Why R* Games and "The Mid Night Club" owe each other coffee

"The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL" (tokyobayaqualine) 03/12/2014 at 17:09 • Filed to: Mid night club, Tokyo, Japan, video games, Wangan

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Recently I got an email from a reader interested in knowing why the Rockstar Games Franchise, "Midnight Club" use a "Wangan" Kanji character, and how they're affiliated since the original Midnight Club game never even featured any expressway racing, but had the character anyways. I thought this was a pretty good question, so I did a little personal investigation, through which I contacted some friends in the games sector, and some friends back in my home away from home, Japan. The results of my investigation were surprisingly interesting.

This was the email "Adam" sent me:

"thank you so much for putting up this information i've been a long
time fan of the Mid Night club once i learned about them through
ironicly games like Tokyo Extreme Racer and Midnight Club. i was
curious as it's been a theory of mine that someone within the Mid
Night Club was tied to those games coming out, that and the fact that
the Midnight club logo has the same japanese in it as for the video
game/ series wangan midnight. have you heard of any such connection?

-Adam W"

And this, was my response, after messaging around and doing a little private investigating of my own.

"Hey Adam:

The Midnight Club game series came out in 2000, which was a year after Tokyo Extreme Racer debuted in North America. In TER, you race on Wangan for top speed supremacy. Although priced less than other better racing simulator games, it sold just as many as the big guns due to it's low price and customization, and the cool little features it had that other higher end games didn't incorporate.

When Rockstar Games noticed its success (and how the game series went even further back in terms of age in Japan, all the way to 1994), they realized that they could market their new game in Japan by utilizing the original Japanese Best Seller Shutoku Battle Series "Wangan Dead Heat" kanji characters. This was because these characters meant "Gulf" to a translation, but in native Japan were known as "Wangan". Having some Japanese members on their staff explain that "Wangan" is where street racers raced in Japan "around the city", Rockstar decided to incorporate the Kanji into their games to lure it to potential Japanese customers new to the Rockstar franchise, as they were aiming on taking it international, unlike their previous Grand Theft Auto 1 and 2 games which were not originally sold in Japan. As for the name of the game, they chose the most popular "Gulf" racing teams name, to lure in more customers, and because it was a pretty bad ass name.

They didn't want to infringe heavily though, and took away the space between "Mid" and "Night". Seemingly, they didn't actually do enough research to actually find out what Wangan racing actually incorporated (top speed expressway loop racing).

Furthermore, as time went by, more and more staff became familiar with the term "Wangan" and based certain aspects of future Midnight Club titles on the idea of Highway Racing. If you play the original game, there is none.

Even today, their knowledge and thankfulness of Wangan (After having some staff sent out to Japan to check it out) seeps into their games. In Grand Theft Auto 5, if you purchase and modify an Elegy RH8 (R35 GT-R Clone) you will notice a silver bumper sticker on the rear bumper, tilted to the side, that says "Bayshore" - a certain nod to the group that popularized Wangan, and enabled the series to sell so many Midnight Club games in Japan in the first place, which also allowed them to bring Grand Theft Auto 3 over the year later and be recognized as a popular games company.

The rest as they say, is history, since Rockstar has since sold millions of titles in Japan and has garnered a name for itself for its success of quality games. They've also created a highly popular racing franchise that grew in popularity on the Japanese front by having nothing more than 2 characters on the front, and some ridiculously addicting gameplay.

Furthermore, many Western fans of the tuner subculture of Wangan were sparked into it by their interest as to what the characters signified on their games as teens. After looking up the translation on google, they would further go on to find out about Wangan racings origins, and personally popularizing famous Wangan shops and teams on this continent. This sharing of information was all due to one little club that flipped the Japanese street racing world upside down, popularizing Wangan racing in Japan so long ago.

And that club is the "Mid Night Club".

Frosted > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/12/2014 at 17:14

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All I know is that I want this sticker.

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Frosted 03/12/2014 at 17:16

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I wouldn't buy one of the crappy replicas you see online. You never know if they're actually laminated gloss vinyl like the originals.

The original ones can withstand a pretty hefty beating from road debris and rocks, but the replicas are more than likely just meant for show.

Frosted > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/12/2014 at 17:20

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Where might one find an original one?

The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL > Frosted 03/12/2014 at 17:29

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You have to be given one personally from a member of the group. It shows that they respect you and your morals as a car enthusiast and racer, and that you respect their ideals and conditions, and what they've contributed to the tuning world, and the reasoning behind their disbandment.

I have one (and was originally given more than one), and I know my good friend Dan has one, as do a few other people who have met them face to face and inquired (with patience and respect for their privacy) as to the club.

A few years ago I had a friend in Japan give me 4 or 5, all faked from another team looking to copy the club in the 90's. These were made out of papery vinyl that was easy to rip and get scrapes and were really horrible quality.

If that's what the copies are, I'd hate to have one. That's why I say to be wary of them, since they could be of really poor quality. The real ones stretch like vinyl, and they're extremely durable.

But for most people, they likely will have to make do with a replica, as even the guys who are given the stickers outside of the club are only given 1 or 2, and it's a huge sign of respect, so they wouldn't give them away easily.

Frosted > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/12/2014 at 17:37

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Oh wow that's really interesting. Some of the places online selling replicas still want a pretty penny for them. It's cool that there's a story behind the sticker and it's not just some swagillest420flush decal that means nothing. Great write up!

Boxer_4 > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/12/2014 at 17:56

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I've played all 4 of the main Midnight Club titles, and enjoyed each one. However, Midnight Club II is still my favorite. I put countless hours behind the controller with that game. The car selection was just as diverse as it was amazing, and just generic enough to get past copyright laws (we all know the Schneller V8 is supposed to be an M5, and the Bryanston V an Escort Cosworth). They finally did the name of the series justice in this title by including Tokyo as a city.

Their choice in music was great, too . Really great .

Your boy, BJR > Boxer_4 03/12/2014 at 18:07

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Dude that game was my childhood.

feather-throttle-not-hair > Boxer_4 03/12/2014 at 18:31

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Hmmm i can hardly remember II. I played all four as well, and I remember really liking each one. Four was damn good though, the physics were actually kind of simmy.

Maxaxle > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/14/2014 at 16:55

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Second one is better and less glitchy, though still hard as balls. Third one is easier to begin with but also hard as balls, at the cost of having licensed cars.

Bryce Womeldurf > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/17/2014 at 14:46

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Very interesting article. I'd always wondered about the Mid Night Club connection. As an aside, the Tokyo Xtreme Racer games are one of the main reasons I regret trading in my PS2 a few years ago. Those were the best.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/17/2014 at 16:56

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Before anyone notices, this is not an Eclipse, it's actually a riced up MX-6.

ktfright | Kinja Neighborhood Black Guy > The-Ever-Socially-Apathetic TBAL 03/17/2014 at 18:23

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This game literally got me into cars, and it is hands down my favorite racing game ever (Despite never beating it.) my favorite cars are the Modo Prego (Porsce 911), Saikou XS (Supra?), and the torque (Skyline)