Japanese arcade flyer.
Gee Bee (ジービー Jī Bī?) is Namco's first video arcade game, developed by Toru Iwatani and released in October 1978 in Japan and North America, with North American manufacturing and distribution being handled by Gremlin Industries. The game is Toru Iwatani's compromise to Namco's decline on manufacturing pinball machines, and combines several elements of pinball and Breakout. The game would receive two sequels both in 1979, Bomb Bee and Cutie Q, both also designed by Iwatani.
Gameplay[]
The player rotates the rotary knob placed on the cabinet to control a set of two paddles on the screen, and pressing the red button will serve the ball. The player can deflect the ball at the various rows of bricks both above and on the sides of the screen. Pop bumpers will shoot the ball in the opposite direction upon impact, and will be worth 10 points. A spinner in the middle of the screen will award the player 10 extra points, and slow down the ball should the ball enter it while in a fast movement. A set of rollovers, spelling "NAMCO" (or using the Gremlin "G" logo in the North American version) are placed towards the bottom of the screen, and will award the player a hefty amount of points should all of them be lit up. Due to hardware limitations, the game was entirely in monochrome, with strips of cellophane being placed on the cabinet to act as color, much like other games at the time.