When MB's Twister was first released in the 1960s, Nintendo acquired the rights to localize the game for the Japanese market.
Various box versions of Nintendo Twister
Nintendo targeted the game at families as well as groups of young adults.
As we showed in a previous post on this blog, to connect with the latter group, they sponsored editorial content and placed an ad in Men's Club magazine.
Men's Club magazine November 1967
I recently discovered another ad that was included in the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ).
As an aside, this Playboy magazine is not affiliated with the internationally renowned publication featuring the rabbit logo (which first appeared in the Japanese market in the mid-1970s), although the content is similar. This publication simply shares the same name—likely not by coincidence.
In the August 8, 1966 edition, we find a full-page ad by Nintendo strategically placed next to that week's centerfold model (referred to, again probably not coincidentally, as a "Playmate").
In a previous blog post I discussed a very rare Nintendo item from the 1960s called the Time Bomb (タイムボーン). For decades, this Nintendo-branded licensed toy had remained out of sight, even to the most dedicated Nintendo collectors and historians. That is, until one appeared for auction on Yahoo Auctions Japan in 2021. An unknown lucky winner took it home for ¥256,555.
As you can imagine, ever since that moment, I have been on the lookout for another Time Bomb. And last November, two and a half years after that first discovery, I managed to acquire one offered by an American seller through eBay. Fortunately, this one was a bit cheaper.
So, without further ado, here's the second known Nintendo Time Bomb, now part of the beforemario collection.
The box is a bit rough and squashed, with some rips. But all flaps are present and the colors of the artwork are still vibrant.
Well over thirty years before the first Nintendo 64 Mario Party saw the light of day, Nintendo was already selling games to create fun and excitement at parties.
One of such games was the well-known Twister, to which Nintendo obtained the Japanese distribution rights from US company Milton Bradley in 1966.
Nintendo's first Twister version (1966)
The first version released by Nintendo (called ツイスターゲーム or "Twister Game" in Japanese) was a straight localization of the original American game, retaining most of the original box art, including the Western looking folks on the front.
In the years that followed, Nintendo released two more versions of Twister, until they lost (or gave up) the license sometime in the mid 1970s.
All three Nintendo Twister versions
In today's post, we will take a closer look at the second version.
The game attributes (play mat and board with spinner) of this version are identical to the first release, however the box art and box dimensions have been changed, as well as the manual.
Nintendo's second version of Twister (1967)
The front of the box now shows a Japanese group of people playing the game, signalling that this is a game that works in a Japanese setting.
The American origin of the game is still reflected in the two faces included on the left side of the front.
Although the pictures on the front portray the fun party purpose of the game, a second message is also relayed: exercise is good for you.
Earlier this week, an online sale on Yahoo Auctions Japan made some heads turn in Nintendo collector circles.
Firstly, because the final bid was for a whopping ¥256,555 (around US$2300 or €2000). Secondly, because the sale involved a Nintendo toy that was virtually unknown until a week ago.
It's name is Time Bomb (タイムボーン) and it dates from 1965.
Yahoo Auctions Japan bidding war - July 24 2021
This particular toy was so unknown that it did not appear in any overview of Nintendo vintage toys, nor in any of the books covering this period of Nintendo's history. Not a single image of it could be found online.
No Nintendo Time Bomb in these books
There was one exception though, although I did not learn about that one until this week as well.
In 2019, an interesting book was published by Kohei Takano (高野 光平), called 「発掘! 歴史に埋もれたテレビCM 見たことのない昭和30年代」, or "Excavation! Never before seen TV commercials buried in showa 30s history". It covers a wide selection of examples from 1955-1965, which are the early days of television commercials in japan. [Amazon Japan link here.]
The 2019 booklet that includes a reference to Nintendo Time Bomb
One of the commercials included in Takano's book is... Nintendo Time Bomb. This ad aired in 1965 in Japan, and shows that the toy retailed for ¥600.
Images of the Nintendo Time Bomb TV commercial (from Kohei Takano's book)
However, for the origins of this toy we have to travel to the United States.
In this post we will take a look at one of the largest games produced by Nintendo: Home Bowling (ホームボーリング). It comes in a box that is over one meter long, measuring 102 by 22 by 8 centimetres.
As the name suggests, it's a bowling game for home use. Not a full size bowling alley, obviously, but a miniature version.
The features listed in English on the side of the box promise a "life-like mechanical bowler", "ball return" and a "semi-automatic pin setter". In a minute we will see what that all means.
So much English text on the box is quite uncommon for games for the Japanese market. Together with the Western looking figures on the front it provides an flavour suited very well for how Bowling was perceived in Japan at the time, as an American past-time.
From the mid 1960s bowling became increasingly popular in Japan. It turned into a hype around 1970, when the number of bowling alleys in the country sky-rocketed to around 3,700 (in present days this has dwindled to around 800). The hardwood used for the construction of all these lanes reportedly caused a depletion of forests that would take half a century to restore, noted by US suppliers at the time.
By the way, this bowling boom was followed quickly by a bowling bust. When interest in bowling wained in the early 1970s, Nintendo jumped into the market of under-occupied bowling alleys. In 1973 they produced the Laser Clay Shooting System, designed specifically for repurposing bowling lanes, giving them a new lease of life. But that's a story for a different time. Now back to Home Bowling.
Home Bowling comes in a plain cardboard box with two colour printing on the sides and a full colour printed sheet glued on top. Other Nintendo games from this era (1965-1967) used simliar packaging, like My Car Race and the early versions of the Ultra Machine.
In the mid 1960s, Nintendo started producing plastic toys and games. One of its earliest is the racing themed marble action game shown here.
Nintendo Punch Race (ca 1965)
The game is called Punch Race (パンチレース). The retail price at the time was ¥500.
The exact release date is unknown. There is no year listed on the box or manual, but the style of the game, box art and logo indicates it is from around 1965, possibly early 1966.
The front of the box depicts two cars that look a lot like the Jaguar E type, which was one of the hottest sports cars of the 1960s.
The box art also contains a large white curly shape that enhances the feeling of speed, with the name of the game flying out on the side of the box.
In the 1960s, Nintendo acquired licenses to a number of games from American company MB (Milton Bradley). One of these was the party and exercise game Twister.
Nintendo released this game in Japan around 1966, under the title Twister Game (ツイスターゲーム).
Nintendo Twister Game (1966)
When it was introduced, this game was considered quite risque. It required close physical contact by the participants, something that was generally frowned upon very much in the United States, but even more so in Japan.
In order to stand out in a toy store - with hundreds of purchase options calling for attention - the box is crucially important.
Foremost, it should have eye-popping box art that depicts the gameplay joys that will be provided by the toy or game. But also important is a recognized brand that assures quality and provides reason for the customer-to-be to believe that this promise, made by the image on the front, will be delivered.
Nintendo's 'grey band' games (1966-67)
In order for a brand to be recognized, a signature box design helps a lot; a standardized format by which the toymaker can be identified in an instant, by a mere glance at the box.
Nintendo introduced such a signature design around 1966. The design's main feature was a grey band on the left side of the box.
This grey band includes a 'Nintendo Game' logo on the top, and a 'Nintendo Company Japan' mark on the bottom.
Nintendo borrowed this box design of Milton Bradley (MB), the American game company (founded in 1860!) from which they licensed some games for release in Japan, including Twister and Skill-it.
MB's The Game of Life (1960)
It is likely that the first Nintendo games with the grey band where the rebranded licensed MB games. However, Nintendo expanded the use of this design to all their games in this period, including many original Nintendo games, as well as for licenses from other companies.
Below an overview is presented of (almost all of) the games that Nintendo released with the 'grey band'.
In the second half of the 60s, Nintendo became successful through a number of initiative toys like the Ultra Hand and Ultra Machine. However, between 1965 and 1975, they also produced a large number of more traditional toys, board games and other family games for the Japanese market. During this period Nintendo closely followed the new developments in the toy industry in Japan as well as abroad and licensed or copied other companies' hits.
Nintendo Time Shock (1972)
In most cases when copying a game, Nintendo added some twists to the original design. This was most likely (also) done to distinguish enough from the original and thus prevent legal action, but frequently went beyond change-for-change-sake and actually enhanced or improved the game-play.
A good example of this is Time Shock (タイムショック).
We will get to the original game in minute (if you haven't already recognized it), but let's first take a look at Nintendo's creation, which is credited to Gunpei Yokoi.
Time Shock was released by Nintendo in Japan in 1972 and was sold for ¥1.800.
The box contained the Time Shock game and a bag with orange plastic puzzle pieces.
The bottom of the game contains a lid which can be turned to reveal two storage spaces.
The puzzle pieces neatly fit in these storage spaces.
In total 20 puzzle pieces are included. They all have different shapes, though some are mirrored pairs, which adds to the difficulty of the game. Four small pins are also included, used to keep track of the best scores of (up to) four players.
I expect many will have guessed that the inspiration for Nintendo's Time Shock is MB's Perfection, one of their famous toys - which is being sold to this day.
MB Perfection (2003 version) [image taken from amazon.com]
The game was actually not created by MB, but by an American company called Reed Toys from Conshohocken, PA. Their patent states 1970 as the priority date.
From US patent 3,710,455 by Reed Toys (priority date 1970-11-20)
Reed Toys released the toy under the Perfection name, and soon also licensed it to fellow American companies Lakeside Toys (from Minneapolis, MN - famous for, amongst others, creating the "Barrel of Monkeys" game) and toy giant MB.
Lakeside simply put their logo on the version by Reed toys, but MB redesigned the game - keeping the game-play completely intact from the original, though.
In Japan it was Epoch who licensed Perfection from Reed Toys, and Nintendo clearly wanted to compete with them with the release of Time Shock.
Nintendo's innovation lies in the blue ring, which can be turned. This allows for ten different layouts of the play-field, which prevents players from memorizing the position of the puzzle pieces.
The objective of the game is simple: put the twenty puzzle pieces in the correct space on the play-field.
What makes Time Shock interesting is the race against the clock. You set the timer to 60 seconds and start puzzling. When you have placed all pieces correctly you stop the clock, by moving the red ring around the timer. The remaining seconds indicate your score: the more time left the better.
However! If you do not menage to finish the puzzle in time and stop the clock, when the time runs out the pieces will all jump in the air, and your score will be zero. The ticking timer and the prospect of these flying pieces add greatly to the tension.
Practice also makes perfect for this game, but the Nintendo added option to change the play-field before each runs helps increase the longevity of the challenge. It does not become too easy too quickly.
You have just ran out of time. Shock!
The game does not require any batteries; it works on a spring which is wound when you set the timer.
A portable version of Time Shock was also produced as part of Nintendo's Mini Game Series.
Nintendo Mini Game series version of Time Shock (1974)
The objective of the game is still the same, but this time only 15 puzzle pieces are involved.
The timer is replaced by a clever little mechanism. The game starts by moving the bird to the top and gently touching the spring which attaches it to the pole. The vibrations of the moving bird on the spring make it climb slowly down.
You need to finish the puzzle before the bird reaches the ground, which takes about half a minute. Making the pieces fly in the air you have to do yourself in this version, but it is still fun nonetheless.
We close this post with a short video demonstration.
