Pachislots: Bane or Balm of Modern Series?

Welcome to “Siliconera Speaks Up,” our new newsletter for the site! This’ll be a summary of the past week’s anime or gaming news, as well as a little reminder of things to come. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Top 10 Stories From the Past Week

1. Monster Hunter Rise Becomes a Pachislot Game in November

2. Kingdom Hearts Wedding Rings Bear the Series’ Iconography

3. New Evangelion Figure Turns Eva Unit-01 Into a Samurai

4. Hololive EN’s Amelia Watson to Conclude Streaming Activities

5. Logitech G Will Release Genshin Impact Gaming Gear and Mice

6. Kotobukiya Shows Off New and Returning Armored Core Kits

7. Trails Games Hit New Sales Milestone

8. New Yu Yu Hakusho Art Features Them Walking in a Park

9. Fastest Delves in World of Warcraft: The War Within

10. Elden Ring Releases Apparel With G-Cores Industries

Notable Mentions

1. Kingdom Hearts 4 Will Move the Series Towards an Ending

2. Usahana, City Town Join Hello Kitty Island Adventure in 2.0 Update

3. Yakuza Spinoff Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Announced

4. Devil May Cry Anime Adaptation Will Release on Netflix in 2025

5. Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Trailer Has Characters From Movies

Speak Up Sesh

Tokyo Game Show 2024 has started, with lots of exciting new announcements and updates to upcoming games. Personally, Dynasty Warriors: Origins felt like the most exciting one, since it seems like Koei Tecmo is both returning to its roots and aiming for something more ambitious with this latest entry. The more details that come out, the more fun Origins seems. Other games that have been announced this week, rather than last, include Atelier Resleriana, Venus Vacation Prism - Dead or Alive Xtreme, and Holy Horror Mansion.

Holy Horror Mansion has been making waves not only for being a Yokai Watch game, but people have been suspecting that it uses AI assets. Generative AI is STILL a hot button topic considering its environmental impacts, the art theft, the possible legal ramifications that may arise as a result of said art theft, and more. It’s sad to see companies start using that in its video games or promotional material, considering how players fell in love with the creative stories and visuals—things that only humans could make—of many iconic series. Back in the day, the worst thing that could happen to a beloved franchise was if the company in charge of it only ever used the IP for pachinko machines. It was a very real fate. It happened to Silent Hill.

News about pachislot machines tend to invoke some level of backlash, though I mostly see it from an English audience. I get it. You tune in because a company promised news on your favorite franchise which hasn’t seen anything new in years, only for said news to be about a new pachislot machine in Japan? Even in Japan, it’s not as if everyone goes to pachislots. Granted, my impression of them, thanks to Gintama and hanging out in Ikebukuro, is not great. Maybe pachislots are popular among people who aren’t tired salarymen, old men, and bums, too. These days, franchises—the franchises we’ve been keeping an eye on, at least—tend to see some new activity or other, so it doesn’t feel as aggravating as only a few years ago.

There are still a few days before Amelia Watson’s final stream as a member of hololive EN. It’s not technically a graduation, though hololive is treating it like one between privating her channel and social media activities. She graduated only four years ago, but it feels so much longer! Granted, 2020-2022 were really weird years in that a lot of places were still in lockdown or going into lockdown, and all that. 2020 itself feels like it was way longer than one single year. In any case, here’s wishing Amelia well, wherever she is.

And that’s all for now!

Upcoming Releases

• Reynatis (PS4, PS5, Switch, PC) - September 27

• Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus (PS5, Xbox Series X, Windows PC) - October 1

• I*chu: Chibi Edition (Switch) - October 3

• Until Dawn (PS5, PC) - October 4

• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred (PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Windows PC) - October 8

• Silent Hill 2 - (PS5, PC) - October 8