Least common models imported into the US?

[Mr_Smeggers]

Fairly new to this, just bought my first machines in August, and have picked up several more since. It seems the Nishijin, Daichi, and Sanyo units are the most common in the US, but what about Mizuho, Hokoku, or Heiwa? is there a reason why less of these are around?

[mxfaiman]

to Pachitalk

Please post some pictures when you get a chance. We love pictures.

The reason why you see so many Nishijin, Sankyo, Sanyo, and Daiichi machines is because they were the biggest companies. The other brands you listed were just smaller companies so less machines were built. Though I heard Heiwa was actually a pretty big company but it seems most their machines got scrapped instead of imported.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. And once again welcome to PT.

-Max

[Moparformances]

info pictures

and of course

Welcome to Pachitalk

[Spyder138]

Welcome to Pachitalk where the battle cry is "Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!" Photos bring comfort in the periods between purchases.

[Mr_Smeggers]

Well, then. Here's what I have -- A Heiwa in excellent condition (Owl model) A Mizuho (Octopus) A 1974 Nishijin B (Marina) and a 1974 Nishijin A currently nicknamed Totem. I have another Mizuho and a Hokoku on the way. I had to pull apart and recondition all of these so far, but have been lucky on the first three as the playfields had little to no waterstaining and no rust. All cases were then remounted and set up on matching play tables in new casings.mishib-heiwa.jpgmizuho.jpgnishia.jpg The Nishijin A sat in water for a good long while, I'm going to have to take that one all the way down to the bare wood. I've taken pretty extensive pics of the process, and also started a killer collection of vintage pachinko balls from the rusty ones trapped in the machines I bought.

The two I have coming -- the Mizuho was well-kept, but the Hokoku will need a new prize ball hopper in the back.

[mxfaiman]

Nice looking machines you got there.

[OneBigTuna]

Resto jobs look great, thank you for sharing. I really like the look of the less common machines - they are more fun in my eyes.

My question is really why some brands became more popular than others. Maybe nishijin is like the Toyota Camry of pachi's - affordable, reliable, simple, straight forward etc. Ferraris are nice too, but you see way less of them on the road, it doesn't mean they aren't good machines.

The less common machines you can get your hands on, the more you can learn about them.

[alphaminor]

Welcome to PachiTalk !!!
Cool machines and that's a cute maneki neko (beckoning cat) in the foreground ( is he wearing a robe? )

[Mr_Smeggers]

Yep. He's got a wee little temple robe.

[ackleplem]

Welcome! Nice machines!!!

[Rival]

If you consider the process by which the machines came to the US in the first place you can make an educated guess as to why the distribution of makers appears so lopsided.

The machines were only licensed for a year or two by the local gaming commissions in Japan, and so had to be removed from the parlors once that time period expired. It is also widely reported that private ownership of these machines was illegal, so millions and millions of machines were pulled from parlors each year and destroyed /discarded. Several entrepreneurs from the US purchased them at scrap prices and shipped them to the US for resale through various venues.

These companies made deals with parlor chains to purchase machines as they were pulled, and most parlors had exclusive deals with manufacturers to buy their machines. So, For example, Pachinko Palace might have a deal with Sunshine Parlors for their machines, and Sunshine Parlors gets all of their machines from Nishijin. Target abroad may have a deal with a different parlor chain who used both Nishijin and Sankyo machines.

So although Heiwa might have made the most machines in 1973, and had the largest market share in the parlors, the deals made for exporting these machines were with parlors that primarily carried Nishijin. For this reason we see Nishijin, Sankyo, Sanyo, and Daiichi in fairly large numbers. It is not until the mid 70's that smaller players enter the market importing machines from other parlors that we see the wider range of machines arriving.

Additionally, there was a certain amount of localization when it came to manufacturers, for example Daiichi would be more popular in Daiichi itself, for obvious reasons. Sankyo might have a hard time making inroads into the local Daiichi marketplace, so if you take machines from parlors in Daiichi, they will likely be the Daiichi brand.

A smattering of machines arrived in the US along with US service members directly from Japan as souvenirs, which has been going on since the 1950's and even continues today. These machines can be from any of the hundreds of manufacturers of the time, it's just the luck of the draw.

[Mr_Smeggers]

From what I hear, most companies did not bother with a history for their machines either -- they were just too busy trying to keep up with the demand. I'm assuming so very few early moderns survive to to the complexity of the marionette mechanisms within, and a general decline in the US market with the introduction of home game systems.