1933 Grip Test - 握力計 (grip force meter) [import, 1927] by Jentzsch & Meerz [presumed]

Name: Grip Test - 握力計 (grip force meter)

Year: imported 1933, originally 1927

Company: Jentzsch & Meerz [presumed]

The above photo shows the Grip Test as it appears in the ~1937 日本娯楽商報 catalogue.

~1937 日本娯楽商報 catalogue entry

Transcription:

錢入口へ一錢入れて片手でハンドルを力一バイ握るさ共力量を正面のゲージに現はし同時に五色の豆電球がつきます
附屬鐵鑄物臺御入用なれば別に贰拾圓申受けます

Machine translation:

When you put a coin into the coin slot and squeeze the handle firmly with one hand, the amount of force you put in is displayed on the gauge in front of you, and at the same time a five-colored miniature light bulb lights up.
If you need the attached iron plate, we will accept a separate purchase order.

The first iteration of this design was 1904, with the Grip Test Lung Test by Caille in USA.

1904 Caille Grip Test Lung test

center dial says "GRIP TEST LUNG TEST"
1904 Caille Grip Test Lung test

Then there was a Grip Test released in 1910, as most lung machines were destroyed thanks to Tuberculosis.

1910 Grip Test by Caille

This machine is closer in design than what we see in the Japanese catalogue, but the coin slot plate at the top is still different.

Later Caille versions (I'm told) would have the circular panels on the left and the right, replacing those vertical rectangles.

There is one version that matches the Japanese catalogue precisely:

Globus grip tester Jentzsch & Meerz, 1927

What we see in the catalogue has all of the metal accents found in the German version above, except with the graphics used by Caille on the USA side.

Unless further examples come forward, I feel we have to assume this is the Jentzsch & Meerz version imported into Japan, with the English labels.

The only thing the Japanese model has that I have not seen on any other is a metal badge on the left:

 

This image was printed in 1933:

1933-03-22 アサヒグラフ「春のどか尖端ゲーム」
1933-03-22 Asahi Graph "Spring Peaceful Cutting-Edge Game"
via Nakaco (archive)

beside the arm wrestling machine we can see the side of a Grip Test machine, thus confirming it was in Japan as early as 1933.

 

~1969 Skee Ball - スキーボール by さとみ (Satomi)

Name: Skee Ball - スキーボール

Year: ~1969

Company: さとみ (Satomi)

Skee Ball appears in the 1969 machine directory.  We know Satomi began in 1965, and their first original game was Sonar Attack in 1968.  Skee Ball appears to be a copy of a Chicago Coin game, so this could have been released any year between 1965 and 1969.

1969 machine directory

flyer

 

 

While I do believe this game is built nearly entirely of imported parts, I am not marking this as an import. The stand and artwork are new.  The marquee follows the design of the original, but was entirely new.

Chicago Coin Midget Skee Ball was released in 1949.

This video shows off the 1949 Chicago Coin Midget Skee Ball, and shows some gameplay.  The Satomi machine would have the same gameplay, as it appears to be all of the same parts. 

The game Pitch Ball is the exact same as Skee Ball, but with a different backglass.  According to the Morphy's Auction Listing (archive,) this is from 1972.  I do not know where they got that date from, but it is the only date I have found so far.

I believe this machine was made for export, due to the 10 cent coin slot.  I guess that after Satomi began exporting their first machine, Sonar Attack, they revisited this machine to expand exports. Skee Ball would be a trademark in the USA, so the new name, Pitch Ball was used.

1972 Pitch Ball by さとみ (Satomi)

1972 Pitch Ball by さとみ (Satomi)

Note the Canada/USA style coinslot.  The wood playfield seems to be exact to Midget Skee Ball, reinforcing the idea that these are old stock parts.  The green backflash looks different in this version, but those would also be the parts most potentially vulnerable to weather and atmospheric conditions.

1977 Miracle Space - ミラクル・スペース by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

Name: Miracle Space - ミラクル・スペース
Year: 1977
Company: 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

Game Machine 1977-08-15

This game appears to be the same game as ビクトリー (victory) but with a nice art package.

1976 ビクトリー (victory) by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

A promotional letter from 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji) introducing Miracle Space.  This letter identifies 3 previous games: ホッケーパンダ (Hockey Panda), ビクトリー (victory), and ドラゴンキック (dragon kick).

1973 ホッケーパンダ (Hockey Panda) by 新精電機 (Shinsei Denki) & 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji) & 日昌企業 (Nissho Enterprise)

Name: ホッケーパンダ (Hockey Panda)
Year: 1973
Company: 新精電機 (Shinsei Denki) & 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji) & 日昌企業 (Nissho Enterprise)

This game was also sold without the custom stand, but there is no difference otherwise.

look at those cute pandas playing hockey! 

This game has 3 companies listed on its flyer:

新精電機 (Shinsei Denki) & 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji) & 日昌企業 (Nissho Enterprise)

The earliest I have seen this game is 1973.

Amusement Industry 1973-05

The game Miracle Space was released in 1977.  In a letter promoting Miracle Space, Hockey Panda is mentioned as a past game by Meiho Shoji.

promotional letter for 1977 Miracle Space

The game's layout was modified slightly for the game Victory.  I presume Victory came after Hockey Panda, as they introduced 7-segment score displays, and altered the ball path in a way that would be later replicated in Miracle Space.

1976 ビクトリー (victory) by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

1977 Miracle Space - ミラクル・スペース by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

1976 ビクトリー (victory) by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

Name: ビクトリー (victory)

Year: 1976 

Company: 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

When I first found photos of this machine, the files were labeled "victory", but I initially thought they might have just read "ビクトリー" off the center rocket graphic.  But now I do believe this machine is called ビクトリー (victory).

In promoting the game Miracle Space, Meiho Shoji sent this letter which identifies 3 of their prior games, one of which is ビクトリー (victory).  I have to assume that this is the machine referred to, for reasons that will become apparent once you compare it to Miracle Space.

ドラゴンキック (dragon kick) is mentioned, but I have currently never seen this game.

The Hockey Panda game is nearly the same as Victory, but the ball is shot vertically on the right like the European vertical machines.  On Victory, the ball is shot to the left and then up, which would be much more familiar to pachinko players.

ホッケーパンダ (Hockey Panda) by 新精電機 (Shinsei Denki) & 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji) & 日昌企業 (Nissho Enterprise)

I am basing the year of Victory on the markings on the ICs:

that chip was manufactured in the 32nd week of 1976.

inside the machine

How to play

machine on stand

The same layout and even the stars would be recycled for Miracle Space:

1977 Miracle Space - ミラクル・スペース by 名宝商事 (Meiho Shoji)

1979 Piccadilly Fever - ピカデリーフィーバー by レジャック (Leijac) & コナミ工 (Konami)

Name: Piccadilly Fever - ピカデリーフィーバー

Year: 1979

Company: レジャック (Leijac) & コナミ工 (Konami)

Piccadilly Fever is a cocktail table entry into the long-standing Piccadilly series.  Our database currently has 25 machines with Piccadilly in their title.

Starting at 3:12 in this video, you can see Piccadilly Fever in action:

In the video they show us the maker's plaque:

TAN # 91-11-11723

I find it interesting that the game is labelled as both by レジャック (Leijac) & コナミ工 (Konami) here, so I have included both companies in this entry.  I am unsure if Leijac is a brand for Konami, or still a separate legal entity.

Game Machine 1979-05-01

1992 Mind Control - マインドコントロール by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

Name: Mind Control - マインドコントロール

Year: 1992

Company: 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

This machine's mechanic has been used in two prior games, in the USA.  Machines like this use air pressure to raise or lower the floating ball, with the goal of keeping it in a guided precision range.

Game Machine 1992-04-01

Transcript:

占いの要素を加味したアーケードゲーム機「マインドコントロール」が、㈱関西精機製作所(本社京都、古川純一郎社長)から三月下旬発売となる。これはボックス内の下にある男の頭の中から上へ真っすぐに伸びた透明チューブがあり、チューブ内をボールが風圧により上下動する。プレイヤーはボールスイッチを回しチューブ外側のリングを、ボールに合わせて上下動させるというもの。
ゲームはタイマー制。終了後、ボールにピッタリとリングを合わせていた時間と予言(簡単な占い)が書かれたシートをブリントアウトする。OP価格六十六万円。

Machine translation:

``Mind Control,'' an arcade game machine with elements of fortune-telling, will be released in late March by Kansai Seiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Kyoto, president: Junichiro Furukawa). This is a transparent tube that extends straight upwards from inside the man's head at the bottom of the box, and the ball moves up and down inside the tube due to wind pressure. The player turns the ball switch to move the ring on the outside of the tube up and down in time with the ball.
The game is timer-based. After finishing, print out a sheet with the time when the ring was perfectly aligned with the ball and the prediction (simple fortune-telling) written on it. OP price: 660,000 yen.

 

from the Kasco ReCreation flyer

 

 

In 1986 Williams was working on a game called Direct Hit, which never left prototype.  They were developing their system 10 board, but no other game utilized it.  A friend of mine has restored one of the few that still exist:

1986 Direct Hit [prototype] by Williams

1986 Direct Hit [prototype] by Williams

1986 Direct Hit [prototype] by Williams

 

 (pic via pinrepair)

 

an extremely rare Williams System 10 board, posted to pinside

 

In 1987 this concept was resurrected by ICE for U 235 Meltdown, which apparently only had about 50 copies made.  There are rumours that the machine was pulled / did poorly because of the Chernobyl reactor meltdown that happened in 1986, but there is no actual evidence for this that I could find.

1987 U235 Meltdown - メルトダウン  [import] by ICE & 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

I have posted the full scan of the U235 Meltdown flyer over here.

This game appeared in Japan for the 1987 Amusement show, brought by 関西精機 (Kansai Seiki)

Game Machine 1987-11-01

It is interesting that Kansai Seiki utilized this device 5 years after they brought U 235 Meltdown to Japan.  If there are any publications or interviews that mention any of these machines, or what was occurring with Kansai Seiki and their development, I am very curious to learn more.

There are a few other games with the similar mechanic of "controlling the pressure in a tube",

1996 ピタトメス (Pitatomesu) by ヒューマン (Human)

2005 Capsule Craze by Bob's Space Racers

2006 Bubble Up by Bob's Space Racers