A few days after arriving in Taiwan, every step I did seemed to be accompanied by toys of all kinds in claw machines.
I interviewed Betty, one of my Taiwanese friends about the omnipresence of these games in the streets of Taiwan.
Emma : "Why are there so many claws machines here in Taiwan ? "
Betty : "I have absolutely no idea, they appeared few months ago ahah. Nobody understands this sudden craze for claws !"
So I conducted my little investigation
What you need to know is that these games have become a real business opportunity.
It only takes about 30 machines to make a profitable business in a few months.
Indeed, each machine can be rented. Per month, this amounts is $ 5,000 TWD per machine, in addition to installation costs in the local. They are about $ 1 million TWD for 30 machines, at the expense of the tenant. It must also pay for the small room where the machines are stored as well as the electricity.
From there, the goal for the owners is to make his client addicted to the game. Indeed, they must be able to really win after a certain number of parts. If they were just losing, it would seem logical that they never come back to try again.
Moreover, becoming his own boss becomes accessible to all. It is enough to raise the necessary funds. We can understand that many young people are tempted by this activity at first glance very lucrative.
Today, people develop an addiction to these games. That's why some lawyers want to put a restriction on these machines. For them, they should not be able to be near a hospital or school.
Chen Zhitong holds more than 15,000 toys from these machines. He calls himself the "King of claw machines".
Several polemics broke out.
Two of them are quite interesting.
The first occurred during the toilet paper shortage that took place in March 2018. Some owners of claws machines decided to pack toilet paper inside the game. Stores being robbed because of the people making their reserve for the (false) increase in prices announced, others have simply had to turn to this solution as last resort.
The second controversy is degrading for the condition of the woman. An owner simply decided to put women in bikinis inside the machines so that they could play with the prices and attract the men. It worked perfectly well and people were lining up to play it. The woman being placed in the rank of object, the scandal was relayed on all the social networks. The owner therefore decided to apologize on Facebook stating that the models were not supposed to be seen as prizes to win but were supposed to show the games in the machines.
Taiwanese are known for their peak of interest in novelty, which they can immediately drop in favor of another novelty much more attractive and "fancy". The owners may now see a disengagement of Taiwanese for these games, which could be fatal. This dazzling success will not last forever, they'd better get ready.
Then what is the next fashion ?