2026 Update At The Bottom!! Amada Was A Nintendo Licensee Long Before 1985!!

As Mario’s 1981 rookie Menko card is quickly gaining traction on the market, some questions have started to emerge.  Two different scenarios have been discussed as to the actual date or dates that Amada actually produced these Menko for Nintendo.  There is the more widely accepted view that Amada produced Menko for Nintendo over a 5 year period from 81-85. The other scenario is Amada produced “all” Nintendo Menko in 1985 only.  This article will explain in detail how we are to understand the dates in which Amada made Menko for Nintendo. 

Let’s begin with the historical aspect. Donkey Kong was released in Japan on July 9, 1981. Donkey Kong literally hit the ground running with immediate success. The first 2000 Donkey Kong cabinets that Nintendo made sold very quickly. By the fall of 1981, the demand for Donkey Kong was so high, Nintendo was selling 4000 units a month. It was so successful by summer/fall of 1981 in Japan that it prompted Nintendo to pivot its focus toward exporting the game to the US. Of course, this is the short version of the story, but we can see how Donkey Kong exploded in Japan. There were arcades built in Japan during this time that only had Donkey Kong cabinets! With that said, let’s now explain in detail both the 1 & 5 year scenarios. We’ll begin with the 5 year scenario.

The most accepted scenario is that Amada produced Menko for Nintendo over a 5 year period, making Menko in each year from 1981-85. Lets not forget that Amada made Menko long before it made Menko for Nintendo. Amada was a big Menko manufacturer and made many Menko of several different types dating back to the early 1970’s. They made Wrestling Menko, Bruce Lee Menko, as well as many others. When Nintendo experienced the Donkey Kong boom by late summer/fall of 1981, this is when Nintendo approached Amada. To be honest, why wouldn't they. By fall of 1981 in Japan, Donkey Kong was on everything. Donkey Kong was in advertisements, on T-shirts & even on cereal and food boxes all over Japan.  So, why wouldn't Nintendo take advantage of every opportunity. So, Amada produced the Donkey Kong Menko in 1981 along side the other Menko they were producing. Then Donkey Kong Jr was released in Japan in August of 1982. Again, Amada produced the 1982 Donkey Kong Jr Menko along side all its others. Then in 1983, things changed a little. The Famicom was released in Japan on July 15, 1983. Once the Famicom came out and started making more games, Amada continued to produce Menko for these games for Nintendo.  Finally, when Nintendo released Super Mario Bros in 1985, this caused probably the biggest Menko printing boom in Menko history. Nintendo thought Donkey Kong was successful….well Super Mario Bros far exceeded Donkey Kong’s success & then some. Nintendo knew they had a huge hit on there hands. That’s why Nintendo gave the green light to Amada to produce extremely large amounts of Super Mario Bros Menko in 1985.  Amada made tons of square & round Super Mario Bros Menko of all different types & sizes. While they were at it, Amada produced some “throw back” Menko and made some Menko of their previous successful games like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros & others. This is why we see some of the same images on different types of Menko with different dates. 

With all of this said, are we to believe that Nintendo had all this early success with Donkey Kong, Mario Bros (83) & the Famicom, as well as several other pre-85 games…. and didn’t print a single Menko until 1985? 

Now lets take a look at the 1 year scenario. This scenario is that Amada produced “All” existing Nintendo Menko in 1985 only.  I believe what fuels this scenario is when we see several different types of Menko, with the same image, with different dates. I suppose it is easier to lump everything under 1985 as Kaku (square) & Maru (round), instead of trying to decifer Amada’s horrific printing methods. In doing that though, it dimenishes the importance & significance of those Menko made before 1985. Lets dig into the 1 year scenario a little deeper. Nintendo released Super Mario Bros in Japan on September,13,1985. Nintendo didn’t release images of the game until its release or just shortly before. This means the 1985 Super Mario Bros Menko (40 card set) couldn’t have been produced until around September of 1985. This poses a serious question. Are we to believe that Amada produced “all” of Nintendo’s Super Mario Menko in a 4 month period? Even if not 4 months,  is it plausible that Amada made every Nintendo Menko in the calendar year of 1985? A really good clue exists that will help us answer these questions.  

Below are pics of 8 different variants of the 1981 Donkey Kong/Mario Menko. Each one of these Menko are different in their own special way. Different shapes, sizes. One is even a puzzle. They all have different dates. Some dated 1981, some 1983 & some dated 1985. Remember, Amada made all these variants in most all the other Nintendo Menko as well. This again, poses another serious question. Why would Amada make so many different variants, of the same Menko image, with different dates, all in the same year of 1985? Another blow to the 1 year scenario is the elephant in the room. It is a historical fact that Amada stopped Nintendo Menko production in 85, possibly early 86. The industry doesn’t see Nintendo Menko dated after 1985, with the exception of a few round Mario Menko from 86. The elephant in the room is this. Why would Nintendo have Amada take on such a huge monumental project to create insane amounts of Menko only to come to a screeching halt?

There is another very important point to make in this debate. As we previously pointed out, Amada made Menko for several other companies in the 1980’s besides Nintendo, like Konami, Jaleco, Taito & Hudson Soft just to name a few. One of which was Sun Electronics. These Menko are identical in size & have the same backs as the Nintendo silver border (81-84) Menko. Of course the fronts don’t have a silver border. They have different colors, but they also have something special on the front. When Amada made these Menko for Sun Electronics most of the dates are hyphenated & have multiple dates. For example, one Menko is dated 1981-1985. Others dated 1983-1985, or just have 2 different dates side by side. This tells us that Amada is no stranger when it comes to dating Menko like this. Obviously the Menko would date to the time of the latest date on the Menko, and the previous date would indicate when the game was released. Even Nintendo themselves used this very type of dating method on their Famicom game boxes. The Famicom Donkey Kong boxes have a date of 1981-1983 on one end of the box. In fact, most all of the Famicom game boxes have dates like this. All that said to say this. Amada had a history of dating Menko like this for other companies & Nintendo used the same dating method for their Famicom boxes, so if all Nintendo Menko was made in 1985, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem to date the Menko using this method with the later year being the date of production & the earlier date being the release of the game. But….this is not what we see on Nintendo Menko made by Amada. Only a single date is on all the silver border Nintendo Menko, because it was made in the year printed on the Menko. 

Which leads me to another point along these lines. Lets look at two Famicom game boxes. The Donkey Kong box & the Mario Bros (83) box. The Donkey Kong box is dated 1981-1983. The 1981 date is the release of the game & the 1983 was the year the Famicom box & games was produced. Now lets look at the Mario Bros box. It has a date of only 1983. Mario Bros came out the same year as the release of the Famicom in 1983. That is why the single date. Just like the Donkey Kong Jr Famicom box says 1982-1983. Again, first date for the release of the game & the last date is when the box & game was produced. I'm sure if Nintendo wanted to use this method of dating on Menko with date ranges, they could have easily done it, but they didn't. The fact they used this dating method on one product & not on the other would imply the product with the single date was both first released & produced in the same year.  This is what we see on all the silver border (81-84) Menko. A single date, meaning it was released & made in that single year. Below are pictures of the Donkey Kong & Mario Bros Famicom Box along with a few Sun Electronics Menko, and a few others made by Amada for different manufacturers showing this type of dating method.

Through all the years I've been collecting Menko, I've made many friends in Japan. Especially with Menko dealers in Tokyo.  I have been told by more than 1 person (friends & dealers) in Japan that they remember the 81 Donkey Kong & 82 Donkey Kong Jr Menko existing before the Famicom came out in 1983. For what its worth, every Japanese Menko dealer that I have ask agrees with the 5 year scenario. I haven't spoken to any yet that believe Amada produced all Nintendo Menko in only one year.

After looking closely at both scenarios, there are clearly more problems with the 1 year scenario. It would require us to believe that Amada operated outside the lines of logical decision making and common sense. It makes more sense that Amada produced these Menko for Nintendo over a 5 year period starting with the success of Donkey Kong in 1981 and continuing each year as each new success came along. 

One giant printing....Multiple variants of every Menko....All in 1985....Only to suddenly quit almost as fast as you started??  

I'm not sure about that one....

If we take a short look at Nintendo’s early history, it will help us see when Amada came into the picture. As we’ve mentioned before, by late summer to early fall of 81, Donkey Kong was a Huge success in Japan. Donkey Kong was on everything from clothing, magazines, signs, cereal & food boxes & much much more. For all of this to happen, companies & merchandisers would become a “Licensee” of Nintendo. This was an agreement between the two parties that allowed Nintendo to share game & character images with companies & they would make the merchandise that would go to market. Just from the years of 1981-1983, Nintendo licensed Donkey Kong IP to over 50 different Licensees. If the determination is that Amada was a Licensee with Nintendo before 1985, then we know that Amada made Menko for multiple years (81-85). Once again, there is a particular 1983 silver border Menko that helps explain that Amada made Menko for Nintendo for more than one year. Before I get right to it, a brief history beginning in 1981 is in order.  

It is verified that Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi initiated the development of what would become the Famicom in fall/winter of 1981. Following Donkey Kong’s big success, Yamauchi decided Nintendo needed to enter the home market with a proprietary console & he instructed his engineers to create a console that could run arcade games. This all began around the fall of 1981 until the release of the Famicom on July 15, 1983. The Famicom’s launch games was Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr & Popeye upon the consoles release in 1983. Shortly after the release, Nintendo decided to create sports games of which Miyamoto has noted he had direct involvement in the design of the early sports titles Baseball & Tennis. It is verified that Nintendo was developing both Baseball & Tennis in-house “side by side” at the same time in 1983. Baseball was officially released on December 7, 1983. Tennis was officially released on January 14, 1984. It is here we find our clue.

The silver border Baseball Menko is dated 1983 (pic below). This is what we expect to see, because usually the dates we see are the date of the games release. But, with the Tennis Menko, we see something different. The official release date for Tennis is 1984, but the date on the Tennis Menko is 1983 (pic below). Why would Amada date the Tennis Menko 1983, when the official release date from Nintendo was 1984? Now we can get back to our earlier mention of Nintendo Licensees.

Right after the Famicom’s release, Nintendo’s R&D (along with Miyamoto) began working on Baseball & Tennis at the same time. Both games were made along side each other with all the game art. Baseball was released first in December of 83 & Tennis was released next in January of 84. We know that Nintendo was sharing the artwork with Amada for Baseball, so why wouldn’t they share the artwork for Tennis at the same time since both games were made at the same time? This is why Tennis has the 1983 date. And to beat all, the title screen for the Tennis game has a date of 1983 (pic below)! Amada knew Nintendo was developing Baseball & Tennis at the same time. By being a Licensee, Amada received the artwork for both games at the same time & put the 1983 date on both Menko, especially since Tennis was developed in 1983 anyways (according to the title screen). 

In this case, we know that the 1983 date on the Tennis Menko is not a release date, since the official release date by Nintendo is 1984. Nintendo received IP & copyright upon its release in January of 84, so the 1983 date on the Menko is not IP or copyright. The only thing left is Amada simply made the Tennis Menko when they received the artwork from Nintendo in late 83 for Baseball & Tennis, right at the release of the games.

The one year scenario would expect me to believe something that makes no sense at all. We would have to believe that in 1985, Amada for whatever reason, decided to single out the Tennis game & look into its history and see if a different date was necessary. Amada would obviously not do something like this. Nor did Amada use Game Development dates to date Menko. They simply went with the time frame of when they received the artwork from Nintendo in late 83 for Baseball & Tennis. Especially since the title screens for both Baseball & Tennis is dated 1983.

Since Amada was a Licensee in 1983, it only makes since they were a Licensee the whole time from 81-85. Nintendo was not going to miss out on advertising Donkey Kong & all the merchandise sales. They had an absolute Gold Mine in merchandising Donkey Kong & they knew it! Donkey Kong was released on July of 1981. I’m confident Nintendo capitalized on every opportunity to promote the game from 1981 forward. 

Nintendo wasn’t going to experience 3-1/2 years of Massive Success with all their games (81-85)….& Not make a “Single” Menko until 1985?? Of course they wouldn’t do this. And the Tennis Menko is a little window into the Pre-85 Licensee days of Amada.