幾年前，日本的富士電視台有一檔綜藝節目，前不久來台灣挑戰夾娃娃機，沒想到，夾了200次，才夾中4次，節目主持人忍不住感概，夾娃娃機是台灣夜市的最黑暗的一面，撇開，是否當初的挑戰者技術不佳，或是夾娃娃機動手腳，或者是節目效果，至少，在我的朋友圈，都沒有太多的回響，我猜是大部份我的朋友，都已經過了玩夾娃娃機的年齡了。
原本，我印象中，夜市是充滿著各式美食攤位的地方，如雞排、蚵仔煎或芒果冰，但近年來，不少夜市賣服飾及鞋的店面都改成夾娃娃機台店，我猜，可能是人們在夜市吃吃喝喝之後，想找點輕鬆消遣活動，夾娃娃機台店剛好切中這樣的需求，此外，聽說，相較於傳統實體店面，開一間夾娃娃機台店的成本，相對便宜，50萬台幣起跳，加盟一間實體飲料店，則是兩百萬台幣起跳，且夾娃娃機台店不需要請太多員工，甚至很多都是無人自助的經營方式。
其實，我在夜市閒逛時，的確是看到很多夾娃娃機台店，但是店內並沒有太多客人，店內的機台多是夾一次10元台幣，但是，我對夾娃娃機台內的物品，一點興趣都沒有，我知道最近有很多夾娃娃機台店轉型為夾零食、餅乾、泡麵、飲料、日用品的機台店，聽說還蠻受親子客戶的歡迎，因為要讓客人夾得開心，這類店家會特地把機台的難度調低，讓孩童可以夾到，父母願意消費。
我個人是希望夾娃娃機台店，能夠慢慢淡出夜市，或者不要那麼多，因為，我看過好幾個夜市快變成夾娃娃機一條街，一條街至少十幾家夾娃娃機店，讓夜市特色慢慢消失，夜市的觀光價值下降，此外，夾娃娃機台店一多，會惡性競爭，衍生出的一些社會問題，甚至會演變為賭博行為，至於，我喜不喜歡夾娃娃呢？偶爾可以玩玩看，但我不是那麼有興趣。
A few years ago, there was this Japanese variety show on Fuji TV, and not long ago, they came to Taiwan to take on the claw machine challenge. Believe it or not, after 200 tries, they only managed to win 4 times. The host even said that claw machines are the darkest side of Taiwan’s night markets. Now, whether it was because they weren’t very skilled, or the machines were rigged, or it was all just for entertainment—who knows. But honestly, no one in my friend group really talked about it. I guess most of us are past the age where claw machines are exciting.
When I think of night markets, I usually picture all kinds of amazing food stalls, like fried chicken cutlets, oyster omelets, or mango shaved ice. But in recent years, I’ve noticed a lot of clothing and shoe shops in night markets have turned into claw machine arcades. Maybe it’s because after eating and hanging out, people want something fun and light to do, and these shops just happen to meet that need. Also, I heard that starting a claw machine business is way cheaper than opening a regular shop. It costs about NT$500,000 to start one, while opening something like a drink shop might cost at least NT$2 million. Plus, claw machine arcades don’t need many employees and many of them are fully self-service.
When I walk around night markets, I do see a bunch of claw machine stores, but honestly, there aren’t many people inside most of them. Most machines cost NT$10 per play, but I’m just not interested in the stuff they put inside. I know recently a lot of stores have started offering snacks, cookies, instant noodles, drinks, and daily items instead of toys or plushies. Apparently, families with kids really like that. And to keep people happy, these shops will actually lower the difficulty so kids can win more easily, which makes parents more willing to spend.
Personally, I kind of hope claw machine arcades will slowly fade out from night markets—or at least not take over. I’ve seen some night markets that have basically turned into claw machine streets, with at least ten or more shops in a row. That kind of kills the whole night market vibe and lowers its appeal to tourists. And with too many shops, they start competing in unhealthy ways, which can cause social issues—and sometimes even turn into gambling. So, do I like claw machines? I mean, I might play once in a while just for fun, but I’m really not that into them.