The Bandai Terebikko Video Communication System (バンダイてれびっこ)

 Hi folks!

Anyone of you known or heard about the Bandai Terebikko ? If you say yes then you're like me, love obscure video game consoles! And if you answer no then it's time to learn about it. 

The Bandai Terebikko (バンダイてれびっこ) was released in Japan in 1988. This game console is designed for young kids (and sometimes grown-ups! ;P) as all the "games" are quiz-type games. The video phone (err....let's call it this way) is an interactive game console which you need to plug it on an VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) in the Audio Out jack.

 (1st model)

All the games are in video tape VHS format so that's why you need to plug it to a VCR. When you have inserted a tape in the VCR and pressed "play", then you need to follow the instruction on the screen (in Japanese of course) and when a character picks up the phone, you hear the video phone ringing and then you pick the the phone handle and listen to the question the character will ask and then you need to press either 1, 2, 3 or 4 on the phone which represents the answer with the number associated, like in the next image (example):

And then, you continue to view the tape and answer all the other questions. Simple don't you think ?

But even this game console was simple to use (remember this was for young kids), it didn't gain much popularity even it it had a 6 years span (1988 to 1994). They are two models that was released for the Terebikko, the first model (shown previously) and the "cordless" (2nd model) unit.

(1st model on the left and 2nd model on the right)

And to the "avid" collector who collects any kind of variations, the first model was released in two different boxes:

(the 1988 edition)

And the other box which is more typical (easier) to find:

(the 1990 version)

And here's the box of the cordless version (2nd model):

(the 1994 version)

Now, the games. If you check Wikipedia, there is only 9 titles listed and on Wikipedia Japan, there is 19 titles listed...BUT...in fact, there is 33 titles (and one sample video) that exists for the Terebikko! I have made a list in Excel format and is available on Archive.org here: https://archive.org/download/bandai-terebikko/Bandai%20Terebikko%20List%20%28dec-2020%29%28by%20Sly%20DC%29.xlsx 

 

Or simply go here: https://archive.org/details/bandai-terebikko and browse the files by clicking "SHOW ALL" in the download options. I have uploaded the games list, the manual of the 2nd Terebikko model, the 1994 game flyer, 5 game tape covers and labels + the label of the Sample Video tape.

If you wanna collect all the game tapes, the hardest one to find is called: まさ子おれえさんとあそばう1 : たのしい動物ひろば (aka Masako Let's play with me 1 : Fun animal open space) as i ever saw one copy in 10 years and the last game to came out was: 美少女戦士セーラームーンS こたえてムーンコール (aka Sailor Moon S: Answer Moon Call) which was released in 1994 and the only title too to be released in 1994 as Bandai wanted to cash-in on Sailor Moon so they made the cordless version unit and if you check the flyer, they also wanted to re-release some titles with the 2nd model pictured in the bottom-right corner. And Bandai also advertised the 2nd model in their 1994 catalog:

What i find fascinating is that Bandai made specials "episodes" just for the Terebikko like Super Mario World, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Anpanman, etc...as these anime series were popular at that time, all the games for the Terebikko are outside the anime series. Many collectors (anime/games) call these "lost episodes". Even if Bandai has the rights to produce/sells toys based on the animes, the producers made special episodes which sometime features the Terebikko and with the original voice casts of the respected anime series...now that, you won't see this in the US.!

Even if the Terebikko is obscure to the general public, did you know that there is a "clone" released in the United States ? Yep! No kidding! It is called the "See 'N' Say Video Phone" released by Mattel in 1989.

Since Bandai and Mattel has a long relationship between them, Mattel wanted to cash-in on their "See 'N Say" toy series and made (only) four tapes for the unit. As you can see, it is the same mold as the Terebokko accept it's red as the Bat-phone in the 1966 Batman TV series! LOL!!!

Huh ??? Is it me or does the puppet in the ad looks like Howard Philips ????

 

What's even weird is that Mattel was distributing the NES in Canada during the 80's! That's a mystery i won't even try to solve! LOL!!! OK so the next post i will talk about the specs of the Terebikko since this one is not emulated in MAME. 

Until next time, take care folks! =)