Tokyo’s red-light district, the Yakuza video game series and their advertisements

: a visual analysis (2005-2010)

Abstract

This dissertation is focused on a visual analysis of the fictional district of Kamurocho, featured in the Yakuza videogame series, and its comparison to the district of Kabukicho, located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Additionally, a visual analysis was made to two advertisements of videogames of that same series. These analyses9 objective was to comprehend the transformation of a real space into a fictional one, designed for a videogame, and how that same space (and, by extension, the games) as communicated through televised advertisements. The analyses (of the districts and the advertisements) were divided into categories. In the districts9 case, the analysis was segmented into entertainment and foodrelated categories (i.e., karaoke, bars, arcade games). The analysis of the advertisements was explored in visual and auditory aspects. To complement these analyses, a survey was conducted with a sample size of 78 Japanese adults, to understand their reaction to the topics explored in this thesis (i.e., districts, advertisements). The survey9s primary results were: the understanding of the Yakuza series by most of the sample size, despite being seldom played; a common knowledge of the Kabukicho district; and advertisements that are more representative of the games being sold are the most positively received. This work concludes that the videogame district is faithful to the real-life district and that the better mass communication of the game revolves around utilizing footage of the actual game.

Date of Award	25 Mar 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jorge Santos Alves (Supervisor) & Carla Ganito (Co-Supervisor)