GTV Japan | Game Girls! The Story of the Japanese X-Rated Video Game Genre “Yakyuu-Ken” and its G-Rated History @GTV-Japan | Uploaded September 2023 | Updated October 2024, 6 hours ago.
100 years ago, a new word entered the Japanese language. Far from its original definition, Yakyuuken later became the first X-Rated video game in Japan! How'd that happen?! (Chapter markers and more below...)
0:00 Coming Up Next!!
0:15 GTV ID: After Dark
0:21 Scene 1: Not M Rated Stuff
1:26 Scene 2: What is Yakyuuken?
2:49 Scene 3: Things Get Salacious
3:43 Scene 4: Early Adult Games in Japan (1979-1994)
6:12 Scene 5: Full Motion Video Brings the X-Rated Era (1995-1998)
10:19 Scene 6: CERO and 21st Century Yakyuuken
12:07 Scene 7: Clean Yakyuuken Wins in the End
13:07 NG Scene!
Episode Information
GTV 153 "Game Girls" Season 8 Episode 10
Original Airdate: September 1, 2023
Produced July 25-30, August 26-31, 2023
Recorded at Butsudan Studios and edited on my 14” MacBook M1 Pro! Edited and produced with Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Topaz AI. All paid for with Gainful Employment™
Other great SEGA videos by GTV!
Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary youtu.be/FZcij7XPdzI
Sega SG-1000 Story youtu.be/qBDx83UZ1nw
Sega Mega Drive Perfect Guides youtu.be/w37sJi4PU_Q
Meet Mr. Sega! youtu.be/bkOsNYAx90I
Phantasy Star II 30th Anniversary youtu.be/4F3LnKYEv-8
Mega Drive Mini Unboxing youtu.be/SJ9ec844sh0
Segata Sanshiro youtu.be/NBPNcI9OMbk
Phantasy Star III 30th Anniversary youtu.be/T-9uSzMkXKs
The More You Know: Game Gear youtu.be/K3bvA41DY4I
Sega Solar System youtu.be/nwRy3i1VgMk
The American MegaDrive (aka The Origin of Genesis) youtu.be/wta-wGtyuq4
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary youtu.be/I2MYvgNf9lU
Sonic the 8-Bit youtu.be/ct1YjTtd8bE
The Zillion Story youtu.be/GV65rKJmlag
A Sonic Adventure youtu.be/51cwcqcKiFA
Sonic 2’s Day youtu.be/GX6cqZJMEfo
Phantasy Star 35 youtu.be/IPSZ6LvQe8g
Magical Hat is not Zillion 3 youtu.be/1ruKUk3GGyE
Other GTV episodes with celebrities in them
Double Identity youtu.be/sVx-e4obQc0
Guts Pose youtu.be/I02u8Br0yhs
Who Are Kato & Ken? youtu.be/CtKuKTSjF_g
Rational Ebullience youtu.be/z6psyKzdY4s
Elec-Man VS. Journey youtu.be/7GSx_0yMuXo
The Story of Tetris World Champion Evets Kainzow youtu.be/Q1BlbGdtGoY
Hulk Hogan Manga Mania! youtu.be/ei7wxfKkMnQ
Meet Mr. Sega youtu.be/bkOsNYAx90I
Zelda 2 and the 1988 Chip Shortage youtu.be/H6zYKiueCEA
Monkey Magic youtu.be/V5nmAnmOe7g
Segata Sanshiro youtu.be/NBPNcI9OMbk
The Legendary Mother youtu.be/7mpAdSpXb0E
Club Nintendo youtu.be/TM3oL-xoCO0
Ken Uston: The Gamer Gambler youtu.be/4ww3Uy_RHPs
King of Keirin youtu.be/LKRjZfKeFsg
Ten Years of Funassyi! youtu.be/D1yQfzTO3fc
Kyoro-chan’s Nebulous Journey youtu.be/vY-HW2aoKqY
Partial transcript
The key point to everything in this story is the word “Yakyuuken.” Literally, “Baseball Fist” but that doesn’t really explain anything, does it?
Then Ken in Yakyuuken comes from the word Janken, known to most of the world as Rock, Paper Scissors. A simple and fun game of chance played by all ages! Fist, refers to the clenched hand made before throwing out your call. I have no idea when the game started but it’s safe to say it was centuries before Alex Kidd!
The Baseball part goes back to October 1924. In Matsuyama Japan, a local baseball team was losing the game so badly that the team manager, Goken Maeda, started singing, dancing and cheering to lift the spirits of his team. The songs were similar to chants used while playing Janken.
The rally cry didn’t work, but the routine became a part of every game. Eventually other teams started chanting too and before you knew it, this newly coined portmanteau of Baseball and Janken, entered the lexicon!
In the following decades, singers released records of Yakyuuken chants, often with lyrics and step by step dance instructions included.
It took about 50 years for the term to cross over into something a little more salacious!
In 1969 a variety program, “Konto GO GO GO!!”, literally meaning, “Sketch Show Number 55,” ran short bit with women playing Janken. The loser of each round had to take off one piece of clothing!
It seemed only natural that after the invention of the video game, someone had to make a game based on Yakyuuken. Its almost like there was a rule that such if a thing can be made, it must be made.
The earliest known version was developed by Hudson Soft for the Sharp MZ computer series. Very little has been preserved about this game, but it records show that this game was on sale as early as 1979! And as such, has the distinction of being the first adult video game ever! Pre-dating Streaking and Custer’s Revenge! As well as Night Life, by Koei, which is often listed as the first adult video game in Japan.
Funny how Hudson Soft doesn’t tout this claim to fame….
100 years ago, a new word entered the Japanese language. Far from its original definition, Yakyuuken later became the first X-Rated video game in Japan! How'd that happen?! (Chapter markers and more below...)
0:00 Coming Up Next!!
0:15 GTV ID: After Dark
0:21 Scene 1: Not M Rated Stuff
1:26 Scene 2: What is Yakyuuken?
2:49 Scene 3: Things Get Salacious
3:43 Scene 4: Early Adult Games in Japan (1979-1994)
6:12 Scene 5: Full Motion Video Brings the X-Rated Era (1995-1998)
10:19 Scene 6: CERO and 21st Century Yakyuuken
12:07 Scene 7: Clean Yakyuuken Wins in the End
13:07 NG Scene!
Episode Information
GTV 153 "Game Girls" Season 8 Episode 10
Original Airdate: September 1, 2023
Produced July 25-30, August 26-31, 2023
Recorded at Butsudan Studios and edited on my 14” MacBook M1 Pro! Edited and produced with Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Topaz AI. All paid for with Gainful Employment™
Other great SEGA videos by GTV!
Phantasy Star 30th Anniversary youtu.be/FZcij7XPdzI
Sega SG-1000 Story youtu.be/qBDx83UZ1nw
Sega Mega Drive Perfect Guides youtu.be/w37sJi4PU_Q
Meet Mr. Sega! youtu.be/bkOsNYAx90I
Phantasy Star II 30th Anniversary youtu.be/4F3LnKYEv-8
Mega Drive Mini Unboxing youtu.be/SJ9ec844sh0
Segata Sanshiro youtu.be/NBPNcI9OMbk
Phantasy Star III 30th Anniversary youtu.be/T-9uSzMkXKs
The More You Know: Game Gear youtu.be/K3bvA41DY4I
Sega Solar System youtu.be/nwRy3i1VgMk
The American MegaDrive (aka The Origin of Genesis) youtu.be/wta-wGtyuq4
Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary youtu.be/I2MYvgNf9lU
Sonic the 8-Bit youtu.be/ct1YjTtd8bE
The Zillion Story youtu.be/GV65rKJmlag
A Sonic Adventure youtu.be/51cwcqcKiFA
Sonic 2’s Day youtu.be/GX6cqZJMEfo
Phantasy Star 35 youtu.be/IPSZ6LvQe8g
Magical Hat is not Zillion 3 youtu.be/1ruKUk3GGyE
Other GTV episodes with celebrities in them
Double Identity youtu.be/sVx-e4obQc0
Guts Pose youtu.be/I02u8Br0yhs
Who Are Kato & Ken? youtu.be/CtKuKTSjF_g
Rational Ebullience youtu.be/z6psyKzdY4s
Elec-Man VS. Journey youtu.be/7GSx_0yMuXo
The Story of Tetris World Champion Evets Kainzow youtu.be/Q1BlbGdtGoY
Hulk Hogan Manga Mania! youtu.be/ei7wxfKkMnQ
Meet Mr. Sega youtu.be/bkOsNYAx90I
Zelda 2 and the 1988 Chip Shortage youtu.be/H6zYKiueCEA
Monkey Magic youtu.be/V5nmAnmOe7g
Segata Sanshiro youtu.be/NBPNcI9OMbk
The Legendary Mother youtu.be/7mpAdSpXb0E
Club Nintendo youtu.be/TM3oL-xoCO0
Ken Uston: The Gamer Gambler youtu.be/4ww3Uy_RHPs
King of Keirin youtu.be/LKRjZfKeFsg
Ten Years of Funassyi! youtu.be/D1yQfzTO3fc
Kyoro-chan’s Nebulous Journey youtu.be/vY-HW2aoKqY
Partial transcript
The key point to everything in this story is the word “Yakyuuken.” Literally, “Baseball Fist” but that doesn’t really explain anything, does it?
Then Ken in Yakyuuken comes from the word Janken, known to most of the world as Rock, Paper Scissors. A simple and fun game of chance played by all ages! Fist, refers to the clenched hand made before throwing out your call. I have no idea when the game started but it’s safe to say it was centuries before Alex Kidd!
The Baseball part goes back to October 1924. In Matsuyama Japan, a local baseball team was losing the game so badly that the team manager, Goken Maeda, started singing, dancing and cheering to lift the spirits of his team. The songs were similar to chants used while playing Janken.
The rally cry didn’t work, but the routine became a part of every game. Eventually other teams started chanting too and before you knew it, this newly coined portmanteau of Baseball and Janken, entered the lexicon!
In the following decades, singers released records of Yakyuuken chants, often with lyrics and step by step dance instructions included.
It took about 50 years for the term to cross over into something a little more salacious!
In 1969 a variety program, “Konto GO GO GO!!”, literally meaning, “Sketch Show Number 55,” ran short bit with women playing Janken. The loser of each round had to take off one piece of clothing!
It seemed only natural that after the invention of the video game, someone had to make a game based on Yakyuuken. Its almost like there was a rule that such if a thing can be made, it must be made.
The earliest known version was developed by Hudson Soft for the Sharp MZ computer series. Very little has been preserved about this game, but it records show that this game was on sale as early as 1979! And as such, has the distinction of being the first adult video game ever! Pre-dating Streaking and Custer’s Revenge! As well as Night Life, by Koei, which is often listed as the first adult video game in Japan.
Funny how Hudson Soft doesn’t tout this claim to fame….
