I didn't even know the game was created in Japan. Tomohiro Nishikado created everything for it on his own including special hardware for the arcade machine (though he did buy parts from the US).

Here's a quote I found:

"The game was so amazingly popular in Japan that it caused a coin shortage until the country's Yen supply was quadrupled. Entire arcades were opened in Japan specifically for this game."

People apparently began robbing stores just so they could play the game. In the US, it brought on the golden age of arcade games and was the "killer app" of the Atari 2600 a few years later.

But no Bleach this week, eh? I thought it was getting rather interesting. But I'd rather have a week off than go back to fillers.