Gaming Ads: Namco

In 1955 Nakamura Manufacturing was founded by Masaya Nakamura and based in Tokyo. What seems to be a rather common theme among video game companies that were founded before the '70s, Nakamura began as a maker of amusement machines, specializing in wooden horse rides. The corporate website indicates the company changed its name to Namco in the '70s and entered the video game business with the release of Galaxian (1979) but that was its third game after Bee Gee and Bomb Bee. Galaxian is certainly well known but it was in 1980 that Namco became a household name with the release of Pac-Man, arguably the most recognizable video game character in the history of gaming.

Namco also released many Pac-Man spin-offs and other well known arcade games in the '80s, such as Galaga, Pole Position, Dig Dug, and Mappy. Some of its most recognizable game series that began in the '90s include Splatterhouse, Tekken, Ridge Racer, Ace Combat, Time Crisis, Tales, and Soul Calibur. While publishing home versions of its games for computers and consoles in Japan it used the brand name Namcot during the '80s and early '90s. It was in 1990 that Namco America opened which was an arcade sales division and Namco Hometek might also have been established that same year. Namco Hometek is responsible for the publishing of console video games in the North American market.

As I mentioned some time ago in the Bandai America ads post, Namco merged with Bandai in 2005. The company names from that merger have changed a few times and depending on the region each branch was based could be referred to as Bandai Namco Games or Namco Bandai Games before switching to Bandai Namco Entertainment on April 1, 2015. Normally I use the U.S. branch as the title for the ads post but these are close to evenly split between Namco and Namco Hometek, and Namco America appears as well so I'm just going to stick with Namco for this one.

Flickr album: Namco

The Tokyo Toy Show 1990 (Electronic Gaming Monthly #14)

The 2018 Tokyo Game Show is happening right now but 28 years ago it didn't exist as the first one was held in 1996. Instead, video games appeared at the Tokyo Toy Show, much like how in the U.S. games were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show before E3 kicked off in 1995. Below are 10 pages scanned from Electronic Gaming Monthly's coverage of the 1990 Tokyo Toy Show that appears in issue #14. They did squeeze in a few tiny photos from Japan but not much is said or shown of the show floor. Also, Nintendo skipped the show so Sega and NEC are the highlight, though there are some third-party games for Nintendo platforms.

Batman: Return of the Joker Reviews

DC has declared that today is Batman Day so I've scanned a few reviews for Batman: Return of the Joker. Although I've played quite a few Batman games, I've never played this one which was well reviewed. Sunsoft released Batman: Return of the Joker in 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and in 1992 for the Game Boy. A 16-bit update titled Batman: Revenge of the Joker also released in 1992 for the Genesis but the Super NES version was canceled..

If you're interested in Batman I had a few posts about the Caped Crusader last year during a week of DC. There is one with random Batman stuff and another about the Joker Cycle toy from Kenner.

Gaming Ads: Motown Games, Multitude, and Naki

Motown Games was a video game publishing label of the Motown record company. Some sources refer to it as Motown Software though both of my ads say Motown Games. It only released two games, both for the Super NES: a basketball game starring rappers called RapJam: Volume One and a side-scrolling combat game based on the animated film Bebe's Kids.

Multitude was founded in April 1996 by Ned Lerner and Art Min. FireTeam released in December 1998 and is the company's only game, though it is an interesting one as it's an early online only competitive game. The game is a third-person shooter for two teams of four with a strong focus on teamwork and community. With built-in voice chat players were encouraged to communicate with their teammates during matches and could chat in-between matches as well. Inside the game's community section players could find statistics, post on bulletin boards, and manage their teams. Although the game play is different, the ideas Multitude implemented sound quite similar what Dynamix did with Tribes, especially the second Tribes game (the first Tribes game actually released in the same month and year as FireTeam). FireTeam was well received but Multitude opted to concentrate on developing its voice technology rather than create another game.

California-based Naki was founded in 1989 as Naki Industries and was later renamed to Naki International, though I'm just going to refer to the company as Naki. It was a maker of video game accessories, such as controllers, cleaning kits, and battery packs. Website Sega Retro believes Naki went out of business around 2004 which would be just before the Xbox 360 kicked off a new console generation. The lastest press release I could find is from 2002 so 2004 makes sense.

Flickr album: Motown Games
Flickr album: Multitude
Flickr album: Naki

Gaming Ads: Mindscape

Founded in 1983 by Roger Buoy and originally based in Northbrook, Illinois, Mindscape was a major computer software publisher throughout the '80s. Some of its earliest games include Déjà Vu: A Nightmare Comes True!!, The Haley Project: A Mission in Our Solar System, Infiltrator, and titles based on James Bond, Indiana Jones, and Rambo movies. In 1988 Mindscape became a Nintendo licensee allowing it to publish games on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. Two years later the company was purchased by The Software Toolworks and moved to California. Over the next 10 years Mindscape would change hands many times as it was owned by Pearson, The Learning Company, Mattel, and Gore Technology Group. 

Throughout the '90s a number of international branches were also opened before Mindscape was acquired by Jean-Pierre Nordman in 2001. Mindscape's headquarters were moved to France and it actually began purchasing other companies, such as Montparnasse Multimedia and Coktel Vision. In 2011 the company closed but I'm not entirely certain for what reason, most likely financial difficulties as that is often the case. There is currently a Mindscape BV and its website says it has been a publisher since 1991 though it must just be the latest owners of the Mindscape name. The "About Us" page doesn't say a whole lot but it does take credit for classic Broderbund and Learning Company titles that were associated with Mindscape at one time. 

In the ads album you will see a few related to Sega as Mindscape distributed home computer ports of popular Sega arcade games. They appear here since Mindscape is responsible for the ads.

Flickr album: Mindscape

[YouTube] Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future

https://youtu.be/4liCMVq50UU

Released in 1987, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future was a television show from Landmark Entertainment and a toyline from Mattel that could interact with the show for about 3-5 minutes per episode. The television show was not a cartoon and although it was meant for kids, themes of the show were sometimes adult in nature as the setting was that of a post-nuclear future, characters had romances, and there was plenty of violence. Although the setting is post-apocalyptic, it is a distant future with advanced weapons and the toys feature technology that resembles that of a video game light gun. Captain Power VHS tapes were also sold so that kids could play when the show was not currently airing. The tapes are not episodes but training games and they do feature animation rather than live action for most of the video. A player's actions cannot actually impact the show, they simply shoot at marked targets to earn points and the show could shoot back.

https://youtu.be/vFihJ-ThCnI

Each light gun toy could also be used to target another toy, and when one of the ships is hit enough times to deplete all of the PowerPoints the pilot will be ejected. The star of the show is, of course, Captain Power who pilots the PowerJet XT-7 while his nemesis Lord Dread flies the Phantom Striker. There are also action figures for the supporting characters, a Power Base playset (interacts with show), and a variety of accessories and a toy gun that can interact with the show as well. A Captain Power comic book and computer game were released too, and in 2011 all 22 episodes were made available in a DVD set. To actually use the toys with the TV show today you'd need an older cathode ray tube (CRT) television since modern TVs cannot be used with light gun toys or video games.

https://youtu.be/g3cxG1fqJzk

I only own the XT-7, action figures of the two main characters, and a VHS tape which is rather brief at just over 15 minutes in length. The PowerJet is powered by one 9-volt and two AA batteries, and despite my leaving the AA batteries in it for 30 years it actually still works. Price tags are on the packaging for the action figures indicating that they cost $4.37 each at Kmart.

https://youtu.be/-R_aExKVUJg

PowerJet XT-7 Fighter

Captain Power & Lord Dread

Battle Guide Rules Booklet

Bio Dread Strike Mission VHS Tape & Interactive Videotape Rules Booklet