Game Center CX Stream on Kotaku-Starts June 23rd!

[Silver Wolf]

(I wasn't sure whether this fit under here, GamesStation Taisen, or The Rising Sun of Justice, so feel free to have the thread moved if needed.)

For those that have been following Shinya Arino's Game Center CX, or "Retro Game Master" as it has been licensed in English speaking regions, apparently there's some interesting news concerning it's proper premiere outside Japan: Kotaku has announced that their parent company, Gawker Media, recently acquired the rights to stream new episodes of the show, and will be releasing them every Thursday on their website, starting June 23rd at 8:00 PM EST.

Granted there's no telling if they're simulcasting, starting at the very beginning or the newest season, or dubbing/subbing the project (the early versions that were getting shopped around, such as at Cannes, had the narration [originally done by the show's producer] dubbed in English with everything else subtitled) but any proper form of getting the show out to the public is still good to have.

Here's the full press release:

Kotaku Exclusively Brings Japanese Cult Hit Retro Game Master to the United States
NEW YORK – Gawker Media's influential gaming website Kotaku will be the first media outlet in the United States to air a U.S. version of Japan's wildly successful cult television hit Retro Game Master.

The show, known in Japan as Game Center CX, features comedian Shinya Arino playing Japan's most popular video games – a perfect fit for Kotaku. Kotaku, in partnership with RGM, will feature new episodes made for United States viewers weekly starting in June.

Peter Block's A Bigger Boat helped secure the rights for RGM from Yuko Shiomaki's pictures department. Yuko Shiomaki's pictures department acted as international representative on behalf of rights holder Fuji Television, Japanese international sales agent STYLEJAM, and Producer Tsuyoshi Kan of Gascoin.

Says Block "Watching RGM is addictive...I knew we had something special when we couldn't stop watching our first episodes, and when people would stop for a quick peek and stay for 30 minutes. It's Iron Chef for the Gamers."

Eric Spiegelman of Jetpack Media brokered the deal between Gawker Media and A Bigger Boat.

Retro Game Master will be featured exclusively on Kotaku every Thursday night, posting at 8pm EST, starting June 23, 2011.

About Kotaku
Kotaku is the definitive digital hub for video game news, reviews, cheats, design, and entertainment. It tracks the genre's spreading popularity from hardcore obsession to casual gaming in pop culture and social media. Read by both developers and the players who idolize them, Kotaku is the lifestyle bible for millions of button-pushers and console fiends.

About Retro Game Master
Now in its 15th Season, Retro Game Master is a reality television show unlike any other that taps into the mega world of classic gaming. The show, known in Japan as Game Center CX, features comedian Shinya Arino playing Japan's most popular classic games – a perfect fit for Kotaku. In each episode, the Game Master plays a classic video game that audiences remember playing, but few could master. The Game Master does not stop playing until the game is won.

About A Bigger Boat
A Bigger Boat is the motion picture production and distribution company formed by Peter Block in 2008. Their recent productions include John Carpenter's THE WARD, SAW 3-D (the 7th installment of the storied franchise), and FROZEN, an official selection of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. A Bigger Boat is currently in post-production on HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET. They also acquired the rights to Roger Smith's thriller MIXED BLOOD, which he will produce with GreeneStreet Films and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment. Peter Block is also the President & General Manager of the television network FEARnet.

And a few articles from Kotaku and, as an alternate perspective, Blistered Thumbs, respectively. There's also a full on article about the show that Kotaku just released titled "Japanese Gaming's Greatest Ambassador".


I wonder if the success from this might eventually convince them to finally release and export Gamecenter CX/Retro Game Master 2 for the DS?

 

[Savior Den-o]

I can't wait :buttrock:

 

[Silver Wolf]

Bit more news and a teaser.

It has been confirmed to have the "narrator" dubbed, and the rest with subtitles. Also it seems they'll be choosing choice episodes (12 in total till September it seems), as it will start with Ninja Gaiden, which was the ninth episode from Season 4. Also they are keeping the backlog so you can keep up to date.

There's a teaser for the episode on Brian Crecente's blip.tv page:
http://blip.tv/crecente/retro-game-master-premieres-in-the-u-s-this-week-only-on-kotaku-5299937

You can likely find the episode when it comes up with this link: http://kotaku.com/rgm/