Ads for Nintendo Baseball Game from 1960

Today we are taking a look at some copies of one of Japan's shōnen manga, called Shūkan Shōnen Sandē (週刊少年サンデー), which means Weekly Shōnen Sunday. Shōnen manga are magazines aimed at boys from around 12 to 18 years, featuring comics but also news items and information about sports and leasure activities that interest this demographic.

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is one of the longest running of these magazines in Japan. It started in 1959 and is still published weekly today, sixty-one years later (released on Wednesday's, despite its name).

Weekly Shōnen Sunday - front

These magazines are great to browse through for people with an interest in Japan's (pop) culture. However, we are especially interested in the ads on the back of these issues, as they include advertisements for one of Nintendo earliest toys, the Disney Baseball Game (ディズニー野球盤, which means Disney Baseball Board).

Weekly Shōnen Sunday - back

The history of Nintendo as a toy company - when they started expanding beyond cards, chess, mahjong and other more traditional games - is still a bit misty.

In the official company overview at the Nintendo corporate website, the 1966 Ultra Hand is the first toy mentioned. Although this was a landmark event for Nintendo, as it was their first million-seller toy, it is often mistaken as the first Nintendo toy, which it wasn't. In the period from the end of the 1950s up to the release of the Ultra Hand, Nintendo did produce various other toys, including this baseball game.

Nintendo Disney Baseball Game (version B)

Nintendo Disney Baseball Game (ディズニー野球盤, 1960)

Some time ago, this blog featured a vintage Nintendo sports simulation game, called Nintendo's Baseball Board (任天堂の野球盤), dating from around 1965.

An earlier Nintendo game with the same baseball theme is Disney Baseball Game (ディズニー野球盤, which translates to Disney Baseball Board). Released in 1960, this is a candidate for Nintendo's earliest toy.

Disney Baseball Game by Nintendo (early 60s)

The art on the corrugated cardboard box shows Mickey Mouse in baseball attire, and the slogan「カーブがかかる！」, which means "Catch the curve [ball]!".

Nintendo's Baseball Board (任天堂の野球盤, ca 1965)

The 1967 baseball pitching toy Ultra Machine was one of Nintendo's first million sellers. But it was not their first baseball inspired game.

Nintendo's Baseball Board (ca 1965)

A few years earlier, when Nintendo just started moving from cards and boardgames into a broader field of toys, they made two related games: Disney Baseball Game (ディズニー野球盤) and Nintendo's Baseball Board (任天堂の野球盤).

There can be no mistake: this is a Nintendo game

An exact release data of Nintendo's Baseball Board is unknown, but it is believed to date from around 1965, possibly slightly earlier. The game cost ¥950.