Letter from Eric Sedensky - 'Winning Pachinko' author
Hi guys,
I tracked down the author of 'Winning Pachinko' for a catch-up and to let him know his book is still read and appreciated in our communities. Here's his reply, which I thought may be of interest to some of you who have read his book, or want to.
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From: Jon
Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2009 8:08 PM
To: Eric
Subject: Winning Pachinko - old contact from Japan
Hello Eric,
You most probably won't remember me but my name is Jon and back in 1993, when we were both still in Japan, I contacted you about your book. I was an Aussie living in Chiba Ken, in Shin-Kemigawa to be exact, and was fascinated by Pachinko. You were able to give me some tips and share more of your knowledge, for which I thank you.
Are you aware that your out-of-print book is commanding quite high prices on eBay these days? There is a growing community of American pachinko players who have become fascinated with its current incarnations, and its history. Your book, as one of the few in English, still leads the way for information to these people, of that period in Pachinko's lifecycle. Even more: there's a huge online community still discovering it for the first time at www.pachitalk.com
Anyway - in case you were not aware of it, that's what's occurring. Thought you may be interested.
Best wishes
Jon
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From: Eric
Sent: Thursday, 3 September 2009 12:14 PM
To: Jon
Subject: RE: Winning Pachinko - old contact from Japan
Jon:
It's nice to hear from you. I do remember you, but to be honest, I might have a hard time picking you out in a crowd. (Sorry.) Just the same, pachinko devotees were few back in the day, as they are now, so those who did show interest and contact me, I generally do remember.
I was excited to hear that my book is in such demand, especially as it's getting so long in tooth. (The book celebrated its 18th anniversary of publication earlier last month.) I didn't see any on ebay just at the moment, but I'll keep my eyes open. I have three mint copies still, so I might could offer a "custom" signed edition if it will go for a decent price.
About two years ago, some electronic publisher contacted me about doing a re-issue of Winning Pachinko online, also for some kind of pachinko forum or club like the one you mention. They went so far as to contact the publisher, but being that Tuttle is still so stodgy and tied to the 20th century print business model, they wanted some outrageous up front fee and percentage that made electronic publication prohibitive. The project, needless to say, languished and died, much to my chagrin.
Anyway, I'm glad though that there are still some western pachinko fans out there and my work is at least talked about in some circles. I myself haven't even been to Japan in the last five years, much less played pachinko in that time. I wonder if I would even recognize some of the games. I am glad though that with the current technology, guys like you and me are able to link up with each other after so much time has passed. Even one of my colleagues from my time in Japan who volunteered to do a pachinko column magazine shoot with me because we needed more non-Japanese faces is a friend on Facebook. It's a small niche we western pachinko players occupy, but it's securely and surely ours, isn't it?
Again, I appreciate you making the effort to locate and contact me. Feel free to contact me anytime if you think I can assist your club.
Best regards,
Eric
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