announcement: 3000 machines! // 発表: 3000 マシン!

We have now listed over 3000 machines!

現在、3000台以上のマシンをリストしています！

1968 宇宙大冒険 (Space Adventure) [宇宙大要塞 (Space Fortress)] by 中村製作所 (Nakamura Seisakusho)

Name: 宇宙大冒険 (Space Adventure) [also known as 宇宙大要塞 (Space Fortress)]
Year: 1968
Company: 中村製作所 (Nakamura Seisakusho)

One Namco publication lists 宇宙大要塞 (Space Fortress) for 1968.

The Namco Electromechanical Encyclopedia does not include this game at all in any of their lists.

Nours magazine issue # 51, published in 1993, had a feature on Shoot Away II, which included a brief history of Namco gun games.

宇宙大冒険 (Space Adventure)

In the photo we can see the machine is correctly labeled but different from the earlier list.  I think this is the machine the list had in mind.  Either they made a mistake in the name, or there is perhaps an alternate version with the other name.

For the time being, I am going to assume that these are the same game.

Nours 51

1975 Magic Toppers - マジックトッパー [import] by クロンプトン (Crompton) & エスコ貿易 (Esco Trading)

Name: Magic Toppers - マジックトッパー

Year: 1975 or earlier

Company: クロンプトン (Crompton) & エスコ貿易 (Esco Trading)

There is a different model of Magic Toppers that was imported around 1973 by ジャパンオーバーシーズビジネス (Japan Overseas Business).

In a 1975 issue of Amusement Sangyo we see that Esco Trading has begun offering this newer model of Magic Toppers.

Amusement Sangyo 1975

1973 Magic Toppers - マジックトッパー [import] by クロンプトン (Crompton) & ジャパンオーバーシーズビジネス (Japan Overseas Business)

Name: Magic Toppers - マジックトッパー [import] 
Year: 1960s, 1973
Company: クロンプトン (Crompton) & ジャパンオーバーシーズビジネス (Japan Overseas Business) 

Magic Toppers appears in this wonderful photo, along side International Tote.

photo shared by nazox2016 (archive)

From a 1973 issue of Amusement Sangyo, we know that ジャパンオーバーシーズビジネス (Japan Overseas Business) began importing these into Japan in 1973, along with other large UK gambling machines.

from Amusement Sangyo 1973

excerpt from a colour advertisement that only mentions it

cropped photo

Crompton had a subsequent version of Magic Toppers, which was imported by Esco Trading in 1975.

~1973 International Tote [import, 1969] by クロンプトン (Crompton)

Name: International Tote [import]

Year: 1969, ~1973

Company: クロンプトン (Crompton)

For a long time I had been enchanted by this photo from 1973:

photo shared by nazox2016 (archive)
This photo was posted on the building when Game Fantasia closed.

Cropped for the machine on the left:

Perhaps we are seeing the other side of the marquee glass, as the photo is not reversed but the odds counter is on the right side.  That would make sense if the sign was dual-sided, and the hardware to display the odds were all put on one side of the sign, both sides.

Crompton released this machine in 1969 for the UK market.

image shared by TOO_yoshikawa: 
大都会 -闘いの日々- 第24話「急行十和田2号」(1976年6月15日放送)

1962 Space Ace - スペースエース by 日本娯楽物産 (Nihon Goraku Bussan) & 日本機械製造 (Nihon Kikai Seizo — Sega)

Name: Space Ace - スペースエース

Year: 1962

Company: 日本娯楽物産 (Nihon Goraku Bussan) & 日本機械製造 (Nihon Kikai Seizo — Sega)

The only pictures of Space Ace here are were posted by Clay Harrel at pinrepair.com.  One of the reasons I am working on the site is because many Japanese games might be deep inside warehouses in other countries.  As we share more information about them, I hope many more can be saved.  I am very happy 2 might have survived in the USA!

I was able to confirm with a contact related to Sega that this game did indeed come out in 1962.  It is the follow-up to the game Jungle Gun - ジャングルガン.

This game famous for appearing in the film 東京流れ者 aka Tōkyō nagaremono aka Tokyo Drifter (1966).

東京流れ者 aka Tōkyō nagaremono aka Tokyo Drifter (1966)

this backglass is faded

closeup on the gun art

blurry photo, but you can see the wonderful cabinet art design

target system

1961 Jungle Gun - ジャングルガン by 日本娯楽物産 (Nihon Goraku Bussan) & 日本機械製造 (Nihon Kikai Seizo — Sega)

Name: Jungle Gun - ジャングルガン

Year: 1961

Company: 日本娯楽物産 (Nihon Goraku Bussan) & 日本機械製造 (Nihon Kikai Seizo — Sega)

There does not seem to be any other documentation of this game online, so I am happy to share this with you.

From this book of Sega arcade history, the year given for Jungle Gun is 1961.  The arrow points to text noting the gun game boom starting around 1962.

The colour of Jungle Gun can be seen in this wonderful photo shared by accs2014.

photo from accs2014.
this photo includes Sonar Attack - ソナーアタック by さとみ (Satomi) which I think is 1968, so this photo is probably from the end of the 1960s.  To the left you can see a sliver of Sega's Space Ace.

Another photo of Jungle Gun in an arcade:

From the 1962 movie ギャング対ギャング this woman is playing jungle gun.

ギャング対ギャング (1962)

Soccerette by Jamiesons'

Name: Soccerette
Year: 1972? 1975?
Company: Jamiesons'

I have not yet seen a Japanese spelling of this game's name.  I currently do not know who brought Soccerette in to Japan, but I assume it was Taito.   This game has not appeared in any catalogs or advertisements that I have seen.

For a long time, the game was front-and-center in this photo from Taito, and I was unable to find a name.

1975 photo from Taito (note: a different source had labelled this photo as 1973...)

Here is another iconic promotional photo of the Jamiesons' company, circa 1972:

[Jamiesons Trade Stand Zagreb Croatia 1972
photo taken from penny-arcade.info (archive)

I found one reference online saying the game was from the 1960s, but I am unsure.  We at least know it was made by 1972.