Nelsonic Industries is an American electronics manufacturing and development company that operated from Long Island City, Queens, New York City[2] in the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s when it was acquired by the watch-manufacturer, M.Z. Berger. Nelsonic produced numerous toy-themed wristwatches, often targeting younger audiences with likenesses of characters from popular franchises such as Barbie, the Ghostbusters, and Mario. Nelsonic became notable during the early mid-1980s for being the first electronics company in the United States to produce game-watches (multi-purpose electronic devices capable of functioning as both a time-piece and as a typically electronic game).[2] For a period subsequent to its purchase by M.Z. Berger, Nelsonic operated as a subsidiary division of its parent company and game-watches were produced that bore the Nelsonic mark. This practice ended as M.Z. Berger shifted focus to more traditional and higher-end timepieces. Today the original Nelsonic Game Watch line has entered the secondary market and individual Game Watches have become highly sought-after collectibles that often fetch high prices on eBay and other online auction websites.[3][4]
History
Throughout its existence, Nelsonic produced pop-culture-themed wrist-watches for children and young adults. The chronograph digital watches, typically made of molded plastic, invariably featured an alarm and utilized LCD screens to display the time for their wearers.[5] In time the company began manufacturing multi-purpose units that used the LCD screen to combine time display functions with simple video game functions.[nb 1] These simple video games were variations on the theme of the calculator watch, and the patent covering the Game Watch line is in fact classified as an "electronic calculator watch structure."[7] The company's first game watch was called Space Attacker.[8] Becoming the first electronics manufacturer in the United States to produce game-watches, Nelsonic earned a large share in this specialized market and was able to earn the attention of large video game companies at events such as the Consumer Electronics Show.[2] Having caught the popular attention and with goodwill at a high-point, Nelsonic was able to obtain licensing from several big-name video game companies such as Sega,[9]Nintendo,[10][11]Midway Games,[12] and Mylstar Electronics.[13] With roots in the toy market, Nelsonic was also able to obtain similar licenses to produce LCD versions of popular electronic toys like Milton Bradley's Simon[14] as well as to produce original LCD games for non-game toy franchises like Barbie,[15]G.I. Joe,[16] and Power Rangers[17] and even for film and TV franchises such as Ghostbusters.[18] So well-known became the Nelsonic brand that it was even able to license its own original games (such as the Nelsonic version of the public-domain blackjack which was licensed to Caesars Palace).[19]
As time progressed, Nelsonic experimented with higher-end products such as metal watches and increasingly complex game-watch designs. In 1990 the watch-making giant, M.Z. Berger, made a large bid and was able to successfully purchase the company.[20] For a period of nearly a decade after this acquisition, M.Z. Berger continued to use Nelsonic as a subsidiary branch and to employ the Nelsonic mark in the release of game-watches and the production of new re-releases of popular models from the 1980s and early 1990s.[nb 2] By the end of the 1990s, however, public interest had waned (quite possibly due to the rise in popularity of more advanced handheld video game consoles and, eventually, of other portable computing devices, such as PDAs and smartphones) and this practice came to an end as M.Z. Berger shifted markets to target higher end consumers more exclusively.
Today the Nelsonic mark is still in use for traditional watches and is not used in connection with game-watches. It is still a subsidiary of M.Z. Berger and as recently as 2007 it was listed by the AAFES as garnering over $1.9 million in sales.[22]
Game watches
Below is a list of units sold by Nelsonic as part of their Game Watch line. Also included are game-watches sold under the term "Wrist Game" (e.g. Ghost Busters), "Action Watch Game" (e.g. Barbie), and "Gamewatch Boy" (e.g. Super Mario Race).
Later re-released under license to Caesars Palace where it was sold in their gift shop as Caesars Palace Black Jack (also described as Caesars Black Jack on the box)[19]
This unit was simultaneously released in the United States as Soccer,[32][33] and was later re-released in at least one other different style of physical layout.
Released in black under the name Luigi's Hammer Toss in North America[45] and simply called Luigi in Japan.[nb 3] Offered in some Japanese McDonald's restaurants. First game to feature Luigi as the only main playable character.
This game retailed for between $25 and $35 and quickly became one of the most popular Nelsonic Game Watches, selling over 500,000 units.[2] This unit was released with several different faceplate graphics and at least 2 different styles of physical layout - one with 4 directional buttons and the other with a small joystick that could be assembled.
Released in yellow under the name Princess Toadstool's Castle Run in North America[59][60] and simply called Peach in Japan.[nb 4] Offered in some Japanese McDonald's restaurants. First game to feature Princess Peach as the only main playable character.[61]
The game was also released under the name Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[73] by Collins Industrial Co.,[74] under the name Cosmic Wars by Majestron,[75] and the layout was used in the pornographic Sexum Watch (another third party release).[76] The game was re-released by Nelsonic in 1983 as Space Wars,[77] and versions of the game exist in black plastic and metal variants.
The game was released by Nelsonic simultaneously in Europe as Starwing[80] and was re-released with at least 2 different styles of physical layout. Some versions came with a headphone jack and headphones.
Game & Watch - A line of LCD games produced by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. This series is often confused with the Nelsonic Game Watch series due to the similar names (Nelsonic's "Game Watch" compared to Nintendo's "Game & Watch") and the overlapping subject matter (due to Nintendo's having licensed several of its popular franchises to Nelsonic).
Elgin National Watch Company - Another former watch-company that is now owned by M.Z. Berger and is thus a sibling subsidiary to Nelsonic.
^Although the use of the term "video game" is only possible in its loosest sense, it has been suggested that the term is properly used in the discussion of games (such as those produced by Nelsonic) that appear on a screen and that are analogous to the simple arcade games of which they are versions.[6]
^Under M.Z. Berger, the Nelsonic name was also used on various non-juvenile-market watches that lacked the video game element. One notable example is the Nelsonic Cache Watch which between 1996 and 1999, produced over $11 million in sales.[21]
^Licensing from Nintendo was obtained in 1985. See Dyer, Clinton R. Handheld Games FAQ. rec.games.video.classic 4 January 1998. See also Nintendo of America. Game and Watch. 25 February 2008.
^Werner, Holly M. U.S. Industries completes additional sale of Spartus assets; Sale of Waltham Clock trademark and inventory for $1,000,000. Business Wire. 8 May 1996.
^Cache, Inc. v. M.Z. Berger & Co. 2001 WL 38283, at *3 (S.D.N.Y., 2001).
^"12 Of The Best Handheld Electronic Games From The 1980s". Eighties Kids. 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2020-05-12. Nelsonic produced numerous toy-themed wrist-watches during their existence, often targeting younger audiences with likenesses of characters from popular franchises such as Barbie, the Ghostbusters, and Mario.
^G, Matt; writer, er Matt is Games Asylum's most prolific. "The history of Ghostbusters LCD games". Finally, we have a Ghostbusters LCD wristwatch game from Nelsonic. Although it appears to tie-in with the original movie, due to featuring a library as a backdrop, it's based on The Real Ghostbusters.
^"Luigi's Mansion: la revolución del segundón". MeriStation (in Spanish). 2019-10-21. Retrieved 2020-05-10. Se aprecia ya desde Mario is Missing!, segundo título que protagonizó tras su primer liderazgo en el Luigi's Hammer Toss
^Carozzi, Victor. "De coadjuvantes a heróis: a vez dos "secundários" da série Mario brilharem". Nintendo Blast. Retrieved 2020-05-12. Além dele há o Luigi's Hammer Toss, jogo lançado para o Nelsonic Game Watch, um relógio que você podia jogar um minigame que já vinha embutido, demais, né? O game mais parecia um dos jogos do Game & Watch, no qual Luigi não podia deixar um martelo cair no chão.
^"Mario Is Missing! tra dieci minuti vuole vedervi tutti in acido | Racconti dall'ospizio". Outcast (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-05-12. Allo stesso modo, vale pure la pena di notare che Mario Is Missing! è la prima avventura standalone "grossa" dedicata a Luigi, visto che Luigi's Mansion è del 2001, anche se il puntalcazzismo mi impone di precisare che non rappresenta la prima volta in assoluto del baffone verde, dal momento che quel titolo spetta a un altro titolo (ahah!). Mi riferisco a Luigi's Hammer Toss, del 1991, un "Nelsonic Game Watch" prodotto dall'omonima azienda newyorkese, che all'epoca era riuscita a strappare a Nintendo il diritto di ricavare dai suoi personaggi sette minigiochi visualizzati su display LCD e montati su un bracciale a mo' di orologi da polso.
^ ab"The Castle Run Game Watch". www.gamewatchguys.com. Retrieved 2020-05-10. This is the rare Princess Toadstool Castle run game watch.
^"Portable Plumber: The Complete History of Mario in Handheld Games". Complex. Archived from the original on 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-11. For those wondering what the hell happened to Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Nelsonic Game Watch Line, well, it's extremely rare, features Princess Toadstool (fun Fact: It's the first game to ever feature her as a playable character).
^MB, Frankie (2020-05-10). "Super Princess Peach, un alegre cambio de papeles para la serie de Mario Bros. con buenos cimientos para una secuela". Vidaextra (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-05-12. Técnicamente, Super Princess Peach no fue el primer juego producido por Nintendo en el que la princesa de la serie Super Mario recibía todo el protagonismo, dado que ese honor pertenece a Princess Toadstool's Castle Run, una maquinita de LCD promocional de McDonald's presentada bajo la forma de un reloj de muñeca. Lógicamente, su segunda aventura en solitario es mucho más interesante.
^Carozzi, Victor. "De coadjuvantes a heróis: a vez dos "secundários" da série Mario brilharem". Nintendo Blast. Retrieved 2020-05-12. Assim como Luigi, a nossa amada princesa também teve o seu primeiro game solo no pioneiro relógio Nelsonic Game Watch. Nesse jogo, Peach, que ainda se chama Princess Toadstool, deve desviar dos obstáculos à sua frente para chegar em seu castelo.
