GASHAPON

The terms gashapon (ガシャポン) or gachapon (ガチャポン) refer to a variety of vending machine-dispensed capsule toys popular in Japan and elsewhere. "Gashapon" is onomatopoeic from the two Japanese sounds: "gasha" (or "gacha") for the hand-cranking action of a toy-vending machine, and "pon" for the toy capsule landing in the collection tray. Gashapon is used for both the machines themselves and the toys obtained from them. Popular gashapon manufacturers include Tomy, which uses the shortened term Gacha (ガチャ gacha) for their capsule machines, and Kaiyodo. In the United States, "Gashapon" is a registered trademark of the Bandai Company, and gashapon are generally referred to as blind box sets. The gashapon model has been adapted digitally into numerous gacha video games such as mobile phone games and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs).

Description

Gashapon machines are similar to the coin-operated toy vending machines seen outside grocery stores and other retailers in other countries. While American coin-operated vending toys are usually cheap, low-quality products sold for a few quarters (US$1 or less), Japanese gashapon can cost anywhere from ¥100–500 (US$1–6) and are normally a much higher-quality product. They are often constructed from high-grade PVC plastic, and contain more molding detail and intricately painted features. Many gashapon are considered collector's items, with rare ones fetching extremely high prices in secondhand markets.

Gashapon toys are often licensed from popular characters in Japanese manga, video games or anime, or from the American entertainment industry. These highly detailed toys have found a large following among all generations in Japan, and the trend is filtering to the world, especially among adult collectors. It is not uncommon for sets marketed specifically for adults to feature risqué female figurines.

In Second Life, many stores run by users of the game have created their own Gashapon-style devices called "Gacha" that sell random objects in their shops.

How Second Life Gacha Works?

The easiest way to sum up Gacha is by imagining those little quarter machines found in supermarkets and other real-life stores. An image at the top shows the products contained within. You put in a small amount of money and out pops one of those items. You never know what you’ll get!

In game Gachas are very similar. Gachas will have an image on or near the machine showing you what’s inside. Most will tell you which items are rare, some will even show the percentage chance it has to drop. A script in the machine is used to give you a random item when you pay based on these percentages (whether they are displayed or not.) The odds of winning a specific item depends on what you’re going for and the rarity of the product. Remember, if you have a 1 in 3 (33%) chance to get a specific item, that doesn’t mean you’ll get it in 3 tries. It simply means that each try gives you 1 in 3 chances to get it.

Gacha items are usually transferable. This way if you get a bunch of items you didn’t want (or the inevitable doubles) you can trade, sell, or give them away to others who may want those specific pieces.

Trading

Many Gacha machines sell a set of items that are meant to go together. If you get all but one set piece, it may be worth trying to trade your extras for that piece you want. Other people may be specifically hunting for those spare parts you have! If the item is credited to a specific brand, try joining the brand’s group to see if anybody is interested in what you have.

Selling (and Buying!)

Transferable items can also be sold in world or on the Marketplace. Instead of taking the chance to play, some people would rather outright purchase the items they want. This lets you set your price and earn some of that money you spent back. This works the other way too: If there is a specific piece you want it’s worth checking to see if it’s for sale for a reasonable amount!

Giving

If you neither want nor need to get something in return giving away the items is always another option. If none of your friends want your free goodies, consider the brand’s group to see if anyone is interested.

Keeping Up On Events

Gacha Events are usually promoted through bloggers. Some of the larger events may even give bloggers access to items in advance so they can show them off and promote the event.

Seraphim is one of my favorite resources for all event info, not just Gacha.

In addition to posting about new events they also have a free hud to keep up with events in game!

The Arcade is a popular Gacha hub and event in world.
They share info exclusively about their events.
On June 1th a new one started here is the shopping guide; http://thearcadesl.com/shopping-guides/june-2018/

And there is The Epiphany

It is a new and unique gacha event operating with the concept of using a turn-in credit system. Players will be able to convert unwanted duplicates into points to be used to redeem exclusive items.

Read more about at: http://regenerationshapes.com/index.php/2017/01/23/second-life-gacha/

PocketGacha in Second Life