Designing for Pachinko, Japan's unique and dazzling pastime

Join us for the design thinking committee!

Discover the fascinating world of "pachinko", Japan’s one-of-a-kind entertainment phenomenon. Once at the height of its popularity and still enjoyed by millions today, pachinko has evolved from a simple vertical pinball-style game into an immersive experience combining lights, sound, motion effects, and CGI animation. 

This session will share the remarkable journey of a foreign professional, Harry Uden, who successfully entered and thrived in one of Japan’s most distinctive and traditionally domestic industries. Through cultural understanding, persistence, and a fresh perspective, he was able not only to integrate into this uniquely Japanese world, but also to make a meaningful impact on its development. 

The talk will also explore the landmark 1994 launch of the first pachinko machine designed as a complete product, before tracing the industry’s transformation into today’s spectacular character-driven machines inspired by major Japanese popular culture franchises, in particular manga and anime. Through these iconic examples, we will examine how storytelling, game mechanics and entertainment design come together to captivate players across Japan.

Speaker(s)

Harry UDENPresident of Envision Incorporated

会場