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Post by ash888 on Jun 19, 2016 20:40:45 GMT 2
I created this thread to post evidence showing where the ideas for Game & Watch games may have come from.
Through the years I've found some striking similarities to Game & Watch games in old board games, etc. which must have been the "inspiration" for them. I've noticed this generally occurs in all types of Japanese entertainment, including manga, anime, video games, etc. All creators are inspired by something, but if one goes too far, it moves from "inspiration" to "theft."
In the coming days, I will be listing photo evidence for which I think Nintendo creators stole (or borrowed?) ideas from. By all means, I want all of you to do the same in this thread if you find anything, and we can discuss it.
Ash
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Post by ash888 on Jun 20, 2016 23:19:27 GMT 2
EXHIBIT 1: OCTOPUS (1981) Possible predecessor = OCTOPUS 1954 board game by Norton Games, Inc. One of the most well-known of the Wide Screen series, Octopus was released by Nintendo as the 10th game in the G&W collection in July 1981. It's known for its simple, yet addictive game play, and giant octopus with its flailing tentacles that try to squeeze the life out of your men as they venture to the bottom of the sea in search of shimmering treasure. Nintendo's Octopus, released in 1981: Norton Games, Inc. Octopus, released in 1954: Similarities I noticed right away: * The title "Octopus" is used for both games. * The shape of the diver's helmet is nearly identical. * A giant Octopus guards shimmering treasure from divers descending from a boat. A forum member with connections to Nintendo contacted a member of the old development team to ask about this, and he claimed he's never seen the board game before. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Do you think the old board game was used as inspiration?
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Post by ash888 on Jun 22, 2016 4:04:58 GMT 2
EXHIBIT 2: BALL & MARIO THE JUGGLER (1980 & 1991) Possible predecessor = POPEYE THE JUGGLER (1929) I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Please discuss.
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Post by ash888 on Jun 24, 2016 20:48:32 GMT 2
EXHIBIT 3: PARACHUTE (1981) Possible predecessors = PARACHUTE JUMP GAME (1936), CHUTES AWAY!!! (1977) Nintendo's Parachute: PARACHUTE JUMP GAME (1936): CHUTES AWAY!!! (1977): These ones aren't as glaringly obvious as the others, but there may have been some inspiration. Tell me what you think!
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Post by andycole on Jul 15, 2016 17:08:14 GMT 2
Octopus, I would say, is a definite YES. They surely stole that game! The other 2, no. Juggling goes back thousands of years, so the games are based on the act of juggling, no game in particular. We'd have to see more of the parachute jump game to tell. Do we know who made the parachute and Octopus board games? Maybe Nintendo did? They made cards and games long before they made electronics. Great finds, though! p.s. I used to have chutes away! Great game! It's very simple and a game can be over in a few seconds but when you're a small kid, a periscope on a toy is amazing, and me and a friend used to go out and 'act out' the rescues after each game....kept us entertained for hours Andy
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Post by ash888 on Jul 16, 2016 4:09:40 GMT 2
Octopus, I would say, is a definite YES. They surely stole that game! The other 2, no. Juggling goes back thousands of years, so the games are based on the act of juggling, no game in particular. We'd have to see more of the parachute jump game to tell. Do we know who made the parachute and Octopus board games? Maybe Nintendo did? They made cards and games long before they made electronics. Great finds, though! p.s. I used to have chutes away! Great game! It's very simple and a game can be over in a few seconds but when you're a small kid, a periscope on a toy is amazing, and me and a friend used to go out and 'act out' the rescues after each game....kept us entertained for hours Andy Thanks for commenting, Andy. I'd say Octopus and Popeye the Juggler almost definitely inspired the Nintendo games. Nintendo has always had an obsession with Popeye. Miyamoto's Donkey Kong even started out as a Popeye game, with Bluto as Donkey Kong and Olive Oyl as the captured girlfriend, and Mario was actually supposed to be Popeye. Since they couldn't get the rights for that, he used the DK ape and Mario instead (who was simply known as "Jumpman the Carpenter" at that point). Look at the similarities: "Mario the Juggler" vs. "Popeye the Juggler," both in the same position with colorful items above them, both surrounded by supporting characters. It's just too similar to discount. Parachute on the other hand is much less obvious IMO, and probably wasn't used. I don't know anything about the board games. Is Chutes Away anything like Nintendo's Parachute? By the way, the Parachute Jump and Octopus board games were made by two obscure companies in the 1930s and 1950s.
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Post by andycole on Jul 22, 2016 12:34:58 GMT 2
I didn't know that about Nintendo and Popeye. Maybe there's some truth to that theory then. I'd really like to get a hold of the octopus board game, because that seems the one most similar to the G&W. Chutes away is really nothing like parachute. I'll describe the game: To play, you wind up the clockwork mechanism which turns a round landscape on a disc with pictures of 'people who need rescuing'. Next to each of those people is a hole where you are supposed to drop your parachute. You have a rescue plane at the top of the game which has 10 parachutes in it. You control the position of the plane left and right by a lever. You look through an eyepiece which uses a mirror to show you the plane's eye view of the rotating landscape below. When you see a parachute target, you press a button to drop the parachute. Obviously the idea is to try to get all 10 parachutes in the holes. There's good photos and a write-up here: Chutes Away,Andy
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Post by ash888 on Jul 22, 2016 18:21:50 GMT 2
The Octopus board game is the only one I actually own. The others I just found pics of. So yeah, Chutes Away sounds nothing like Parachute. I'll take a look at the write-up.
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Post by sAner on Nov 25, 2016 14:00:24 GMT 2
I only found this thread today but I find it highly interesting! Like Andy I never knew that story about Donkey Kong and Popeye, ash! Really good to know! Where did you read/hear about that? Am an avid DK collector so I am interested in anything about Donkey Kong (anyone want to sell me an Argentinian Donkey Kong? ). Did you find more examples, ash? The Octopus board game is a great find! Regards, Pieter
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Post by ash888 on Nov 26, 2016 4:08:09 GMT 2
I only found this thread today but I find it highly interesting! Like Andy I never knew that story about Donkey Kong and Popeye, ash! Really good to know! Where did you read/hear about that? Am an avid DK collector so I am interested in anything about Donkey Kong (anyone want to sell me an Argentinian Donkey Kong? ). Did you find more examples, ash? The Octopus board game is a great find! Regards, Pieter Hi Pieter, Thanks for the feedback. I haven't found any more examples. I didn't really look since this thread didn't generate as much interest as I hoped. The DK-Popeye connection can be found here. web.archive.org/web/20141110045437/http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/13484/donkey-kong-was-originally-a-popeye-game/
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Post by herveroller on Nov 28, 2016 10:24:18 GMT 2
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Post by sAner on Nov 28, 2016 14:54:06 GMT 2
Thanks for the info, ash! What a lucky coincidence. What would the world be without Donkey Kong and Mario! I would be really interested in a new evidence you can find about other games! Really interesting. Thanks for the link! I deleted your first two identical posts where you forgot the link. You can easily 'edit' your post by clicking the 'edit' button.
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