Vintage or Modern Classifications

[wrkey]

For the puposes of these discussion forums, Pachinko machines can be classified into two classes, Vintage and Modern. To best determine your machine class, you can use these simple filters:

1. If you know the date of manufature, any machines 1980 or later is Modern.
2. If the shooter is electronic in nature, it is Modern.
3. Everything else is Vintage class.

With that being said, here's a little history that I've been able to garner that may help you date and research a particular machine. Each of the two basic classes can be broken down into sub-classes as follows:

Vintage - Antique, Classic Vintage and Vintage
Modern - Classic Modern, Modern

The original machines that started this craze had various pin placement and very simplistic scoring devices. These machines were generally made with only a single pane of glass and were not generally 'mass produced' nor fit into a standard 'frame'. These machine can be considered to be Antique and the production usually dates between the late 1920 to mid 1940.

The first big change that started the standardization of the game came from a gentleman called Takeichi Masamura (1906-1975). Around 1949, Mr. Masamura created a standard pin placement that pachinko makers quickly picked up on which produced a consistant and manageable play. This pin placement became known as the Masamura Guage. Therefore, any machine with the Masamura Gauge was most likely produced after 1950.

The first machines had a single pane of glass and each ball that is put in play had to be loaded individully by the player. The player then manipulated a spring loaded lever to shoot the ball into the play area. These types of machines (single load, single glass) falls somewhere between Antique and Vintage as they are more rare and do demonstrate a period of development towards a standardized machine that could be mass produced and withstand the stress of constant play. This is the Classic Vintage catagory.

With the exploding popularity of Pachinko Parlors, machine makers improved on the design for durability, standardizing the size and adding commercial appeal. These improvements include the double pane glass, the auto loading shooter, standard frame mount, standard win hopper and lost ball exits. Lights were added in the most basic form to add to the win excitement and notifications of an empty win hopper. These mahines were made in great numbers and are sub-classified as Vintage.

The big change that denotes the move from Vintage to Modern is the advent of the electronic shooter control and the ever increasing ability to change the game play with electronics. These machines came into mass production in 1980. The Modern class can be further broken down into Classic Modern and Recent (for lack of a better term). To be considered in the Classic catagory the machine would have basic electronics, very small LCDs and the most basic of jackpot repetition manipulation (now called Fever Mode). The Recent machine class can be recognized by the lack of a prominent Masamura Gauge, larger flashier LCDs. Classic Modern manufacture dates range from 1980 through the late 1990s with the Recent Modern beginning in the late 90 to the present.

Well, there it is, a brief history and classification of Pachinko Machines.

Thanks to Compirate, birdbrain, sid, sharmoni and the countless others who's research and posts I have plagurized to create this post.