The Ultra Machine is a batting toy distributed by Nintendo and designed by Gunpei Yokoi in 1967.[1]
The toy is part of Nintendo's Ultra Toy series, which includes the Ultra Hand and the Ultra Scope.[1] It launches soft balls that can be hit with a bat. It sold over a million units[2] and was released elsewhere as the Slugger Mate.[3][text–source integrity?]
Another version, the Ultra Machine Deluxe, was released in 1977.[4]
The Ultra Machine appears in as a boss fight in WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! and WarioWare: Smooth Moves as a minigame. It is in Mario Party 5, Animal Crossing: New Leaf as furniture, and in Rusty's Real Deal Baseball. The latter features characters with Ultra Machine-shaped heads. In Splatoon 2, the Bomb Launcher, a special weapon, resembles the Ultra Machine.[5]