Claw Machine Craze in Asia: What’s Really Happening?

Since the invention of the claw machine back in the 1800s, it has gone and came back for many years. It can be said that its resurgence for this year is a good sign for a lot of homegrown arcades throughout the world. But things are a bit crazy in Asia, like in Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. Why is that?

In Japan, the claw machine craze has become a part of their culture. If you watch anime and read manga, there is almost always a scene where the characters are at an arcade playing the machine after school hours. This has been translated into the real life of the Japanese where students and even corporate workers indulge themselves into this simple game of luck and skill. 

For Taiwan’s case, it’s almost the same, minus the anime and manga part. Players of all ages are seen crowding one machine to another in order to grab limited edition items that are only available until supplies last. This has led to a boom in the arcade gaming industry and the locals are loving it. 

Singapore also has been affected by this craze which has led to the rise of numerous new arcade centers, of which most, if not all, are dedicated to claw machines. There are even centers that allow you to accumulate your wins to trade off for a bigger prize! Methods like this have increased the players flocking into them regardless of age, status, or race. 

Claw machines have definitely made a big comeback and are looking stable and should last for many years. All that matters now is the type of prize you can get from them which is totally up to the operators. If they want to stay in the game, they have to up the ante as much as they can.