Happy 40th anniversary to Radar Scope, the arcade game that changed the world! How? A thread:
Radar Scope was an early Nintendo effort to break into the world of arcade games. It was not their first, but it was their first hit in Japan where Space Invaders was such a massive phenomenon everyone wanted a piece - including playing card companies from Kyoto.
When Radar Scope launched in Japan in December 1979, it did so well that Nintendo of America wanted it in US arcades in force. NoA president Minoru Arakawa ordered 3000 cabinets, a massive order that ate his entire budget.
By the time Nintendo's 3000 Radar Scope machines arrived in New York from Japan, the Space Invaders buzz in America was over and Arakawa could only sell a third of his order. He had 2000 arcade cabinets no one wanted and little money for anything else.
Arakawa needed a new game that could run on the existing Radar Scope machines he already had in the US, and he needed it in a hurry. He made the call to Kyoto to his father-in-law, Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi.
Yamauchi turned to a 27-year-old artist/designer who had been working with Gunpei Yokoi on a number of Nintendo's early arcade games and asked what game ideas he had that could solve the Radar Scope dilemma. The kid's best idea? Make a video game about Popeye.
Yamauchi liked the Popeye idea, but even though Nintendo was selling official Popeye playing cards, the deal to turn Popeye, Bluto, and Olive Oyl into video game characters fell through. The young artist would have to make original characters to replace them.
Popeye the sailor became a humble carpenter in overalls, Bluto became a giant ape akin to King Kong, and Olive Oyl became Lady. Just...Lady. 27-year-old Shigeru Miyamoto turned his Popeye concept in "Donkey Kong."
Donkey Kong wasn't finished until 1981 but when NoA employees (including Arakawa and his wife) plugged the game into their unsold Radar Scope arcade cabinets, the orders came pouring in and Nintendo had their first global success.
Donkey Kong not only changed Nintendo's fortunes, it created a new video game genre and also established the idea that games could tell a story with memorable characters. And it might never have come about if Radar Scope hadn't bombed in the US.
This is all to say our latest episode of Retronauts is dedicated to Donkey Kong! Give it a listen: retronauts.com/article/1393/e…
And support Retronauts on Patreon for exclusive episodes and early access to public episodes (like this one) patreon.com/retronauts
And support Retronauts on Patreon for exclusive episodes and early access to public episodes (like this one) patreon.com/retronauts
One last thing: one of our guests this week is @kobunheat who wrote an entire book about classic Japanese video games such as Donkey Kong! Check it out: chriskohler.biz/power-up-chris…
