Thread by @MegaDriveShock

Let's talk about the importance of using Japanese sources to document Japanese video game history.

A case study: The Space Invaders 100-Yen Coin Shortage (thread) 1/

#RetroGaming #ArcadeGames #ArcadeHistory

Background: There's an old rumor in Japan that during the peak Space Invaders boom of 1978-1979, there was a shortage of 100-yen coins.

In the past few years, there have been a number of Western sources trying to debunk this. The English SI Wiki page lists this as a myth. 2/

A google search for "Space Invaders 100 yen myth" gives a series of results all 'debunking' this.

The catch? Not a single one uses any Japanese references. And of course, the actual history is a bit more complicated. 3/

I first came across info related to this when reading Eiji Ohshita's book Game Sensou.

From an interview with then-Nintendo employee Tokuzo Komai, we learn the Bank of Japan actually contacted Nintendo to ask how many 100-yen coins they had and how they were storing them. 4/

Arcade operator Kazumi Takai says in a recent interview that he was contacted several times during the Invader Boom by a local bank to ask if they could go and pick up all of the arcade's 100-yen coins, since they were out. 5/

pubs.iir.hit-u.ac.jp/admin/ja/pdfs/…

The Nikkei Shimbun ran an article on May 13, 1979 titled "The Bank of Japan's Plan to Counter the Loss of 30 Million 100-Yen Coins" discussing the situation.

This is likely the original source for all of the Western news articles. 6/

In 2013, a Japanese blogger investigated the situation in-depth: 7/

tiny-p.cocolog-nifty.com/log/2013/04/10…

Their conclusion? There was a significant increase in the number of 100-yen coins in circulation, although it's not clear how many (if any) coins were minted in response to the Invader Boom. The unusual situation lasted several months before returning to normal. 8/

Conclusion: There's no evidence that the Bank of Japan had to increase production of 100-yen coins, but BOJ was concerned enough about the situation that they contacted arcade manufacturers. In some instances, there does seem to have been a shortage of coins at banks. 10/

A lot can be learned about Japanese game history from Western news sources, but it's probably best to avoid making conclusions without referencing any Japanese sources.

Now it's an up-hill battle to tell the true story.
11/11