~1967 Basket Game - バスケットゲーム by カトウ (Kato)

Name: Basket Game - バスケットゲーム

Year: 1967 or earlier
Manufacturer: カトウ (Kato)  [Maybe. See below.]

Basket Game is a good example of a machine where we have lots of information about it, but it is still hard to say anything definitively.  The game is controlled by buttons on the front control panel, which kick a ball upwards and hopefully into the basket.

In a prior "arcade exploration" post we saw Basket Game show up in this arcade from ザ・ガードマン (Guard Man) episode 118 大泥棒一家].

ザ・ガードマン (Guard Man) episode 118 大泥棒一家]

Basket Game - バスケットゲーム

This episode aired in 1967.

This machine appears in the 1969 machine directory:

In the back, the game is listed under the カトウ (Kato) company information:

If we look to the 三共 (Sankyo) information though, we also see バスケットゲーム:

This does not seem too odd, as Sankyo lists a number of machines that are seemingly made by other manufacturers.  The role of distributor and manufacturer is often not clear, and many companies sold machines made by other companies.

The 1972 machine directory says it is by.... 日本自動販売 (Japan vending machine)

This flyer says 児童遊園設備 (Children's amusement park equipment) at the bottom.

this flyer does not have a company listed, but the game is advertised alongside サッカー8 (エイト)  (Soccer 8), which is listed as by カトウ (Kato) in both the 1969 and 1972 machine directories.

In an interview in Amusement Journal, Basket Game (バスケットゲーム) is listed as one of the games made by Kato.

Amusement Journal 2015-11

So I am fairly confident Kato is the manufacturer here, but that it was also sold by many different companies.

Champion Rally - チャンピオンラリー by 三共 (Sankyo)

Name: Champion Rally - チャンピオンラリー

Year: around 1969
Manufacturer: 三共 (Sankyo)

The only reference I have found to Champion Rally is in the 1969 machine directory.  It might have been made in an earlier year.  I do not know.

The 1969 machine directory lists this machine under 三共 (Sankyo), but I do not know if they manufactured this game, or just sold it.

acccs2014 posted this amazing photo on their blog:

This machine is a bit confusing:

The angle of the cabinet seemed odd to me.  I do not recall seeing a cabinet shaped like that before.  The marquee graphic looks quite similar to Champion Rally though.  Going back to the Champion Rally photo (top of page,) I realize the photo is square-facing.  You do not get to see the curves of the cabinet.

Champion Rally could indeed have shorter cabinet like the one we see here.   Is this Champion Rally here?  Too bad it doesn't have the sign at the top!  But the bezel around the game does seem very similar to the bezel graphics on Champion Rally.

I have seen another machine with similar graphics on the upper bezel:

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from the 1973 movie 愛欲の罠 / Aiyoku no wana aka Trapped in Lust (1973) 

All 3 of these games have the exact same cabinet control panel, with the black rectangle surrounded by the silver.  They are undoubtedly by the same manufacturer, but I cannot find any other references.  Perhaps they are all cabinet variations of Champion Rally?  It is hard to tell.

Let's line up the upper bezels:

They all have green hills with white dots along the bottom, and then multiple vehicles.  But each one seems distinctly different from the other.

Another thing to note for identifying the driving games:  look at the vertical stripes on the cabinet.  I do not know why the companies did this, but they all seem to have distinct stripes.

Champion Rally stripes:

Champion License, confirmed released in 1969, also has similar vertical stripes:

1969 Champion License - チャンピオンライセンス by 太東貿易 (Taito Trading)

Another game confirmed from 1969 also has similar stripes.  There are at least 2 colour variants that I have seen:

1969 Indy 500 [M-type] - インディ500 [M型] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

1969 Indy 500 [M-type] - インディ500 [M型] by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

I think that if the game in the photo from acccs2014 was Champion Rally, we would be able to see a stripe. on the cabinet.  The cabinet is blocked by the basketball game, but we can still the white cabinet through the glass.

Astronauts - 宇宙探検 (Space Exploration) by 日本遊園設備 (Japan amusement park equipment)

 

Name: Astronauts - 宇宙探検 (Space Exploration)
Year: around 1967
Manufacturer: ナムコ (Namco)

These images are from ザ・ガードマン (The Guard Man) episode 118 (大泥棒一家) which aired in 1967.  (please see article: exploring the arcades in a few Japanese TV shows for information on all of the machines shown.)

sign can be seen in the upper left-hand corner.

On the flyer for the shooting gallery game 荒野の決斗 (Duel in the Wilderness) by 日本遊園設備 (Japan amusement park equipment) we have this text lists 3 different backdrops this can be set up.

舞台絵は「荒野の決斗」「西 部開拓史」「宇宙探検」等御要望により 色々な絵にかえられます

The stage picture can be changed to various pictures such as "Decision in the Wilderness", "History of Western Development", "Space Exploration", etc.

I am making the assumption that the Space Exploration we see in the show is the alternate 宇宙探検 listed in this flyer, and so it is by 日本遊園設備 (Japan amusement park equipment).  I am also making the assumption that these were released around the same time, making 1967 the year that approximately anchors both Space Exploration and Wilderness Decision.

The dimensions and setup of Astronauts: Space Exploration that we see in The Guard Man very closely matches that of Duel In The Wilderness.

Please note: there is a 1968 game by 中村製作所 (Nakamura Seisakusho) game called 宇宙大要塞 (Space Fortress).  That is another game that is a large shooting gallery.