And So It Became a Legend
Today, it is not unusual for writers or media sites to take the lead in organizing guest appearances and coverage events at pachinko halls, but one of the earliest examples was “Oyugikai,” a project created by HAZUSE and JIPANG around the idea of “Let’s all have fun together at the hall!”
The concept was to create a day people could enjoy even if they lost—a day they could look back on and say, “That was fun.”
At the time, people kept telling us, “The interests of the hall and its customers do not align. The hall is the enemy, so there is no way they can have fun together.”
What made it even more unusual was that the event was not planned by the hall. Its contents were decided based on suggestions posted by users on the site’s message board.
“Give us a machine model with high settings on every unit!”
“Bring girls in swimsuits to the hall!”
“Let us play guaranteed Setting 6 machines from opening!”
One outrageous suggestion after another kept appearing.
But the manager at the time saw them and said, “That sounds fun. Let’s give it a try!”—and actually made them happen.
The users who made those suggestions were amazing.
The manager who carried them out was just as amazing.
That recklessness and passion gave birth to Oyugikai.
Today, it is remembered as a legendary event.
At the time, the hall operated on an equal exchange rate. The target payout ratio for this event was 99%—although the official target was 95%.
Anyone can make the machines pay out like crazy and run the hall at a loss.
Our true skill as organizers was creating an event that still left even a small profit for the hall while having both customers and hall staff say they had a great time. That was also the hall’s goal, and we pushed one another to improve every day.
We did have plenty of review meetings with the manager, though (laughs).
It would be great if, someday, the hall and its users could once again come together and create a truly epic event that everyone could genuinely enjoy.
The hall is not the enemy. If the machines stay busy, anything is possible!
