1977 Super-Scope [Oriental Super-Scope] - スーパースコープ by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Name: Super-Scope [Oriental Super-Scope] - スーパースコープ
Year: 1977
Company: オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Super-Scope is a classic rotary merchandiser game, where you press a button to time a pusher arm to see if you can knock prizes off.  

Super-Scope is a game with a messy history.  As with most Oriental Kogyo machines, this is a modified design of a foreign machine. But not quite, as their version comes after the Bonanza. There is also a variant called Jungle Treasure!  This article covers all of them.

The original Super Scope was imported by リバーストン (Riverstone) in 1974.  (see Game Machine article further below)

Super Scope - スーパースコープ [import, 1974] by Nuversions & リバーストン (Riverstone)

From an old home video of a UK arcade, we have the original Super-Scope:

We see this version in Japan in 1974 when リバーストン (Riverstone) held an exhibition to showcase arcade machine.  The easiest 2 differences are the marquee shape, and the lack of front arm rest.

Game Machine 1974-09-30

The full article:

Game Machine 1974-09-30

Bonanza produced their version:

1975 Super-Scope - スーパースコープ by ボナンザ (Bonanza)

This one seems to be identifiable by the two front coin slots / coin returns.  These do not exist on the later model we see being sold in the 1977 Sega catalogue.

 

In 1975 Riverstone is advertising the new Bonanza version of Super-Scope.

Game Machine 1975-06-01
ad by リバーストン (Riverstone)

This next articles mention that in 1975 ボナンザ (Bonanza) sued オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo).  In March 1975, Bonanza hired Oriental Kogyo to make Super-Scope.  If Oriental wanted to sell them they would have to pay a 50k yen licensing fee.  Oriental sold many copies without paying the fee to Bonanza.

Game Machine 1980-04-15

The payment was reduced to $8 million yen.

Game Machine 1980-11-15

The Oriental Super-Scope, as indicated by the sticker on the right near the front,  was made by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo).  It does not have coin slots on the front facing outward.

The earliest date we see so far is 1977, appearing in a Sega price list.

Sega price list from 1977

 

 

"Oriental Super-Scope" sticker visible

A different version of this machine briefly appeared on YJA:

 

Jaguar Treasure by ボナンザ (Bonanza) [presumed]

I wish there were additional photos, but this is all that was shared.  The marquee is different, but remember the "Oriental Super Scope" plaque near the front right?  That appears modified on this machine as well.

 

detail of Jaguar Treasure by ボナンザ (Bonanza) [presumed] 

 

 

detail from Super-Scope [Oriental Super-Scope] - スーパースコープ by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

If it was the "Oriental Super-Scope" plaque we would be able to see it in our single Jaguar Treasure photograph.

 

I believe that this is another Bonanza version because of the design of the marquee.

here are 2 large cats on either side of a diamond on the Clean Sweep marquee:

1976 Clean Sweep - クリーンスウィープ by ボナンザ (Bonanza) & ツムラ (Tumura)

I think Tumura might have just been distributing Bonanza machines, BUT Tumura did have a strong tiger theme in their branding and I wonder if the large cats reflect their influence in any way?

for example, we have the Tumura tiger surrounded by 2 jaguars. 

1975 Little Harness Derby Jaguar X-V - リトル ハーネスダービージャガーX・V by ツムラ (Tumura)

the dual jaguars are instantly comparable to Jaguar Treasure

Bonanza and Tumura both liked to use large swooping text effects like this.  Not the easiest trick in the mid 1970s!

Note that these 3 companies were not known for devising original machines.  Little Harness Derby Jaguar X-V seems to be based off the design of Exciting Race, release a year earlier:

1974 Exciting Race - エキサイティング・レース by アムコ (Amco) & ダックス (Ducks)

 

~1971 Sky Fighter by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Name: Sky Fighter
Year: ~1971 [assumed]
Company: オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

I do not have any date reference for Sky Fighter, but it appears on this flyer that nazox20126 posted.

via nazox2016

We know that Wild Cycle, Super Match, Invasion, and Monte Carlo were all at the 1970 amusement industry show.

We know that Oriental Crane was around in 1969, if not earlier.  

Given those dates, I'd wager that Sky Fighter was from 1970 or 1969, but no later than 1971.  For the time being, I am assigning the year ~1971, and I hope to find further evidence that would help us confirm the year.

While not an exact copy in any of the specifics, Sky Fighter seems like it was copied off of the late 1960s game Battle King - バトルキング by 児童遊園設備 (Children's Amusement Park Facilities)

Battle King - バトルキング by 児童遊園設備 (Children's Amusement Park Facilities)
1969 or earlier

Both have a very similar, though not identical, gun with dual white handles.  Sky Fighter has 2 dials on the front, Battle King 3.  Their cabinets have a nearly identical design style in regards to how the front protrusion is designed.   Battle King has 13 circles for score, going from 10 to 130.  Sky Fighter has 11.  Battle King appears to have pinball-style score reels, and Sky Fighter has 3 circles that makes me thing it has nixie tubes for scoring.

The Battle King cabinet flares forward in the marquee area, while Sky Fighter's cabinet rises straight up from the gun mount area.

It seems obvious that Oriental Kogyo copied the Battle King design, but in this example they seemingly reworked everything slightly.

1970 Monte Carlo - モンテ カルロラリー (Monte Carlo Rally) by オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Name: Monte Carlo - モンテ カルロラリー (Monte Carlo Rally)

Year: 1970 

Company: オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Monte Carlo was seen at the 1970 amusement show:

AJAP 1970-11

Monte Carlo appears to be a near exact copy of  a version of Indy 500 by Kansai Seiki.

Indy 500 [W-type] - インディ500 [W型] by 関西精機製作所 (Kansai Seiki Seisakusho)

While Indy 500 was first released in 1968, 1969 is the earliest appearance of this style of cabinet, called W-type.  This was the export model.  Did Oriental Kogyo purchase a bunch and then redo the marquee and some of the cabinet details?

The vertical lines are missing on the Oriental Kogyo version, but the foot pedal area seems almost exactly the same.

The side art checkered flag decal was replaced with a similar one saying Monte Carlo, but the car decal is gone.

The marquee looks somewhat similar, and all of the displays and location seem to line up. 

There is a sticker on the Oriental Kogyo cabinet, maybe that's a track map?  But it does not appear on the Kansai Seiki original.  It says "Monte Carlo Grand Prix" at the top and has a map of the course which I think it is safe to assume does not represent the gameplay.

same map shape

1970 Wild Cycle - ワイルドサイ クル [import, 1970] by Allied Leisure & オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Name: Wild Cycle - ワイルドサイ クル
Year: 1970, imported [?] 1970
Company: Allied Leisure & オリエンタル興業 (Oriental Kogyo)

Wild Cycle was released by Allied Leisure (USA) in 1970.  By the end of the year, it appeared in Japan as a machine being sold by Oriental Kogyo

AJAP 1970-11

Oriental Kogyo flyer shared by nazox2016

Luckily for us, pindude152 purchased a NIB Wild Cycle by Allied Leisure and we can see it first coming out of the box.  The whole series of posts, or go to the first unboxing post.

image from pindude152

Notice anything different?  Well yes, a whole lot is different here, actually!  The Japanese version is VERY different, almost to the point where I suspect whether the Oriental Kogyo machine was simply INSPIRED by the Allied Leisure machine.

But note: this Japanese version came out the SAME YEAR of the Allied Leisure one.  That's a pretty fast turnaround time to steal an idea or even import and modify a machine.

From the pinrepair page (archive) on Wild Cycle, the side of the cab is blue, and an entirely different shape

The handle bars are entirely different.

The Japanese one also has those odd white squares at the bottom of the window?

The Allied Leisure one (top) cabinet art, and then the Japanese one is an obviously repainted copy.

And then the marquee art?  On the Allied Leisure copy we have motorcycles that look like they are accelerating off a jump, but the Oriental Kogyo one looks like it's a parade of bikers all "popping a wheelie" simultaneously.

The Allied Leisure version also has that window in the upper right.

Can we safely assume that the Oriental Kogyo one is based on the Allied Leisure one, but not an import?  It is hard to say without further information.  I am going to leave this listed as an "import" for the time being.