Name: テレコンカラー太陽 Challenge Ball (Telecon color sun Challenge Ball)
Year: 1979
Company: 太陽電子 (Taiyo Denshi — Electron)
Telecon was the earliest arrangeball I've seen that has a a TV screen inside of it. Also from 1979, TV Sparrow Ball is another title that has a screen embedded. Where that game keeps track of your mahjong game on the screen, the article on Telecon below says it has Space Invaders and Breakout-style minigames. How are they controlled? You press the button near the pachinko handle to fire a missile in the UFO game. Press a button to stop the roulette wheel in the worm roulette game. Were they hoping to also include a Breakout-style game?
Tweakbod found this article in the Japanese-language San Fransisco newspaper Hokubei Mainichi, and provided the transcription and machine translation.
full page 2 of Hokubei Mainichi 1979-07-21
article excerpted from Hokubei Mainichi 1979-07-21
Machine translation:
Invader Pachinko Arrives: The Allure of Winning Prizes
(Nagoya) Striking Back at the Invaders—! The pachinko industry, left gasping for air as the Invader craze siphoned away its customers, has found a new source of buzz with the debut of the “Telecon Machine”—a device that could be described as Invader Pachinko.
Developed by a pachinko machine manufacturer in Nagoya, the machine’s key innovation lies in embedding a small television screen directly into the center of the pachinko cabinet, allowing players to enjoy both pachinko and an Invader-style game simultaneously. Following its debut in Kanda, Tokyo, this past July, the machine is now set to appear in locations across the country. Unlike Invader games—which typically involve spending money without any tangible return—this machine offers the chance to win prizes. Consequently, pachinko parlor operators are already enthusiastic about using the “Telecon Machine” as their trump card for a pachinko industry resurgence. “This is the leading contender for the 'Post-Invader' era,” remarked (Owner of M Pachinko Parlor in Kanda, Tokyo) “With this, we can bring our customers back.”
Pachinko, once the undisputed king of mass entertainment, has recently seen its crown usurped by the Invader boom. As operators face a wave of business closures and industry exits—with some lamenting, “At this rate, it’s a matter of survival” (as noted by D Pachinko in Nagoya City)—the industry has been racking its brains to devise countermeasures against the Invaders. It is against this backdrop—carrying the industry's hopes for revitalization—that the Telecon Machine has made its debut.
Playing the Telecon Machine is simple: insert a metal token (priced at 50–70 yen each) to start the game. Following the same mechanics as traditional pachinko, players launch 16 steel balls into a designated catch-tray (replacing the traditional tulip pockets); successfully doing so allows them to manipulate the numbers displayed on the TV screen mounted in the center of the cabinet. If the numbers align vertically, the TV screen instantly transforms into a UFO-shooting game; if they align horizontally, it switches to a block-breaker style game. As players fire missiles to target the erratically moving UFOs, the machine emits electronic sound effects—such as “pyun-pyun” and “gwaaan”—creating an atmosphere that perfectly captures the spirit of the original Invader game. In short, the Telecon Machine offers the pure fun of the Invader experience, combined with the unique pachinko thrill of winning prizes.
The price of a single Telecon Machine unit is approximately 300,000 yen—about three times the cost of a standard electric pachinko machine—yet in terms of capital investment, it remains cheaper than the 500,000 yen required for an Invader. Consequently, the industry is making bullish projections: “With the Invader craze finally showing signs of winding down, this is bound to be the next big hit as a wholesome form of adult entertainment” (T Electronics, the developer of the Telecon Machine); and, “Just like with pachinko, entry is restricted to those aged 18 and over, so there is no need to worry about issues regarding juvenile delinquency” (Nagoya City Amusement Association). But the question remains: will they truly be able to shoot down Invader exactly as they’ve calculated?
[Photo Caption] A pachinko machine featuring a small built-in television screen in the center, allowing players to enjoy Invader games as well.
The only image I've seen of Asteroid Killer so far is from this write-up in Play Meter 1979-12-15. The image shown above is the highest-resolution composite image, taken from the scan. (normally I limit images to 1200p)
Play Meter 1979-12-15
Play Meter 1979-12-15
The IPDB has this game as 1980, and it probably was released in 1980. But for this database we follow the methodology of tracking when a game first appears. So if it's shown in 1979, we're marking that down as 1979.
Another note is that I do not use any Japanese characters for the game. I do not use a Japanese title until I see it used by a primary source. I wonder if this machine was ever mentioned in Game Machine, and I missed it? I currently do not have any Japanese magazines from 1979-12 or early 1980s.
The upper game portion looks similar to Big Strike Bowling except with different art. A payout mechanism has been added to the bottom. The plastic that covers the ball-release at the lower-right also seems to be on the Blonde 9 playfield near the center-top? It is hard to tell what kind of modification that might be.
Standing next to Taito's similarly modified Football on a pedestal, it might be easy to assume Blonde 9 was another Taito import. And it might be as well! They also could have distributed it. We do not have enough information from this era.
But there are two aspects of this machine that make me think this was オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo). There is a payout mechanism installed and Taito did not add one to any of the machines they imported, that I know of.
But Oriental Kogyo did modify Super.Match machines (made 1967 by NSM-Löwen and imported and modified by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo) circa 1970. The Super.Match payout slot looks cruder than Blonde 9's , but also is from 3 years before it.
The history of Super-Scope is a bit messy. As best we know, Bonanza began selling them in 1975 and contracted construction out to オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo). Oriental Kogyo was then selling a slightly different version (coin slot moved location) by 1977.
Minisoccer is an electromechanical game stylistically inspired by foosball. we are writing about it because Sega shared their flyer for it as part of their company history on their website.
Sega's flyer for Minisoccer, taken from their corporate history website
The Sega website puts that year as 1968, but the game was released in 1967, so I presume Sega began selling it and 68.
Minisoccer appears in the 1972 machine directory, which was printed in 1971.
1972 machine directory entry
The earliest press clipping about many soccer is from 1967:
These books are highly recommend for people into arcade videogames and eremeka. It is filled with incredibly rare images and flyers and industry information you probably won't find anywhere else. I have learned a lot about eremeka machines, but these books have even more information about videogames.
I'm keeping a change log of new information I find in the books.
p67: Wild Fox was manufactured by 東亜セイコー (Toa Seiko)
p67: Mini Derby was released in 1974, not 1973. It was sold by Sankyo Shoji. We have a reference to Fuji Enterprise selling it in 1976, but they probably were distributing it then. This has consequences of reworking a few of my assumptions, which I have updated in the Mini Derby article. There is still a lot more details to confirm for those machines.
p67: Rotary-Pulse was made by 長田電気 (Nagata Electric) and Nemco was probably a brand.
p68: Added ムサシ工業所 (Musashi Industries) to Coin Pet. The blue version of Coin Pet is shown as "first version" but I do not think there are any differences in the blue or red besides the colour. If I am told there are further differences I will separate them into two entries.
p70: Verified the name of "Baseball board" (野球盤). We had the name marked down as "presumed".
p70: Confirmed Coin Game is from 1969. (previously ~1969)
p70: new game Lucky Panda
p71: we have Rotary Falls as from RJ Corporation and J.O.B. - The book says RJ + Fuji, so we are adding Fuji as well.
p72: The only source I had for 新幹線ゲームⅤ (Shinkansen game V) being 1976 was the old DGM website. This book shows it as year unknown, so I have moved it to ~1976
p72: Similarly 新幹線ゲームⅡ・宇宙 (Shinkansen Game II; Space) only had the 1977 source as from DGM, so I moved it to ~1977 .
p73: the Sunny Tokyo version of Coin Punch is from 1969. We had it as ~1969.
p73: Gold Hunter is from 1969. We had it as ~1969.
p74: Grand Prix is listed as just by Satomi, but the advertisements make it seem more complex (we currently have it by 大和物産 (Yamato Bussan) & さとみ (Satomi — Sammy) & ベンドジャパン (Vend Japan) so I will leave it as it currently is.
Researching entries in the book made me realize I had チェスト written as "Chest" but it's supposed to be "Zest".
p74: Vanishing Point was referenced as by 豊栄産業 (Hoei Sangyo) in a Game Machine article. The book says it is by チェスト (Zest) so I am including both companies for Vanishing Point. The earliest advertisement in Game Machine is from チェスト (Zest).
p74: Renamed "750ライダー" to the proper name ナナハン ライダー (750cc Rider). We had it down as by 大和物産 (Yamato Bussan) but the book says it was made by 大洋産業 (Taiyo Sangyo). There are many games that seem to be made by 大洋産業 (Taiyo Sangyo) and distributed by 大和物産 (Yamato Bussan).
p79: Corrected 電子占 今日の運勢は コンピューター (Electronic fortune telling What's your fortune today Computer) to 電子占コンピューター (Electronic fortune-telling computer). Updated the year from ~1970 to 1970.
p79: Corrected 占いコンピューター (Fortune Computer) company from 日本遊機 (Nihon Yuuki) to 関東遊機 (Kanto Yuuki).
p79: the image descriptions of 占いコンピューター (Fortune Computer) and 電子占コンピューター (Electronic fortune-telling computer) are swapped.
p85: In verifying the information on Super Gold Scope, I realized I accidentally had it in 1977 when I have records of it being from 1975! A very unfortunate error for Konami fans. I apologize. From that same page, it gives the date of a Tumura catalogue as 1976. I had only seen auction photographs of that catalog and did not know when it was released.
p90: Corrected the original Tight Rope company, from 友栄 (UA) to テクネ通商 (Tekune Tsusho). Examining this also made me realize that the version made by 友栄 (UA) also existed in 1975. (previously 1976)
p93: proper year is 1977 for 1980 Playboy - プレイボーイ by 大平技研 (Ohira Giken)
p93: previously we had 1976 Machine Gun - マシンガン by エース自動機 (Ace Jidoki) & ツムラ (Tumura) & ワイプ (Wipe) but it appears Tumura was just a distributor. I have an article that says this machine is from Ace Jidoki in Tokyo. Wipe was in Kobe and Osaka, so perhaps it was regional.
p93: new game Super Mint
p95: proper year is 1985 for 1986 ハッピータイム (Happy time) by こまや (Komaya)
p14: made an entry for "Super Scope" the UK game by Nuversions first imported by リバーストン (Riverstone) in 1974. Super-Scope - スーパースコープ by ボナンザ (Bonanza) is the one that appeared in 1975. These units have 2 coin slots on the front. The "Oriental Super-Scope" that was sold by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo) does not have the front coin slots, and the earliest appearance I have of that model is in a 1977 Sega catalogue.
p15: took 1976 De-Luxe Clean Sweep - クリーンスウィープ by ボナンザ (Bonanza) & ジャパンオーバーシーズビジネス (Japan Overseas Business) & ツムラ (Tumura) and dropped the "De-Luxe" part as that doesn't appear on the cabinet. Dropped J.O.B. from the companies involved since I only have a single flyer with their name stickered on, so probably just for later distribution. But keeping Tumura as they were probably a primary vendor of it since they advertise it frequently.
p15: Trésor Boite [deluxe type] - トレゾール ボアト [デラックスタイプ] by ボナンザ (Bonanza) moving from 1980 to 1978.
p73: took the entry 1980 Rotary Game UFO Chance - ロータリーゲーム UFOチャンス by 日清工業 (Nissin Co) and corrected it to the proper name Rotary Game - ゴールデンロータリータイラーIII (Golden Rotary Tailar III) by キューゴ (Kyugo) and separated out a similar machine that was manufactured in 1981, Rotary Game Schmitt - ロータリーゲーム by 日清工業 (Nissin Kogyo).
p81: new game cocktail rendition of 1979 Baseball Game - ベースボール・ゲーム by 大平技研 (Ohira Giken) call Baseball Game part II.
p85: proper year is 1969 for ~1969 King Ball - キングボール by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate) & カトウ (Kato)
p85: new game Bingo by DAW (1970)
p102: Six-Goal - シックス ゴール by コニー (Cony) flyer shows TAN 91-25168
p102: proper year is 1977 for 1978 Super Car - ザ・スーパーカー (The Super Car) by フジ・エンタープライズ (Fuji Enterprises)
p106: the book says 1975 but the Omori version is actually from 1984. Imported copies of New Penny Falls were offered by J.O.B. in 1973 and Jatre in 1975.
p106: dropped Tumura from 1975 International Dreifach - インターナショナル・ドライファッハ by フジ・エンタープライズ (Fuji Enterprises) & ツムラ (Tumura)
p106: says 1976 for ~1977 Comy - コミー [MF-1] by 高砂電器商事 (Takasago Electric) but the TAN # 91-15292 was registered in 1977 so I will leave this.
We would like to buy a copy of the 1969 machine directory. 1969 年のマシン ディレクトリのコピーを購入したいと考えています。
¥60,000 offered for '69 遊戲機械名鑑 ('69 Game Machine Directory)
「'69 遊戲機械名鑑」に6万円をプレゼント
'69 遊戲機械名鑑 「全日本遊園」編集局刊 '69 Game Machine Directory Published by the All Japan Amusement Park Editorial Department
We are offering ¥60,000 to purchase this publication. If you have a copy that is damaged we are probably still interested in it. Email me at thetastates@gmail.com
There is an "index book" that accompanies the directory, and we would like that "index book" as well.
ディレクトリには「索引ブック」が付属していますが、その「索引ブック」も欲しいです。
This book is an important piece of arcade history. It needs to be publicly preserved at the highest quality. Working together, we can make this happen!
Alternatively, we would like to BORROW your copy. We can pay for a courier to send it, we will scan it non-destructively on an edge scanner (so we don't have to chop the spine,) and then send it back via courier.
To see the kind of work we do, please see our research publication list. There you can find scans of the yearbooks from 1978-1983, 1985-1987, and 1993.
Thunderbird was made by Taito in 1967 under their Crown brand. The lower portion looks quite similar to Taito's Crown 603 crane machine, and the crane mechanism operates in a similar fashion. Instead of picking things up, the crane drops a metal ball that looks similar in size to a pachinko ball. (though I do not know if the same size.)
Align the crane, release the ball, and if you get it inside one of the porcelain numbered cups you get paid out that numbered prize. The backbox is a similar shape to a pinball head. There are 5 columns loaded with prizes and I assume that lower front cover protects the dispenser mechanism from shenanigans. A very unique prize game.
For the longest time it has been vexing me that we did not have detailed pics of it, even though we can see it in a number of older photographs. Now, thank you to Rich who runs the Family Fun Center York Galleria in York, Philadelphia, USA, we have more photos! These were from a few years back so they aren't the resolution of fancy modern phones, but they're still great to see. (He no longer has the machine)
(If you are a collector that has a Thunder-Bird in their collection can you please get in touch? I know there are probably a few copies of these tucked into elite collections. Please note that I am not looking to buy machines off you, I just want to try and publicly preserve whatever info I can on them.)
First, some gameplay of Thunder-Bird. We don't get to see a payout, but I am grateful to see the game in action at all.
Of most interest is that he reviews how the ball is fed up from the bottom, through a tube inside the front. The game flashes STAND BY when loading the ball into the dropper mech.
love the whole look
similar front to the 603 crane. Same door proportions, lock location, and location of coin return. Center control mech swapped but the rest of the metal control panel is the same design as the 603. Efficiency!
I really like the look of the whole control panel area. Would totally pay up for that marquee.
got that Jackson Pollock spackle
the 5 prize-dispenser columns
moulded plastic that is shaped like a UFO or space station
Relays! at the Front Door note the tube on the right. That is the ball return.
