Name: Baseball Mate - ベースボールメイト
Year: 1977
Company: 関西企業 (Kansai Kigyo) & アイ・ピー・エム (IPM) & ウチナダ電子 (Uchinada Denshi)
Baseball Mate was made in 1977. It is a medal game but there is a timing element of hitting the ball. It has a PITCHER and BATTER buttons, and then your typical grid for placing bets. It counts your Strikes, Balls, and Outs.
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| Game Machine 1977-1215 |
The article states it is by アイ・ピー・エム (IPM). There are also many IPM advertisements for this game.
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| manufacturer plate |
The manufacturer plate confirms it was made by ウチナダ電子 (Uchinada Denshi) and they are the company on the Type Approval Number 91-15517 which is seen here and referenced in numerous advertisements.
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| advertisement from アイ・ピー・エム (IPM) and the cabinet design aligns with their other machines. This blue cabinet is only seen here. The green button has moved location and there is not instruction panel any more. I currently don't think this enough to show it as a separate variant. There is a Kansai Kigyo logo in the upper-right for an unknown reason. |
For reference, here is the blue version with the green button in a different location. Due to the different button locations I am giving this its own entry.
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| slight variant: no instruction card, green button has moved. |
Here it is being advertised by Kansai Kigyo:
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| Coin Journal 1979-01 |
In fact, the earliest article I have about Baseball Mate lists it as Kansai Kigyo and does not mention IPM.
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| Coin Journal 1977-11 |
Also note that the later Kansai Kigyo sunset logo is on the game!
Please enjoy this flyer I purchased:
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| Baseball Mate - ベースボールメイト by 関西企業 (Kansai Kigyo) & アイ・ピー・エム (IPM) & ウチナダ電子 (Uchinada Denshi) |
Be on the lookout for their custom medals!
Hello Caitlyn,
ReplyDeleteThe Kansai Kigyô and IPM logos are really intriguing. There's no difference between them—it can't be just a coincidence. But what exactly is the connection between these two companies?
I do not know much about the companies themselves. The IPM advertisement even has a Kansai Kigyo logo on it.
DeleteThe IPM version just seems odd. I will probably create a separate entry for it. Little things like the odds not lining up with the buttons makes me think it's their own version / build.