Video Challenger
Video Challenger ([[wikipedia:{{#if:ja|ja:}}ビデオチャレンジャー|{{#if:ビデオチャレンジャー|ビデオチャレンジャー|ビデオチャレンジャー}}]]) is an interactive television toy created by Select Merchandise and distributed in Japan in 1987 by Takara. Toy-Television interaction was supposed to be the next big thing in toy marketing and Mattel had a similar TV-Toy in North America at the same time called [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future#Action figures and interactive game|{{#if:Captain Power|Captain Power|Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future#Action figures and interactive game}}]].
The toy consisted of a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}light gun|{{#if:||light gun}}]] called the Challenge Blaster that responded to signals from the television playing a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}VHS|{{#if:||VHS}}]] tape. The more the player fired at appropriate targets on the screen, the more points the Challenge Blaster would rack up. The more times the sensor on the toy got "hit," the more points the gun would lose. Since the "game" was only a VHS tape, the missions played out the same way all the time.
The toy was cross-marketed into the anime The Headmasters in which children could fire at the Decepticons in the title sequence (starting with "Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger") and score points in selected episodes. Daniel himself carries a Challenge Blaster in the anime and is sometimes seen playing the game.
Video Challenger was sold in Canada by [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Irwin Toy|{{#if:||Irwin Toy}}]] and in the United Kingdom by Bandai.
Software
[edit]- Space Challenge
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Cobra Command (1984 video game)|{{#if:Cobra Command|Cobra Command|Cobra Command (1984 video game)}}]]
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Road Blaster|{{#if:||Road Blaster}}]]
- Godzilla Challenge 1 & 2
- Sky Wars
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}After Burner|{{#if:||After Burner}}]]
- Turtle Challenge (UK)
Unreleased
[edit]These games were planned, but it isn't clear if they were ever released anywhere in the world or not.
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Astron Belt|{{#if:||Astron Belt}}]]
- Galaxy Ranger
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Badlands (laserdisc video game)|{{#if:Badlands|Badlands|Badlands (laserdisc video game)}}]]
- Albegas
- [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Space Battleship Yamato|{{#if:||Space Battleship Yamato}}]]