Big thanks go out to Ferrio who was good enough to research the Barcode Boy and share it with us.

Issue 56/January '94
Page 62:

Bar codes, those small, black and white lines, hold all sorts of information that can be read by computer scanners.  You've seen them at work in grocery stores and other places where information must be processed quickly.  In Japan, they're at work in video games.  The Bar Code Boy Set 2 comes with a bar code scanner, a Monster Maker Game Pak, and two character data cards. Although Monster Maker is also an RPG, it has a Battle Mode that lets two players enter bar codes and then go head-to-head in battle.  The codes they enter determine their players' Hit Points, Magic Points, Attack Points, Defense Points, and Experience Levels.  After entering the codes, the players sit back to see whose character will overcome.  The scanner reads any bar code, not just the ones on the game cards, so the challenge is in trying out lots of codes to find one that will yeild the most powerful character.  (Parents accoss the country who've found holes where bar codes have been cut out of every cereal and chip package in the house must really love his game!) The scanner is also compatible with auto and horse racing games available in Japan.  Players of those games search out codes that will give the fastest car or horse.

Realease date- December 1992
Number Sold- 35,000
System- Game Boy
Company- Namco/Sofel

Comments-
The concept of customizing a game using bar codes is intriguing, and players really scramble to find those killer codes.  Bar code scanners are also available for the Famicom and Super Famicom in Japan, but the number of compatable titles and variety of play is limited.

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