Doctor Quark
Not-So-Evil Genius
Did You Know?
It's fireworks season, and that means Crazy Redd's fortune cookie stand is open for business!
No doubt you've bought a few (perhaps more than you'd like to admit) for yourself. A couple of the prizes are fairly standard - namely, the boxed figurine and the model car. However, you've also probably noticed that the remainder of the prizes on offer here are a bit... Odd, to say the least. An "Ultra Scope"? A "Ten-Billion Barrel"? A "love tester"? What?
They're curious items, to be sure. However, what you may not know is that they actually have quite an interesting history to them!
As some of you may know, Nintendo didn't always make video games. Nintendo as a company was originally founded in 1889 as a very small business that produced hanafuda, a type of playing card that originates from Japan as well.
As the years went by, Nintendo attempted to expand its boundaries, foraying into small businesses such as a cab service and love hotels (as to what a love hotel is - well, I'll let you use your imagination on that one). They also produced traditional playing cards and various Disney themed games and accessories. Since these simply weren't making quite as much cash as Nintendo had hoped, they took a step in a considerably different direction - making toys! Yes, toys. The creation of these toys can largely be attributed to Gunpei Yokoi, who at the time was Nintendo's maintenance engineer. His first creation was the Ultra Hand, which he developed in 1966, marking Nintendo's move into the toy industry. It was essentially a extendable arm that could be used to grab small objects from a distance... With some practice, of course.
Other toys would be produced by Nintendo, the most well known of which can also be directly attributed to Gunpei's creativity. Some of the ones featured in New Leaf include the Ultra Scope, which is a periscope-like device that could be used to see things at a higher altitude, and the Ten-Billion Barrel, which is a very complex puzzle that involves shifting colored beads through a clear plastic barrel-like shell. Also featured are the Ultra Machine, an automated device that tosses little plastic baseballs to a waiting batter, and the Love Tester, which is a device with two ends that are held by a couple as the machine gauges their compatibility.
These devices saw varying amounts of success, but for the most part were very well received. They kept Nintendo financially sound and saw them through to their career in producing electronic games and, well, the rest is history.
As to Mr. Yokoi himself, the name may sound familiar to you. If you're a fan of Nintendo, it really should! Gunpei would later go on to play another very significant role in Nintendo's history by creating none other than the Game Boy. Indeed, Gunpei Yokoi's seemingly endless creativity served Nintendo well up until his creation of the ill-fated Virtual Boy, and shortly after the system's commercial failure, he left the company.
Mr. Yokoi tragically died in a car accident on October 4, 1997, but his legacy lives on in his many creations. What you receive from Redd tonight isn't just a toy - it's a important piece of Nintendo history, so cherish it!
I've provided a link in the spoiler tag to a blog that has tons of info on Nintendo's ventures before its foray into the electronic gaming world. If you're interested in reading more about what Nintendo was up to before it became the company we know and love, then feel free to give it a read!
- The Doc
It's fireworks season, and that means Crazy Redd's fortune cookie stand is open for business!
No doubt you've bought a few (perhaps more than you'd like to admit) for yourself. A couple of the prizes are fairly standard - namely, the boxed figurine and the model car. However, you've also probably noticed that the remainder of the prizes on offer here are a bit... Odd, to say the least. An "Ultra Scope"? A "Ten-Billion Barrel"? A "love tester"? What?
They're curious items, to be sure. However, what you may not know is that they actually have quite an interesting history to them!
As some of you may know, Nintendo didn't always make video games. Nintendo as a company was originally founded in 1889 as a very small business that produced hanafuda, a type of playing card that originates from Japan as well.
As the years went by, Nintendo attempted to expand its boundaries, foraying into small businesses such as a cab service and love hotels (as to what a love hotel is - well, I'll let you use your imagination on that one). They also produced traditional playing cards and various Disney themed games and accessories. Since these simply weren't making quite as much cash as Nintendo had hoped, they took a step in a considerably different direction - making toys! Yes, toys. The creation of these toys can largely be attributed to Gunpei Yokoi, who at the time was Nintendo's maintenance engineer. His first creation was the Ultra Hand, which he developed in 1966, marking Nintendo's move into the toy industry. It was essentially a extendable arm that could be used to grab small objects from a distance... With some practice, of course.
Other toys would be produced by Nintendo, the most well known of which can also be directly attributed to Gunpei's creativity. Some of the ones featured in New Leaf include the Ultra Scope, which is a periscope-like device that could be used to see things at a higher altitude, and the Ten-Billion Barrel, which is a very complex puzzle that involves shifting colored beads through a clear plastic barrel-like shell. Also featured are the Ultra Machine, an automated device that tosses little plastic baseballs to a waiting batter, and the Love Tester, which is a device with two ends that are held by a couple as the machine gauges their compatibility.
These devices saw varying amounts of success, but for the most part were very well received. They kept Nintendo financially sound and saw them through to their career in producing electronic games and, well, the rest is history.
As to Mr. Yokoi himself, the name may sound familiar to you. If you're a fan of Nintendo, it really should! Gunpei would later go on to play another very significant role in Nintendo's history by creating none other than the Game Boy. Indeed, Gunpei Yokoi's seemingly endless creativity served Nintendo well up until his creation of the ill-fated Virtual Boy, and shortly after the system's commercial failure, he left the company.
Mr. Yokoi tragically died in a car accident on October 4, 1997, but his legacy lives on in his many creations. What you receive from Redd tonight isn't just a toy - it's a important piece of Nintendo history, so cherish it!
I've provided a link in the spoiler tag to a blog that has tons of info on Nintendo's ventures before its foray into the electronic gaming world. If you're interested in reading more about what Nintendo was up to before it became the company we know and love, then feel free to give it a read!
- The Doc
