~1969 玉入れゲーム (ball toss game) by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate) & カトウ (Kato)

Name: 玉入れゲーム (ball toss game)
Year: ~1969
Company: 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate)  & カトウ (Kato)

This game has a central spinner, similar to Bally's game Spinner.  Balls that enter holes on either side can be ejected into the upper basket when the player presses a corresponding button.  We could say that Champion Long Shoot [Champion Shoot Ball] - ロングシュート by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki) & 昭和遊園 (Showa Yuen) is similar gameplay, just stretch out into a wider cabinet.

This flyer was shared by @area51_zek (archive)

flyer from 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate)

This game appears in the 1969 machine directory.

1969 machine directory entry    

In the company index, this game is listed by both Kato and Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki.

Kato's game list in the 1969 directory

Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki's game list in the 1969 directory

I have no further year information, so this machine could have been made in 1969 or earlier.

1966 スゴロクゲーム (Sugoroku Game) by カトウ (Kato) & 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki)

Name: スゴロクゲーム (Sugoroku Game)
Year: 1966
Company: カトウ (Kato) & 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki) 

Sugoroku Game is a smartball-style game that had at least 3 art variations over the nearly decade it was sold.  The earliest year I've seen it mentioned is 1966, though it was one of the early Kato games so it might have been made as early as 1965.  As we will see, it will eventually be primarily be advertised as a Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki game.

In an interview in Amusement Journal, Sugoroku Game is listed as one of the games made by Kato.

Amusement Journal 2015-11

In the 1969 machine directory we see both Kato and Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki list Sugoroku Game:

1969 machine directory: Kato company information shows Sugoroku Game

1969 machine directory: Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki lists Sugoroku Game

But when we get to the 1972 machine directory, it's now solely listed by Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki.

1972 machine directory shows Sugoroku Game under 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki)

1972 machine directory index also lists Sugoroku Game under 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki)

1972 machine directory: Kato company listing does not say Sugoroku Game.

This advertisement from 1970 by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki) includes ニュー スゴロク (New Sugoroku), but nowhere else have I found the usage of "New Sugoroku".  Since there are 3 different art packages, one of them is probably the "new" one.

AJAP 1970-05

I believe the first iteration of Sugoroku Game is this one that appears in the 1966 Senyo Kogyo catalogue.  It has a cartoon car illustration.

this version existed in 1966.

Next there is a Sankyo Kogyo (unrelated to Sankyo the game maker) catalogue from what appears to be 1968 that has this version with the circles on the cabinet and the more dynamic backglass.

You can spot this model in this tiny photograph, just before the pachinko.

from a hotel flyer

flyer shared by area51_zek

 

 

The version that is in the 1969 and 1972 machine directories has the man holding a sign pole. The cabinet design is exactly like the model in the 1966 catalogue.

is this the "New Sugoroku" machine?

You can see this machine, though mostly blocked by the man in the forefront, in this photograph 

via yomogi2017

~1967 サッカー8 (エイト) (Soccer 8) by カトウ (Kato)

 

Name: サッカー8 (エイト) (Soccer 8)
Year: ~1967
Company: カトウ (Kato)

A yokomono (horizontal) game in a pinball chasis, but this is not flipper pinball nor smart ball.

How To Play, from the flyer:

盤面中央より、はじき出される玉をゴールに入れますが、ゴール前のところに色々な障害があり、キーパー2人、それにバンパーを利用して8点以上得点をとればリプレー(再ゲーム)できます。ゲームは1分間です。

Machine translation:

How to play: A ball that is thrown out from the center of the board is sent into the goal, but there are various obstacles in front of the goal, and if you use two keepers and bumpers to score 8 or more points, you can replay the game. The game lasts 1 minute.

The more cartoony version of this game appears in the 1969 machine directory.

1969 machine directory

1972 machine directory

In the back of both 1969 and 1972 directories, Soccer 8 is listed under Kato.

1972 machine directory: Kato company info lists Soccer 8

Here is a flyer from カトウ (Kato) showing the alternate backglass version:

サッカー8 [エイト] (Soccer 8) by カトウ (Kato)

Other than the backglass, this version of the game appears to be identical.  I have no year indications for this second backglass, and can't say which comes first though given the lack of appearances of this one, my instinct is to think it was the first version.

Video of gameplay starts at 1:46 in this video:

In an interview in Amusement Journal, Soccer 8 is listed as a machine by Kato.

Amusement Journal 2015-11

Soccer 8 also appears on a flyer with Basket Game, which I think is also a Kato machine but has an odd assortment of companies that are also associated.

Given the early nature of Basket Game, and how Soccer 8 was mentioned in the 2015 interview amongst the listing of Kato games that were produced next, I think Soccer 8 came out around 1967. 

1970 Clay Gun - クレーガン by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate) & カトウ (Kato)

    

Name: Clay Gun - クレーガン
Year: 1970
Company: 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki) & カトウ (Kato)

Clay Gun is an electromechanical gun game that was seemingly released by both Kato and Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki.  There are two designs.  The original had the words CLAY GUN near the top of the marquee, then 4 months later a version was released with the text at the lower portion of the marquee.

In an interview in Amusement Journal, 加藤イサム (Isamu Kato) lists Clay Gun amongst the machines he made after leaving 日本遊園設備 (Japan amusement park equipment).

Amusement Journal 2015-11

Clay Gun was announced in a July 1970 magazine as being by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki), and also appears in advertisement in that same issue.

All Japan Amusement Park 1970-07

All Japan Amusement Park 1970-07

Then in November, there is an advertisement for the new design.  This instead of scoring with a sequence of lights, it now has dual score reels, and the 

All Japan Amusement Park 1970-11

In the 1972 Machine Directory, Clay Gun is listed as by Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki

1972 machine directory

Clay Gun is in the 1973 machine directory, but only listed under Kato's corporate info and not Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki's.

1973 machine directory: Kato lists Clay Gun

1973 machine directory: Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki does not list Clay Gun

And in the index it lists Kato for Clay Gun.  This is a very poor scan, apologies.

1972 machine directory lists Clay Gun as by Kato.

The colour flyer was shared by @area51_zek:

via accs2014

~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)

Name: King Ball - キングボール
Year: ~1969 
Company: 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki — Game Mate) & カトウ (Kato)

According to the description, it is a 5 ball smartball-style game where you are trying to get 4 card suits in a row.  It has a payout slot at the bottom, but I do not know if it pays out medals or a different type of prize.  The earliest mention I have found is in the 1969 machine directory, though I believe it might  have been 1968.

1969 machine directory

In the company info of the 1969 directory, the game is in the list of items manufactured by カトウ (Kato):

But it also has King Ball listed under Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki.

King Ball also appears in the 1972 machine directory, and it is listed as from 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki)

1972 machine directory

1969 machine directory advertisement by 日本自動販売機 (Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki) for King Ball

This Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki advertisement lists King Ball in their product list:

All Japan Amusement Park 1970-05

So perhaps Kato was the original manufacturer and Nihon Jidô Hanbaiki sold it.

This flyer was shared by @area51_zek:

Let's look at the cigarettes:

Luckily for us, we already compiled information on cigarette packs on our Research Notes page!  We can learn about them via Muuseo (archive), and I will repost the two key images here:

from 1961-04-01

from 1968-05-01 until mid-1972

The cigarette packaging on the flyer has the purple seal, meaning the photo for the flyer was taken in 1968 or later.

You can see the front corner of King Ball in this photograph:

King Ball is the first machine, bottom left corner.

And in this new photograph posted by accs2014 we can see King Ball being played:

posted by accs2014