Nintendo Crossover (任天堂 クロスオーバー, 1981)

While Nintendo's head of Research and Development Gunpei Yokoi was busy overseeing the roll-out of the Game & Watch silver and gold series, he still found time to create a follow-up to his very successful Ten Billion puzzle: the Nintendo Crossover (クロスオーバー).

Unlike the Ten Billion, which was sold in large numbers worldwide, only a small quantity of Crossover puzzles was produced, making it one of the more rare and sought-after Nintendo items from the toys and games era.

Nintendo Crossover (1981)

The Crossover was advertised using the phrase「偏光スクリーン」, which means 'Polarized Light Screen'. The official English sub-title was 'Polarized Light Puzzle'. Why this is, we will get to in a minute.

Crossover was released in 1981, in three color variants: green, red or purple. It cost the same as the Ten Billion puzzle: ¥1,000.

Television commercial for the Nintendo Crossover