{"rewrite":{"id":"r_490ba5d5cc56eb08260228bf","clusterId":"c_986fa734c18f2212df9ca8ff","slug":"denshattack-director-traces-game-to-plarail-as-sales-hit-150-000","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"Denshattack! Director Traces Game to Plarail as Sales Hit 150,000","summary":"Denshattack!, the train action game from Spanish indie studio Undercoders, has sold 150,000 copies and reached 300,000 players since its July 15 release on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2. Director David Haumandreu told Automaton the game grew out of his childhood Plarail toys and a skateboarding background, and that the studio's Japan fandom shaped the dystopian train-riding premise.","whyItMatters":"A small Spanish studio's Japan fandom, from Plarail toys to rail travel since 1998, became a train action game that has sold 150,000 copies.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eHaumandreu first visited Japan in 1998 and has returned repeatedly, backpacking with a Japan Rail Pass and riding local lines. He told Automaton the game\u0026#39;s stages trace that travel from Kyushu to Osaka, Tokyo, and snowy Hokkaido. The concept came from Plarail, the toy trains of his childhood, and his own skateboarding became the trick system.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUndercoders runs an 11-person core team in Madrid, and Denshattack! took about three years. Music was outsourced to more than 12 musicians. Haumandreu said he worried the game would be read as a one-note gimmick, but user reviews showed players finishing it and digging into the story. He said the game holds a 98% positive rating on Steam, and it is also on Xbox and PC Game Pass.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Denshattack! director David Haumandreu tells Automaton the train action game grew out of his childhood Plarail toys and skateboarding. The Spanish indie's Japan-themed game has sold 150,000 copies and holds a 98% positive Steam rating.","twitterPost":"Denshattack! director David Haumandreu tells Automaton the game came from his Plarail toys and skateboarding. The Spanish indie's Japan-themed train game sold 150,000 copies, 300,000 players, 98% positive on Steam.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Denshattack! director David Haumandreu sat down with Automaton to explain how a Spanish indie studio's love of Plarail, Japanese games, and rail travel became a train action game. The game has sold 150,000 copies and reached 300,000 players since its July 15 release.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Automaton\",\"url\":\"https://automaton-media.com/articles/interviewsjp/denshattack-20260908-465195/\",\"title\":\"Denshattack! Developer Loves Japan Enough to Come from Spain Every Year. The Absurd Train Action's Inspiration: Plarail and Arcade Games\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6118,"outputTokens":8053,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1788841778,"createdAt":"2026-09-08T04:24:10.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-09-08T04:28:20.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-08T04:28:20.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_986fa734c18f2212df9ca8ff","canonicalTitle":"爆走電車ゲー『Denshattack!』の開発者は、年イチでスペインから来るくらい日本が好きらしい。トンチキ電車アクション、その着想元はプラレールやアケゲー","representativeArticleId":"a_d00f957a97e851dc3f351510","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Denshattack!\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[\"David Haumandreu\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-09-08T03:28:31.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-09-08T03:28:31.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-08T04:28:20.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Automaton","url":"https://automaton-media.com/articles/interviewsjp/denshattack-20260908-465195/","title":"爆走電車ゲー『Denshattack!』の開発者は、年イチでスペインから来るくらい日本が好きらしい。トンチキ電車アクション、その着想元はプラレールやアケゲー"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Denshattack!"],"studios":[],"people":["David Haumandreu"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}