Among the Taipei City Mall users who had
negotiated their own ways of using the space, one of them was the player group
of the video game Monster Hunter. Through leading the readers to a typical
afternoon of gamer gathering, the author has showed how the unorganized
gamer gathering worked with certain unwritten rules and rituals, which I argue
was collectively negotiated by the players themselves to play the game with each
other, or strangers, efficiently. In the chapter I have also highlighted a few
personalities I had regularly met in the gatherings, including the expressive
leader in Crow, the enthusiastic young cousin in SOS, his elder and more reserved
cousin AHL, and the experienced player Yui. In the following chapters I will try to
understand what video games and particularly Monster Hunter meant to them as
case studies, with detailed investigation on their backgrounds and gaming
patterns.
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Chapter 6
Identity Searching, Building, and Consolidating:

Case Study of Crow
Introduction
In the previous chapter I have outlined the unspoken rules and rituals that
could be found in gamer gathering at Taipei City Mall, with a few typical
personalities have made their brief entrances in the chapter as well. In the
following three chapters I will zoom in on case studies of four gamers who could
typify how gamers at Taipei City Mall used the game Monster Hunter according
their own needs, thus localizing the game in the process. The first case study
presented in this chapter was Crow, a second year university student at the time
the interviews conducted. Crow was indeed the first player I had met and played
with at the Taipei City Mall, someone I owed a great deal for helping me to settle
in the environment and atmosphere of gamer gatherings.
Meeting Crow
It was a chilling Friday night and I had just bought my N3DS from Software
World. Knowing that there were gamers gathering at Taipei City Mall, I had been
planning to join the gathering as a major part of my fieldwork. I, however, had
been hesitated in sitting on floor and playing video game with strangers,
therefore I decided to go to Plaza 5 and tried to get the feeling of playing game on
floor in public, which I had never done before. I went to a pillar just opposite to
Magical, looked around, and then took a deep breath before sitting down quickly.
I held my head low and glanced the area quickly. Very soon I realized that my
concern was not necessary: Besides the utter coldness that my hip was suffering,
there was really nothing to be uncomfortable with. A pair of cleaning workers
continued their work with a large vacuum cleaner at the other end, a middle-
aged woman kept pressing her mobile phone at the next pillar, and pedestrians
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after pedestrians passed by without a glance. No one cared what I was doing
there, had they noticed my presence at the first place. I was relieved.
I took out my newly bought N3DS from the box carefully, checking if there
was any stain on the machine that I had not noticed. Then I unpacked the game
Monster Hunter 3G before inserting the cartridge into my brand new console in
shining black. Launching the game for the first time, it required me to create a
new character. Just when I was busy with deciding my hairs color, a voice of
young male emerged in front of me and asked,
Do you want to link-up? (Yao Lian Xian Ma )
I raised my head and found a young man looked in his early twenties was
standing in front of me. His eyes were small but looked determined behind a pair
of plastic-rimmed glasses in white. The sharpness of his glasses had made his
sallow face a more paled one. His scattered and short hair matched the spar se
beard on his cheeks and chin. He was clad in a grey hooded sweatshirt, which
was probably too large for him, as over one-third of his blue jeans had been
covered by the sweatshirt with a university name in front. He was about 160cm
tall, and his oversized clothing had him looked even smaller. He was carrying a
black duffel bag on his right shoulder, while his left hand was holding an opened
N3DS.
I was initially confused by what he had said, and then I quickly realized he
was asking me to play Monster Hunter with him. I told him I had just bought the
game, perhaps I was not ready, or good enough, to play with others yet. He shook
his head with a smile and said it did not matter; he could even lead me to go
through the early stages of the game. I agreed and asked him to give me ten
minutes to finish the initial settings. While I was busy with the settings, he kept
telling me what I should pay attention to at the early stages of the game, which
weapons were suitable for rookies, and listed all the difficult monsters that I
would have to encounter. After finishing all the settings, I hesitated a second
because I did not know how to play link-up with others. I asked him and he just
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took my N3DS from my hands without a word, which might be viewed as rude by
some, and connected our N3DSs with a few clicks. I thanked him and found my
character, named Sammo, was standing next to another character named Crow. I
knew it was his nickname in the game, and before I had chance to ask him why he
chose to use this name, he had already started a new mission and telling me the
things that I should pay attention to in the upcoming battles, such as the attack
pattern of the monster and its weak spots. Throughout the battles I was totally at
lost as this was my first time to play Monster Hunter on N3DS. While Crow was
very familiar with the map of the game world and going from one area to another
with eyes half-closed, I still had difficulty in remembering which button to make
my character sprint. More than often my brain went blank when he was giving
instruction of our strategies. All I tried to do was to survive without dying three
times, which would lead to game over. The pressure of staying alive and learning
the game mechanics had me sweated even sitting on the cold hard floor. We
ended up playing for two hours there before a security guard asked us to leave as
the Taipei City Mall was closing at ten. Before parting company, Crow asked if I
was interested to join a Monster Hunter gathering with his friends in Taoyuan
City the next day. I told him I was interested and confirmed with him about the
meeting place and time, before concluding my first link-up play at Taipei City
Mall.
The Taoyuan Gathering with Crow
It was eight oclock in the morning sharp when I arrived at the lobby of
Taipei Main Station, where I was supposed to meet Crow to go to Taoyuan
together. It was a sunny and warm Saturday morning in December, with dozens
of people sitting outside the station under the sun and looked relaxed. Crow had
just called me and said he would be late for fifteen minutes, so I switched on my
N3DS, taking my time to practice more before playing with experienced players.
In the midst of my first round, I saw Crow was running toward me. He did not say
much, nor apologized for his lateness, then hurried me to walk quickly with him
to platform as the train to Taoyuan would be departing soon. We barely caught
the train and found ourselves standing in the middle of a crowded carriage. He
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breathed a sigh of relief before taking out his N3DS from the duffel bag and
resumed an unfinished round of Monster Hunter. He had no intention to talk to
me as he was concentrating on the small screen in his hands. While the train
often jolted on its way, Crow was able to keep his balance without any reliance,
standing firmly with both hands holding the game console. It looked to me he
was used to play games on a crowded train. I asked a few questions but he
seemed reluctant to talk, giving me very short answers in respond.
After fifteen minutes it seemed he had finished a round, switched off his
N3DS before putting it back into his bag. Just when I was about to try to talk to
him again, he took out another handheld from his bag very much to my surprise.
It was an NDS, the older model of Nintendos handheld console. He switched on
the machine without saying a word, and through a quick glance I realized he was
playing Love Plus, a dating simulation game on NDS exclusively at that time.161
Crow used the NDSs stylus to browse through the Japanese game menu quickly,
deciding what to do with his virtual girlfriend without hesitation. Most of the
time he had a straight face as if he was doing some serious business, save a few
quick grin that showed his satisfaction. Through another glance on the screen I
found he had just finished deciding the schedule on the day in the game world,
before giving a goodbye kiss to his girlfriend by his thumb on her face before
returning to the main menu. I thought it should be the time that I could talk to
him, yet once again I had been proved wrong. His stylus quickly clicked through
the menu once again and I realized he was loading another saved file, or
girlfriend, to play with. While I was utterly surprised by this scene, Crow was
repeating what he had just done five minutes ago, only with a different girl this
time. Then after five minutes it was followed by another date with another
virtual girlfriend, ended with a whisper from Crow that I could not hear what he
had said. He looked satisfied when the closed the lid of his NDS, put it in his bag
and then took out his N3DS once again, asking if I want to play link-up with him. I
told him I could not play the game while standing in train, and then he just
lowered his head and played the game himself.
161
The sequel of the game was released on N3DS in March 2012.
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A ride of 45 minutes had brought us to the Taoyuan station. Following
Crows lead, we boarded on a city bus and headed to the gathering venue. For
the first time in the morning I was able to talk with him without a game console
between us. He told me that the gathering was organized by members in the
Monster Hunter group on Bahamult, the online discussion group, and it was only
his second time to join the gathering. He said about ten people had declared their
participation on the day and Crow had seen about half of them last time. I was a
little surprised to hear this because he had told me it was a gathering with his
friends, who I would expect to be someone that he had met for more than once.
Just when we started to talk about his background and daily life, he suddenly
cried out because the bus had arrived our supposed stop and the door was
already closing. I thought we should rush before the bus driver start the engine
again, yet Crow told me to stay on our seat and said it was fine to get off at the
next stop, as the distance between two stops was less than one kilometer.
We finally arrived at the venue, a popular Japanese chained fast food

restaurant of two-story. We headed straight to the second floor, and then went
through a glass door that led to a large balcony, which was the restaurants
designated smoking area. There were seven young men sitting there in two
tables, each of them had a N3DS in their hands with their sights firmly placed on
the handhelds. Our arrival had hardly drawn their attention, as most of them only
gave us a quick glance before lowering their heads again. Crow lowered his body,
was seemingly looking for something at the foot of the wall there. Then he seated
himself at a table just next to a corner, explaining to me that he wanted to find a
seat that was close to electronic socket. A man sitting at the next table looked
well into his thirties suddenly noticed our presence, asking us to get our meal
order first, then we could play together in form of groups of three. I knew there
was a consensus among the players that each player should order one set of meal
in the restaurant for every four hours of play. The restaurant had never asked
them to do so, yet the gamers from the online communities often do this in token
of their appreciation for the restaurants accommodation, which included
allowing gamers to use their electronic sockets. The gamers, while most of them
are non-smokers, also chose to gather in the smoking area and considered it as a
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manner to minimize the inconveniences brought to the restaurant.
We ordered our meal at the first floor and then returned to our seat. While
having my burger combo, I tried to observe the activities at other tables. All
participants were male, and the one who had talked to us looked like the oldest
one and leader of the group. He would give instructions to others, address
newcomers and also lend his charger to anyone in need. Once in a while a
collective laugh or scream would break out among the players, but the leader
always looked to be at ease. Just when I was listening to him asking other gamers
when and where the next meeting would be held, a low and firm voice
interrupted my mind,
Can I sit here?
I looked up and found a young man of huge figure was approaching us. Then the
leader noticed his presence, yelling at him,
Hey Big Bear you are late. Yes, you sit there. You three with lower levels
could play together.
Following the leaders instruction, the big man seated himself at our table and we
began to play as a group of three. Crow initiated Giruto Card exchange that he
had taught me the day before. Then we began our battles, starting from some
easier missions in the game because my level was still very low. Although both
Crow and Bear, the in-game nickname of our companion, were at relatively high
level, they looked content with completing these elementary missions with me.
Crow, in particular, looked enjoying the process throughout. He was very reactive
to the game actions: whispering to himself, nodding his head hard, and even
singing a line or two. One thing that had particularly left an impression to me was
his frequent usage of foreign languages. Instead of exclaiming in mandarin, his
native language, like other gamers did, Crow would give a line or two
exclamations in other languages that really caught others attention. Here are the
lines he used most frequently,
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In English:
Coward! Run! Run!
Oh my god!
Fuck! Fuck you!
No! No! No!
In Japanese:
(Here I go!)
(What a pity!)
In Cantonese:
! (Its extremely good!)
Crow also showcased his language ability in another way during gameplay. As the
in-game text of Monster Hunter are all in Japanese, all gamers here in the
gathering, and most of the Taiwanese gamers that I would meet later, relied on
the kanjis occasionally in the text to understand the game content and to
communicate with other gamers. As Monster Hunter is an action game with
limited amount of text involved, the gamers could still do fine in communicating
with each other by pronouncing the kanji phases in Mandarin. Crow, however,
often pronounced those kanji terms in Japanese, and confusions among his
teammates was often arisen. Crow would then show a satisfying grin before
explaining what he meant once again in Mandarin.
Besides his usage of foreign languages, another impression was his

insistence to be the leader of a pack. During our play he was constantly giving
orders to his teammates, even though Bear, or the fourth player who would join
us not long after, were having a similar, if not higher, level with his. Since he was
very fond of using trap of sleeping pills on monsters, he would request his
teammates to stop their attack once the monster was asleep, giving him enough
time to surround the prey with heavy bombs. If all things went well according to
his plan, he would give a big roar and cheer in satisfaction; if anyone went against
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his plan and awoke the monster with a careless hit, which I did quite often, he
would give a sigh of dissatisfaction to his teammates and restate his strategy. Our
teammates looked indifference to Crows emotional expressions, as they kept
playing the game without talking much. After six hours of play, I was able to make
a big leap on my level. Standing at HR 3, I thought it was actually well beyond my
true skill level. It was impossible for me to reach HR 3 this early had Crow and
other teammates not helped me to clear the elementary stages with patient. It
was four in the afternoon when Crow called it a day and said goodbyes to other
gamers.
On our way back to Taipei on a crowded train, Crow took out his NDS and
dealt with his girlfriends again. He told me it was not as time-consuming as I
thought to have three virtual girlfriends because, save some special occasions
like birthdays, he only needed to launch the game twice a day, fifteen minutes
each time, to decide the schedule with the girls. While I was amazed by his
efficiency in clicking through the game menus, he asked me if I wanted to go to
Taipei City Mall the next day together. I gladly accepted his suggestion, before
parting company with Crow at the Taipei Main Station.
Going to Gamer Gathering at Taipei City Mall with Crow
Sammo, where are you? I have arrived Magical already.
It was two oclock sharp in the afternoon following the Taoyuan gathering
when Crow called me by cell phone. When we parted company at Taipei Main
Station the day before, I told Crow I would be there at Magical after two oclock
for the gamer gathering as I had something to do before that, and I was not sure
of my exact arrival time. I could sense from Crows voice in the phone that he was
a little anxious for not seeing me there, as he might fully expected to see me there
at two oclock sharp. I told him I was having my lunch at the food court of a
shopping mall just next to the Taipei City Mall, and I would be there to join him in
about fifteen minutes. After hanging up I hurried to put the remaining burger and
French fries on tray into my mouth, before heading to the direction of Taipei City
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Mall with my drink in hand. On my way my cell phone rang again, it was Crow
calling again and the timer showed that it was a quarter past two.
Sammo, where are you?
There was the same anxiousness in Crows voice, and he was eager to know the
exact time of my arrival. I chose my words in my answer to him more carefully
this time, telling him I was just a few blocks away and would be arriving in three
minutes. When I arrived there I found Crow was sitting in front of Magical and
playing with two other gamers. He wore the exact same set of clothing that he
had worn the day before, and it seemed to me his hair had not been combed out
of bed. A question crossed in my mind that why he had to make sure my arrival
time when he had many other gamers to play with, as it should not be a big deal
even I was late or absent. Perhaps I had been expected to be as punctual as his
virtual girlfriends?
I stood next to Crow, who was one of the dozen of gamers sitting on the
floor at Plaza 5. Crow asked me to sit down, saying he would link-up with me
after the current round. I sat just next to the pillar behind him, switching on my
N3DS. From the Monster Hunters player search engine I could see Crow was
playing with two players of over HR 30, which was significantly higher than
Crows HR 17. Yet from their interactions one could not tell Crow was the least
experienced player, as he kept giving out orders like he had done the previous
day in Taoyuan. Among the players at Plaza 5, Crow was the most vocal one, and
sometimes his expressive style did raise the eyebrows of gamers around him.
After fifteen minutes it was my turn to join them. I greeted the other two
players and introduced myself, and they replied by slightly nodding their head
before lowering their head again. It seemed my greeting was too enthusiastic to
them that they did not often address each other here at Plaza 5. They did,
however, send a request of exchanging Giruto Card to me once I joined the game.
Just when I wanted to look in detail of their playing history, Crow interrupted and
asked me which monster I wanted to fight against. I told him I was fine with
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whatever he selected, as my only concern was my capability of playing with
them. Crow then started an elementary level, telling me it was fine for them to
help me leveling up. The next few hours had seen me leveling up from HR 3 to HR
5, and Crow had been very vocal throughout. On one occasion he yelled at me for
not following his plan of leaving the monsters head for him to give a final blow,
and the next moment he was laughing loudly when the monster was trapped and
caught. I actually started to get used to his playing style, and our companions also
did not look particularly annoyed. Between missions Crow would also take out
his NDS and check the status of his virtual girlfriends, before putting it back to
his bag with a face of satisfaction. We called it a day at six as he said he still had a
school assignment to finish.
Since then Crow had not called me to go to any gamer gathering together,
yet we would still see each other at Taipei City Mall on every weekend and had
played together on a few occasions. Most of the time Crow was his typically
expressive self, except one time when he was forced to restraint himself. It was
an early weekday evening when I saw Crow at Plaza 5 during my regular walk at
the Taipei City Mall. He was sitting in front of Magical and playing with two
young men who I had not seen before. Crow was seemingly immersing in the
game, as he did not notice my presence, even though I was just standing about
two feet away from him. I did not greet him because I wanted to observe him
from distance. For the first ten minutes it was the same scene I had seen many
times before: Crow was giving orders to his teammates, showing his frustration
when his orders were not followed, bursting with joy and excitements in foreign
languages. The only difference on this day: his teammates were apparently not
very happy with Crows style. They stared at Crow a couple of times when he
screamed in foreign languages, as if they were annoyed by Crows expressions.
The frequency of staring was increasing and their battle seemed not a very
smooth one, as Crow showed his frustration with slaps on the floor. The break
point had been finally reached when Crow looked very upset and was about to
yell at his teammates, the duo put a finger on their lips almost simultaneously
with a stern look at Crow, asking their expressive teammate to keep quiet. Crow
was obviously stunned and did not know how to react, pausing for a few seconds
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before turning his sight to the game screen again. Another ten minutes had
passed before Crow exclaimed in joy, saying that he had known death was the
only ending for the monster. Just when Crow looked for a response from his
teammates, the duo gave him the slightest nod and closed the lids of their N3DS
abruptly, before rising to leave the Plaza 5 without saying a word. Suddenly
noticing my presence and realizing that I could have seen what had just
happened, Crow looked uneasy and greeted me with a nod. I greeted him back
and talked to him as if I had not seen anything special, asking him something
about the monsters in the advanced stage of the game. His mood changed
instantly when he heard my questions, and could not stop talking with joy in the
next thirty minutes of our new link-up session.
Crows Background and Gaming History
Crow was born in Taoyuan County in 1990. His parents divorced when he
was seven, and he then followed his father to live with his grandparents. Being
the only kid in the family, Crow did not have many friends to play with in his
childhood. On every school day in his primary school years, his grandmother
would come to school and pick him up, limiting his time of hanging out with his
classmates as a result. Besides playing with cousins in the once-a-month family
gathering, playing alone at home had become a norm for Crow. A plastic baseball
set was his favorite toy at that time, as he would play the roles of pitcher, slugger,
and fielder all by himself. He said his grandparents had been strict on him, as
watching TV would only be allowed during dinnertime. Although he had known
about video games when he was very small, it was unthinkable for him to own
one,
I forgot when my first time was, but video games had long appeared in
my life. It was because one of my cousins had a Super Famicom at his
home, and I always wanted to play it when I went to his home. Since I
had many cousins and I was happened to be the youngest one, naturally
I did not have much chance to play because the elder cousins would
dominate the controllers. I remembered one time I was allowed to stay
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at his home for a night. I played the Super Famicom a lot and did not
sleep even it was well beyond the time that I had been instructed to
sleep. On the next day when my dad came to get me home, I still wanted
to play and to stay there for another night. My dad did not allow and
pulled me out of the house, but I used every bit of energy in my body to
cry and scream, begging my dad for another night. At the end I lost the
battle, and I still remember how my grandmother punished me with
heavy slaps on my arms at the night. Since then my family had further
regarded video game as something evil that would have negative impact
on me. I knew there was no chance of getting one from them, so I never
asked either.
When Crows cousin bought another home console in PlayStation later, he

told Crow that he could have his Super Famicom. The cousin said he would take
the console to Crows home later, a promise that had Crow excited for many
sleepless nights,
I was so excited that I could have a free Super Famicom. I knew my

grandmother would not like it but I thought if it was a gift from cousin,
then she might allow me to keep it if I promised to be good. Everyday I
kept thinking what games I should play after the arrival of the machine. I
had even asked my classmates to lend me their finished games. On every
Sunday I would call my cousin and ask him when he would come to my
home with the console, and every time his answer was the same, telling
me he had been busy and would deliver it to me as soon as possible. I
started to running out of patience, calling him a few times a week. Finally
he told me he had sold the console to his friend and then hanged up. Since
then we had not talked to each other in family gatherings until recently.
Going to junior high school, Crow started to have some freedom from his
grandparents. He had been given NT50 for lunch everyday and was allowed to go
home himself after school. Yet the trust from grandparents had turned to
disappointment on their grandson when they found he was lying to them
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because of video game,
In my first year of junior high school I was very close to a classmate who
lived just next to my building. We went to school and back home together
everyday. One day he asked me to go to a grocery store at the next block
with him. I followed him and found an arcade video game machine at the
back of the store. He wanted me to play the game Street Fighter with
him because it would be much more interesting to play against a human
player. I had played this game on my cousins Super Famicom before, and
I indeed loved this game at that time. After two rounds I told my
classmate it was time to go because my grandmother was expecting me
at home. Since then we would save our lunch money and play a round or
two after school, and my grandmother did not aware. Then came the
examination week, when the school time ended hours earlier than usual.
I did not tell my grandmother about the change of timetable, sneaking to
play in grocery store for hours. On the final day of the examination week,
my grandmother came to me angrily when I just stepped out of the
grocery store, saying she had been looking for me all afternoon after she
heard the change of schedule from parents of other students from my
school. I was heavily scolded on street and not allowed to go home.
Finally I was allowed to go back home when my dad came back from
work, and my punishment was to copy my entire textbook for ten times.
It took me more than a week to finish! (Laugh)
This incident had further deepen Crows grandparents dislike toward

video games, and Crow was not allowed to install any game when his dad bought
him a PC for learning purpose in his third year of junior high school. Crow
thought the ban of video games might have affected inter-personal relations in
class,
Most of the boys were playing video games on consoles or PC, and their
conversation had been very much focused on games. I found it quite hard
to join their chat at times. Sometimes I would tell a lie and said I was
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going to buy a PlayStation 2, the coolest console at that time. I knew I
was not. But I just wanted to find something to say that might get their
attention. I was so naive at that time.
The dream of having a console finally came true in Crows first year in high
school, when he was able to earn some money through a summer job,
I worked in a bookstore the whole summer, inputting the book

catalogue into computer. I had saved about NT10, 000 and I decided to
spend it on a video game console. I knew my grandparents would not as
strict as before because it was the money I earned by hard work, yet I
still hesitated to buy a home console because it would be required to play
with a TV, which had been dominated by my grandfather all day long. So
I decided to buy a PlayStation Portable (PSP), which was very popular
among my classmates at that time.
Monster Hunter was the game that Crow and his classmates played most
frequently. During lunchtime they would hurry to finish their lunch box, in order
to squeeze more playing time. Crow thought it was his happiest time in high
school years,
Basically I played only one game on my PSP, and that was Monster
Hunter. I had actually taken my PSP to a game shop to enable piracy
gaming, but I just loved Monster Hunter. My classmates had
recommended other games to me, but I would just go back to Monster
Hunter after a few minutes. It was so addictive that I always wanted to
be better. Better in skill, better in equipment, or better in strategy. Better
in all aspects. Better than my friends. At the beginning when I was not
very familiar with the game mechanics, I just followed my friends and
their orders, trying to be a good teammate. But when I started to master
the game mechanics, I wanted to try something different. I wanted to
have experiments of using different strategies or weapons to make the
battle more challenging. I have a few classmates who had the same
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ambition, and we had formed a team that other people would call us
terrorists. We got this name because we always tried to kill the monster
in unconventional ways, more than often getting ourselves killed in the
process. Just like the terrorists on TV, we sacrificed ourselves to eliminate
enemy. It was really fun to see our crazy plans actually worked. We were
like cooperating and competing at the same time, as each of us always
tried to invent a new and insane way to fight. I was always thinking
about my next new plot in class. It was a still an enigma how I could get
into university. (Laugh)
Going to a university in Taipei city after graduation from high school,

however, was not very pleasant for Crow. He was not only separated from his
good friends in high school, but also found it hard to make some new ones in
university,
In the first year it was really hard for me. I am staying in school
dormitory and it was my first time away from home for extended period.
I actually missed my grandparents a lot that I had not thought I would.
To make it worse, I could not make any new friends. Yes I got to know a
lot of new people but none of them could be considered as real friend. In
the Faculty of politics that I am in, the students there love studying only.
I doubt they have spent all their time in library besides eating and
sleeping. I could not really chat with them. The schoolmates in my
dormitory always play sports, which I have no interest at all. The
situation has been slightly better since last year, when a few freshmen
moved in to my floor. I feel we have something in common but we are not
very close yet.
Crow admitted he was quite bored in his time in university, and the
boredom had driven him to buy another handheld console in NDS. Indeed he only
wanted to play one game on the handheld: Love Plus. The aforementioned dating
simulation game was not known for its thoroughly simulated process of
developing a relationship with one of the three designated girls, but also its
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connection between the game world and reality as players needed to plan and to
execute their schedules with girls in real time. A 7 p.m. dinner appointment with
a girl in the game would require the player to launch the game at 7 p.m. in real
time and act accordingly to avoid upsetting the girl. The most fascinating feature
of the game, however, was utilizing NDSs touch screen to allow body touch
between the player and their virtual girlfriends. To make it more interactive,
touching different parts of the girls body could indeed result various reactions
from the girl. Crow claimed that by having three girlfriends from separated saved
files at the same time, he had turned the game from girl-courting to being
courted by girls,
I first saw the game on Famitsu and I loved the idea. I know they are not
real but I think it is interesting to turn the whole process of dating into a
game. It is true that there are a lot of dating games on PC, but playing on
NDS means you can play the game whenever and wherever you want,
and this make the whole thing become more realistic. And you can touch
the girl with the touch screenI heard some Japanese players really
kissed the NDS screen in train! It was really amazing! (Author: Have
you ever kissed the screen?) No I have not! I admit I am an Otaku but
doing this is too Otaku-ish to me. (Laugh) (Author: Isnt it too busy to
court three girls at the same time from separated saved files?) No I do
not think it is too busy for me. I think the major reason I do so is similar
to how I play Monster Hunter I like to change the way of how the game
being played, finding my own route to success. In Love Plus, by having
three girlfriends, I feel as if I am the one being courted instead of
courting, and the goal of the game has become how to deal with
interests from different girls? In fact there are certain skills involved,
such as avoiding clash of schedules for different girls. I am getting used
to deal with those three, and I am looking forward to the sequel, which
have been rumored to have three extra girls. I am really looking forward
to being courted by six girls at the same time. (Laugh)
The loneliness in university had driven Crow toward playing video games
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more than ever. On school days he would play alone in dormitory, more than
often having only cup noodles as main meals; on weekends he would go to
gamers gathering at Taipei City Mall, where he always dreamt of going when he
was in high school,
My Monster Hunter friends always told me about the gamers gathering

there. A few of them had been there before, and they said there were a
lot of experienced players who waited there all day long to play with
others. I always wanted to go there and test my skill, yet my
grandparents would not allow me to do so. To them allowing me to play
video games was already a big concession. So to me the only good thing
about going to a university in Taipei was being able to go to the gamers
gathering at Taipei City Mall at will. I still remember the first time when
I went to the Taipei City Mall, it was so long that I couldn't find the area
when the gamers gathered. I thought the gathering might not existed
anymore before realizing from the Internet that they were sitting in
front of Magical. I still remember how excited I was the next day when I
found dozens of people all playing Monster Hunter on PSP there, feeling I
was getting into the Shaolin Temple. (Laugh) Since then going to Taipei
City Mall on weekend has become a regular activity to me. Basically I go
there every week, including examinations period. The number of gamers
there had actually been slowly decreasing, perhaps because the PSP
version had been on market for a few years already. The gamers
remained there were all very experienced players like me. (Laugh) It has
changed since last year, you know, when the N3DS version was out. The
number of players has been multiplied. A lot of new faces appeared.
Including you. (Laugh)
Crow thought that the emergence of new players had indeed raised the
difficulty of the game. Indeed he did not mind playing with rookies, if they could
follow his designated strategy,
I dont mind playing with less experienced players, I actually welcome
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them with open arms. Nobody becomes experienced player overnight,
right? I had been a new player, too. My friends did not mind playing with
me before, why I should now? My friends taught me a lot when I first
played the game, helping me to develop my skill and a correct mindset
very quickly. I am doing the same now. I did teach you at the beginning,
didn't I? (Laugh) As long as the rookies can follow my instructions and
follow my plan, it will be fine. The game was fun to play together
because you can give yourself a role to do something specific and bring
success to your team. My role is to draw up a plan and make sure it is
properly executed. To see my plan being executed perfectly is probably
the best moment in this game for me. It is even better if my teammates
are rookies, as it becomes more challenging for me to lead the team.
At the time when the interviews with Crow were conducted, the number of
Monster Hunter gamers at Magical had been decreasing to about one third from
its peak. Crow thought it was an unavoidable trend and he would remain to be
there,
To me this game never gets old. I have actually beaten the game once,
but I still think I have a lot to do in it. I just started start all over with a
female character; you know it is really hilarious to hear a girl screaming
while slaying a dragon. I want to try different weapons too. I had been
using bows and arrows since the game released, which I think it was a
little bit too easy and brainless. This time I will try to use Duo-blades,
which should allow me to be the spearhead instead of sitting at the back
to give orders. It is getting harder to find players similar of my level to
play with me now. Not many gamers want to dig deep like I do Do you
want to join next week?
Searching, Building, and Consolidating Identity through Video Games
Crows expressive, attention-seeking style of play was probably resulted

from his lack of self-identity throughout his growing years. Being the lone child
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in a single-parent family and was mainly taken care by strict and aged
grandparents, Crow did not have many figures who were really close to him.
Restricted to playing with himself at home for the majority of his childhood,
Crow did not have the opportunity of learning to define a role for himself through
interactions with others. For example, playing house, a role-playing game often
played between children, could be viewed as an example of a valuable learning
experience for children, in recognizing what kind of expectation would be
generated from people around when a certain role is being played by an
individual. Growing up to play baseball game alone, Crow had to take the roles of
pitcher, slugger, and fielder all by himself at the same time. He never got to know
how a pitcher and a slugger would interact with each other verbally or mentally
when given the specific roles on the field. Indeed He lacked a clear and definite
role not only in baseball game, but also in his daily life. He only knew what was
expected from him as a good grandson, but he did not know his value of
existence for the others, or how to present the identity of himself.
When Crows junior high schoolmates asked him to play the arcade game in
grocery store, it was probably the first time in his life that he could step out from
the good grandson zone imposed by his grandparents and deciding things on
his own. Coupled with the fact that the game had to be played by two human
players to maximize its charm, this one little footnote in Crows childhood might
had planted a root in his mind that playing video game could show his value of
existence and identity to not only himself, but also to the people around him.
Crows intention to use video games to construct his own identity was
evident in his high school years, when he lied to his classmates that he was going
to buy a PlayStation 2. Surrounded by classmates who had video game as their
biggest shared interest and every days topic, Crow felt he had been isolated for
not owning a single game console thus being left behind by his classmates.
Desperate to get into the circle and to position himself as one of them, Crow
tried to give himself an identity by claiming that he was not only going to
purchase a game console as everyone else had done, but he was also getting the
coolest one on the market, the PlayStation 2. It is true that this proclamation
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could draw attention and raise eyebrows as Crow had hoped to see, but as Crow
admitted to me, the relationships between him and his classmates had been
deteriorated since his proclamation was found immaterialized. When Crow was
finally able to buy a PSP and played Monster Hunter with his classmates, Crow
thought it was the happiest time in his high school years, showing his longing for
an identity in school. To further consolidate and sharpen his identity in the circle,
he deicide to play the game in an extreme way, trying to draw the attention by
using extraordinary strategies in the game. Calling himself a terrorist, Crow had
successfully built an identity he had been searching, through a video game.
It is not difficult for one to recognize Crows expressive playing style in

gamer gatherings is consistent with the aforementioned growing history of Crow.
Attempting to construct and solidify an identity in a circle, Crow always spoke
and acted in a way to seek attention from people around. He exclaimed a lot,
often in foreign languages that he was not really fluent in. He always took the role
of leader in a game that was supposed to be played with equal statuses among
players. He urged, sometimes impolitely, his teammates to follow his strategy in
game, and would show his frustration if others did not properly follow his plan,
regardless of their experience levels in game. And he loved to be the one who give
the final blow to monsters in the game. Indeed he had been successful in raising
peoples eyebrows. Many of my informants from the gamer gatherings did
include Crow as one of the strangers that they could recognize at Plaza 5 for his
expressive style. In a game that intended to highlight ones identity through in-
game achievements such as obtaining precious armors and weapons, Crow used
the game differently to build his identity in inter-personal relationships, by being
the outspoken and ruthless leader in the game.
Interestingly, the expressive style and confidence presented by Crow was

restricted in gamer gatherings only. From my observations on many of his
interactions with strangers outside gamer gatherings, he was a more reserved, or
shy, person in my eyes. Reversing to the day when we went to the Taoyuan gamer
gathering together, his reluctance in asking the bus driver to wait for us to avoid
the extra walking distance of a kilometer, looked to me a rather unconfident
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inner self in Crow. Contrasting this to his expressive and confident style
presented in gamer gathering, it probably further reinforce my interpretation on
him.
Applying Standard of Virtual World on Reality
While Crow changed the supposed way of playing Monster Hunter to build
his self-identity, conversely I could also observe video games had indeed changed
his way in dealing with inter-personal relationships. On the first day when we
decided to go to gamer gathering at Taipei City Mall, there were multiple
occasions I was perplexed by his keen expectation of seeing me at the exact
minute that I had told him, even though I had repeatedly stated that it was an
approximated time only. Then I quickly realized his insistence on this might be
resulted from his fondness in the dating simulation game Love Plus. In the game
Crow was not only able to decide the daily schedule with different girls, but also
could fully expect each individual in the game would show up and interact with
him accordingly at the exact minute he had scheduled. Save rare occasions of
running out of battery or breakdown of the machine, Crow would not encounter
a change of schedule or lateness that would happened on other individuals in
real life. When I told him I would meet him at about two oclock, in the world of
Love Plus it meant two oclock sharp no matter what. Then when I told him I
was arriving in about fifteen minutes, he would get nervous if he did not see me
on the exact fifteenth minute mark because the girls in game world would appear
at that minute exactly. Thus Crow, I could safely assume, had applied the standard
of inter-personal relationships in the game world on his reality, expecting
individuals around him would behave in a similar way to his virtual darlings did.
In the virtual world of his game, Crow was always the one who make the decision
in what, when, where and how things should be done. This made his interactions
with his virtual darlings were always unidirectional, that everything in the virtual
world would exist and happen according to his will in a large extent. Apply this
unidirectional interaction mindset in real life, just like what Crow did, would
likely bring confusion and misunderstanding between individuals, whose
interactions between each other tend to be a bidirectional one.
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Conclusion
In this chapter I have introduced the first case study of gamers at the Taipei
City Mall. Crow was the first Monster Hunter gamer I had met and played with at
Plaza 5, and was easily the most colorful one. In our trip to Taoyuan gamer
gathering and countless hours we spent together at Plaza 5, his expressive,
attention-catching playing style had given me a deep impression. Through
extensive investigation on his background and gaming history, I argued that his
attention-seeking behaviors in gamer gatherings were resulted from his lack of
self-identity since the days of his childhood. Crow indeed used the game Monster
Hunter in his own way, creating a role of leader and hoping gamers around him
would recognize this identity as Crow himself, who, on the other hand, had been
also influenced by video games in his inter-personal relationships. In the next
two chapters I will bring up other players from Taipei City mall and show how
they used the game Monster Hunter differently.
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Chapter 7
Contrasting Styles, One Goal:

Case studies of the Cousins, SOS and AHL
Introduction
While Crow was the first gamer I had met and played with at the Taipei City
Mall, SOS and AHL, a pair of cousins aged twenty and twenty-five respectively,
had been my closest teammates in the gamer gatherings. Meeting them for the
first time at Taipei Game Show, we went on to form a core team of three and met
at least once a week in the following nine months. As sketched in chapter 5, the
cousins had quite contrasting playing styles. SOS was always enthusiastic and
expressive, obviously enjoying his time on the floor, while AHL was a calm and
quiet presence, and he was lukewarm in connecting with other gamers in my
eyes. In this chapter I will show their differences from the very first time we met,
followed by a detailed account of their individual family background and gaming
history, and concluded by how they both use video game as a tool in social
relationships, only in different ways.
Meeting the Cousins
I first met SOS and AHL at the Taipei Game Show on 2 February 2012. It
was the opening day of the five-day event over the weekend, from Thursday to
the next Monday. It had been a week of cold and rainy days in Taipei, yet the
uncomfortable weather did not stop thousands of visitors from streaming into
Nangang Exhibition Hall, where the game show was held. Given it was not a
holiday, I was somewhat surprised by the admissions that at one point I felt
every inch of space inside the venue had been filled. Even taking out bottled
water from my backpack, as simple as it sounds, had become a nearly impossible
task. Following a tight schedule of events held by different exhibitors, the crowds
were swarming from one stage to another, sometimes in form of multiple
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streams moving toward opposing directions simultaneously, thus a trip of
hundreds feet between stages took much more time and effort to complete. My
plan for this day was to attend as many stage events as possible, focusing on the
strategies employed by those console video game exhibitors. I would content
with leaving the part of connecting with visitors or gamers to the later days of
the game show. I did not know, however, among the swarming crowd there were
two individuals who would be my close teammates in the world of Monster
Hunter, slaying monsters with me shoulder by shoulder in the months followed.
Having fought my way through the crowd all day long, I gave myself a little
break when I found my watch showed it was already four oclock in the
afternoon. All the major events that interested me had finished, and for I being
successful in covering them all in details, I was about to congratulate myself and
call it a day, before a long but familiar sound from my stomach reminded me that
save a mouthful of bottled water, I had not allowed anything into my stomach
since a hurried breakfast in the morning. The tight schedule had given me no
time to think about my lunch, or the unpleasant smell of sweat, from myself and
perhaps other visitors, which would have whetted my appetite. I went to the
northern end of the hall, where I could find a few stalls selling fast food there. I
bought a slice of pizza and a cup of Taiwanese-style milk tea, and then seated
myself on the floor of an open space just next to the stalls. It was one of the less
crowded areas inside the hall, as dozens of people were sitting there with enough
space to stretch their limbs if they wished. While eating, I tried to observe those
people sitting around me. Just like the majority of visitors that I had been close
with physically earlier in the day, most of my companions on the floor, in small
groups of two to four, were young men under thirty. They probably all looked
somewhat tired for the reason I knew very well, while doing different sorts of
things of their own: eating, chatting, taking nap, checking souvenirs they had
taken, looking at floor map, reading comics, using smartphones and playing
handheld video games. Handheld video game. N3DS. I patted my forehead as I
realized that I had forgotten to check the Street Pass on my N3DS all day long,
missing a great opportunity of collecting useful information from probably the
most hardcore and enthusiastic gamers in Taiwan here in the game show. I
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hurried to finish my pizza, then took out my N3DS from my backpack and
launched Street Pass instantly. Unsurprisingly ten new visitors were waiting at
the entrance of my home plaza, despite the number could be hundred more had I
checked the Street Pass more frequently during the day.
After quickly admitting the new visitors into my home plaza, I launched
Monster Hunter 3G as I wanted to see if anyone around was playing the game. The
partner-searching engine showed there were three groups of players detected,
with two of them consisted of players at a much higher experience level than I
was. The third group had two players only, and they were still at HR 1, the second
lowest level in the game. Sitting at HR 3 and considered myself an unskilled
rookie, I was delighted to find someone who had similar level to mine. Sending
my request to join their game, I received approval from the host player in an
instant. The next moment I could see my avatar was standing just next to the host
players avatar named SOS. Another avatar, named AHL, was sitting in the
canteen of the game world, where avatars could gain bonus attributes by eating
there. Wondering who SOS and AHL actually were among people sitting on the
floor around me, I raised my head and looked around, before realizing the search
would be fruitless as there were too many possibilities on the floor. I turned both
my sight and mind back to the game world, checking up my inventory to be ready
for the upcoming battle. The host player had selected a new mission, and I
indicated my readiness by using the in-game command. Waiting the host player
to start the mission, I then found both SOS and AHL had been standing still near
the restaurant for a long time. I wondered if the connection between our
machines had been failed, before a gentle voice emerged from above,
Excuse me. Are you Sammo?
Asked a smiling young man with a N3DS in his hand. Another young man, also
with a N3DS, stood just behind and looked a little uneasy. I could tell immediately
that they were SOS and AHL, for them knowing my nickname in the game,
Sammo.
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Yes I am Sammo. You two must be SOS and AHL then? I asked.
Yes we are! said the man in front, seemingly excited, I don't know
why but I just knew you are Sammo. Shall we sit here and play
together?
I agreed by nodding my head, and then we formed a triangle as they seated

themselves in front of me. We started the mission without talking much, and
within five minutes a fire blowing bird had been killed by us without much effort.
By connecting the action of avatars in game world and the exclamations they had
made just next to my ears, I could tell SOS, the host player, was the more active
man who approached me first. AHL, thus, was the seemingly uneasy man who
had been quieter than his companion. I noticed that the outlook of his N3DS
console was not of regular colors. It should be a special version. We then
exchanged our Giruto card before selecting the next mission, and SOS was
amazed by my relatively short total playing time,
Oh Sammo you have played twenty hours only? But you are already at
HR 3! Is there any trick? Can you teach me?
I told him the trick was simply following the lead of a group of veterans without
getting myself killed, insisting it had nothing to do with my own skill. He said he
had heard there were some Monster Hunter gatherings at Taipei City Mall but he
had never been there. He wanted to go there someday not only for partners, but
also to learn from experienced players. I offered to go with him on next weekend,
claiming I had the very same wishes to his. He looked thrilled to hear my
proposal, asking AHL if he would go with us. AHL agreed and we exchanged our
mobile phone number, then fixed a date and time for our next meeting at Taipei
City Mall.
We went on to play and in the midst of a fierce battle, we heard an

announcement that it was already the game shows closing time of six oclock at
the evening. Having fought with the monster for over forty minutes, we all
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agreed we could not abolish the battle without giving the fatal blow to the dying
monster. We paused the game, arose and headed to the exit of the exhibition hall.
We also carefully kept the distances between us at minimal to avoid
disconnection between our machines. Having found a space at the corridor
outside the hall, we sat down quickly and continued our battle. The monster
lasted another two minutes only before AHL broke his usual quiet self with a
roar. We all felt satisfied and headed to the Metro station together. On the train
SOS kept talking about things in the world of Monster Hunter, from how he had
singlehandedly killed a pair of ice-ball rabbits, to asking me which direction of
weapon forging I was heading to. AHL did join the conversation sometimes,
showing he also had enthusiasm toward the game if the topic was right. I tried to
shift our conversation to things about themselves in real life several times, only
to hear the topic quickly returned to the world of monsters. They did not
seemingly have any interest in me either, save one time asking me if I was
foreigner because of my accent. When I parted with them at Taipei Main Station
after the ride of thirty minutes, all I knew about them was they were a pair of
cousins, and AHL was, to my astonishment, the elder one. This was how I met
SOS and AHL, the first of many times in the months followed.
SOS: It was by far my happiest time in gaming
I must confess that SOSs matured outlook was one of the reasons that made me
believe he was the elder one between the cousins. He did not really look like a
sophomore in a university in Yilan County. At twenty, he had a large frame of at
least 175cm and 80kg. His arms were particularly strong, as I had noticed more
than once how the muscle of his forearm was popping out when he gripped his
game consoles tightly in battle. He also had a large face, which made his gold-
rimmed glasses looked tinier than they really were. His skin was rough and dark,
which could be the main reason why he looked older than he actually was.
Oversized jeans and t-shirts of plain colors were often his choice of clothing,
which along with his casual haircut, while clean and tidy, could hardly be viewed
as fashionable.
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SOSs Background and Gaming History
SOS was born in Yunlin, one of the less developed counties in western
Taiwan, in 1992. SOS did not know where his familys origin was, as he never had
the curiosity to trace the root of family. He considered himself as a Taiwanese
simply because it was the place he had been born and raised. SOS did know,
however, his grandfather received education under the Japanese colonial rule,
which made him fluent in writing and speaking Japanese. SOSs father, along with
his three siblings, could all speak Japanese reasonably well thanked to their
fathers influence, despite the fact that they were born after 1945 when the KMT
established their rule in Taiwan. SOS thought his parents were somewhat neutral
toward Japan, although he could tell his grandfather had maintained goodwill
toward the former colonial rulers.
SOSs father married his mother in the late 1980s, and SOS was their eldest
and only son along with two daughters. Looking for a job after graduation from
junior high school, SOSs father became a licensed plumber, mainly working in
new buildings under construction. Being a plumber in such site was not easy,
according to SOS, for often carrying pipes of metal and going up and down the
multi-story building without elevator. SOS got to know how hard the job was by
spending two summer holidays to work alongside his father. Yet SOSs father
would consider all the sweat and tear has been worthwhile as the job allowed his
family a rather comfortable living. They even bought a small house in New Taipei
City, formerly known as Taipei County before an administrative reform, just
before the birth of SOS. As SOSs father being able to feed the family
singlehandedly, his mother had been a full-time housewife, focusing on taking
care of their three children, and all the housework.
SOSs two sisters were three and five years younger than him. Due to
gender difference and considerable gap in age, SOS had not been really close to
his sisters, as the girls find themselves more connected to each other in many
aspects. Until twelve, SOS had spent much of his childhood playing alone at
home, while his sisters playing games of their own that he had no interest. There
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were not many kids of similar age in the neighborhood, and his mother did not
allow him to go far anyway. Toy cars and robots had been his best friends until he
went to junior high school.
SOS had two sets of new friends in the year of 2004 when he went to a
junior high school in Taipei. Naturally one of them was his classmates, who
according to SOS, were messing around and having serious fun during school
time. The other set of friends, the video games, came into his life in surprising
fashion that he still shows his excitement when he tells me how they met,
It was a usual evening on school day. I had just finished my homework,

was watching cartoon on TV with my sisters and my mom was preparing
dinner. Then my dad came back from his work, smiling, and telling us he
had bought something extra for the dinner. I could not believe my eye
when I saw him took out a box of PlayStation 2 from his large backpack.
A video game console! It was something my parents had insisted many
times that I could not have because it would affect my study. I had never
touched a video game console save a few times in kindergarten when a
classmate brought a handheld console of Tetris 162 back to school. I had
not paid much attention on things about video games and I could barely
tell it was PlayStation 2 because I had seen it on TV before. I was so
surprised that for a moment I thought my dad just put something else
into the box of PlayStation 2. While pulling the game machine from the
box, my dad revealed that he was used to play video games a lot before
marriage, but he had been forced to halt this leisure after my birth, as
my mom thought it would affect my study and growth. He said I was in
junior middle school student now, I should be mature enough to control
myself and be responsible, and therefore the ban could be lifted now. I
can still remember how surprised my mom was, then gave my dad a
hard look, did not say a word before turning back to kitchen (laugh) I
knew she must be mad with my dad! (Laugh)
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A tile-matching puzzle video game that was very popular worldwide in 1990s
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The worries of SOSs mother had soon been somewhat justified, as SOS
quickly got himself indulged into video games, which had become an important
part of his daily life,
Obviously I was the biggest, if not only, beneficiary in this unexpected

purchase. My dads work had been too busy for him to play video games
regularly. My sisters were not interested in that at all. At the beginning I
was heavily addicted to Shin Sangokumus 3 (), the sole
game that my dad had bought along the game console. Returning from
school at four oclock everyday, the first things I did was switching on the
TV and the game console, launched Shin Sangokumus 3 and played. I
would go on and play for three to four hours until dinnertime. Every
minute was precious to me because once the dinnertime arrived, my
parents would want to watch TV shows so that I could not use the TV for
gaming the rest of the night. Then I would do my homework at night. If it
was too late to finish it before bedtime, I would copy from my classmates
the next morning(Laugh) Yes I even had targeted sources of homework
for each subjects(Laugh) Fortunately my school grade had not been
affected much by that, so my mom did not say much on my gaming
habit.
Video gaming did not only change his time of doing homework, but also
other aspects of his life, such as diet,
At that time a large portion of my pocket money would go to pirated

game shop. After beating the game Shin Sangokumus 3 in three months, I
started to look for some new games to play. At the beginning I just went to
the video game shop that my PlayStation 2 had been bought, where
pirated version of games were available for NT150 each. Every week my
mom would give me pocket money of about NT250, including the lunch
money. In the weeks that I was trying to save money for video games, I
would have the cheapest lunch box possible, without buying any drink
that I was supposed to. (Raise his arm, laughing) I was much slimmer at
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that time, unlike now! (Author: Where did you get the information of
video game to decide which game to buy?) Oh, it is GAME GX, the TV show
on TV. You know in the show it had a lot of previews and reviews of games,
and my decisions of buying games had been largely depends the show. If a
PlayStation 2 game looked interesting in the show, more than likely I
would buy it the next week. On Saturday evenings I would hold the TV
remote control tightly, because had I not done so, my sisters might switch
to other channel. For a few times my mom had to step in and stop our
little fight. (Laugh)
SOSs playing time on video games had been steadily increasing in the
following year, until he was forced to put it a stop during the summer holiday in
year three of Junior high school,
I did not have much to do during summer holidays, therefore more than
often I would just stay at home and played video games. I could play up
to ten hours a day, from ten in the morning to eight, stopping just a short
time for lunch. My mom had tried to urge me to play less but I just kept
playing. Maybe they thought at worst I was just wasting my time at
home, it would be far less dangerous than going out on the street so they
did not play strict hand on me over this matter. But one day a sharp
sound of beep broke out from my TV suddenly while I was playing, and
the TV just stopped working and died. I tried very hard to convince my
mom that its death was not my fault (Laugh) but of course she put all
the blame on me and refused to buy a new TV as a punishment to me.
You know how shocking I was when I heard this? It had been a nuclear
winter for me in the following few months until my father successfully
persuaded my mom to buy a new TV. (Laugh)
Not long after persuading her mother to buy a new TV, SOS actually had
successfully convinced her to buy him a new video game console,
I did not expect too much when I asked my mom to buy a Nintendo Wii
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for my birthday. But she just said Only if you promise to control your
playing time. Of course I could promise! I told my mom that the games
on Wii were different than those on PlayStation 2, as the former required
motion-sensing play that could be viewed as a form of exercise. It was
healthy and could be joined by the whole family, I insisted. It seemed my
mom had already known the uniqueness of Wii games before, as we had
together seen many celebrities playing Wii games in TV commercials
and variety shows. I think my mom had been well convinced by those TV
commercials and celebrities that motion-sensing play was a good thing
before I asked. She would not believe in me without those influences.
Unlike the years of PlayStation 2 era when he was mainly playing alone, SOS
had some companions when he played Wii,
At the beginning my parents would join me and play Wii Sports, in

which the bowling game was their favorite. My sisters would play a
drum game with me, and they were actually very good at that, always
got the highest score. Since my pocket money had been raised after
getting into high school, I could afford to buy more games without too
much reservation. I still went to the same shop where I bought pirated
PlayStation 2 games to buy pirated Wii games. The price was still NT150
each, which had suddenly become more affordable for me. I could try
more games of different genres, in which some of them indeed interested
my families.
Very soon Wii games had become a shared interest and topic in SOSs family.
And in one family gathering between SOS and AHLs families, whose parents had
been very close to each other even before the birth of the cousins, SOS asked AHL
to join him to be a Wii owner,
I had invited AHL to my home to play Wii several times before, and we
had great times. One day I asked him, Hey why don't you buy one for
yourself? There are many great games that could be played alone. Asked
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you mom to buy you one! Just use the excuse of healthy exercise like I
did! And the next day he bought a Wii from the video game shop where I
had bought mine. Since then we were even closer than before, as we have
a huge share of interest that we can keep talking for hours. When we
met in family gathering, we would just find a corner and talk about
games. Sometimes we would exchange our game discs, all pirated of
course. Sometimes we would just go to each others home and play
together. I still remember there were days when we were heavily
addicted to Monster Hunter 3 on Wii, I always went to his home just
because I wanted to see how AHL killed the monsters that I could not
defeat. A learning visit! (Laugh) You know, he is very good at Monster
Hunter. He had spent only hundred and fifty something hours to beat the
game, while it took over two hundreds for me! Perhaps I was still
struggling to beat that game if not his guidance. (Laugh)
AHL had since become SOSs best companion in video gaming. After Wii,
they had bought NDS and N3DS together, again on both occasions SOS was the
one initiated,
The second year of high school we bought NDS together. On one

Saturday night I saw the reviews on the newly released machine and I
felt it was really cool to have a handheld that could be linked with
others. I called AHL that night and asked him if he was interested in
getting one. Then the next day we had a new NDS in our hands, again
from that video game shop. The machine indeed came with a R4 card,
which can play pirated games downloaded from the Internet, yet we did
not know how to do it because the shopkeeper never told us. We did not
ask too much because a dozen games had been stored in the R4 already.
We had been satisfied to play those gameswe did not bother to
download new games. It was a year later when started to look for new
games after finishing all pre-stored games. We went back to the shop
and asked the shopkeeper, only to find that we needed to buy a memory
card adapter to be able to download games online. We bought the
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adapter and followed his instructions to go to a website, and we were
amazed by the enormous number of pirated games available there. We
did not know where to start. I tried to narrow our choices into games
could be played by linked-up, so that we could have fun together. We met
even more often because we had to be at the same place to play those
linked-up games. The NDS had gradually replaced Wii as my most
frequently played console, until last summer when I heard the next
Monster Hunter was going to N3DS. I still remember I was screaming
when I called AHL to tell him this exciting news. (Laugh) The very next
day we went to Taipei City Mall and pre-ordered the game together.
Getting N3DS and Monster Hunter on the exact day the game released, SOS
was eager to find some companions to go battling with him,
The biggest difference between Monster Hunter 3 on Wii and Monster

Hunter 3G on N3DS is, the later could be played with other more easily.
Although online play was available in Monster Hunter 3 on Wii, it was
supposed to serve the domestic Japanese players only and some
complicated procedures had to be done if oversea players wanted to play
online. I did not know how to do it. Therefore the linked-up play
function in Monster Hunter 3G on N3DS is a big attraction to me. I could
link-up with my cousin and play together. Yet we do not have any friends
who have N3DS, so we had been always restricted to team of two only.
We had heard there were gamers gathering at Taipei City Mall but we
were hesitated to go there. We afraid we were too weak. Then we met
you in the game show! Actually we had only been the game show one or
two times before, never a big fan of it. But this year I asked AHL to go
with me, in the hope that we could find someone to play Monster Hunter
3G together. Turning out it was you. (Laugh)
By my observation, SOS was always the most enthusiastic player in gamer

gatherings. He was not only often reacting to the ups and downs in the battle
dramatically, but was also constantly in communicative mode with other players
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as shown in Chapter 5. It could be encouraging words, it could be emotional
outbursts, or it could be questions regarding details in the game. Indeed SOS
considered playing on the floor at Taipei City Mall was best ever gaming
experience,
I never thought of fraud or anything wrong when you (the author)

invited me to go there together. I always wanted to go there but my
cousin had been reserved in doing so with me. I always wanted to. The
day that we played with you in the game show was actually the first time
I played Monster Hunter with someone other than AHL. It was really fun
to play the game with more people. Then we went to Taipei City Mall
together, and I regretted at once why I had not been there earlier. I
really like the atmosphere there, fighting monsters together, myself
being part of a team. Every time when I played with others, I considered
us as a team. It required teamwork to beat some tougher monsters. I
really enjoy the process of fighting something tough as a team. To me it
is a kind of serendipity (). (Author: Have you ever felt uneasy of
being gazed by pedestrians, who sometimes even took pictures of us?)
No, I never felt uneasy. I did hesitate a little bit when I sat on the floor for
the first time, yet in an instant my mind had drifted into the world of
Monster Hunter. If there was any uneasiness in mind, it was only because
I was too nervous to fight with those experienced players. The players
there were all very strong. I feared I would become their burden. Other
than that I was fine. Why should I feel uneasy when dozens of people
were doing the exact same thing as I did? I had never played video
games together with that many people; it is by far my happiest time in
gaming.
AHL: Well, I am fine with itif SOS suggested
At twenty-five, AHL was five years elder than his cousin SOS. AHLs outlook
was quite opposite to his cousins muscular physicality: short and thin body,
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paled face and skin. Coupled with his pair of smooth hands and gold-rimmed
glasses, he looked rather like a high school student. He was often clad in similar
fashion to his cousins; only he had a more slovenly appearance. Stains of
different colors could be easily found on his T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and even
glasses. Some of his T-shirts had even been torn, while his sneakers were far
from intact. His hair was often messy, suggesting he had just left his bed. Overall
he had an outlook that similar to many in the gamer gathering at Taipei City Mall.
AHLs Background and Gaming History
When compared to SOS, AHL was less willing to share his background or
anything other than his gaming experience. In our interviews he only gave short
and abrupt answers about his family. More than once during our battles in game,
I found my attempts to squeeze something from his mouth failed. Yet combining
from his short answers and what I had heard from SOS, I could still sketch his
background as followed. Like SOS, AHL was born in Yunlin County, where his
family had lived since his grandfathers generation. Now he lived in a small
apartment near the Songshan airport in Taipei city with family. Both his parents
were working in trading companies, earning enough to raise three children and
not asking me to take any financial responsibility of supporting the family,
according to AHL. He had three sisters; one was five years elder, one was four
years younger and one six years younger. His elder sister had been married and
moved to Taichung County, only coming back for family gatherings a few times a
year. His two younger sisters were university students; one of them was staying
in school dormitories in Pingtung County most of the year, while another was
sharing a bedroom with him at home. AHL said he had had good terms with his
sisters during their growth years, although they did not have many shared
interests. Having a brother of the age of SOS, he admitted, would be very nice.
AHL finished his education after graduating from a high school in Taipei
City. He then spent the next twelve months serving in the army. After leaving the
army, he started to look for jobs. As his parents did not ask him to take any
financial responsibility to support the family, nor he did not need to pay house
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rent by living with them, he only needed to meet his own expenditure, which
could be easily earned by taking some part-time jobs. He had worked for
convenient store, breakfast cafe, and bookstore. Currently he was a cook
assistant in a popular chained restaurant, working in night shift from eight to one
oclock every night.
As AHL had admitted he had not been really close to his sisters, a boy of
similar age living a floor below in the building had become his very best friend in
his childhood. During his primary school years, he would finish school at three
and arrive home before four. He would then go straight to his neighbors flat,
playing all kinds of games with his buddy until dinnertime came at eight. The
games they played had been typically boyish: role-playing of heroes and villains,
toy cars racing, or simply running around the house. Everyday, school day or not,
these games had been rotating in their play schedule until a new toy appeared on
a day in his fourth year in primary school. It was a Famicom, a game console that
was bought by his buddys parents for birthday. Since that day playing video
game had become their sole entertainment during afternoons,
This was the very first time I had chance to play video game. I had seen
some arcade games in department stores when I went shopping with my
mom before, but she never allowed me to play, saying it was for naughty
child only. That Famicom allowed me to play video games with my best
friend everyday was a dream-come-true moment for me. Actually I did
not really know how to play, or what to expect from, video games. I did
not even know how to hold the controller in proper position (Laugh) I
just knew it should be much more interesting than intimating super
heroes all the time. Within a few hours I had mastered the basis of using
a controller, and since then we played video game every day. He had a
pirated game cartridge of over twenty games and our favorite game was
the Rockman. We had actually beaten the game in a few weeks but we
kept playing and saw who had a higher score. My friend had more
practice time, but I always beat him.
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The next year AHL finally had his own video game console, in a somewhat
unexpected fashion,
I had not thought of having a Famicom of my own. Firstly I had

goodtime playing with my friend and I could always go to his home. His
parents might also love to see their only son have a buddy. Secondly, I did
not think my mom would buy me one. She knew I had been playing video
games with our neighbors, and although she did not say a word on that,
I did not think she would put a thing for naughty boy at home.
Therefore I had been satisfied to play video games downstairs. I
remembered it was an indifferent Sunday afternoon when I was in
primary five. We were coming home after shopping and we passed a
video game shop. I pointed to a Famicom in display window to my mom
and told her it was the console that I played with my buddy everyday.
Then she said I could have one if I promised to be responsible and kept
working hard in school. I was so surprised that I did not know what to
say, just kept nodding my head quickly. It was probably one of the most
memorable moments in my primary school years.
Having a Famicom of his own did not stop AHL from being close with his
neighbor, and in fact they were closer to each other than before,
I would still go to his home everyday. On the days he was not available
then I would stay at home and play alone. I did not play much at night
because that would anger my mom. When I did play at night and if I
found some difficulty in proceeding, I would call him by phone and ask
for his help. My mom always laughed and said we looked like a little
couple.
Yet just before his graduation from primary school, AHLs Famicom broke
down. Curiously a few days later his friends console met the same fate. AHL did
not dare to ask his mother to buy him another one, forcing him to stop playing
video game. The replacement of Famicom appeared not long after AHL went to
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junior high school,
In junior high school there were two sessions of computer class each
week, teaching some basic stuff which had been well behind the trend.
My dad always hold the thought that mastering computer skill could
help ones career, so at the beginning of school term he asked me if I
wanted to have a PC (personal computer) at home. I knew virtually
nothing about computer at that time but I heard from some of my
schoolmates that many video games could be also played on a PC.
Therefore I said yes to my dad and very soon we had a new computer at
home, buying from a computer fair. It cost about forty thousand
Taiwanese dollar, running the latest operation system of Windows 95. At
that time the computers in my school were still running older version of
Windows 3.1. (Laugh)
While the computer classes in AHLs school were still teaching commands of
Windows 3.1, having a PC of Windows 95 did not help him very much
academically. It did, however, give him a new platform to play video games,
For whatever reason my computer teacher had installed some games in

the computers in school, so we would bring blank floppy disks back to
school and copy those installed games. Once in a while some newly
installed games could be found in the computers. Basically we were
playing exactly what our teacher was playing. Most of them were
emulated games of Super Famicom, and The Flintstones was our favorite
game. Some of my friends taught me how to use Golden Finger to edit the
game data, and we always competed with each other for the highest
score. More than often I was not the winner because I did not have
enough time to practice. My PC had been put in my parents room, so I
could not play too much, especially when my mom was at home. I could
only play up to two hours on school day before my mom coming home
from work. After dinner it was all homework time, so that two-hour span
was very precious for me. I usually headed straight to home after school.
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Entering his third year in junior high school, AHL had been left behind by his
Super Famicom emulator friends. Most of his friends had turned to play Lineage,
a Korean-based MMORPG, which required Internet connection to play. AHLs PC
had not connected to Internet, thus leaving him to keep playing emulated Super
Famicom games alone.
Actually I did not think Lineage was interesting at all. I had seen my
friend playing at their home, and I was not impressed. It did not require
any technique, as endless and aimless clicking was all you need to do. I
love playing games with difficulty, such as Rockman. (Author: But you
would have played the game with your friends if you had Internet
connection?) Probably yes. I was fine with it. (Author: Even it was not
that interesting to you?)Yes, I am fine with it.
AHLs time of playing emulated Super Famicom games alone did not last very
long as his neighbor had bought a new PlayStation and asked him to play
together. It seemed the clock had turned back a few years, as AHL again went to
his buddys home after school everyday,
His PlayStation had been configured to be piracy-ready, therefore he

could buy new games every week. There were too many new games so
we would just stop playing one immediately if it did not seem very
interesting. Unlike the years of Famicom when we would re-play the
games many times after beating them, there were not many PlayStation
games that we had really beaten. During that time I enjoyed playing a
RPG game most. Although I could only control a companion of the
protagonist and I could not really participate at all until certain fighting
scenes, I enjoyed the whole process very much because it was like I was
going to an adventure with my friends.
When AHLs home finally had Internet connection in his first year in high school,
it changed not only his gaming habit, but also his nutrition in certain extent,
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because of gaming,
Entering high school I asked my dad to have Internet installed at home

because it could help my schoolwork, which I think is the most frequently
used excuse for gaming(Laugh) At that time my friends in school were
all playing Ragnarok Online, another Korean MMORPG. I decided to join
them because I felt it was at least better than Lineage: it did require
certain level of technique to be good. The game charged a subscription
fee of NT 360 monthly, which was not a small amount for me at that
time, when I had NT 40 for lunch on every school day. I would buy the
cheapest lunch box possible, or even skip my lunch, to save the money for
subscription fee. My mom would have killed me if she knew this(Laugh)
I always think I could have been ten centimeters taller had I not saved
those lunch money for gaming(Laugh)
AHL stopped playing Ragnarok Online after one year, because he thought too
many players were cheating by using third-party added-on programs. It did not,
however, stop him from trying other MMORPGs, which had become his favorite
genre of gaming,
I then turned to play Mabinogi, another Korean MMORPG. The reason

of choosing this game was because some of the friends that I met in
Ragnarok Online were turning to play Mabinogi and asked me to join
them, and I was fine with it. The game was much better than I had
expected. It required even higher level of skill that made me quite
addicted to it. It was a free-to-play game, and you could buy some items
in its online store to help your progression. At the beginning I believed I
could play well without spending a dollar (Laugh) Very soon I could
not resist the temptation to spend some money to catch my friends, who
all had spent a lot to progress.
During the three-year span that AHL was regularly playing Mabinogi, he
had spent about NT 12,000 on buying in-game items, an amount he considered as
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extremely small when compared to others. At the same time he had tried other
MMORPGs, many of them had been recommended by his MMORPG friends. From
his experience He thought the skill level of Taiwanese players was the best in
Asia, and players from Korea were always cheating. Currently he was playing
Phantasy Star Online 2, a free-to-play MMORPG from Japan. He said the Japanese
online games, like their counterparts on consoles, usually required a higher level
of skill,
This one is by far the hardest MMORPG I have ever played. My character
always dies just seconds after entering the game. Sometimes I really feel
the Japanese game designers are insane, how can they come up with
these crazy ideas?
To lower the difficulty, he had been forced to spend over NT 60,000 on in-
game items, and the figure was still climbing. The mechanism of the item store,
which required players to buy virtual money to be able to buy items on random
basis, seemed working perfectly in developers favor to maximize its income,
Some of my friends have even spent over NT 100,000 on it. I know it is

really crazy but I cannot stop. I want to catch my friends. For so many
times it was so close that I could almost get the items I wanted. The more
I fail the more I want to try again.
While the peers influence had drawn AHL into the world of MMORPGs, SOS
did have same influence on his cousin on the field of console games. It was SOS
who persuaded AHL to join him in buying Wii and NDS,
When SOS asked me to buy a Wii, I had just finished my service in army
and was looking for job. I did not have money but I wanted to have a Wii,
too. I had played it with him a few times at his home, and it looked very
interesting. So I asked my mom to give me the money and told her it was
not only a game console, but also an exercise machine that was good for
health. Of course it was an excuse! (Laugh) Until now I have not played
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more than one hour of games that required motion-sensor. The
traditional controller-based game is my cup of tea. We went to the video
game shop near his home one or two times a month to buy pirated
games. At NT 150 each we could try many new games, and we could
share the cost by exchanging our games. Sometimes we played together
at each others home; sometimes we just stayed at home and played
alone. I remember there was a time when we were both addicted to
Monster Hunter 3, which was a single-player game for us since we did
not have our Wii connected to network. At that time he would call me by
phone almost ten times a day, telling me what he had just done in game
or asking about my progress. My mom was mad at him and asked him to
Stop calling us after ten at night! (Laugh)
Then not long after SOS said he wanted to have a NDS because the
touch-screen play looked interesting. I was not particularly interested in
touch-screen play because I thought it was for kids. The difficulty of NDS
games was low in my mind. But I was fine with it. I had just got a part-
time job at that time, so the money was not the problem. I was fine with
having a handheld. I did not invest too much of my time on NDS games
though, as I was so busy in playing online games and also Wii. It was
usually SOS who told me which game is fun, and then I followed his
suggestion and played with him. When there was gathering between our
families, we would bring my NDS and play linked-up with him. Other
than this I seldom switched on my NDS. I did not even know how to play
pirated games downloaded from the Internet until very late.
AHL admitted that he had been lukewarm toward NDS when compared
with his passionate cousin, but he was more than excited when he knew the
latest version of Monster Hunter was going to N3DS,
One night in the last summer SOS called me at midnight, telling me the
N3DS would have the latest Monster Hunter in December. We were very
excited because that meant we could play the game link-up and hunt
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those monsters together. I could not really sleep well that night and we
headed straight to the Taipei City Mall to pre-order the game. Because I
had just got my salary from my part-time job the day before, so I even
ordered a special Monster Hunter version of N3DS console, which cost
about NT2000 more than the regular one. On the game release day in
December, we arrived the game store at ten in the morning, and it had
not even opened yet! (Laugh). Since then I almost played the game
everyday. I played alone at home and played once or twice a week with
SOS. I was fine with playing alone. It is SOS who wanted to play with
others all the time. I could play over ten hours a day at home alone.
When I asked AHL what made Monster Hunter that attractive and addictive
to him, he said the challenging and unforgiving difficulty was the main reason
behind,
In its first twenty to thirty hours of gameplay the game was actually
quite easy. I could beat all these monsters in Lower Class and Upper
Class with my eyes closed. To me the game did not really start until the G
Class level. When you had spent forty-nine minutes to fight with a huge
monster, and you knew you have exactly one minute left to finish it off or
all the previous hard work would be vanished. That one minute was the
time I enjoy most. Of course the progression of level up afterward was
also very satisfying. Failing over ten times on a same stage was very
normal. The more I failed, I more joy I have after overcoming it.
I wanted to point out to him that the monsters in G Class level were
intended for, as I believed, group play of multiple players, before quickly realizing
that the sense of satisfaction could be multiplied for AHL by fighting alone. And
he proved my theory was a correct one,
Playing with others, whether with SOS or not, would lower the difficulty.
Against some monsters that had taken me all fifty minutes to killed,
could be finished within ten minutes with four players. It was another
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kind of fun to abuse monster like a worm. I don't mind to play with
others. But I also love to be that worm and abused by the giants.
(Laugh)
Not surprisingly it was SOS who took the active role in seeking other
partner to play Monster Hunter with them,
I was quite content with playing alone or with SOS only. Maybe we
progressed quite slowly but we had good time. Then one day SOS
suggested we should look for other partners and said it should be fun.
You know, if he suggested, I was fine with it. He said he had heard there
were some players gather at Taipei City Mall and he wanted to go there
to have a look. I was not particularly interested but I told him I was fine
with it, reminding the only concern I had was our level might be too low,
as the players there were likely to be experienced veterans. Then he
suggested we could go to the game show the next week, so that we could
take our chance to meet some partners while visiting those booths. I was
fine with this idea, as I had also wanted to see the latest Taiwanese
online game exhibited there. We did not have much luck that day, as we
could not find many Monster Hunter players. When we did find some,
their levels were too high for us to team-up with. I had given up and
asked SOS to leave the venue earlier to avoid the traffic. Then you
appeared. You know what, my cousins eyes were glittering with
excitement when he saw your level was closely as low as ours. (Laugh)
Playing at Taipei City Mall was a whole new experience for AHL, even
though he had been playing online games with strangers for years,
At the beginning I was really uneasy. Sitting on the floor, playing with
and being stared by strangers simultaneously was not that comfortable
to me. But SOS seemed very excited and asked me to go with him, so I
was fine with it. After two or three times, I started to get used to the
environment and the uneasiness had gone. (Author: I observed that you
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were relatively quiet when playing the game on the floor, especially
when compared to SOS. Is it the case when you play online game?) No, I
was like another person when I played online game. (Smile) I speak a lot
more. I don't know why, perhaps it was because I did not want to draw
extra attention from pedestrians. I don't want a video of me screaming
to be uploaded to YouTube. (Laugh) Indeed I told my cousin that if he
kept screaming and shouting like he always did when playing at Taipei
City Mall, don't ask me for help when he saw himself on TV. You know,
our news reports love to show this kind of video. (Laugh)
Besides avoiding attention on the floor, AHL was also a quiet figure in the
game world. He would not give orders to his teammates, would not be the
pioneer in attack, and he would be seldom found dead. Sometimes his presence
was hardly felt. AHL explained it was because he thought there was an unspoken
rule at Taipei City Mall that rookies like him should put stay alive as the
number one priority,
Most of the players at Taipei City Mall have higher levels than ours. To
play with them we often fought with monsters that were a little out of
our depth. If I found the monster was really too strong for my level, I
would step back and avoid confronting the monster directly. I would let
my more experienced teammates to be the major attackers, taking my
chance to deal damage to the monster. Playing at Taipei City Mall, you
would actually meet a similar group of people and I could actually
recognize a few of them after playing together a few times. I could tell
the playing style of each player and I had rough ideas of how to work
with them. I don't want to be a burden. This is a common sense in the
world of online game, too.
AHL considered he had completely finished the game after beating the King
of Black Dragon, six months after the games release day. The last time I met him
for interview in autumn 2012, He was looking for a new job, preferably to be a
computer technician in high school, which could offer better pay and working
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hour. Yet he was satisfied with his current job in kitchen as he thought the
working hour was good for gaming. When I asked him would he buy PS Vita, a
new handheld console that SOS had suggested me to buy, his answer did not
surprise me at all,
I am fine with it.
Building Social Relationships Through Video Games
Ask any gamer who have played with SOS and AHL at Taipei City Mall
would probably agree that the cousins have very different playing styles. While
SOS was enthusiastic and expressive during playtime, AHL was always a calm and
quiet presence that could be hardly noticed by others. The contrasting playing
styles, however, does not hide the fact that their somewhat similar family
background have likely led them to use video games, and to a lesser extent
Monster Hunter, as a mean to build and maintain social relationships they have
been longing for.
Both SOS and AHL is the only son in their family and surrounded by female
siblings: SOS has two younger sisters while AHL has two younger and one elder
sister. Growing up without a male companion of similar age within the company,
the cousins indeed have been close to each other. Yet the once-a-month gathering
between the two families was not enough to reduce their boredom in daily life.
SOS often played with himself at home, while AHL was fortunate to find a buddy
in neighbor to play some boyish games. When SOSs father brought a PlayStation
2 home with him, the video game console was arguably his first companion who
could play interactively with him at home. SOS had quickly become addicted to
video games. When SOS found his second video game console, the Wii, had
attracted his parents and sisters to join him in gaming, it struck him that video
games could be used as a tool to find playmates and to bring people together.
Having invited AHL to come to his home and play Wii together, the enjoyable
time they spent together had further consolidate SOSs view on video game as a
social relationship builder. The video game console had attracted AHL to come to
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his home that had been rarity despite their closeness. Trying to create a shared
interest and to be even closer with his cousin, SOS successfully persuaded AHL to
buy a Wii, which was later followed by purchasing other game consoles together
including NDS and N3DS. Togetherness has been a constant in SOSs reasoning
behind his requests made to AHL, and SOS is indeed getting more precise in
defining togetherness: From having the same console together in the case of
Wii, to be able to play link-up games on NDS, to the latest case that they were
specifically excited to play Monster Hunter face-to-face on N3DS. The evolving
togetherness in gaming indeed led to a closer relationship between the cousins.
Before the purchase of Wii they were close to each other only in the gatherings
between families, without any regular contact outside the once-a-month
gatherings. Yet the purchase of the three Nintendo game consoles had seen them
establishing a regular contact between only the two, from exchanging news of
video game and game strategies on phone to meeting in person to play together.
To SOS, video game had become a tool that could bring AHL closer to him.
Yet SOS was not satisfied with having AHL as his only companion and would
like to further utilize video game to expand his circle. Recognizing Monster
Hunter 3G allows link-up play up to four players, SOS suggested to his cousin that
they should not limit the game to a two-player game and tried to reach out to
other players at every opportunities. Having successfully added the author to his
friend list in Monster Hunter 3G at the Taipei Game Show, SOS erased all the
doubt and hesitation in playing with strangers before and determined to make
the next step in going to Taipei City Mall, a place he had heard long before that he
could find a lot of companions.
In the gamer gatherings at Taipei City Mall, SOS was easily the most
enthusiastic player. He was constantly eager to communicate with others as he
always had questions for experienced players and chatting everything in the
game with others with passion; He was not shy from expressing his emotion,
more than often a joyful one, in public, and would love his teammates to share his
sentiment; He was always attentive to the players around him, from borrowing
electronic socket for me to taking care a young kid who no other gamers
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bothered to look at; And most importantly and perhaps concluding all his
characters above, he did emphasis in playing with others. While many gamers
in the gathering might considered their teammates were no more than strangers
who happened to play games together, SOS actually regarded playing Monster
Hunter 3G with others on the floor as serendipity, a condition which is essential in
every kind of social relationships in the Chinese view. Through connecting with
others in gamer gatherings, SOS had established a social relationship that he had
been longed for since playing alone at home in his childhood. It should be noted
here that in many Monster Hunter commercials in Japan, the Kanji character
(kizuna, close bond between people) is always highlighted and emphasized.
While similar but different natures of serendipity, which refers to an inartificial
power of drawing people together, and kizuna, which emphasis on the intended
close bond between people within existing circles, has arguably showed how
Monster Hunter 3G, a Japanese game, has been localized and given a different
meaning by SOS, a Taiwanese player.
Similar to SOS, AHL had been, though unintended, isolated by his sisters at
home. Although he was fortunate to find a neighbor of similar age to play with, he
was always the one to play the passive role. He was the villain when playing hero
and villain with his neighbor; he was mostly a spectator only when he played
the RPG game on PlayStation at his neighbors home. Yet he was fine with it,
perhaps because he had no other choices.
Indeed from my interviews I had recorded dozens of fine with it moments

from AHL. He would have been fine with playing Lineage with his junior high
schoolmates even though he did not like the game; As mentioned he was fine with
spectating his neighbor playing RPG game because it gave him a feeling of going
to adventure with friend; Then he was fine with following his friends suggestion
to play Ragnarok Online, even though he had to save his lunch money for
subscription fee; He was also fine with buying a NDS with SOS despite his
lukewarm interest on the handheld console. Lastly he was fine with following SOS
to look for companions at Taipei Game Show and Taipei City Mall despite his
initial uneasiness in playing Monster Hunter 3G with strangers. These fine with
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it moments on one hand might suggested his easy-going personality, but on the
other hand also revealed the absence of his own decision or preference, instead it
was him kept making compromise and following others suggestions.
AHLs pattern of trying to ingratiate himself to the people around him is

understandable when factor his background in. Grown as the only son in the
family, AHL had been sandwiched between elder and younger sisters. Thus AHL
did not only often find himself in an isolated gender position, but also a position
that had to cater the needs from multiple sides. This background tended to have
significant impact on how he dealt with inter-personal relationships: He did not
want to be left behind similar to the way of being isolated at home; He also did
not want to risk hampering any relationships by rejecting others. He tried to
please everyone by saying yes to everything in his power. Thus all those fine
with it moments were actually compromises he had made to maintain social
relationship, which he valued highly deep down. Video games, as one could easily
see, had been the integral part in building the social relationships with his
neighbor, junior high schoolmates, MMORPG friends, and SOS.
Another gaming pattern that I have noticed from AHL is that he tried very
hard to be good in game. From the countless hours of playtime in repeatedly
fighting a formidable foe in Monster Hunter, to the tens of thousands of dollars
invested in MMORPG, AHL gave an impression that he was serious in being good
in game. Once again this characteristic of AHL could be linked to his
determination in maintaining social relationship, which could be solidified by
establishing a respectable status among players in the game. One could also
argue that as AHL had little responsibility and commitment tied to his real life,
the status and achievements gained in the game world tends to help him to
establish an identity, which he lacked in daily life.
Conclusion
In this chapter SOS and AHL, a pair of cousin who had been my closest
teammates in the gamer gatherings at Taipei City Mall, have been introduced. By
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detailing their individual backgrounds and gaming histories, I have showed that
despite their contrasting playing styles, the cousins actually had tried to use
Japanese video games, and in this case Monster Hunter 3G, as a tool to build and
maintain social relationships, which had been valued highly by them due to their
family backgrounds. In the next chapter I will move on to discuss the last case
study, in which the cousins did make an interesting appearance and interacted
with the chapters informant in gamer gathering.
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Chapter 8
Playing Video Games in Lego Way:

Case Study of Yui
Introduction
In this chapter I will introduce Yui, the last case study in my research. I first
met Yui at Taipei City Mall in late February 2012 when I grouped with the
cousins as usual. From the very beginning he had intrigued my interest in him for
his ways of dressing, talking, and presenting himself, which were all different
from the typical gamers at Plaza 5. This chapter will start from an account of
meeting Yui for the first time and some interesting interactions between him and
SOS on the day, followed by Yuis detailed gaming history and background, in
which I could find a pattern that had been consistently his way in approaching
different things in his life, video gaming included.
Meeting Yui
It was an unusually hot and humid Saturday in Taipei February 2012. The
cousins and I had played three hours at Taipei City Mall, when I found my N3DS
flashing a red light, indicating that the machine was running out of battery. As
usual SOS went into Magical and asked for permission to use its electronic
socket, while AHL and I moved to the side of the shop where the socket located.
Just when SOS came out with a grind and the flashing red light on my machine
was turned back to green light, a young man appeared in front and asked,
Any vacancy here?
I raised my head and found a tall young man who looked like in his early
twenties, holding a N3DS in pink. His face and limbs were very pale, contrasted
by his thick and red lips. Apparently he liked the color of pink as he had a watch
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of shocking pink on his left wrist. On his right wrist there was a wristband in
white, with a line in Japanese that I could not read from my angle. He wore a polo
shirt in purple and trousers in black, which looked neat and tidy. Overall he
looked decent and slightly different from the gamers that I used to see here at
Plaza 5.
SOS welcomed him passionately and we quickly formed a circle of four on

the floor. We exchanged our Giruto Card and I found our new companion called
Yui. Besides Yuis unrealistically high level of HR 58 and hundreds of hours of
total playing time, it was his self-introductory remark on his Giruto Card that
immediately drew my attention. It read:
(It is improbable that my

Kashiwazaki Sena is this lovely)
This line was a combination of the name of a popular Japanese animation

(It is improbable that my younger sister
is this lovely) and Kashiwazaki Sena, the name of a character in another
animation. Most of the gamers I had met at Plaza 5 introduced themselves by
Monster Hunter-related phase in their Giruto Card, and Yuis one really left an
impression to me that beside video games, he was also fond of other Japanese
popular cultures.
SOS was also aware of Yuis unusual Giruto Card, asking Yui eagerly the
meaning because he could not read Japanese. Yui did not look like interested in
responding to SOS, whispering a few words that we could not hear. SOS did not
follow his question, as he could not wait to start a new round of battle. He
suggested we could try to challenge a monster that was supposed out of our
reach, since we could now count on the presence of an experienced player in Yui.
Yui looked a little hesitated before saying it would be too stretched for us to fight
against this formidable monster. SOS smiled and said it was fine to give it a try,
then launched the mission with a shout to show his determination. AHL had been
emotionless on his face throughout, as if saying that he was fine with anything
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SOS suggested. Yui gave a grin with shrugged shoulders, reminding us to be
careful when we were searching the monster. The monster turned out to be even
tougher than we expected. While Yui was at ease and giving the monster blow
after blow, the cousins and I were having a hard time to find our feet on the field.
AHL and I were constantly dodging without attacking, trying to stay alive and
waited for our opportunity patiently. Yet SOS was his usual self as he charged
toward the monster with determination, only to see his avatar got kicked into
mid-air again and again. Yui was noticeably annoyed by SOSs playing style,
staring at SOS in disgust for several times before SOS finally got killed in the
second minute.
Be careful.
Yui broke his silence with an emotionless tone, with his eyes rolled slightly
toward SOSs direction. SOS rejoined the battle before meeting his death once
again in two minutes. This time Yui showed his discontent in a more obvious
manner, letting a sigh out from his mouth while shutting his eyes for an instant.
Apparently SOS did not sense the discontent from our companion, and looked
excited to be kicked into mid-air with exclamations.
Sammo! Can you see this? It is too much! It is too strong! (Laugh)
Yui looked discouraged and stopped giving warning, expecting the session would
be ended sooner rather than later. Inevitably SOS got killed for the third time by
the monsters sweeping tail, halting our game session after just ten minutes. Yui
blamed SOS with his small eyes, staring at him with his lips tightened. I had never
seen a gamer showed his discontent toward his teammates in this manner at
Plaza 5. While AHL had noticed Yuis discontent toward his cousin from his
rolling eyeballs, SOS looked very satisfied and had fun in challenging an
invincible foe. Then SOS agreed with my suggestion to play easier missions first,
as we went on to play for another forty minutes. Yui then told us he had to leave,
and we called a day. Since this day I had played with Yui for a dozen more times,
most of the occasions without the presence of the cousins. From my observation
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Yui had been talkative and friendly toward other gamers, a noticeable different
attitude on the day we first met.
Yuis Background and Gaming History
Among the gamers I had known at gamer gatherings, Yuis background was
probably the most prosperous one, as he came from a well-to-do family. A small
soy sauce factory founded by Yuis great-grandfather had been the family
business for more than six decades. Born in Taipei city as the only child in the
family in 1991, Yui spent his childhood mostly alone at home, a two-story house
in Zhongshan district. Built in the final years of the Japanese colonial rule in
Taiwan, the house gave a heavy air of Japanese architecture in small details such
as wooden window frames, which I could see from pictures shown by Yuis cell
phone. Besides recognizing the fact that all four of his grandparents were fluent
speakers and writers in Japanese, Yui, now a university student of science faculty,
indeed did not know much about Japanese influence on his family, stating his
daily life was a very Taiwanese one that he could not see any major difference
with his friends. He did, however, consider Japanese culture had its root in his
life from the very beginning,
My mom loves Japanese TV drama very much. When I was still very
small, the first thing she would do after I went back to my room at
bedtime was to switch on the TV in living room and watched Japanese
TV dramas. She would record every episode of the dramas and re-watch
it later. She loves Japanese songs, too. She always sang Japanese songs at
home while doing other things, cooking, washing dishes or whatever. I
actually did not know when she was singing at that time, I just knew
some of the melody was familiar that it had been heard on TV. I had no
idea it was Japanese at that time.
Although Japanese TV dramas had been running in Yuis house throughout

his growing years, it was another Japanese cultural product shown on TV that
had drawn his interest,
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I have been a big Japanese animation fan since very small, maybe from
primary one or two. At that time most of the animations shown on TV
were from Japan, yet I did not have a concept of Japan as a country. The
characters were all speaking mandarin with voice-over, therefore
naturally I had not thought of the origin of the animations. It was until
one day when I read the names of production crew on the staff roll, I
found some of their names were so long that they were consisted of four
or five Chinese characters. I asked my mom and she told me they were
Japanese; they were the people from a country outside Taiwan. This was
probably the first time I have the concept of Japan as a country in my
mind. Since then I had been very interested the names appeared on staff
roll, reading them out loudly one by one even though there were many
characters that I did not know how to pronounce. And then I realized
most of the animations I watched everyday were actually came from
that country called Japan.
Besides watching TV, playing Lego alone had been another way that Yui
spent his free time during his early primary school years. He loved to build
something from nothing, and particularly enjoyed the process of carrying out his
own plan. Then on a school day just before the summer holiday in his Primary
Three, a new hobby had entered his life,
It was one of those school days after the term examination, waiting for
the summer holiday. There was no regular class as students were
allowed to bring toys with them back to the school. I brought my favorite
set of Lego, trying to put a motor on my newly built car. Then the boy
who sat next to me took out a handheld video game console, the
Nintendo Gameboy Advanced (GBA), from his schoolbag. I had seen my
cousins playing GBA in family gatherings before but I had not been very
interested, and my mom always told me video game was not for good
kids. Yet on that day my classmate was playing Pocket Monster, an
animation that I loved very much. He let me play for a round of fifteen
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minutes and I was immediately hooked. Being able to control my favorite
characters in animation on that little machine really amazed me. I
started to dream of having a GBA of my own. Then a few days later my
examination result was out and I recorded a significant improvement
over the previous term. My mom asked me what I wanted for reward as
she had promised, and I told her, with some anxiousness, I wanted a
video game handheld in GBA. She was hesitated at first but finally
agreed upon my promise of keeping my schoolwork up. Yes, mom and I
have been valuing promises made toward each other. We take our
commitment seriously. This is what she has taught me.
While Yui did keep his promise of keeping up his schoolwork, he was also
quite addicted to the game of Pocket Monster,
Along the console my mom also bought me a pirated cartridge which

had about twenty games inside. But I just concentrated on Pocket
Monster as I had rarely tried the other games. I played three to four
hours a day, mostly inside my room so my mom could not see. I think my
mom did know I was playing the game quite frequently but she had not
said much, perhaps it was because my academic result had been fine. I
guess my classmates were too stupid so I could stay in front of the pack
by reading the textbook a few times just before exam(Laugh) I would
also ask my friends to come to my home on holiday and play link-up. Just
like Monster Hunter, you have to collect varies of items in order to get
better in the game, so exchanging those items with your friends had
become a key to success in Pocket Monster. I really wish I could exchange
items with you in Monster Hunter to help you to get better though.
(Laugh)
Yui kept playing the game Pocket Monster on GBA in the following couple of
years, before finding another platform for playing video game,
It was primary four when I started to have computer class in school,
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before that I had known nothing about computers. Some classmates who
had already had PC at home told me PC games were even better than
GBA games with bigger and more colorful screens, so I used the
computer class as an excuse and asked my mom to buy a PC for my study.
It was a Pentium 4 cost about NT 60,000. It was expensive, wasnt it?
Now I can assemble one by myself at a very low priceanyway, I had
gotten my wish in the PC and had also convinced my mom to buy me a
PC game, the Age of Empire, by saying it was good for history learning. I
bought this one because I knew many classmates, and even teachers,
were playing it, and they often played together online. For the rest of my
primary school years, I rushed back home on every schoolday, launched
the MSN to see who was online to play AOE. I always beat my English
teacher badly. I really enjoyed the feeling of being better than my
teacher.
While Yui was addicted to playing video games, he still kept his love for
animation as he was still watching animation on TV regularly. Then came one day
in the first month in his junior high school, he read the blog of his newly met
classmate and realized that his two hobbies could indeed be combined into one,
From his blog I found he was playing a Japanese RPG PC game. It was a
typical adventure game in which I had to discover the secret magic with
childhood friends to save the world. It was just like a plot of animation,
wasnt it? Then I borrowed the game from him, and I loved it in the first
instant. The game world and all the characters had been beautifully
designed, and visually it was just like an animation, except I could
control the characters and their fate!
Yet Yui faced a barrier between himself and the animation-like and visually
beautiful Japanese RPG games: the language. He could not read Japanese at all
save the Kanjis despite the fluency of his grandparents,
These RPG games were different from the action games I used to play. In
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Pocket Monster basically I only needed to find out the function of each
button, and then I could proceed without understanding the in-game
text, which was rare in the game anyway. But in those Japanese RPG
games, there were lines after lines of conversation in Japanese. At the
beginning I tried to read the meaning through a few Chinese characters
in the passages, yet I realized it was not good enough. Then I found an
online dictionary that allowed handwriting input, by which I could guess
the meaning of each sentence through inputting the Japanese characters
one by one carefully. It took a lot of time, so I usually translated the lines
of options only in order to make sure I had chosen the right option for
my character. For the story and conversation part, I would rely on
reading kanji and guessing from the speaking tone of voice actresses.
You know, you can always tell if one is speaking happily, sadly, or angrily
by their tone. At the beginning it really took a lot of time for me to
complete a Japanese RPG game, but gradually I was getting faster and
faster as I could recognize more Japanese words.
Although Yui could now play most Japanese RPG games without online
dictionary, it did not change the fact that voice actresses were important for Yui.
A few voice actresses who had been frequently featured in games had drawn
Yuis attention, and he found that they were also participating in a lot of
animations he had been watching. This finding eventually led him to watch more
animations and started playing Japanese Bishjo (beautiful young female) games,
At that time I just found some websites where I could watch Japanese
animations online. Most of them were from Mainland China and in
simplified Chinese, but I could read them anyway. From these sites I
could watch many animations in which my favorite voice actresses
participating. From the database of the site, I also found that many of
the voice actresses I liked had participated in a lot Bishjo games.
(Taking out a paper) Here is a list of the animations and games I have
watched and have played. You see (pointing to a few names of Japanese
voice actresses) many of the titles were involved with these two voice
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actresses. Indeed when I knew the occurrence of the huge earthquake in
Japan last year (2011), the very first thought that crossed my mind was
Are they safe? (Laugh), and the next moment I thought of Are my
favorite animation production companies affected? I went to the
Internet nervously and checked their status at once. After knowing they
were all confirmed by multiple sources, I was relieved. (Laugh)
While there are numerous of Japanese RPG and Bishjo games on PC, PSP
have long been another major platform for these games. When Yui knew that
many interesting games were exclusively on PSP, he used his saving from pocket
money to buy himself one in his first year of high school. He had downloaded
many pirated games from a website in Mainland China, and most of them were
Japanese RPG and Bishjo games. There was one noticeable exception, the
Monster Hunter Portable 2G,
I had heard Monster Hunter on PSP because it had been very popular
on the handheld console, to a point that it can be said Monster Hunter
was equivalent to PSP. Yet I had not been interested in that because I was
not good at action games. Then one day when I browsed through the
video games forum, I found a special program called Golden Finger, by
which I could crack into any PSP game and change its data and
parameters. I was very interested in that program so I downloaded it
immediately. Naturally I needed a game to test the workability of Golden
Finger, so I downloaded Monster Hunter because many crackers also
used it as test object. It was a very time-consuming process since I did
not know how the game worked on those parameters, I had to try them
one by one to see the effect of my changes. But I am a patient person. I do
not mind trying again and again. In two months I had made my avatar
flying like a bird with unlimited amount of game money, which of course
could not be achieved with normal means intended by the game
producers. It was really fun because through these changes I could beat
Monster Hunter, an action game that I had not been good at, with ease
in two weeks. Many of my high school classmates were very good
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Monster Hunter players, and it took them over two months to achieved
what I had done in two weeks! (Laugh)
The initial fun brought by Monster Hunter had raised Yuis interest in action
games, and he decided to re-play the game without the aid of Golden Finger,
At the beginning I always died three times in fifteen minutes. The game
was quite difficult for me because it was very different from the RPG and
Bishjo games that I had been to playing. Action games required instant
response and proficient technique, while in RPG and Bishjo games I
could have unlimited time to decide my next action. So I spent a lot time
in practicing my moves and memorizing the attacking patterns of each
monster. Some of my friends suggested I could read Famitsu, which ran a
weekly guide of Monster Hunter. But I wanted to discover the secret
myself; I thought it was more satisfying. By the end of my last years I
was as good as my more experienced friends. We played in lunchtime
everyday. If the teacher came in and our mission was still in progress, we
would pause the game and resume it after school. It was a very good
time.
In 2010 Yui went to a private university in Taipei City, where he found most
of his friends there playing PC online games. He said he had tried to play some
but found it not fitting with his habits,
I like to act according to my own plan. Before doing everything I want

to have a clear goal and to consider how to do it. Every night I would sit
down and write a schedule for the next day, and then I would spend the
next day as planned. I would not change my plan unless it is really
necessary. Playing online games actually does conflict with my habit. In
certain extent I have to compromise on my own schedule in order to play
online games, where teamwork is essential for success. I do not want to
change my schedule from time to time to fit with other peoples schedule.
Playing console game, on the other hand, allows me to be a lone wolf
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anytime I want. I can play link-up if I do want to play with others. It just
fits with my style more. Besides, there are a lot more uncontrollable
factors in online games, like I could do nothing to stop my teammates to
do anything stupid. I do not want to play a game in which my own fate is
hugely depends on others.
Concentrating on playing console video games, Yui bought another

handheld console in 2011 in N3DS. He emphasized, however, that he did not buy
the console for the then-upcoming Monster Hunter 3G. Instead it was a non-
mainstream game that drove him to make the purchase,
It was a Bishjo game developed by a very small game production

company in Japan. Its promotion was very limited that you could not
even find many Japanese media had mentioned its name. I found it on a
Japanese online forum of Bishjo games and was attracted by its
character design. It was virtually an unknown for most of the Taiwanese
gamers. When I tried to pre-order the game in a game shop at Taipei
City Mall, the staff did not know which game I was talking about!
(Laugh) At last I ordered the game through an online shop that offered
service of direct purchase from Japan. It was delivered to my home just
three days after it was out in Japan. It cost much more than to buy it this
way but I think the game really worth the extra money. (Laugh)
Just three months after Yuis purchase of N3DS, the game Monster Hunter
3G on the handheld was out. Although most of his friends of Monster Hunter
players did not buy the game because they did not have the Nintendo handheld,
Yui did buy the game because he wanted to try to play the game on 3D. At the
beginning he was playing alone at home, until a day when he met Kirby, a staff of
the video game shop Magical,
On that day I was going to Taipei City Mall to buy a new comic. I passed
by Magical and saw a lot of people were sitting there and playing MH3G.
I knew it was the place where Monster Hunter players love to gather but
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I had never joined before. I had my own regular group in high school in
PSP years, and I did not feel entirely comfortable in playing with
strangers on floor. Yet on this day I was curious in how they played the
game. I stopped and stood next to the groups, and there was one man
among the gamers who had caught my attention. He was tall and
handsome, looked very fashionable in his clothing, and in general was
very confident and seemed respected by the gamers around him. I heard
other gamers called him Kirby, and in mind I told myself I wanted to
play with this guy someday. Since then I had seen him playing there
several times, yet each time I found he had already grouped with three
other players. Then on a Friday afternoon I saw him playing alone on the
floor, so I approached him and asked if I could play with him. He agreed
and talked with me friendly while we played. I found that he was a staff
of the Magical, and on off day he would still come back to play Monster
Hunter there. We then exchanged our phone number and he said he
could introduce his friends at gamer gathering there to me.
Since then Yui would go to gamer gathering at Taipei City Mall two to three
times a week, mostly on Kirbys holidays. He considered Kirby as his best
teammate ever,
One of the most obvious advantages of playing with Kirby was identity
card was not needed when we wanted to use the electronic socket of
Magical (Laugh) Seriously his skill was really good, better than most of
the players I know. He also has the knack of getting the most rare items.
To see him got all the items that had looked impossible to get, it did raise
my hope and served as an encouragement for me to play harder. (Laugh)
Indeed He was my good luck charm as I always got the items I wanted
when playing with him. But I think it was his willingness to sacrifice that
really had earned him respect from other gamers. He did not mind to do
all the dirty work to make it easier for others. Sometimes a round might
end in a way that he had consumed a lot of his items without gaining
much. He did not mind that and would do the same again the next round
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without saying a word. Many gamers wanted to play with him but he
would reject most of the invitations. He said he did not have much time
to play, therefore he did not want to waste time with inexperienced
players.
When compared with Kirby, Yui said he was contented with playing with
inexperienced players because he had more free time. Utilizing the Giruto Card
system in the game, Yui had carefully recorded and categorized each player who
had played with him,
I would exchange Giruto Card with every player I played with. When I
went home later in the day, I would sit down and wrote down my
impression or comment on the players in the Hunter List in the game.
Usually I would write down ones playing style, such as a bomber,
Head-blower, or poison-user. For those weaker players, I would drop
down their weaknesses, such as bad swimmer, reckless or
individualistic.
Yui handed his N3DS to me and let me see his comment on each player he
had played with. There were more than hundred players in the Hunter List, and
he said he had deleted some players because the list had limit on the number of
players. I noticed Kirby was first on the list, having played with him for over two
hundred hours. Then there were a few names following Kirby, with each of them
having played over hundred of hours with Yui. I found my name Sammo on the
fourth page, and the remark on me was From Hong Kong. My name was
immediately followed by SOS and AHLs, and both of them had remark of
Member of Team Sammo. While I was laughing at becoming a team leader for no
reason, Yui shared a glimpse of his thought on my partners,
It was rare to see Hong Kong players there, so you had left a clear
impression to me. And you three always came to Taipei City Mall
together, so I grouped you guys as one team and named it as Team
Sammo. I did not have a strong impression on your companions, so I just
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marked them as your teammates(Author: You do not have any
impression on SOS or AHL?) Actually I have one. I remember the day
when we first met; SOS, AHL, you, and I were playing together I
remembered I had warned him to be extra cautious before starting a
difficult mission, I mean, difficult for his level at that time. Yet apparently
he had not listened to me, as he kept running straight into the monster
with no clue. So naturally he died three times in ten minutes, which made
me a little upset indeed. You know, I do not mind playing with
inexperienced players, but players better took his teammates into
consideration before doing something stupid. If you wanted to do
something stupid for fun, you can do it alone at home.
Just when I wanted to hear more from Yui about his impression on other
players, Yui seemed realizing it might be not entirely appropriate to talk about
my companions to me. He stopped his comment and was about to take back his
N3DS from my hands, yet I was still able to see something interesting by one last
quick look on the screen: Crow; Playing time together: Three hours; Comment:
Bad temper and annoying. This remark suggested Yui did not like Crows
expressive playing style, a general consensus that had been probably shared
among the gamers on Plaza 5.
After putting his N3DS back into his bag, Yui took a quick glance at his
wristwatch. I realized it was already the time that I had told him the interview
would finish on the day. I asked Yui if he had any appointment afterward, he said
he had scheduled to visit model shops and Mag Freak in Taipei City Mall.
Knowing that my interviewee liked to stick to his schedule, I told him the
interview had finished and suggested we could go shopping together. Leaving Mr.
Brown Caf in the Clothes Section, we headed to Information Section together. Our
first stop was Mag Freak, where he bought three Japanese comics that I had
never heard of. I bought the latest issue of Taiwanese edition of Famitsu there,
and I asked Yui if he had bought the gaming magazine regularly. Yui shook his
head while tightening his lips,
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I don't buy game magazines, regardless of PC games or console games. I
can get all the information of games from Internet, so why bother to buy
these magazines? I think these magazines are for players who cannot
read Japanese that they may find it difficult to read the Japanese gaming
websites. I can even read Japanese online forum. You know, people there
often write in special form of Japanese. But I can read them.
On our way to model shops from Mag Freak, Yui explained to me how he
had mastered basic Japanese grammar through self-studying. He was attending a
Japanese language beginner course in university now, and he claimed that it was
too easy for him,
I wanted to take the advanced course but my teacher said I had to start
from beginner course. Usually I would skip most of the classes and only
attend the tests. My friends know my Japanese is good, and they always
come to ask me question about the language. (Laugh) I plan to learn
Kansai dialect now as my favorite voice actress was actually from
Kansai. Her speaking tone in Kansai dialect is so lovely!
We arrived at a model shop and we stood before a long list of upcoming

figures. Yui explained to me one by one how special each figure was, listing the
details of each figure from producer, size ratio, making material to rarity. While I
was totally confused by the dolls that all looked alike to me, Yui entered the shop,
took out his wallet, and placed a pre-order on a figure of NT 3600 which, not
surprisingly, I had never heard of. He told me he had waited for this one for many
years,
The figure was a character in an animation that I loved to watch when I

was small. Although there were other versions of figures available for
this character, it is the first time for this particular producer to have
figure of this character. This producer has been known for its quality,
especially the faces of figures. The reason I liked to collect figures is
because I want to re-make some famous scenes in animations and
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games, so a figure face that could express the emotion of character is
particularly important to me.
It was already seven in the evening when we finished shopping in

Information Section. Yui invited me to have dinner together as he had scheduled
to have dinner alone at the Food Section anyway. He led me to a Ramen restaurant
in Food Section, before ordering a set of Ramen and fried Japanese dumpling
without looking at the menu,
I liked this restaurant very much. I have never been Japan but I think
the food here look very similar to the one I had seen on Japanese
channels on TV. Actually I am saving money and plan to attend the
concert of my favorite voice actress, by then I can really tell if the food
here really taste like Japanese food. But before that I think the food here
is good enough for me. Hey! Have you made up your mind? I suggest you
can try this Ramen of pig bone. Maybe you want to have rice more? Next
time we can go to the Don restaurant just next to here, the sashimi there
is fresh
During the dinner we talked about Japanese restaurants in Taipei City, and
he seemed eager to try every restaurant I had suggested to him. We parted
company after finishing the dinner, and he greeted me in Japanese in a girlish
tone that could be often heard in animations, before disappearing from the
crowd in Taipei Main Station,
(Thank you for your hard work today).
From Lego to Monster Hunter
Observing Yuis gaming habit and interviewing him was probably the most
interesting experience during my fieldwork in Taiwan. It is because Yui had a
thoroughly consistent pattern in almost everything he had done in his life, to a
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point that everything could fit into my assumptions on him almost seamlessly.
Yuis approach to video games was indeed mirrored by the way he played Lego
when he was still in kindergarten: Having a clear goal in mind, trying to achieve
the goal with a careful plan, and executing the plan with dedication and patience.
Throughout the gaming history of Yui, one could notice that he

consistently used video games to achieve goals beyond simply playing the
game. The early years in Yuis gaming history showed that Yui used video games
to extend his consumption in Japanese animations. When Yui had his first video
game console in GBA, he was only interested in one single game, the Pocket
Monster, which had been his favorite Japanese animation on TV. He admitted that
being able to control his favorite animation characters was probably the games
biggest attraction to him. It was the same attraction when he followed his
classmate to play Japanese RPG games on PC, for being able to decide the fate of
characters situated in plots and visual environments similar to Japanese
animations. When he bought a PSP to play Bishjo games, it was his fondness of
voice actresses involved, rather than the gameplay, to be accounted for the
decision. Even Monster Hunter, a game he had spent hundreds of hours, had
been merely a testing platform for a game-cracking program to him before he
started to really play the game.
Yuis favorite game genre of RPG was indeed a reflection of his habit of
drawing up plans before actions. RPG, generally offers multiple options to players
to choose over the course of the game, encourages players to think carefully
before each step. This style of gameplay matched perfectly well with the
personality of Yui, who would carefully draw up daily schedule for the next day,
for being able to have unlimited time to consider the every next step of action,.
Even though Monster Hunter is an action game instead of RPG, the players, in
order to forge specific weapons and armors of their choices, have to be
absolutely clear about each required item would be dropped from which specific
monsters. Thus a careful planning of selecting monsters to fight against would be
essential for efficient gameplay.
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In fact Yui was also a person who hoped every action he took could be
consistent with his plan. Yui admitted in the interview that he used to write a
schedule at night and spend the next day exactly according to the plan, and there
was a moment before the first of our many interviews that left a deep impression
to me. It was ten oclock at night in summer holiday, when I asked him through
online messenger if we could bring forward our interview to the next day due to
my other engagements. He rejected my suggestion because he had arrangement
for tomorrow. Just when I thought he probably had commitment made to others
or something serious to do, he told me that he had just drawn up the schedule for
the next day in which he would spend the whole day to re-watch a series of
Japanese animation. I was further perplexed when he revealed that he was
indeed available for interview on the days followed. To me, swapping the days
scheduled for interview and re-watching a series of Japanese animation would be
an easier thing to do than rejecting another person, especially during summer
holiday with a lot of free time. To Yui, however, it was more important for him to
stick with his plan. To some this short conversation on MSN between Yui and I
might be considered as nothing more than a insignificant footnote, to me,
however, it made too much sense for the big picture as the incident matched with
Yuis personality seamlessly. Therefore when Yui told me he did not play PC
online game because he did not want to change his own schedule to fit with
others, I could not help but kept patting his shoulder and nodding my head to
show my total understanding.
Yuis careful planning in video games was always matched by serious

execution and patience. When Yui first tried to play Japanese RPG on PC, he could
not really understand the Japanese text inside the games, save a few Kanjis. To
overcome this difficulty, he found an online dictionary, which allowed
handwriting input, and translated each Japanese character one by one. It was
indeed a very time-consuming process and yet, as he claimed, he was a person
with patience and did not mind investing time on something he loved. Using
Monster Hunter to be the testing platform for game-cracking program is another
good example to illustrate how devoted Yui was as a person. In order to find out
how the game worked on the hidden parameters, Yui tried them out one by one
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to see the effect of each change. This process was tiresome and required a lot of
dedication, even for a science student who used to deal with repeated testing and
parameters. In fact Yuis patient and dedication had helped him to be really good
in Monster Hunter, an action game and also a genre that he admitted he had not
been good at. While Monster Hunter does require player to perform different
moves with quick reaction and neat control, the game also emphasizes
memorizing all the attack patterns of each monster. Yui, with poor body reflex
as he claimed, thought he had overcome his weakness by memorizing attack
patterns of each monster. A slight shake of tail, or a slap of claws from the
monsters was all Yui needed as a sign of danger and reacted a nanosecond ahead
of other players. Yui admitted he had spent countless hours to play alone at
home, learning from his each death in the game until he could memorize all the
attack patterns. Once again the process was perhaps tiresome and repetitive to
many, however to Yui, it was an inevitable path that could lead to success.
Success was perhaps the driving force behind Yuis determination in

executing his plan. Throughout the interviews, there were a lot of Taking Pride
Moments from Yui. These moments, as the name literally suggested, showed
Yuis pride in his certain ability and achievements, which he, more than often
consciously, tried to make sure they were recognized by others. I could easily
point out a few Taking Pride Moments in Yuis gaming history, such as for being
different in buying non-mainstream N3DS game directly from Japan; for being
good enough in Monster Hunter world to offer assistance to me, or for being able
to team-up with Kirby, one of the best gamer at Plaza 5. While some gamers
might considered these moments from Yui as showing-off (the cousins once
made a similar comment on Yui, for instance), yet from my understanding of him
as a person through interviews, he probably just used to be the one who has
better status among others. Coming from a well-to-do family, Yui had been raised
in an environment that gave him a higher status than many others in the society.
He, for example, seemingly took great pride in the house he had lived in since his
birth, for its heavy air of Japanese architecture in small details, and more than
glad to show the pictures of his house to me actively, as the higher status of
Japanese style architectures in Taiwan could be traced back to the sociocultural
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policies employed by regimes of Japanese colonists and KMT government
explained in chapter 2. In fact there were many other Taking Pride Moments in
his life: for being good academically without studying hard; for being able to
assemble a PC at low cost; for repeatedly beating his English Teacher in PC game;
for being able to read Japanese gaming websites, and for well ahead of his
classmates in Japanese language class. While some of the aforementioned
Taking Pride Moments came with his family background, many of them were
indeed resulted from his dedication and patience in following his own carefully
constructed plan.
Conclusion
In this chapter I have presented the last case study in my research. From
the very beginning Yui had intrigued my interest by being atypical among the
gamers at Plaza 5. He dressed in neat and tidy style, presented himself unusually
in Giruto Card, and reacted to SOSs passionate style with a manner rarely seen at
Plaza 5. Concluding Yuis gaming history, one could find that playing the game
was never his primary objective. Instead, from the examples above, we could find
his acts of consuming video games were often driven by a goal unrelated to the
game, such as extending his consumption in other popular cultures. He, however,
through dedication and patience in executing his plans, always found himself
being successful, which eventually turned into one of the many Taking Pride
Moments in his life.
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Chapter 9
Conclusion
This study shows how Japanese video games have been consumed under
the context of Taiwanese society. It is easy for one to assume that Taiwan, as a
former colony of Japan, would embrace the popular cultural products from Japan
with open arms. Many previous studies have shown that TV dramas, music,
animations and comics from Japan have all been consumed by the Taiwanese as a
routine part of their lives, as Japanese-ness involved with the products
accounted for the major reason of regular consumption. This study, however, by
largely focusing on the relationships between Japanese video games and
individual gamers, reveals that the Japanese-ness of the video games has been
often minimized through localization strategies, both consciously and
unconsciously, taken by different agents throughout the re-territorialization
processes in re-production, circulation, and consumption. In other words,
Japanese video games have been localized for consumption under the context of
Taiwan.
Empirical Findings
In Chapter 3, I have given a detailed account of how different agents in

Taiwan contributed in localizing Japanese video games, which has begun even
before the products officially entering the Taiwan market. Without an official
distributor in 1980s, the sale of Nintendos Famicom in Taiwan was largely relied
on smuggling activities by the unofficial distributors. These unofficial
distributors also, based on their knowledge on the local market, selected the
genres of games that would suit the taste of Taiwanese customers, filtering out
games that estimated to be unpopular. Thus these unofficial, and sometimes
illegal, distributors could be considered as the major agent in localization by
importing and selecting Japanese video games for Taiwanese players.
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Local retailer was another important agent in localizing Japanese console
video games in the early years. Through providing rental and game-copying
services, retailers provided many Taiwanese young kids a more affordable way to
consume Japanese video games in the early years. The retailers were involved
with another piracy activity again in early 2000s, when they provided piracy-
enabling hardware configuration service, which once again greatly lowered the
entry cost of playing video games. Hence the unofficial distributors, piracy, and
retailers had formed an illegal triangle that fostered the reception of Japanese
console video games in Taiwan.
The mass media, on the hand, also played a major role in the localization
process. The printed media, in particular, was the pioneer in localizing the game
content. From walkthrough guides, novelized game plots, and in-game hidden
data list, the printed media was not only a mere alternative of getting video game
information other than local retailers, but has also been also an important source
for Taiwanese gamers to understand the game content in Japanese before the
Internet age. Despite the emergence of video game websites and TV programs
since early 2000s have seen the importance of printed media rapidly decreasing
over the years, the Taiwanese version of Weekly Famitsu still represents one of
the most reliable sources of video game information to many local gamers. The
video game players themselves have also been consistently contributing in
localization, from giving Chinese names to the characters in games in the early
years of Famicom, to sharing all kinds of information in discussion group online
in recently years.
While different agents in localization have been successfully located, the

question of how Japanese video games have been consumed under the
Taiwanese context still could not be answered without understanding how the
games meant to, and were given the meaning by, individual players. Rather than
committing the mistake of generalizing all Taiwanese video game players as a
unitary group, I recognized the need of connecting with individual players. That
brought me to the Taipei City Mall, where I have spent considerable time to
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participate in the Monster Hunter gamer gathering. Through comprehensive and
intensive contacts with the Monster Hunter players, I could get to understand not
only each informants background, gaming history and their relations with
Japanese video games, but also a bigger picture, by combining the pieces of
stories from these individuals, of how Japanese video games interacted with
players in Taiwanese way.
From the case studies of each gamer that I have presented in the previous
chapters, one should be able to see that video games, or Monster Hunter in
particular, were not consumed merely as an interactive digital product for
entertainment purpose only. Using video game as a tool for interpersonal
relationships, for example, is a common feature shared by all cases presented in
this study. In each case, player used video games, consciously or unconsciously, to
enhance the statuses of their inter-personal relationships in real life: AHL
intended to use video games as a tool to build and maintain social relationships;
SOS regarded playing linkup Monster Hunter 3G, a Japanese game which has been
marketed to associate with kizuna, as a kind of serendipity; Crow hoped to gain
his self-identity by giving himself an attention-drawing role in gamer gatherings,
and Yui tried to get recognition from other gamers for his Taking Pride
Moments. The gamer gathering at Taipei City Mall thus have become a very
interesting place where the gamers were not gathering solely for playing the
game, but also using the gathering to satisfy their needs in enhancing
interpersonal relationship in real life.
While players did give new meaning to Monster Hunter, the video games
conversely also affect the players in their real lives. Crow, for example, have
applied the standard of inter-personal relationships in the dating simulation
game on his reality, expecting individuals around him would behave in a similar
way to his virtual darlings did. Ironically, one could assume the more he feels
comfortable in the ways existed in the game world, the more he needs to use
video games as a mean to deal with social relationships in his real life. Yui, on the
other hand, was probably becoming a more rigid person than he already had
been due to video games. As a person who stuck to his plans in doing things, Yui
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could be considered as inflexible and rigid by others. As I have pointed out in
chapter 8, the genres of video games that Yui was playing actually matched with
his personality, that he could expect a certain level of reward or success if he
could stick to the plan during the course of repetitive and sometimes tiresome
gameplay. The rewards and success generated from video games, however, would
tend to convince Yui the fruit of persistent would certainly be translated into the
success in real life, overlooking unpredictable twist that were not existed in the
fixed programming code behind the games.
Indeed Monster Hunter the game did intend to encourage interactions

between players, rather than the players inventing an entirely new way of
playing the game from zero. As I have explained in chapter 4, the series success
in sales numbers has been hinged on the availability of easy and direct linkup
play. The developer thus have done everything to make sure to make the games
connectivity between players as its biggest appeal, from highlighting the fun of
linkup play in the TV commercials, to implementing new tools for enhancing
interactions between players in Hunter Search Engine and Guild Card. Combined
with the basis of game system which encourages linkup play in order to achieve
biggest success in the game efficiently, it is a game developed for multiplayer
from the get-go.
Taiwanese Monster Hunter players, however, still play the game in a way that
the developer probably did not foresee. While marketing campaigns in Japan
have been promoting the fun of playing the game between friends, the gamer
gathering that I participated in the Taipei City Mall shows there is an alternative,
which is created by the local players, to play the game. In chapter 5 I have
detailed how the unorganized gamer gathering worked with certain unwritten
rules and rituals, which were negotiated by the players themselves collectively to
play the game with strangers efficiently. Interestingly, the Monster Hunter
players, along with other non-shoppers in the Taipei City Mall, also negotiated
and defined how the space at the underground street should be used, and the
result was more a harmony than chaos. It is doubly interesting to see the gamer
gathering is indeed a combination of two self-negotiated usages of space and
200
cultural good, which I argue were not intended or expected by neither the city
builder nor game developers at any point of their design.
Theoretical Implications
Returning to my central theoretical argument, this research shows how the

re-territorialization of Japanese video games could be studied as a historical
event. Sahlins defines historical event into three parts, which are the happenings,
the structure, and the mediations. Through a detailed account of how the
Japanese console video games have been re-territorialized (the happening) into
Taiwan (the structure), I have located and examined the factors and agents
(mediations) which ultimately caused and shaped the historical effects generated
by the happening on the particular structure, in this case, Taiwan. From the
changing status of Japanese cultures under different regimes and the
corresponding reactions from the local inhabitants, to the various localization
measures employed by different agents according to their own needs and
motives during the process of re-territorialization, these mediations is
continually shaping how Japanese console video games should be consumed in
Taiwan, in terms of time, space, and form. Therefore it would be premature and
imprudent to rationalize the migration of Japanese cultural goods in Taiwan for
its colonial status in the past, for the fact that it ignores the historical effects of
the same happenings are very unlikely to be identical when situated in different
structures.
I want to insist that the re-territorialization itself is a constantly evolving

phenomenon, that the changes within mediations over time would affect the
historical effects of the event accordingly. The effects, however, are not
predictable or calculable by simply examining the changed variables in a vacuum,
a way that scientist would employ in laboratory. As Gupta and Ferguson (1997)
suggests, contemporary anthropologists should view culture as an ever-changing
process, and the focus should be placed on the creation and re-creation of culture
by everyday practices, applications or resistances. The nature of constant
changing highlights the importance of ethnographical research, which probably
201
has a better chance in recording and conceptualizing such changes than any
other measures.
It should be noted that we should not overlook Japan, as a former colony

ruler, has its root planted in the Taiwanese society and influence how its cultural
products to be consumed in Taiwan. Yui, for example, was often found taking
pride in his familys root from the Japanese colonial years and his knowledge of
Japanese languages and popular cultures. Similarly, Crow also tried to catch
attention from others by bursting out phrases in English and Japanese, as
speaking the later tend to represent a superior status in Taiwan as shown in
chapter 2. There are other cases, however, in which Japanese-ness was never a
factor or consideration in their video game consumption behaviors. Both SOS
and AHL, for example, told me they did not have any admiration or preference to
Japanese popular cultures, despite the fact that they were consuming video
games from Japan almost exclusively. They chose to consume video games suited
their own needs, such as the fun involved and the availability of linkup play,
rather than its origin. The unique reasoning behind each cases consuming
pattern of video games shows that consuming Japanese popular culture, even as
heavy as the cousins did, does not automatically imply that one is consciously or
unconsciously favoring the country or its culture.
This lead us to realization of how detailed investigation on individuals

family background and growing experience could be crucial in understanding the
migration process of a cultural good. Through regular and extensive contacts
with a few selected gamers from the Monster Hunter gathering, I have showed in
this dissertation that many gaming patterns and behaviors are indeed reflection
of desires, which are produced by, as Sangren suggests, experience of limitations
and denials encountered in social arrangements by individuals. In other words,
personal and social factors, including but not limiting to ones family background,
inter-personal relationships, or what kind of community or society he has been
part of, did play an important role in causing, shaping, and influencing their
gaming behaviors. Indeed from each case studies, we could trace how desires
were generated by their family and social backgrounds: the cousins looked to
202
build and maintain social relationships because of their family structures; Crow
hoped to gain his self-identity because he did not have one in his circle; and Yui
wanted to match his familys social status with his Taking Pride Moments. As
these desires all played an important part in causing and shaping the individual
gaming behaviors, I argue that, in order to avoid committing generalization in
explaining how a particular culture is perceived by a clan, a community, or a
society as a whole, one should pay a close attention to individuals unique
background and desires that would, if not greatly, mediate the re-
territorialization process as well. Thus this study has shown the migration of a
transnational cultural good could be better understood by not only studying the
happening, the structure and the mediations between them in the process, but
also by in-depth investigations on the participating individuals with their family
and growing background being the focus.
Limitations and Future Research
There are a few limitations that could be found in this study. Firstly, the
study does not include enough Japanese video game developers perspective on
their own products. In order to show exactly how Taiwanese players consumed
video games different from the intended way, interview invitations have been
sent to numerous developers in Japan. The sensitive nature of video game
development, which largely depends on new idea to be successful, however, has
made the access to these sources even more difficult than other Japanese
companies, as none of these invitations received positive responds from the
companies. As a result the absence of developers first-hand perspective have
forced this study to rely on analyzing the game system and its marketing
campaigns.
Other than comparing the developers intention and Taiwanese players

way of playing, another comparison that could be done in this study is comparing
the migrations in different territories. Besides joining the Monster Hunter
gamers gathering in Taipei City Mall, participatory research have been also done
in other territories, namely Hong Kong and several cities in Japan. While
203
similarities and differences between players from different territories have been
noted, the limited and imbalanced time spent on each places has made it difficult
to present the findings in objective and comprehensive manner. Thus this study,
due to limited research time, could not further show how unique the Taiwanese
way is by comparing and contrasting with situations in other territories.
The Taiwanese way brings us to the last but not least limitation in this
thesis, that the study has arbitrarily used Taipei to represent the whole Taiwan.
Once again limited research time is the major constraint here, as researcher had
just enough time to conduct detailed and comprehensive participatory research
at a single field, which is Taipei City Mall. Indeed this study could be accused of
generalization that urged to be avoided by the researcher himself, as the playing
ways of the game Monster Hunter could be very different in other parts of
Taiwan due to many social and historical factors.
While I suggest the future research on this field should try to avoid the
limitations noted above, attention should be also paid to other agents in the
processes of localization. Some agents at re-production and consumption, such
as developers and the players, have been the focus of the similar research in
recent years. I suppose, however, that equal attention should be paid to agents at
circulation, such as media, distributors and retailers. While the relations and
interactions between producers and consumers is always fascinating to look at,
one should not overlook the importance of the middlemen who often play a
equally important role in transferring, selecting, defining, and re-defining the
cultural products.
204
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The Localization of Japanese Video Games in Taiwan

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The Localization of Japanese Video Games in Taiwan

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Title The localization of Japanese video games in Taiwan

Advisor(s) Wong, HW; Edwards, LP

Author(s) Wong, Chi-hang;

Wong, C. []. (2013). The localization of Japanese video

Issued Date 2013

Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommerical 3.0 Hong Kong

The localization of Japanese video games in Taiwan

Wong Chi Hang

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

games have been re-territorialized into Taiwan in Taiwanese context. Since

multi-billion dollar business in which Japanese console and game developers

Japanese console video games through measures during the process of

production, re-production, circulation, and consumption in the context of

intensive participatory observation on the gathering and in-depth case studies on

new paradigm, in which the individual desire is considered as equally important

with other mediation factors, should be adopted in conceptualizing the migration

Wong Chi Hang

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

and other qualifications.

2 Berger (2002), p.3-8

In recent years, the widespread usage of high-speed Internet allows video

4 Gallager (2012), pp.1

5 Pulos (2013), pp.77

On the re-territorialization of popular music, Iwabuchi (2002) shows how

Studies on re-territorialization of video games are rare. While studies on

7 Kotarba and Vannini (2009), p.157

While the tails of Japanese popular cultures could be seen everywhere in

I plan to relate this research to the migration of transnational culture

The homogenization paradigm, on one hand, as Sahlins (2000a) criticizes,

In their attempt to relate the relation between the transnational Japanese

10 Sahlins (2001a), p.417

While the event theory provides a possible answer to conceptualize the

12 Wong and Yau (2010b), pp.211

Combining the aforementioned event theory and the concept of desire, I

16 Bourdieu (1990), pp.126

Secondly, I have conducted interviews with close to hundred and fifty

Thirdly, I have conducted participatory observation in a regular gathering

This study is an attempt to outline and conceptualize how Japanese console

Chapter 1 presents a literatures review on how video games have been

Chapter 2 provides a brief but pinpoint background of how Japanese

Chapter 3 shifts the focus to video game, which is becoming a multi-billion

Chapter 4 introduces Monster Hunter 3G, a popular Japanese handheld

Introduced, Removed, and Revived:

The Japanese Colonial Era: 1895-1945

When Taiwan was ceded to Japan as a part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki

While the douka in modernization was largely successful as the local

In 1940, a name-changing program was launched to encourage local

The colonial government also intended to reform the society in

Analyzing how local inhabitants received the Japanese language education

Thirdly, Japanese cultural elements had been massively and fragmentarily

The Martial Law Era under KMT: 1949-1987

The 28 February incident in 1947 prompted the KMT government to

Wong and Yau (2010a) make a comparison on Hsimenting in different eras

The KMT determined to put Hsimenting subject to de-Japanization because

The KMTs strict censorship and ban on Japanese cultural products,

The Taiwanese also found ways to penetrate the blockade in broadcasting

Lee Teng-huis Regime and the Lift of Ban: 1988 Onward

Lees cultural policy, highlighted by lifting the ban on Japanese language

Considering how the local Taiwanese had already been routinely

The impact of Lees cultural policy could be also reflected by how

This chapter is an attempt to provide a brief but pinpoint background of

The History of Japanese console Video Game Industry and its

Classification of Japanese Video Games

Arcade Games refer to video games that can be played on coin-operated