What is the first Japanese game to get a US release?

[BetaWolf47]

I'm just curious, because the oldest one I can think of is Phoenix for Atari 2600 in 1980.

[tom]

Space Invaders came to USA in the 70s (79?), and Namco titles were even earlier (I think Atari released Namco titles as early as 1978 or so?)
Mind you Sega released Periscope Up in 1965, worldwide. And Sega was Japanese by then, as they started out as a USA company.

[Ed Oscuro]

I tend to forget about the really REALLY old videogames though, but compare what's in KLOV:

Namco - 1978 (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7927)

Taito - 1973 (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9128)

That said, I'm having some trouble believing that a compromise video pinball-style game was the first video game from Namco, and the only one from 1978, but I can't think of anything older than that. Galaxian was the next year, of course.

I'd bet at least one of the couple dozen (at least) Taito games out before that Namco game got a US release. I'm almost certain at least a number of them would have.

MAME might give a clue if some of those older games had a Midway-licensed version, as Space Invaders did.

It wasn't until 1979 that Taito created an American division, while Namco had bought Atari's Japanese division in 1974 and was releasing games in the U.S. by 1978.

[JohnnyBlaze]

According to Arcade Fever, Gun Fight by Midway was the first game to be imported from overseas.