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Magical AsoBit City faces fate of Atlantis


By Denki Guy

Taro weaves left and right, his thumbs and fingers moving at a frenetic speed as he maneuvers a sword-packing video game hero through a pack of grotesque monsters.

Around him, a small crowd gathers to watch the action as it is beamed onto one of several huge plasma TVs near the entrance to the huge entertainment complex.

Beeps, grunts and groans of all sorts roar out as Taro -- oblivious to the din -- makes another kill on the game he's been playing free of charge for almost an hour, courtesy of AsoBit City, the huge retail outlet Laox Co. opened amid great fanfare in October 2002.

Unfortunately, it's game over for Taro and the thousands of others like him following the shock announcement earlier this month that AsoBit City would close its doors on April 11.

Even as most were singing the praises of AsoBit City, writer and former Akihabara salesman Kichinojo Saibara predicted it would struggle to keep up with the demands of its clientele.

"Gaming styles change quickly and it'll be hard to adapt to those changes. AsoBit City's task will be to keep on top of all the new trends. If it sticks only to what it's offering now, people will eventually get sick of it. It's not easy to maintain an aggressive sales policy that will keep drawing people back in every day," Saibara writes in "Akiba PC Shop no Himitsu (Secrets of Akiba PC Shops)," a book published just days before Laox drew the curtain on AsoBit City.

Officially, Laox is pulling the plug because the owner of AsoBit City building has sold it.

Laox PR chief Iwao Yamashita confirms to the Mainichi that his company is looking at an alternative site, or perhaps even sites in the case it decides to separate the numerous forms of entertainment AsoBit City caters to.

Occupying a prime plot on Chuo Dori, AsoBit City was initially hailed as the symbol of the new face of Akihabara, an area best known for being Tokyo's electronic district.

Instead of the purely electronic face of many major outlets in the district, AsoBit City clearly catered to the Akiba-kei otaku crowd that has come to dominate the district.

However, with about 800,000 people passing through its doors each month, AsoBit City will be sorely missed when it's gone.

During its brief life, AsoBit City has been something close to Heaven for the average anime fan, hobbyist and gamer. Its top floor is reserved for special functions, most of which are for book signings and "handshake" greetings with top manga or anime artists.

Visitors enter the seventh floor to the site of a meters-long advertisement for the latest adult cartoons, heralding the level's focus on output of Japan's over-productive porno industry.

At least half the floor's sales space is dedicated to anime characters taking part in the most sordid activities imaginable, whether for a movie or a computer game. And products are not just for the guys, either, with a space set aside for raunchy cartoon games for women.

Much of the merchandise handled on this floor can be found at AsoBit City Sanbankan, an outlet opened in late January on a back street of Akihabara

Immediately below is a shooting range, where air gun replicas of the latest firearms from across the globe can be tried out, while adjacent are aisles packed with software for kids and another corner is set aside for online gaming.

AsoBit City's fifth floor is a haven for hobbyists, with plastic models of all shapes and sizes sold alongside aisles of glass display cases packed with parts for train sets, including just about every engine running in Japan and intricately detailed landscape accessories.

On the fourth floor are all sorts of toys, mostly statuettes and figurines, but also movie memorabilia.

Even critics of AsoBit City's comparatively high prices laud its fine collection of books and magazines on the third floor, keeping computer and game savvy types up to date with the latest information or strategies for high scores.

A wide array of CDs and DVDs can be found on the second floor, while the ground level is devoted to video game displays and related equipment.

It's here where Taro and his ilk hone their skills at the newest release games, but even the digital hero Taro manipulates can do nothing to stop AsoBit City's demise.

With Ryann Connell, Staff Writer