Old School (Pre-Famicom) Nintendo Stuff: Help Needed!

[senseiman]

I have something that I am considering purchasing and wanted a bit of feedback from you all.

I saw something at my local shop that really intrigued me, but I can't find any information about it anywhere.  I'm hoping someone here can help.

Basically it is an old light-gun game made by Nintendo.  It definitely pre-dates the Famicom, looks like it is from the early-mid 70s.  It is called "Electro Safari" (in katakana).  Basically it is a framed picture with a safari scene in it.  There is a Tiger in the scene with a light receptor (?) of some sort.  The front of the box has a painting of a kid aiming a light gun at the tiger and a "light beam" going from the gun to the Tiger.

The thing is pretty big (about the size of a 20 inch TV screen) and the box is in really nice condition (also comes with the manual, etc).  It is 2000 yen (about 20 bucks US).

Anybody know any info on this?  I've done google searches in English and Japanese but can't find anything about it.  Think its a good deal?  Should I buy it?  Argh, I'm so confused.  If it was smaller I would just get it, but if it turns out to be junk then it is going to take up a lot of shelf space. 

[nintendodork]

Is it something like this?



or something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaUmcG3iors (but obviously not the same "scene")

Either way, I know both of those things are really sought after (and rare) outside of Japan.  I have no idea how common they are or how much they're worth in Japan though.

Edit* Didn't see the part of your post that said how big it was the first time. I would assume it's like the second thing I posted.  If it works, then yes, it's definitely a rare collector's item, or will also fetch a nice sum of money if you decide to sell it on eBay or something.  It's worth much more than $20.

[senseiman]

Thanks, yes, like that!  Except its a picture instead of a statue.  Definitely from the same era though as the writing on the box is the same font, etc.

I found one in this video from the Nintendo Museum.  Go to 5:02 and you'll see what I am talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ4gjxgg5M8&feature=related

[nintendodork]

Ah! Very cool! I never knew they existed in picture form. I've also never seen one of those on eBay, so I'd definitely snag that while you've got the chance.  If you ever do happen to come across one of the statue ones and want to flip it for some cash, I've been looking for one for a long time.  Feel free to shoot over a PM.

[senseiman]

LOL, you talked me into it!

BEHOLD!  The wonder that is KousenjuuSP Electro Safari:

http://famicomblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/mega-insane-bargain-of-day-kousenjuusp.html

[jpx72]

Oh MAN! That's the craziest Nintendo thing I've ever seen (and yes, I saw the nintendo vacuum cleaner)!
It's awesome!!! If I were you, I'll let it hang in my living room under some extra lights pointed at it!
Don't worry about the missing gun, I think it would be much easier to track down than the actual painting/shooting picture/whatever that thing is!

[senseiman]

Oh MAN! That's the craziest Nintendo thing I've ever seen (and yes, I saw the nintendo vacuum cleaner)!
It's awesome!!! If I were you, I'll let it hang in my living room under some extra lights pointed at it!
Don't worry about the missing gun, I think it would be much easier to track down than the actual painting/shooting picture/whatever that thing is!

Yeah, its pretty cool, isn't it?  I'm so in love with it....la dee da dee da!   

I might just put it in the living room.  If I'm feeling cheeky.  The missus might not like it too much:) 

I'm going to try tracking down a light gun for it.  According to the inserts it came with it will work with either a "SP rifle" or "Gun" (which refers to a handgun-type thing). 

Fun fun fun!

[nintendodork]

LOL, you talked me into it!

Didn't take much convincing.   Glad you got it though!  A Google search shows what the standalone light guns looked like when they were in their box:

[UglyJoe]

Have you tried holding a flashlight up to the sensor?  Maybe that would trigger it?

[senseiman]

Didn't take much convincing.  

Yeah, you didn't have to twist my arm too hard!    A little push was all I needed.

Thanks for the pic of the light gun, that will be my next "holy grail" of retro game treasure hunting.  I suspect I'll probably have to shell out much more than 2000 yen for one if I ever find one!

Ugly Joe - good suggestion.  According to the Japanese Wikipedia entry games in this series did actually involve the gun shooting light at the target (unlike the Famicom zapper which works the other way around).

Once I get some batteries for it, I'll give it the flashlight treatment!

[UglyJoe]

Just looked it up in Pix'n Love's The History of Nintendo.  They say it's supposed to be a cheetah: "When the cheetah is hit, it moves inside the frame."  It retailed at 5900 yen, apparently.  In addition to the pistol that nintendodork posted, there was also a rifle.  A second series of toys (the "custom" series) also introduced a pistol and a rifle with longer ranges.

[senseiman]

Thanks for the info!  Glad to know that it is, in fact, a cheetah!  By the looks of it, I think it must spin around when you hit it.  I really want to set this thing up now:)

The thing had a 5900 yen price tag on it, so that checks out too.

[Xious]

For the record, I'm pretty sure that Nintendo was producing these in the 1960s, alongside most of their toy line, and into the 1970s. I wish there was a better guidebook for pre-FC stuff myself as I have some of the toys (e.g. block sets) and other random items. I'd love to have one of the fancier light gun sets like that, but you almost never see them, anywhere.

[UglyJoe]

The book I mentioned above says they started making them in1970.  The "Custom" series rolled out in '71 and lasted until '76 (although I would assume there was some overlap).

[senseiman]

Yeah, the Japanese Wikipedia entry also says they started in 1970. 

I also wish there was a more comprehensive source for info on the pre-Famicom/Game and Watch stuff.  Even in Japanese info is hard to come by.