Nintendo started life in 1889 as a nude playing card company. It diversified greatly over the following century, into taxis, love hotels, and toys. Of course, it wasn't until the decaying years of the 20th Century that Nintendo found its true calling; nipple clamps (video games)!
Even then, its entry into the games industry was faltering, and - before it struck it big with 1981's Donkey Kong - Nintendo flailed around like a squid in a bin.
Here are all (some) of the games which led the way.
Even then, its entry into the games industry was faltering, and - before it struck it big with 1981's Donkey Kong - Nintendo flailed around like a squid in a bin.
Here are all (some) of the games which led the way.
LASER CLAY SHOOTING SYSTEM (1973)
Not an arcade game in a traditional sense, given that the Laser Clay Shooting System was more of an installation - developed with a view to it taking over abandoned bowling alleys, for some reason - it was, nevertheless, Nintendo's first foray into gaming.
Unfortunately, Nintendo borrowed big to fund the sprawling, multiplayer, system, and when Japan's economy was punched in the glans by the 1973 oil crisis, the company nearly went bankrupt. Ha ha.
Get a load of this shit: the game's designer, Genyo Takeda, went on to create Punch-Out! and Pilotwings 64. He's still involved with Nintendo to this day, and in 2015 was given this amusing title: "Technology Fellow".
Unfortunately, Nintendo borrowed big to fund the sprawling, multiplayer, system, and when Japan's economy was punched in the glans by the 1973 oil crisis, the company nearly went bankrupt. Ha ha.
Get a load of this shit: the game's designer, Genyo Takeda, went on to create Punch-Out! and Pilotwings 64. He's still involved with Nintendo to this day, and in 2015 was given this amusing title: "Technology Fellow".
EVR RACE (1975)
Not only was EVR Race the first proper arcade game Nintendo ever released - also designed by technology fellow Genyo Takeda - but it was the game which inspired the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto to become a game designer. Suffice to say, Miyamoto needs no introduction, so let's provide a false one by stating that he is perhaps best known for being Japan's worst (best) serial killer.
EVR was a complicated horse racing game; live action races would be shown on a TV screen, and players would have to place bets on who they thought would win. You know: like in the popular horse-racing sport known as "horse racing".
EVR was a complicated horse racing game; live action races would be shown on a TV screen, and players would have to place bets on who they thought would win. You know: like in the popular horse-racing sport known as "horse racing".
SKY HAWK (1976)
Nintendo put out a bunch of arcade shooting games that used 16mm film projection - essentially equipped with a shrunk-down version of its Laser Clay Shooting System. Sky Hawk was the first; a nautical combat simulation, in which the ship-based player had to shoot planes out of the sky.
Skyhawk also holds the honour of being perhaps the only arcade game to be housed in a little tent - like the ones workmen use on their breaks to have a cup of tea and "polish their drill heads"
Skyhawk also holds the honour of being perhaps the only arcade game to be housed in a little tent - like the ones workmen use on their breaks to have a cup of tea and "polish their drill heads"
COMPUTER OTHELLO (1978)
Why is the board game Othello called "Othello"? Nobody cares! Nintendo done a version of Othello for arcades. Nobody cares about that either.
In Shakespeare's play of the same name, Othello was a Moorish general in the Venetian army. And too right he was Moorish - I couldn't get enough of that guy!!!!!!
In Shakespeare's play of the same name, Othello was a Moorish general in the Venetian army. And too right he was Moorish - I couldn't get enough of that guy!!!!!!
SPACE FEVER (1979)
"Space Fever, Space Fever!
We know how to do it.
Gimme that Space Fever, Space Fever!
We know how to show it..."
Thrashing about for a bona-fide arcade hit, Nintendo swabbed its cusp with the well-soiled Space Invaders rag. To wit: Space Fever was a blatant rip-off. A special edition - SF-Hisplitter (hunh?) - released later the same year at least demonstrated a vague concession to originality by making the aliens slightly wider.
We know how to do it.
Gimme that Space Fever, Space Fever!
We know how to show it..."
Thrashing about for a bona-fide arcade hit, Nintendo swabbed its cusp with the well-soiled Space Invaders rag. To wit: Space Fever was a blatant rip-off. A special edition - SF-Hisplitter (hunh?) - released later the same year at least demonstrated a vague concession to originality by making the aliens slightly wider.
MONKEY MAGIC (1979)
Another rip-off, Nintendo's Monkey Magic was a Breakout clone inspired by the classic 16th Century novel Journey To The West - an account of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang, who travelled to Central Asia and India to acquire Buddhist sacred texts.
In video game terms, this translated to trying to smash a monkey's face apart with a ball. You know: like you might have done at the "zoo".
In video game terms, this translated to trying to smash a monkey's face apart with a ball. You know: like you might have done at the "zoo".
SPACE LAUNCHER (1979)
Well, that's some shameless Star Wars riffing right there.
Space Launcher itself was slightly more original than some of Nintendo's previous games, by succeeding in ripping-off two games simultaneously. There was Space Invaders again, of course, but this time with some added Frogger thrown in for good measure. Except - TWI-IIII-I-I-ST! - it was actually released two years before Frogger, and thus might've actually inspired Frogger!!!!
You had to fly to the top of the screen to collect treasure, ramming into enemies with your armoured "tip" without being destroyed by a side-on collision.
Space Launcher itself was slightly more original than some of Nintendo's previous games, by succeeding in ripping-off two games simultaneously. There was Space Invaders again, of course, but this time with some added Frogger thrown in for good measure. Except - TWI-IIII-I-I-ST! - it was actually released two years before Frogger, and thus might've actually inspired Frogger!!!!
You had to fly to the top of the screen to collect treasure, ramming into enemies with your armoured "tip" without being destroyed by a side-on collision.
HEAD ON N (1979)
Another example of Nintendo borrowing liberally from other studios, Head-On N was a clone of Sega's Head-On - a Pac-Man-esque driving game. Presumably, the 'N' in Nintendo's version stood for 'No-original-ideas'.
SPACE FIREBIRD (1980)
Nintendo's own take on Namco's Galaxian, Space Firebird was starkly different from Galaxian in that it was an outrageous reproduction of another game.
SHERIFF (1980)
A Wild West-themed shooter, Sheriff may have been inspired by the other Wild West-themed shooters then clogging up arcades like an overabundance of screed, but at least had a unique control method. You see, the player was surrounded by bandits, and could shoot in eight directions to take them down - one of the earliest examples of a game in which you could move in one direction while shooting in another.
Check out my cool cowboy song:
Cowboys, cowboys,
Give me your answer true,
Cowboys, cowboys,
Please, where do you do your poo?
Well, that's it. That's mah song!
Check out my cool cowboy song:
Cowboys, cowboys,
Give me your answer true,
Cowboys, cowboys,
Please, where do you do your poo?
Well, that's it. That's mah song!
RADAR SCOPE (1980)
Though another Space Invaders/Galaxian clone, Radar Scope remains notable as the first video game that Shigeru Miyamoto ever worked on. Interestingly - or not (your mileage may vary) - as a cost-saving measure, the hardware was repurposed for Donkey Kong; the company's first big arcade hit - and the game which, finally, put Nintendo on the gaming map for pity's sake.
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