The is a novelty toy made by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

in 1969. Designed "for young ladies and men", the device tries to determine how much two people love each other. To operate the device, both users grab one of the connected spherical metal sensors with one hand and hold each other's hands with the other; the

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

on the device displays their "love score" on a scale between 1 and 100. The Love Tester was designed by

Gunpei Yokoi , sometimes transliterated as Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese toy maker and video game designer. As a long-time Nintendo employee, he was best known as creator of the Game & Watch handheld system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the ...

(eventual creator of the

Game & Watch is a series of handheld electronic games developed by Nintendo. Designed by Gunpei Yokoi, the first game, ''Ball'' was released in 1980 and the original production run of the devices continued until 1991. The name Game & Watch reflects thei ...

series and the original

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

), who said that he "loved explaining that the meter gave better results when people kissed the girl..." It was the first product by Nintendo to use real electronic components. It was also one of the few products by Nintendo during the 1960s that was sold outside Japan. The device was marketed in Western markets as a "Love/Lie Detector". It was also released as part of a "Mini Game Series", and other versions of the device were packaged differently and contained English instructions. It was advertised heavily on Japanese television, with commercials that have gained a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

. It originally sold for . In July 2010, the Love Tester was re-released in Japan by Tenyo, featuring the original packaging, and officially endorsed by Nintendo. Website

Destructoid ''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017 and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022. Histor ...

reported in 2010 that the device sells for US$55. The Love Tester is considered one of the most sought-after products from Nintendo's earlier years and is considered one of the most unusual products created by Nintendo. The Love Tester was featured as a "DooDad" in '' WarioWare: Twisted'' for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

and as the "Prototype Detector" in ''

Pikmin 2 is a 2004 real-time strategy puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the direct sequel to the 2001 game '' Pikmin'' and the second game in the '' Pikmin'' series. In the game, Olimar returns to the Pikmin ...

'' for the

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

. It also appears as a collectible item in '' Animal Crossing: New Leaf'' and can be found as an Easter egg in '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D''. Furthermore, in '' Chee-Chai Alien'' for the

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

, Chailien No. 113 Rabuta (ラブタ) is a Love Tester with arms and legs. In '' WarioWare Gold'', the Love Tester was featured as a collectable and also an upgraded version called Love Tester 2.0 appears but acts different. One player must draw half a heart while the other finishes it showing the love score. A software remake of the Love Tester, called the Compat-I-Com, appears as a Gaddget in ''

Mario Party Advance is a 2005 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and A.I and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the first Handheld game console, handheld game in the ''Mario Party'' series and the seventh entry in the series overall. The ga ...

'' for the Game Boy Advance.

References

{{Nintendo Company Nintendo toys 1960s toys Electronic toys

See also

References