The Nintendo Wii launched in 2006. The PlayStation 3 launched in 2006. We know this. But now Japan’s most beloved retro gaming television show has made it official with a formal vote: both consoles are definitively, irrefutably retro. Congratulations on making it through another decade, everyone.
What Is GameCenter CX?
For the uninitiated: ゲームセンターCX (GameCenter CX), broadcast on Fuji TV ONE, is a long-running Japanese variety show that has been on air since 2003. Host Shinya Arino — known affectionately as “Kacho” (section chief) — sits alone in a room and attempts to complete classic video games in a single day, usually with absolutely no prior practice. It’s tense, it’s hilarious, and it has a devoted following across Asia and beyond thanks to fan-subtitled releases that spread the show widely online. If you’ve spent any time in Singapore’s retro gaming or Japanese pop-culture fan communities, you’ve almost certainly heard of it.
The show defines retro games as “software from hardware released more than 20 years ago.” That’s the rule. With the Wii and PS3 turning exactly 20 this year, the question was unavoidable.
The Debate — 17,000 Viewers Weighed In
On August 23, 2026, the official GameCenter CX YouTube channel streamed a special session titled “Wii & PS3解禁！？生配信” (“Will Wii & PS3 be unlocked?! Live Broadcast”). Arino and the production staff openly debated the question — and brought fans along for the ride via live polling.
Results from roughly 17,000 respondents came in at 80% in favour of unlocking the consoles, with 9% opposed and 11% undecided. Arino then cast the decisive vote himself, stating he wanted to “acquire new fans in their 20s” — people who grew up with these systems — while not losing the longtime viewers who came up on Famicom and Super Famicom titles.
“I ended up unlocking them,” Arino said on the stream. “どうしよう, 解禁しちゃいました” — roughly, “What do I do, I’ve gone and unlocked them” — delivered with his characteristic mix of mock-regret and beaming delight.
What Arino Actually Played
Before casting his vote, Arino put several Wii and PS3 titles through their paces on stream as a “taste test.” The Wii side included Wii Fit and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, alongside the cult-oddity Opūna. On the PS3 side, he tested the atmospheric PlayStation Network title rain and — in what has to be peak 2006-throwback energy — Demon’s Souls. He also mentioned AFRIKA, the PS3 wildlife-photography game, as a strong candidate for a future challenge.
No start date has been set for the actual Wii or PS3 episodes, but the door is now officially open — and it’s hard not to imagine Arino suffering through the notorious Demon’s Souls without internet help in a future recording.
Coming to TGS 2026
If you’re heading to Tokyo Game Show 2026 (September 17–21 at Makuhari Messe), the GameCenter CX team will have a dedicated booth at the event — the first TGS appearance for the show. No details on what will be shown, but for fans across Southeast Asia who make the trip, it will be worth hunting down.
For Singapore fans who grew up watching Arino fumble through Famicom classics via fan subs on a weekend afternoon, this moment hits differently. The Wii era and the PS3 era are now officially history — and soon, they’ll be challenge fodder for the Kacho.