N&B Block

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N&B Block
A photograph of multiple toys constructed from interconnecting plastic blocks of various colors. They depict a Ferris wheel, the Japanese television characters Kamen Rider and Silver Kamen, a rocket ship and launch station, a moon rover, a battleship with two planes, an electronic clock, a house, a beach chair, a lamp and table, and a bicycle.
Various N&B Block sets
Other namesNintendo Block
TypeConstruction set
CompanyNintendo
CountryJapan
Availability1968–1972

N&B Block (Japanese: N&Bブロック), also known as Nintendo Block (Japanese: 任天堂ブロック), is a discontinued brand of construction set toys produced by Nintendo from 1968 to 1972.

History

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Due to the success of the Ultra Hand toy, Nintendo established a department in 1966 to produce more toys.[1] First released in 1968, N&B Block was marketed as a direct competitor to Lego. N&B Block was distinguished through the use of cylindrical pieces, which were not used by Lego at the time. Hiroshi Yamauchi heavily invested in television advertisements that directly compared the two products, and over 40 N&B Block sets were released. N&B Block was cheaper than Lego, making use of lower-quality plastic.[2] One of the first sets released was a Garden House set from 1968. It cost ¥980 (equivalent to ¥3,575 in 2019).[3] The lower price of N&B Block made the product popular among children that could not afford Lego sets.[4]

Satoru Okada began working on N&B Block as his first assignment at Nintendo in 1969.[5] Okuda and Gunpei Yokoi both designed several sets, including one based on the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. For this set, Yokoi created a springy piece that caused a moon rover to flip over and fall apart.[1] N&B Block is compatible with Lego bricks, but features a different form of underside tubing for block connections.[6] Some N&B Block sets feature electronic elements such as clocks.[7]

Lego ended up filing a lawsuit against Nintendo over alleged patent violation, but Nintendo won the lawsuit due to the unique tubing on the underside of N&B Block that differentiated the blocks from Lego bricks.[8] Nintendo ceased production of N&B Block in 1972. The reason for which Nintendo cancelled the product is not entirely known, but it is speculated to have been caused due to mounting legal pressure from Lego.[3] The 1992 Nintendo video game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins features a level constructed from N&B Blocks.[9][10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "元任天堂・岡田 智氏の独立独歩 前編 "技術的に不可能"を覆したゲーム＆ウオッチ 「ビデオゲームの語り部たち」：第27部" [Former Nintendo Satoshi Okada's Independent First Part Game & Watch Overturning the "Technically Impossible" "Video Game Storytellers": Part 27]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  2. ^ Stanton, Rich (2013-02-14). "The History of Nintendo: 1889-1980 review". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2025-02-18. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  3. ^ a b Yarwood, Jack (2022-10-31). "Random: Collector Opens Up 50-Year-Old Set Of Nintendo N&B Blocks". Time Extension. Archived from the original on 2024-09-15. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  4. ^ "【任天堂クラシック博物館】第3回 N&B BLOCK 任天堂ブロック" [[Nintendo Classic Museum] 3rd N&B BLOCK]. インサイド (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  5. ^ Horowitz, Ken (20 August 2020). Beyond Donkey Kong: A History of Nintendo Arcade Games. McFarland. p. 8. ISBN 978-1476684208. Okada was in desperate need of a job and went to the interview, which he passed. In April 1969, he became Nintendo's first true electronics engineer. His first assignment was decidedly non-electronic; he designed Nintendo's cheaper version of Lego bricks, called N&B Blocks.
  6. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2020-03-12). "LEGO Is Making Super Mario Themed Playsets". Kotaku. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  7. ^ Hancock, Graham E. (2020-04-09). "LEGO Super Mario is not Nintendo's first brick-building product". brickfanatics.com. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  8. ^ "Hiro師匠とレゴブロック「Atari 2600」を組み立てよう！ せっかくだから任天堂のアレも持ってきたよ（「買い物Surfer」第10回）" [Let's build the Lego brick "Atari 2600" with Master Hiro! I also brought a Nintendo one ("Shopping Surfer" No. 10)]. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
  9. ^ Super Mario Encyclopedia: The Official Guide to the First 30 Years. Dark Horse Books. 23 October 2018. p. 80. ISBN 978-1506708973. In the Block Course in the Mario Zone, "N&B" is written on one brick. It's a reference to a series of block-based toys that Nintendo put out starting in 1968.
  10. ^ Wong, Alistair (2020-04-08). "Before LEGO Super Mario, There Were Nintendo's N&B Blocks". Siliconera. Retrieved 2025-08-01.