Mattel bought the rights?

Dan · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:56 am Post subject: Mattel bought the rights?

From http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300207956515

"YOU ARE BIDDING ON AN ORIGINAL 1970'S HANDHELD ELECTRONIC FOOTBALL GAME MADE IN HONG KONG BEFORE MATTELL BOUGHT THE RIGHTS. THIS GAME IS AWESOME AND IS IN ORIGINAL PACKAGING. IT IS MADE BY CONIC AND YOU WILL NEVER SEE ANOTHER BECAUSE THEY WERE ONLY RELASED FOR 1 YEAR BEFORE MATTELL BOUGHT THE RIGHTS."

Where'd this guy come up with this bit of history? Any chance it's true?

elepla · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 4:14 pm Post subject:

Don't think it's true. This game seems pretty common to me.

I'll ask the seller for some hard facts.

(thanks for the link)

Rik · Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:06 pm Post subject:

No, I don't think so... Mattel had their own Football game (they invented it first, after all...). If they 'bought the rights' from Conic just to stop the competition, Conic wouldn't have made a Football II.

It would be interesting to hear what the seller says about it though...

Rik

elepla · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:09 am Post subject:

Here's what he said:

"The Conic game from Japan came out before the Mattel game. I was told Mattell mass produced the game forcing Conic to sell the rights for a large price and they manufactured the game for Mattel."

Still isn't much, and I'm no Conic expert...

Rik · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:27 am Post subject:

Nope, that's not true. Mattel had nothing to do with the Conic games (and I believe the Conic games came out in 1978-1979 or so). Mattel invented the first Football game themselves (I've talked to the inventor and seen his original prototypes) in 1976 after having made the Auto Race game. The Mattel games were created in the US as the original chips were made by Rockwell Microelectronics, and then later by National Semiconductor. The games were manufactured in Korea and Hong Kong, Japan was never involved.

It's possible some things went the other way and 'ideas' from Mattel were used to make the Conic games, but his story is definitely not true.

I'd love to know where he got the story from...

Rik

tanatron · Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2008 1:38 am Post subject:

It must have been as WE (lol) youngsters say in Italy, his "CUGGINO ", meaning his dumbass cousin!

Alex
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