{"id":8532,"date":"2026-08-25T04:32:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:32:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/gamecenter-cx-wii-ps3-retro-august-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T04:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:32:32","slug":"gamecenter-cx-wii-ps3-retro-august-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/gamecenter-cx-wii-ps3-retro-august-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"GameCenter CX Officially Declares Wii and PS3 &#8220;Retro&#8221; \u2014 and Yes, We Feel Old"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Nintendo Wii launched in 2006. The PlayStation 3 launched in 2006. We know this. But now Japan&#8217;s most beloved retro gaming television show has made it official with a formal vote: both consoles are definitively, irrefutably <em>retro<\/em>. Congratulations on making it through another decade, everyone.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"gt-video\">\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V1FWsv3mVww\" title=\"\u30108\/23\u751f\u914d\u4fe1\u3092\u524d\u306b\u5148\u884c\u516c\u958b\u3011Wii&#038;PS3\u3092\u89e3\u7981\u3059\u308b\u306e\u304b\uff1fGCCX\u5b9a\u4f8b\u4f1a\u8b70\u306e\u69d8\u5b50\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allow=\"accelerometer;clipboard-write;encrypted-media;gyroscope;picture-in-picture;web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption>GCCX pre-show preview: &#8220;Will Wii &amp; PS3 be unlocked?&#8221; \u2014 via \u3010\u516c\u5f0f\u3011\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u30bb\u30f3\u30bf\u30fcCX \u30c1\u30e3\u30f3\u30cd\u30eb on YouTube (Japanese)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What Is GameCenter CX?<\/h2>\n<p>For the uninitiated: <em>\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u30bb\u30f3\u30bf\u30fcCX<\/em> (GameCenter CX), broadcast on Fuji TV ONE, is a long-running Japanese variety show that has been on air since 2003. Host Shinya Arino \u2014 known affectionately as &#8220;Kacho&#8221; (section chief) \u2014 sits alone in a room and attempts to complete classic video games in a single day, usually with absolutely no prior practice. It&#8217;s tense, it&#8217;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&#8217;ve spent any time in Singapore&#8217;s retro gaming or Japanese pop-culture fan communities, you&#8217;ve almost certainly heard of it.<\/p>\n<p>The show defines retro games as &#8220;software from hardware released more than 20 years ago.&#8221; That&#8217;s the rule. With the Wii and PS3 turning exactly 20 this year, the question was unavoidable.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gccx-staff-meeting-wii-ps3-debate.jpg?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"GameCenter CX staff debate whether Wii and PS3 should be classified as retro gaming hardware\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of GameCenter CX (Fuji TV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>The Debate \u2014 17,000 Viewers Weighed In<\/h2>\n<p>On August 23, 2026, the official GameCenter CX YouTube channel streamed a special session titled <em>&#8220;Wii &amp; PS3\u89e3\u7981\uff01\uff1f\u751f\u914d\u4fe1&#8221;<\/em> (&#8220;Will Wii &amp; PS3 be unlocked?! Live Broadcast&#8221;). Arino and the production staff openly debated the question \u2014 and brought fans along for the ride via live polling.<\/p>\n<p>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 &#8220;acquire new fans in their 20s&#8221; \u2014 people who grew up with these systems \u2014 while not losing the longtime viewers who came up on Famicom and Super Famicom titles.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I ended up unlocking them,&#8221; Arino said on the stream. &#8220;\u3069\u3046\u3057\u3088\u3046, \u89e3\u7981\u3057\u3061\u3083\u3044\u307e\u3057\u305f&#8221; \u2014 roughly, &#8220;What do I do, I&#8217;ve gone and unlocked them&#8221; \u2014 delivered with his characteristic mix of mock-regret and beaming delight.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gccx-kaikin-livestream-2026.jpg?w=474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Shinya Arino holds up a sign reading Kaikin (Unlocked) surrounded by Wii game cases during the GameCenter CX livestream\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"><figcaption>Image courtesy of GameCenter CX (Fuji TV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>What Arino Actually Played<\/h2>\n<p>Before casting his vote, Arino put several Wii and PS3 titles through their paces on stream as a &#8220;taste test.&#8221; The Wii side included <em>Wii Fit<\/em> and <em>New Super Mario Bros. Wii<\/em>, alongside the cult-oddity <em>Op\u016bna<\/em>. On the PS3 side, he tested the atmospheric PlayStation Network title <em>rain<\/em> and \u2014 in what has to be peak 2006-throwback energy \u2014 <em>Demon&#8217;s Souls<\/em>. He also mentioned <em>AFRIKA<\/em>, the PS3 wildlife-photography game, as a strong candidate for a future challenge.<\/p>\n<p>No start date has been set for the actual Wii or PS3 episodes, but the door is now officially open \u2014 and it&#8217;s hard not to imagine Arino suffering through the notorious <em>Demon&#8217;s Souls<\/em> without internet help in a future recording.<\/p>\n<h2>Coming to TGS 2026<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re heading to Tokyo Game Show 2026 (September 17\u201321 at Makuhari Messe), the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/category\/event\/\">GameCenter CX team will have a dedicated booth<\/a> at the event \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u2014 and soon, they&#8217;ll be challenge fodder for the Kacho.<\/p>\n<p><!--GT-SCOUT source=\"Web (English)\" theme=\"Japan culture\" flags=\"none\"--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japan&#8217;s iconic retro gaming TV show held a livestream vote on August 23 and the result is official: the Wii and PS3 are now &#8220;retro.&#8221; Host Arino cast the deciding vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[30,6],"tags":[1330,784,339,1331,1332,560],"class_list":["post-8532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-retro-gaming","tag-gamecenter-cx","tag-japan","tag-japan-culture","tag-nintendo-wii","tag-playstation-3","tag-retro-gaming"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/gccx-arino-wii-ps3-2026.jpg?fit=1296%2C731&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p13AlF-2dC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5481,"url":"https:\/\/www.gametrader.sg\/blog\/wario-land-nintendo-switch-online-july-2026-game-boy\/","url_meta":{"origin":8532,"position":0},"title":"Wario Land Joins Nintendo Switch Online \u2014 Game Boy Classics Live Now","date":"July 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and three more Game Boy classics are now live on Nintendo Switch Online in Singapore. 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