South China Morning Post | ‘Five dollars of happiness’: the Hongkongers obsessed with claw machines @SouthChinaMorningPost | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
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Claw machines, arcade-style games where players try to win plush toys or other items by manipulating a joystick, were once a staple in budget-friendly local shopping centres in Hong Kong. But today, they can be found in upscale areas like Causeway Bay or in residential districts as a new generation falls in love with the quaint charm of the low-tech machines. Claw games have a decades-long legacy that includes the likes of Sega and Taito – Japanese companies that were at the pinnacle of innovation as they refined the devices in the 1960s. The games continue to be part of daily life for fans, who sometimes spend hundreds of Hong Kong dollars on a single session trying to snatch items worth around HK$20 (US$2.57) each. The Post’s Sammy Heung talked to players to understand the appeal of claw machines and to the small business owners struggling to keep the devices going amid the city’s recent economic downturn.
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Claw machines, arcade-style games where players try to win plush toys or other items by manipulating a joystick, were once a staple in budget-friendly local shopping centres in Hong Kong. But today, they can be found in upscale areas like Causeway Bay or in residential districts as a new generation falls in love with the quaint charm of the low-tech machines. Claw games have a decades-long legacy that includes the likes of Sega and Taito – Japanese companies that were at the pinnacle of innovation as they refined the devices in the 1960s. The games continue to be part of daily life for fans, who sometimes spend hundreds of Hong Kong dollars on a single session trying to snatch items worth around HK$20 (US$2.57) each. The Post’s Sammy Heung talked to players to understand the appeal of claw machines and to the small business owners struggling to keep the devices going amid the city’s recent economic downturn.
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#scmp #HongKong #ClawMachines
