N&B Block Coaster was released in 1968 and cost ¥1,200.
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| Nintendo N&B Block - Coaster (1968) |
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Nintendo N&B Block Coaster (N&Bブロック コースター, 1968)
The construction set Coaster (コースター) is one of the sets in the Nintendo N&B Block series. With this set, you build your own tumbling bean racing game.
N&B Block Coaster was released in 1968 and cost ¥1,200.
N&B Block Coaster was released in 1968 and cost ¥1,200.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A moment of reflection, while we hit 50k views
When I started this blog, I did not image it would attract a lot of visitors. I hoped it would reach fellow enthusiasts, but did not expect there would be many out there.
Although Nintendo is a popular brand, there are zillions of sites and blogs already dedicated to it. I believed the particular angle I choose (toys and games from 1965-1983) would be of limited interest in this videogame day and age.
However, 7 months and 43 posts later, the page counter passed the 50,000 views mark. Surpassing my expectations by far!
From the start there has been a steady increase in the number of readers. After beforemario was featured on Kotaku some time ago, this increased even more.
The post on the Nintendo Light Telephone also proved very popular. It was reposted on many sites, including retrothing.com and sites from Germany (here and here), Spain (here) and Russia (here).
The blog draws a diverse readership from all corners of the world. To all of you I would like to say: thanks for reading!
I would also love to hear your feedback about the blog so far. What do you like, what can be improved. What's your favorite bit and what are you missing? Do you read it occasionally, or religiously?
So, what do you think? Please post your comments below. Thanks!
Although Nintendo is a popular brand, there are zillions of sites and blogs already dedicated to it. I believed the particular angle I choose (toys and games from 1965-1983) would be of limited interest in this videogame day and age.
 |
| We passed the 50,000 blog view mark today! |
However, 7 months and 43 posts later, the page counter passed the 50,000 views mark. Surpassing my expectations by far!
 |
| beforemario on Kotaku |
From the start there has been a steady increase in the number of readers. After beforemario was featured on Kotaku some time ago, this increased even more.
The post on the Nintendo Light Telephone also proved very popular. It was reposted on many sites, including retrothing.com and sites from Germany (here and here), Spain (here) and Russia (here).
 |
| beforemario on computerra.ru |
The blog draws a diverse readership from all corners of the world. To all of you I would like to say: thanks for reading!
I would also love to hear your feedback about the blog so far. What do you like, what can be improved. What's your favorite bit and what are you missing? Do you read it occasionally, or religiously?
So, what do you think? Please post your comments below. Thanks!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Nintendo Ten Billion (任天堂 テンビリオン, 1980)
In 1980 Nintendo released a toy that would become a hit in their Japanese home market as well as abroad. Some of Nintendo's toys and early arcade games had been sold internationally before, but noting on the scale of Ten Billion.
The Ten Billion (テンビリオン) is a 3D puzzle (立体パズル). It was a response to the phenomenally poplar Rubik's Cube, which Nintendo's great inventor Gunpei Yokoi used as inspiration to come up with his own original puzzle.
It was not their first 3D puzzle. Many years earlier, Nintendo had already released Fifteengame and the Challenge Dice, both much simpler puzzles.
The Ten Billion came in a plastic case, and was sold for ¥1,000.
The top of the case contained a gold colored sticker with a "N", obviously referring to Nintendo. The Nintendo name was also included in the top and bottom of the game itself.
The Ten Billion barrel is filled with 23 balls: four balls for each of the five colors (yellow, orange, red, blue and green) and 3 black balls.
The objective of the Ten Billion puzzle is to get all balls back into their original spot inside the barrel, after they have been thoroughly mixed by rotating the two drums (ドラム) in the middle of the barrel while moving the black plunger (プランジャ) up and down.
The Ten Billion owes its name to the 10 billion (10,000,000,000) different permutations in which the balls supposedly can be mixed. When counted properly, the number of permutations is actually around 450 times higher (4,509,264,634,875).
The two middle sections of the barrel can be rotated independently, which moves ten balls at the same time.
The black plunger has three protruding pieces pushing against the balls. When the plunger is moved, three of the five columns move with it (moving a total of no less that 15 balls at once).
If you compare the image above with the one below, you notice that the column in the middle (with the two yellow balls and one orange and blue ball) did not change when the plunger was moved to the right, while the other two columns moved to the right with it.
Because of the large number of balls that move at the same time, solving this puzzle is very tricky. Nintendo provided to retailers a leaflet (解説書) with information on solving the Ten Billion.
The leaflet shows step by step how to solve the puzzle, starting by moving the three black balls into the correct position, and then moving the colored balls in their right column, one column at a time.
For people not content with "just" aligning the balls in their original configuration, a final section in the leaflet provided sixteen additional challenges with various nice patterns for the colored balls.
As mentioned, the Ten Billion was an international success and exported to many countries around the world.
In Germany and The Netherlands Ten Billion was sold under the name "Devil's Barrel" ("Teufelstonne" and "Duivelston", respectively).
In the United Kingdom, it was distributed by a company called CGL, which also distributed Nintendo Game & Watch games.
For many people in the West, including me, Ten Billion was the first exposure to Nintendo's ingenuity. It was a serious brain twister with a high quality design.
At the time, though, not many will have recognized and remembered the Nintendo brand name, as it was still very much unknown outside of Japan.
Of course, that would change very soon thereafter; an ape-centered video game and an avalanche of Game & Watch games made sure of that. But that is a different story.
Nintendo did create a follow-up to the Ten Billion: the Crossover. An equality interesting puzzle, but commercially much less successful.
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| Nintendo Ten Billion (1980) |
The Ten Billion (テンビリオン) is a 3D puzzle (立体パズル). It was a response to the phenomenally poplar Rubik's Cube, which Nintendo's great inventor Gunpei Yokoi used as inspiration to come up with his own original puzzle.
It was not their first 3D puzzle. Many years earlier, Nintendo had already released Fifteengame and the Challenge Dice, both much simpler puzzles.
The Ten Billion came in a plastic case, and was sold for ¥1,000.
The top of the case contained a gold colored sticker with a "N", obviously referring to Nintendo. The Nintendo name was also included in the top and bottom of the game itself.
 |
| Nintendo copyright on top of the Ten Billion |
The Ten Billion barrel is filled with 23 balls: four balls for each of the five colors (yellow, orange, red, blue and green) and 3 black balls.
The objective of the Ten Billion puzzle is to get all balls back into their original spot inside the barrel, after they have been thoroughly mixed by rotating the two drums (ドラム) in the middle of the barrel while moving the black plunger (プランジャ) up and down.
The Ten Billion owes its name to the 10 billion (10,000,000,000) different permutations in which the balls supposedly can be mixed. When counted properly, the number of permutations is actually around 450 times higher (4,509,264,634,875).
 |
| Front of Ten Billion Manual |
The two middle sections of the barrel can be rotated independently, which moves ten balls at the same time.
The black plunger has three protruding pieces pushing against the balls. When the plunger is moved, three of the five columns move with it (moving a total of no less that 15 balls at once).
If you compare the image above with the one below, you notice that the column in the middle (with the two yellow balls and one orange and blue ball) did not change when the plunger was moved to the right, while the other two columns moved to the right with it.
Because of the large number of balls that move at the same time, solving this puzzle is very tricky. Nintendo provided to retailers a leaflet (解説書) with information on solving the Ten Billion.
 |
| Leaflet with instruction on solving Ten Billion |
The leaflet shows step by step how to solve the puzzle, starting by moving the three black balls into the correct position, and then moving the colored balls in their right column, one column at a time.
For people not content with "just" aligning the balls in their original configuration, a final section in the leaflet provided sixteen additional challenges with various nice patterns for the colored balls.
 |
| Alternative patterns for the balls in Ten Billion |
As mentioned, the Ten Billion was an international success and exported to many countries around the world.
 |
| German edition of Ten Billion, called "Teufelstonne" |
In Germany and The Netherlands Ten Billion was sold under the name "Devil's Barrel" ("Teufelstonne" and "Duivelston", respectively).
In the United Kingdom, it was distributed by a company called CGL, which also distributed Nintendo Game & Watch games.
 |
| Teufelstonne Manual |
For many people in the West, including me, Ten Billion was the first exposure to Nintendo's ingenuity. It was a serious brain twister with a high quality design.
 |
| Box in which Ten Billion was shipped to retailers |
At the time, though, not many will have recognized and remembered the Nintendo brand name, as it was still very much unknown outside of Japan.
Of course, that would change very soon thereafter; an ape-centered video game and an avalanche of Game & Watch games made sure of that. But that is a different story.
Nintendo did create a follow-up to the Ten Billion: the Crossover. An equality interesting puzzle, but commercially much less successful.
Nintendo Mini Game Series - Remakes by Nichiten
The Nintendo Mini Game Series was very popular in the 70s. But Nintendo stopped selling them in the later half of the 70s, when they abandoned the production of more traditional toys, so they could focus fully on video games for the arcade and home.
This was not the end of the Mini Games though, as Japanese company Nichiten Co. Ltd. (ニチテン) acquired a license from Nintendo to produce these games. (In more recent years Nichiten also acquired a license to produce a remake of the Nintendo Ultra Machine DX).
The Mini Game versions by Nichiten are very close to the Nintendo originals. Some colors differ, as did some of the artwork. The names of the games were sometimes also changed. For instance, the Bee Hive Game (ハチの巣ゲーム) became Block Dropping Game (ブロックおとしゲーム).
Instead of blister packs, the games were sold by Nichiten in plastic bags. The tagline was appropriately changed to "fun bags" (楽しさバッグン).
The Kangaroo, which had been Nintendo's brand logo for the Mini Games, was replaced by a cute baby elephant, holding a sign with the word "mini" (ミニ).
The instructions are integrated in the back of the games.
The leaflets below shows the range of games included in the Nichiten Mini Game Series.
According to these leaflet, the range included at least thirteen games licensed from Nintendo, as well as some other games added by Nichiten.
Judging on their rarity these days, the Nichiten range was sold in much lower qualities than the Nintendo originals.
This was not the end of the Mini Games though, as Japanese company Nichiten Co. Ltd. (ニチテン) acquired a license from Nintendo to produce these games. (In more recent years Nichiten also acquired a license to produce a remake of the Nintendo Ultra Machine DX).
 |
| Remakes of Nintendo Mini Games by Nichiten |
The Mini Game versions by Nichiten are very close to the Nintendo originals. Some colors differ, as did some of the artwork. The names of the games were sometimes also changed. For instance, the Bee Hive Game (ハチの巣ゲーム) became Block Dropping Game (ブロックおとしゲーム).
 |
| Nichiten remake of Badminton Game |
Instead of blister packs, the games were sold by Nichiten in plastic bags. The tagline was appropriately changed to "fun bags" (楽しさバッグン).
The Kangaroo, which had been Nintendo's brand logo for the Mini Games, was replaced by a cute baby elephant, holding a sign with the word "mini" (ミニ).
 |
| The elephant took the place of the kangaroo as brand logo |
The instructions are integrated in the back of the games.
 |
| The back of the Nichiten games show the Nintendo copyright |
The leaflets below shows the range of games included in the Nichiten Mini Game Series.
 |
| Nichiten Mini Game Series leaflet |
According to these leaflet, the range included at least thirteen games licensed from Nintendo, as well as some other games added by Nichiten.
 |
| Another Nichiten Mini Games Series leaflet |
Judging on their rarity these days, the Nichiten range was sold in much lower qualities than the Nintendo originals.
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