At The World's Fair there were miniature versions of the Jaycopter to play with. We can see them in this advertisement, and in this photograph, the model versions. They all appear larger than the regular coinop one we would see later, but they were coin operated and would set the template for all future helicopter games. If anyone has any photographs of the coin-operated Jaycopter games at the World's Fair, please get in touch!
FB Video on the Jaycopter from The Games Room Company. Jaycopter at pinrepair. All online sources say the normally produced Jaycopter is from 1968, though I can't find any primary sources for that. But the patent for the arcade machine design was filed in 1967, so the dates do line up.
The first official trade magazine mention of Amusement Engineering's Helicopter Trainer was in 1977. Note the last line of this snippet:
1966-09-03 Coin Box
The patent was filed in 1965, one year after the Jaycopter and the coinop Jaycopters appeared at the 1964 World's Fair. R.L. Brown is probably the same Lt. Col. Richard F. Brown that is referred to in a subsequent 1968-03-09 article. (see lower on this page)
The game seems to have arrived in production June 1967:
1967-06-10 Coin Box
1967-07-08 Coin Box "Yes, we have the sensational HELICOPTER TRAINER"
1967-11-25 Coin Box
Midway
In March 1968 Midway had arranged distribution of Amusement Engineer's Helicopter Trainer
1968-03 VT Music and Games
1968-03-09 Coin Box
And by June of 1968, Midway's Helicopter Trainer was advertised, with "a number of improvements".
1968-06-08 Billboard
Sega's Helicopter
Only months after the Midway deal was announced, Sega began advertising their Helicopter in English papers in July 1968.
1968-07 VT Music and Games
And in the July 7th 1969 Cash Box, we find 2 similarly iconic advertisements, from Sega and Midway
1968-07-07 Cash Box
1968-07-07 Cash Box
1968-07-27 Billboard
Williams + Midway
An entry in this style of game would come from Williams just a few months after Sega, with Space Pilot.
1968-11-23 Billboard 1968 Space Pilot by Williams
Early 1969, Midway announced their own entry (Helicopter Trainer was licensed by them) into the helicopter field, with Whirly Bird.
1969-01-11 Coin Box
1969 Whirly Bird by Midway
Many other variant models would be released in through the 1970s.
Art Point's Explorer games
In Japan, Art Point made 2 similar Helicopter-style games. I do not know when they came out, but both existed in 1969: Space Exploration and Antarctica Explorer.
The landing pads in the Sega game are similar to the ones used in the Explorer games by Art Point.
Explorer (Space Exploration) - エクスプローラー宇宙探検 by アートポイント社 (Art Point) detail
1968 Helicopter - ヘリコプター by セガ (Sega) detail
These games also have a central mountain structure for the helicopter mechanism. I suspect they were made using Sega' Helicopter as a template, but that is just speculation.
Name: Explorer (Space Exploration) - エクスプローラー宇宙探検 Company: アートポイント社 (Art Point)
Year: ~1969
I do not know which comes first, but the Space Exploration and Antarctica Exploration games both seem the same except for different art and different vehicle.
This version of the game appears in the 1969 machine directory.
This article gathers a few of the earliest references to coin amusement machines in Japan. We introduce evidence that coin amusement machines were advertised to Japan as early as 1907.
This is from the wonderful book ミニドライブ大百科 (Mini-Drive Encyclopedia). It features a wonderful postcard from Takarazuka Takaraonsen. The text claims that coin amusement machines were being imported in the 1910s. I do not know the year of the postcard. It would be easy to assume it was from the 1910s but one can easily be off by a decade when trying to assess century-old postcards without any date information on them. If there is a way to verify the dates of the postcard, please get in touch! Maybe one can be found with a postmark. I am told by Sugiyama-san that this postcard is believed to be from 1913.
There is now evidence that coin machines were being imported as early as 1907. These two advertisements appear in the Sun Trade Journal, a publication from Tokyo that was also distributed to parts of the USA. While this indicates Mills and Watling advertised to a Japanese audience, it is not solid proof that those machines were in Japan.
The automatic counting instrument shown here is one of the most popular and manufactured by our company, and when a coin is inserted into the opening, it is sometimes drawn into a bag and then attached to the instrument when struck with a fist. There is no other way to use it than to put the coin into the hole again by putting the amount of force on the meter and returning it to the position shown on the cut in the bag.
○The compensation was paid, so it doesn't matter if it's in English or in four languages.
The one in Japan does not have any marquee or hand sign. We can tell it has the 3D owl at the front, though. Another copy of this machine is on the Morphy site, but that one has a flat lower graphic.
these same machines are also found on the facing wall
1904 The Cathedral stereo viewer by Mills via Morphy (see also)
1900 Illusion by Mills [John Papa recreation: not an original copy] - via Morphy
There is at least one more machine to identify, with copies on both sides, though all we can see is the rough shape.
It either has a ledge, or is a smaller machine sitting on a stand.
Another postcard from the onsen, this one shows the teeter-totters:
If you have any materials related to Japan and arcades (invoices, import/export slips, price lists, advertisements, regional flyers,) especially if before 1970, especially if before WW2, and ESPECIALLY if before WW1, please get in touch! Email me thetastates@gmail.com
