The is a

handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...

released by Epoch Co. in March

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. The console at retail was supplied with a number of cards, each of which had a

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

. Upon starting the game, the player must swipe a barcode representing a player. The game uses barcodes to create a character for the player to use. Not all barcodes work as players; instead some represent enemies or powerups.
Conveni Wars Barcode Battler Manuals バーコードバトラー
'. Epoch, Co. pp.1-14. 1991. Because of the ubiquity of barcodes in daily life, players were encouraged to go beyond the barcodes provided with the game itself and to experiment to find their own barcode monsters and powerups from everyday products like food and cleaning products. Once the game itself is started, the characters "battle" against each other. The characters' statistics were applied to an algorithm containing a random number generator to determine the outcome of each round in the fight.

History

The original Barcode Battler was released by Epoch in Japan only. It was identical in shape to the worldwide released Barcode Battler and had a white case. Battles on this machine are much more simplistic than its successor, with support only for "Soldiers" (renamed in the worldwide release as "Warriors"), and infinite Survival points. In 1992, a successor unit called the Barcode Battler II (see below) was released worldwide, featuring interface capabilities with the

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

and

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...

Popularity

The Barcode Battler was very popular in Japan—the idea of experimenting with and collecting barcodes to find out what they would equate to in the gaming world fired the imaginations of many people. Outside Japan, it was a massive flop; it was hyped up, and sold in shops alongside the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

, and the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

, to which it bore some superficial similarities. By comparison, the gameplay of the Barcode Battler was repetitive and featured no graphics, sound effects or controls, and it was quickly forgotten by the general gaming public. However, the release of devices such as Nintendo's

e-Reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...

, as well as barcode games in arcades in the UK such as ''

Dinosaur King is a Japanese card-based arcade game from Sega that uses similar gameplay mechanics to '' Mushiking''. The game was revealed in JAMMA 2005. A Nintendo DS version was also later released. In the fall of 2008, Upper Deck Company release ...

'' and '' Love and Berry'', has shown that there is now an interest in the market. The Barcode Battler grew in popularity in Japan so much that special edition cards were created. These cards were characters from Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and many others. They had their own barcodes and unique stats and powers. Nintendo-licensed special edition cards were produced for both the ''Mario'' series, and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Other special edition versions were commissioned by Falcom (for '' Lord Monarch''/''

Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

'') and

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televis ...

(for the ''

Doraemon ''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ''tankōbon'' volumes and ...

'' series).

Barcode Battler II

The popularity of the Barcode Battler was such that in 1992, a follow-up handheld called the was designed to provide enhanced functionality. It featured an extended single player mode, a wider variety of game elements, and an output port designed with interface capabilities - a feature that Nintendo took advantage of in licensing the Barcode Battler II Interface unit. The BBII Interface allowed the Barcode Battler to be attached to the

and

(via an adapter) consoles similar to the way the

Game Boy Player The (DOL-017) is a GameCube peripheral developed by Nintendo which enables it to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges, allowing those games to be played on a television. It connects via the high speed parallel port at ...

allows for interfacing of the

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

with the

. The functionality of the Barcode Battler II while on this connection was purely as a barcode reader and the gameplay depended on the game cartridge in the machine it was connected to. Some time in 1992/1993, Epoch released the Barcode Battler II across the world, under the name of Barcode Battler. Essentially, the worldwide release differed from the Japanese model in only the design of the LCD screen — it had an English interface instead of a Japanese one. It still had the output port, but no games support it outside of Japanese releases. Also, the artwork on the manuals and barcode cards differed to suit the Western gaming audience.

Interfaced games

Due to the professional relationship between Epoch Co. and Nintendo, Epoch designed a number of games for the Famicom and Super Famicom that required the use of the Barcode Battler II and BBII Interface to play or to enjoy enhanced functions. These games included: * (NES, 1992) * (SNES, 1993) * (SNES, 1993) * (SNES 1993) * (SNES 1993) * (SNES, 1994) * (SNES, 1994) * (SNES, 1994) * (SNES, 1995) * (SNES, 1995) * (SNES, 1995) * (SNES, 1995)

Manga

A manga was produced to promote the Barcode Battler, called "Barcode Fighter". Five volumes were produced between April 1992 and June 1994, and were later reprinted into two volumes.

Notes

References

External links

{{Handheld game consoles 1991 video games Handheld game consoles Products introduced in 1991 Video games developed in Japan Video games using barcodes Comics based on toys