Hi all! As if the Gatchaman pachoslot machine coming out in a couple of weeks wasn't enough, Sammy has announced that they will be releasing a new Gatchaman pachinko game in July. At this point, the detail are few, except that the name of the game is "Gatchaman ~The Bonds of Fate~." The Sammy website has no information on it yet, though that is likely to change in the near future. You can keep an eye on their home page at: http://www.sammy.co.jp/japanese/index.jsp At this point, the only picture from the game I've been able to find is a small picture of the game screen, showing that the game (Like most modern pachinko games) will have a small video slot machine-like game imbedded in the center. When I find more, I'll let you know! James

Looks neat! Oh, how I wish they had those in Vegas.. well, maybe its better for my wallet that they don't...

Hi all! Sammy has put up this placemarker for this pachinko game on their website. It's currently not active, but it should link to a website promoting the game very soon. James

That looks cool!

It's a wonderful picture! I'm hoping we'll get another batch of fantastic art from this website!

Hi all! The promotional video for this game is now available on YouTube. It can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvTYp5PusSw It runs just over 6 minutes. From the look of things, much of the gameplay that appears on the video screen in the game is done in CG instead of a traditional cel animation style. The CG work isn't at a Pixar level, but it's not bad. It kinda reminds me of the CG bumpers that the Cartoon Network used for G-Force when they were airing it back in the late 1990s. And, while we're at it, here's the promotional video for the Gatchaman GR pachoislot game. Its visuals are done in more of a traditional style. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tkbwb6MKhU It's interesting to note that both of these games are using some of the original voice cast, including Katsuji Mori (Ken), Isao Sasaki (Joe), Kazuko Sugiyama (Jun), and Toru Ohira (Dr. Nambu). Of course, Shingo Kanemoto (Ryu) and Mikio Terashima (Berg Katse) are no longer with us, and I guess they must have figured that Yoku Shioya (Jinpei) couldn't sound enough like a kid anymore. Still, it's nice to hear the characters with the proper voices! James

WOW!! Thank you so much for sharing those, James - fan-bloody-tastic stuff! I couldn't help but notice they both use the original GodPhoenix. Guess the powers that be agree with most of the population when it comes to the favourite vehicle...

Hi all!

I couldn't help but notice they both use the original GodPhoenix.

It's not just the God Phoenix, but everything in the games are based on the first series, including using Katse, Crescent Coral Reef, and first series Gallactor Iron Beasts. It makes sense when you think about it. The first series is the one with the greatest nostalgic value, which is important for games like this. Think of it this way, if you were going to do a game based on Star Trek, you'd want to base it on the original TV series, not the Star Trek movies, simply because the TV series theme would attract a larger audience (By the way, this is exactly what they did in Japan a few years ago with a Star Trek-themed pachinko machine). The same holds true for Gatchaman. James

I actually took my thoughts a little further after signing off... It takes time to come up with these things, they have to be thought of, planned, designed and then made... Could it have been the thought that there was soon to be a movie that was the starting point for the games? The timing would be right - Imagi's troubles wouldn't have been such a problem during the planning stages of the games... I'm just thinking that maybe the nostagia surrounding the games might just spark enough interest to get a big enough company thinking along the lines of reviving the original plan... Fingers crossed, anyway, right?

Hi all!

Could it have been the thought that there was soon to be a movie that was the starting point for the games? The timing would be right - Imagi's troubles wouldn't have been such a problem during the planning stages of the games...

I doubt it. While that would be a necessary motivating factor for such a game here, in Japan they are basing pachinko and pachislot games off of pretty much every older property they can think of, despite those properties having no current mass-market appeal beyond their nostaglic value. The notion of tying these games in with a movie release likely never even crossed their minds. James

Thanks for those links, James! Those look great!

I recognized a lot of first series mechas in there! Some new images in there, so I made some caps. I notice that in the pachislot video, around 4.45, there are a couple interesting little scenes -Jun in a green bikini raising her sunglasses and Joe throwing a shuriken at a Devil Star. I could see myself playing these games and with my luck, losing repeatedly, but I might be okay with that, as long as I could enjoy the Gatch characters while losing. Thanks for posting these, James!

My hard earned money would probably end up in there way way too often! Thanks for these great posts and links and the screen caps

Originally posted by gogirl212 My hard earned money would probably end up in there way way too often! Thanks for these great posts and links and the screen caps

I'm with you, GoGirl... I'd want to keep playing just to see all of those sequences!!!!

Very cool! Thanks so much for showing us, James! And thanks for the screencaps, too...LB!

Hi all! The website for this game has now opened. It can be found at: http://www.sammy.co.jp/japanese/product/pachinko/cr_gatchaman2010/index.html At this point, there isn't too much to see there, as only the "Concept" section of the site (With its subsections on the concept, story, and characters of the game) is open. But, the menu bar shows that there will be more parts of the site available as the release date for the game comes closer. James

Thank you for keeping us informed, James! The images that are there look wonderful!

Hi all! Sammy set up an exhibition of the CR Gatchaman pachinko game in their showroom in Tokyo yesterday. If you want to see a few pictures from this, they can be found here: http://www.pachinko-club.com/machine/2593_exhibition There is also a video of the gameplay that someone took at this exhibition now on YouTube. If you want to see the game actually being played (Or the videogame portion of it at least, since that's what the video focuses on), the video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGpdIRrunCc James

Cool! Where can I pick up one of those Swan costumes? What was happening in the beginning? Was that the 'slot machine' part, where he was trying to get 3 of the same number? And then he started a game anyway, even though he didn't... And there was a Gatch F theme in the middle (with Gatchaspartan, even though you're clearly supposed to be flying the God Phoenix) and later the Gatch I theme. I'm guessing that was based on which monster you defeated? The sequence where the God Phoenix goes through the firebird is terrific!

Hi all!

Where can I pick up one of those Swan costumes?

You could get a job at Sammy, but that might be a bit extreme...

What was happening in the beginning?

I would guess that what you're seeing are simply the visuals displayed on the screen while the player is pkaying the regular pachinko portion of the game, prior to when they trigger the game on the screen to begin. As such, the visuals are likely random.

I'm guessing that was based on which monster you defeated?

No, the Iron Beast he defeated was Angler, from episode #94 of the first series. Without playing the game, I would guess that the "bonus video" for defeating the enemy is a random selection of one of the opening themes from the three series. James

Thanks, James! I ahd a difficult time seeing that first mecha, since it was dark.

Hi all! In case you haven't checked it lately, the website for the Gatchaman pachinko game has been updated, opening up all the different sections for you to look through. They've even added a selection of silly radio commercials for the game that you can listen to. If you wish to check it out, the site can be found here: http://www.sammy.co.jp/japanese/product/pachinko/cr_gatchaman2010/top.html James

Thank you for the information James. I appreciate it. I do not have time to visit all the sites, so it is nice to have some one informing me when they make updates over there.

Very nice! I still wish I could see it...and play it...in person!

I agree with Springie.... I want to play! But I really appreciate you keeping us updated, James!

Hi all! If you want to see videos of the various video portions of the gameplay, there are a bunch of them here: http://pachibee.7world.jp/movies/index/2917 James

Thanks so much for posting this, James! I love the way you keep us informed!

Thanks again for the info, James!