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 con ...

released by Epoch Co. in March

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

. 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 data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...

. 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.

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 a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

, 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 in 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear primarily ...

, 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 was quickly forgotten by the general gaming public. In Japan, licensed cards featuring characters from other franchises were released. Nintendo-licensed special edition cards were produced for both the ''Mario'' and ''

The Legend of Zelda is a media franchise, video game series created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo; some portable installments and re-releases have been outsourced to Flags ...

'' series. Other special edition versions were commissioned by Falcom (for ''

Lord Monarch is a real-time strategy war game by Nihon Falcom. The game is considered to be part of the '' Dragon Slayer'' series. It was originally released in 1991 for the NEC PC-9801, ported 1992 to the Super Famicom and 1994 to the Mega Drive. In 1997, ...

''/'' Dragon Slayer'') and NTV (for the ''

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

'' 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

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

and

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...

(via an adapter) consoles similar to the way the

Game Boy Player The is a GameCube peripheral developed by Nintendo which enables it to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance ROM cartridge, cartridges, allowing those games to be played on a television. It connects via the high speed parallel por ...

allows for interfacing of the

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

with the

e-Reader An e-reader, also called an e reader or e device, is a Mobile computing, mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and Periodical literature, periodicals. Any device that can display text on ...

. 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 is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

, 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: * (Famicom, 1992) * (Super Famicom, 1993) * (Super Famicom, 1993) * (Super Famicom, 1993) * (Super Famicom, 1993) * (Super Famicom, 1994) * (Super Famicom, 1994) * (Super Famicom, 1994) * (Super Famicom, 1995) * (Super Famicom, 1995) * (Super Famicom, 1995) * (Super Famicom, 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 Discontinued handheld game consoles Handheld game consoles Products introduced in 1991 Video games developed in Japan Video games using barcodes Comics based on toys