Retronauts Episode 321: Pure Invention & 20th Century Japan
Domo Arigato, Mr. Aruto
For a show based in the United States and dominated by American hosts and guests, we here at Retronauts certainly talk a lot about Japan. But can you blame us? We love video games, and Japanese people and Japanese companies have produced a staggering amount of them to the point that their perspective dominated the medium for a good 20 years, give or take. Oh, and two of the three major game consoles on Earth are still created there. It's not "bias" when Japan codified how games work.
To that end, our episode this week is a conversation between Jeremy and guest Matt Alt, a Tokyo-based translator who both localizes video games and writes books - books such as Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World. Jeremy and Matt talk about Japan's long legacy of creating things that found success outside Japan, including a great many video games that came to define nearly everything we discuss on this webzone.
Description: Matt Alt, author of Pure Invention, joins Jeremy to discuss his research into the impact of technological innovation on the growth of Japanese society in the 20th century, and how it shaped video gaming.
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MP3, 31 MB | 1:06:41 Direct download Retronauts on iTunes Retronauts at Libsyn
Artwork for this episode by Nick Wanserski and editing thanks go to Greg Leahy.
