N&B Block — BrandWiki

N&B Block

Overview

N&B Block

alt	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.
othernames	Nintendo Block
type	Construction set
company	Nintendo
country	Japan
from	1968
to	1972

N&B Block, also known as Nintendo Block , is a discontinued brand of construction set toys produced by Nintendo from 1968 to 1972.

History

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 round and cylindrical pieces, which were not used widely 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 and it cost ¥980 1968.[3] The lower price of N&B Block made the product popular among children that could not afford Lego sets.[4]