View source for Bassmate Computer

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{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Bassmate Computer
| controllers = 
| memory = 
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| display = [[Liquid-crystal display]]
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| successor = 
| cpu = [[Sharp Corporation|Sharp]] SM5xx family
| power = Two [[Lr44|LR44]]/[[SR44]] [[Alkaline batteries|Alkaline Batteries]]
| title = Bassmate Computer
| family = 
| aka = 
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| developer = [[Nintendo R&D1]]
| manufacturer = [[Nintendo]]
| type = Series of [[handheld electronic game]]s
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| release date = {{Start date|1984}}
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| lifespan = 
| price = $80[[United States dollar|USD]] ~${{Inflation|value=80|start_year=1984|index=US}}USD in {{CURRENTISOYEAR}}
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''Bassmate Computer'' (model number ''BM-501'') (also known under a number of different names) is a pocket-size electronic [[Data bank|databank]] (also unofficially known as a Fish & Watch) from 1984 and a cousin of the [[Game & Watch]] line of handhelds by Nintendo. The Bassmate Computer was originally manufactured by Nintendo and co-designed by the Game & Watch team from [[Gunpei Yokoi|Gunpei Yokoi's]] [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|R&D1 department]] at Nintendo for [[Telko]] and various other companies (like [[Moody's Analytics|KMV]] and [[Probe 2000]]). The [[American]] [[engineer]], [[Bill Olliges]] was the inventor and conceived it together with his business partner Ed Miller, who took care of the marketing through his company Telko. The Bassmate Computer was made to help pro [[Bass fisher|bass fishers]] select the best [[Fishing lure|lure]] and [[Fishing bait|bait]] combination for every [[bass fishing]] condition. The Bassmate Computer originally came with an [[Owner's manual|manual]], a [[thermometer]] for testing the water temperature, a [[waterproof]] [[Ziploc bag|ziplock bag]] to store the Bassmate Computer and a packet with two [[Maxell]] [[LR44 Batteries|LR44 batteries]]. Later productions of the Bassmate Computer were no longer produced by Nintendo, but instead by [[Electronics industry in China|Chinese manufacturers]].

== Development ==
Bill Olliges became interested in bass fishing and he noticed that most pros used a diary to log the [[fishing]] information when they caught notable [[fish]]. The idea of an electronic fishing log occurred to Bill Olliges – that an electronic 'lookup' might be more user-friendly and possibly a viable product. With the help of a few pros to assemble and organize their fishing logs, Bill Olliges created a program that, dependent on the existing condition, would display the specific lure to use for those conditions. At this time, Nintendo had just recently released their Game & Watch handheld range and it looked like a good platform for an electronic fishing log. Bill Olliges and Ed Miller knew several executives from Nintendo through [[Michael Kogan|Mike Kogen’s]] [[Taito]] company in [[Japan]]. They approached Nintendo with the idea for the Bassmate Computer, and they seemed interested in a [[Sporting|'sporting']] type product that was not a game machine. Nintendo saw it as an investigation into a new segment of the market and Nintendo wanted to be Telko [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]]. After the boss at [[Nintendo of America|Nintendo of American]] saw a Game & Watch in the [[US]], they got the idea of contacting Nintendo for the Bassmate Computer. The boss got in direct contact with Gunpei Yokoi and he thought it was a fun project, so Gunpei Yokoi gave the OK to the Bassmate Computer as [[OEM]] product. The Bassmate Computer was handled by [[Takehiro Izushi]] for the [[project management]] and [[Hiroji Kiyotake]] for the [[design]]. During the design and [[pre-production]] stage, Bill Olliges worked directly with the Nintendo team of engineers, [[Programmer|programmers]] and [[Designer|designers]] in [[Kyoto]] to provide the program detail and a rough prototype of what was envisioned. The code for the Bassmate Computer was really hard to put on the small Game & Watch [[Integrated circuit|IC]] and Nintendo had to ask a programmer at Sharp for help. Although the Bassmate Computer is very similar in format to a [[List of Game & Watch games#Vertical Multi Screen series|Vertical Multi Screen Game & Watch]], it has its own unique casing to help keep the appearance different from Nintendo's game products.

== Specifications ==

The Bassmate Computer is powered by the same [[IC]] that is found in a Game & Watch. The Bassmate Computer's hardware is modelled after a Vertical Multi Screen Game & Watch (however, unlike an original Vertical Multi Screen Game & Watch, with the button positions and the rounding of the corners being different and the [[LCD display]] being bigger for legality) and uses two LR44/SR44 Alkaline Batteries, the same found in most Game & Watch, which is estimated to last 6 months for LR44 or 12 months for SR44. Unlike a Game & Watch, the Bassmate Computer's code is more complex.

== Sequel ==
After the success of the Bassmate Computer, more models were created by Bill Olliges and Nintendo had no involvement in the production of them due to being too busy with the [[video game]] business and declined the additional models. The additional models were the Bassmate II, WalleyMate and Troutmate. The Bassmate II is similar in function to the original Bassmate Computer, but the screen readability has been improved.

== See also ==
* Game & Watch
* Nintendo R&D1
* Nintendo

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://blog.beforemario.com/2013/06/bassmate-computer-new-member-on-game.html A blog post about the Bassmate Computer at beforemario.com]
* [http://blog.beforemario.com/2013/06/how-bassmate-computer-came-to-be.html A blog post about the development of the Bassmate Computer at beforemario.com]

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[[Category:Products introduced in 1980]]
[[Category:Fish & Watch]]
[[Category:Handheld electronic games]]
[[Category:Nintendo hardware]]
[[Category:Fishing]]
[[Category:Telko hardware]]
[[Category:Electronics industry in Japan]]
[[Category:Electronics industry in China]]
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