The Absurd Communion: Gaming, Morality, and Competition in the Modern Metropolis

The Ritual of the Queue

In the predawn hours, they gathered—digital pilgrims at their screens, credit cards in hand, refreshing pages with religious fervor. The Nintendo Switch 2 preorders represent more than mere commerce; they are a sacrament of our times. We find ourselves united in the absurd ritual of acquisition, where the value lies not in the object itself but in the communal striving.

The console, priced at $450—a modern tithe—sold out within minutes. Technical issues plagued the faithful. Yet they persisted, embracing what I must call the digital Sisyphean condition. They push the refresh button eternally uphill, only to watch it roll back down. Tomorrow, they will try again.

What is striking about this communion is its contradiction: the solitary gamer seeking connection through a device that isolates. Nintendo has cleverly recognized this paradox, requiring proof of past engagement—gameplay hours, online membership—as the price of admission to this new temple of entertainment. We are judged worthy not by moral virtue but by our consumer loyalty.

公序良俗: The Myth of Order in Chaos

Meanwhile, ‘公序良俗’ (public order and good customs) trends as if to counterbalance our digital excesses. This concept—so foreign to Western individualism yet so essential to the Eastern collective—reminds us that even in the metropolis of endless stimulation, we crave boundaries and shared values.

The absurdity lies in our simultaneous embrace of both anarchic digital freedom and rigid social structure. Tokyo embodies this contradiction perfectly: businessmen play Switch games on crowded trains while maintaining perfect silence out of respect for others. The city functions as both playground and monastery.

This trend toward public order speaks to a deeper financial anxiety. In markets of chaos and algorithmic unpredictability, humans seek patterns and rules. The moral framework becomes a hedge against volatility. Is it coincidence that this trend emerges alongside cryptocurrency fluctuations and market corrections? I think not. When economic systems seem governed by chance rather than reason, we grasp desperately at ethical scaffolding.

The JOPT: Gambling with Fate

The Japan Open Poker Tour’s record attendance—1,128 players vying for ¥100 million—offers perhaps the most perfect metaphor for our economic condition. Poker, unlike pure games of chance, blends skill with fortune. The players make calculated decisions in the face of incomplete information, much as we all do in markets and life itself.

That this tournament attracts celebrities and thousands of spectators reveals our fascination with watching others confront uncertainty. Masao Araki’s victory over Maaku Tanaka represents not just personal triumph but a momentary triumph over chaos itself—proof that skill can sometimes overcome randomness, that the universe is not entirely indifferent to human effort.

The Financial Oracle in Three Reflections

These three trends—gaming preorders, moral frameworks, and poker tournaments—converge to predict several financial developments in Tokyo and beyond.

First, the Switch 2 preorder frenzy suggests continued growth in the experience economy. Consumers increasingly pay not just for products but for membership in communities of shared interest. Nintendo’s requirement of past gameplay hours for preorder eligibility transforms consumption into identity. Financially, we should expect more subscription models, more loyalty programs, more artificial scarcity to drive demand.

Second, the emphasis on public order indicates potential regulatory tightening in financial markets. When societies turn toward collective values over individual freedoms, markets often follow. Tokyo’s financial district may soon see new frameworks governing cryptocurrency, AI trading, and speculative investments—all in the name of ‘公序良俗.‘

Third, the poker boom reveals our complicated relationship with risk. In times of economic uncertainty, games of skill-based gambling flourish. They offer the illusion of control in an uncontrollable world. Expect growth in financial products that similarly blend skill and chance: options trading platforms for retail investors, sports betting expansions, and gamified investment applications.

The Last Hand

What unites these trends is our eternal search for meaning through community. Whether waiting in digital queues for gaming consoles, upholding social norms, or competing at poker tables, we seek to transcend our fundamental solitude through shared experience.

Like Sisyphus, we know our efforts are ultimately futile. The console will become obsolete, social orders will evolve, tournament winnings will be spent. Yet in the striving itself—in the absurd persistence of community-building in an indifferent universe—we find our dignity.

Tokyo’s trending topics today are neither random nor meaningless. They are reflections of our collective consciousness, signposts pointing toward our economic futures, and reminders that even in the digital age, we remain stubbornly, essentially human—seeking connection in the face of cosmic indifference.

One must imagine the consumer happy.