View source for Software:GameCenter CX: 3-Chōme no Arino

{{Infobox video game
| image = GameCenter CX 3 cover.jpg
| developer = [[Company:G.rev|G.rev]]
| publisher = [[Company:Bandai Namco Entertainment|Bandai Namco Entertainment]]
| series = ''[[Software:Retro Game Challenge|Retro Game Challenge]]''
| platforms = {{wipe|Nintendo 3DS}}
| released = March 20, 2014
| genre = [[Software:Minigame|Minigame]]
| modes = Single-player, multiplayer
}}

'''''GameCenter CX: 3-Chōme no Arino''''' (ゲームセンターCX 3丁目の有野, ''Gēmu Sentā Shī Ekkusu San-Chōme no Arino'') is the third game in the ''[[Software:Retro Game Challenge|Retro Game Challenge]]'' series, known as ''GameCenter CX'' in Japan. It was developed by [[Company:G.rev|G.rev]] and published by [[Company:Bandai Namco Entertainment|Bandai Namco Entertainment]]. Like its predecessor, ''[[Software:Retro Game Challenge 2|Retro Game Challenge 2]],'' it was released solely in Japan for the {{wipe|Nintendo 3DS}} on March 20, 2014,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2014-07-18 |title=ゲームセンターCX 3丁目の有野 (3DS)のレビュー・評価・感想 {{!}} ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com |url=https://www.famitsu.com/games/t/29529/reviews/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=ファミ通.com |language=ja}}</ref> due to low Western sales of the series' first game. However, it never received a fan translation.

Similar to the previous two games, it is based on the television show ''GameCenter CX'' starring Shinya Arino, and revolves around the player having to play a variety of [[Software:Minigame|minigame]]s styled after genres of retro games. The game was well received by Japanese critics, but had a less positive reaction in the West, with reviewers calling it inferior to the previous two games due to a switch to 2D graphics on the overworld and worse-quality minigames.

== Development ==
In 2013, [[Company:Xseed Games|Xseed Games]] confirmed that they passed on localizing the game into English, responding to a fan's question that, despite having the desire to, their "bank would cry" if they decided to do so.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McFerran |first=Damien |date=2013-12-09 |title=Nothing Would Make XSEED Happier Than Localising GameCenter CX 3, But It Isn't Happening |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/12/nothing_would_make_xseed_happier_than_localising_gamecenter_cx_3_but_it_isnt_happening |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Nintendo Life |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Release ==
The game received a free demo on the Nintendo eShop in February 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bivens |first=Danny |date=2014-02-19 |title=Japan eShop Round-Up (02/19/2014) - Feature |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/36622/japan-eshop-round-up-02192014 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Nintendo World Report}}</ref> and the full game was released on March 20 for 5,480 yen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bivens |first=Danny |date=2014-03-19 |title=Japan eShop Round-Up (03/19/2014) - Feature |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/36870/japan-eshop-round-up-03192014 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Nintendo World Report}}</ref>

== Reception ==
In Japan, the game received a total score of 32/40 from ''Famitsu'', with the reviewers praising the game's increased emphasis on story, as well as the game's use of the 3DS's features and online multiplayer elements. They called each game "simple but fun", saying the game created a heavy sense of nostalgia, but criticized some parts that did not allow button inputs.<ref name=":0" />

In the West, feedback from critics was more negative, with Daan Koopman of ''Nintendo World Report'' saying in a preview that his excitement for the game had vanished when he saw it in action, adding that he was turned off severely from the game due to the change in developers. Calling the overworld's new 2D look "awful for the series" and "laughable", he described it as not "lovely on the eyes". Stating that the minigame he played was "not very interesting", he noted that the game in general "did not leave a strong first impression", concluding that he would rather go back and replay the previous two games, and that he would cancel his plans to download the game on launch day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koopman |first=Daan |date=2014-02-25 |title=Game Center CX 3-Chome no Arino Hands-on Preview - Hands-on Preview |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hands-on-preview/36680/game-center-cx-3 |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=Nintendo World Report}}</ref>

Chris Kohler of ''Wired'' was even more negative about the game, calling it "horrible" and saying that he wanted to pretend it did not exist. Warning players against purchasing the game, he stated that G.rev "made a dog's breakfast" of the game in comparison to previous series developers [[Company:Indieszero|indieszero]]. Describing the minigames as "superficially similar", he nevertheless believed that "the humor, the attention to detail, the passion of the two previous games" was entirely absent, calling them "by-the-numbers" as opposed to "charming parodies". Going on to pan both the level design and controls, he said that the game would only make players nostalgic for the [[Engineering:N-Gage (device)|N-Gage]]. Saying that the game got worse as he kept playing, he characterized the overworld as an "ugly town" that did not let players use buttons to navigate. He recommended that players "jump through whatever hoops [they] have to" to play the fan translation of ''Retro Game Challenge 2'', describing it as "fantastic", and avoid importing ''GameCenter CX 3''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kohler |first=Chris |date=2014-03-27 |title=Let's Pretend This Horrible Throwback 3DS Game Doesn't Exist |language=en-US |work=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/03/game-center-cx-3-2/ |access-date=2023-08-04 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Video game sequels]]

{{Sourceattribution|GameCenter CX: 3-Chōme no Arino}}