It appeared in the 1969 machine directory, but could be from an earlier year. I wish I had more information about Sankyo's early years. They released many wonderful machines in the 1960s, but there are very few references as to when they were made, or even the order in which the machines were released.
gameplay starts at 3:11 in this video:
This game can be spotted in the 5th Truck Guys movie... 度胸一番星
Name: Underground - アングラ Year: 1969 or earlier Company: 日本展望娯楽社 (Nihon Tenbo Entertainment Company — Nitten)
Thank you to @area51_zek for sharing this wonderful rare flyer! (archive)
This game operates on a timer and if you can score 80 points you win a free game. There are 5 slots along the bottom for a ball to settle in to. Each of the 5 buttons fires the kicker at the targets. I am unsure if there is any timing strategy, or if the goal would be to fire the ball immediately each time.
The ad copy says you insert 10 yen, but the game has a 20 yen slot in the photograph.
This game appears in the 1969 machine directory, though I do not know if it came out that year or earlier.
This type of smart ball is generally seen in the 1950s, which is why I have designated this machine as being from that decade. I am unsure when exactly this style of smartball machine went out of fashion.
The profile view shows us an area at the top for the player to place balls more near the shooter lane, but also a tray at the bottom for the balls to pay out from. This problem would later be solved by Mitsuba, releasing balls from a backbox that could then rest where the player places them into the shooter lane.
スマートボール (smart ball) 優勝 (victory) ヒット (hit)
三葉工業 (Mitsuba Kogyo)
I was compelled to write about this model because the images include photographs of these levers at the back:
外 (outside) 內 (inside) 優勝 (victory) ヒット (hit)
I believe the wires on the left are for a red operator light on the upper-right of the playfield.
I think the Victory and Hit levers allow the operator to give a player those specific rewards, as though they had hit the Victory or Hit holes on the playfield.
I do not know what 外 (outside) and 內 (inside) levers might refer to. Do you have any idea? Please leave me a message! Perhaps they turn on the red light (outside) and center playfield light (inside)?
Electro Derby is an electromechanical horse-racing game that utilizes Rotamint-style spinning discs to advance the horses. It can be played by 2 people simultaneously, and the winner of the race receives their coin back. If played by only one player, the side not used is controlled by the machine. You still get your coin back if you win.
This is not a true medal game, because there is no way to make any money. It is an amusement game with a coin-back option, a feature you would find in games from around 1900. You are only ever playing to potentially win back your coin.
This game appears in the 1976 machine directory.
entry from 1976 Machine Directory
Previously, I had thought this game might be from 1975 since in an article on Kansai Seiki, this flyer was listed as Showa 50 (1975).
from Amusement 2018-08
But in documentation found in an exported copy of Electro Derby (thank you Dan Fontes for all of the photos and documentation,) we can see an operator note from July 1974, so definitely 1974 or earlier.
Arcade helicopter games really took off in the 1960s, but are traced back to the 1940s.. Let's take a look at the helicopter games that immediately preceded Sega's Helicopter.
Flying Games
Before the helicopter games, there were a few games that involved rotating an aircraft around a fixed point. The player would have to fly high and fast enough, and then bring in their plane for landings on desirable spots.
1941 Air Defense by C. R. Kirk & Co & International Mutoscope - via KLOV also on pinrepair
The story of helicopter games begins in Canada, where Peter Jacobs of Jaycopters Ltd begins work turning military helicopter training simulators into a ride.
At The World's Fair there were miniature versions of the Jaycopter to play with. We can see them in this advertisement, and in this photograph, the model versions. They all appear larger than the regular coinop one we would see later, but they were coin operated and would set the template for all future helicopter games. If anyone has any photographs of the coin-operated Jaycopter games at the World's Fair, please get in touch!
FB Video on the Jaycopter from The Games Room Company. Jaycopter at pinrepair. All online sources say the normally produced Jaycopter is from 1968, though I can't find any primary sources for that. But the patent for the arcade machine design was filed in 1967, so the dates do line up.
The first official trade magazine mention of Amusement Engineering's Helicopter Trainer was in 1967. Note the last line of this snippet:
1966-09-03 Coin Box
The patent was filed in 1965, one year after the Jaycopter and the coinop Jaycopters appeared at the 1964 World's Fair. R.L. Brown is probably the same Lt. Col. Richard F. Brown that is referred to in a subsequent 1968-03-09 article. (see lower on this page)
The game seems to have arrived in production June 1967:
1967-06-10 Coin Box
1967-07-08 Coin Box "Yes, we have the sensational HELICOPTER TRAINER"
1967-11-25 Coin Box
Midway
In March 1968 Midway had arranged distribution of Amusement Engineer's Helicopter Trainer
1968-03 VT Music and Games
1968-03-09 Coin Box
And by June of 1968, Midway's Helicopter Trainer was advertised, with "a number of improvements".
1968-06-08 Billboard
Sega's Helicopter
Only months after the Midway deal was announced, Sega began advertising their Helicopter in English papers in July 1968.
1968-07 VT Music and Games
And in the July 7th 1969 Cash Box, we find 2 similarly iconic advertisements, from Sega and Midway
1968-07-07 Cash Box
1968-07-07 Cash Box
1968-07-27 Billboard
Williams + Midway
An entry in this style of game would come from Williams just a few months after Sega, with Space Pilot.
1968-11-23 Billboard 1968 Space Pilot by Williams
Early 1969, Midway announced their own entry (Helicopter Trainer was licensed by them) into the helicopter field, with Whirly Bird.
1969-01-11 Coin Box
1969 Whirly Bird by Midway
Many other variant models would be released in through the 1970s.
Art Point's Explorer games
In Japan, Art Point made 2 similar Helicopter-style games. I do not know when they came out, but both existed in 1969: Space Exploration and Antarctica Explorer.
The landing pads in the Sega game are similar to the ones used in the Explorer games by Art Point.
Explorer (Space Exploration) - エクスプローラー宇宙探検 by アートポイント社 (Art Point) detail
1968 Helicopter - ヘリコプター by セガ (Sega) detail
These games also have a central mountain structure for the helicopter mechanism. I suspect they were made using Sega' Helicopter as a template, but that is just speculation.
