The Money Game (ザ・マネーゲーム?) is a simulation game developed and published by Sofel for the Famicom in 1988. The game is one of the few Nintendo games that teaches young Japanese students about the inner workings of a stock market. Literacy in the Japanese language is required and players must interact with a virtual newspaper (which looks like a traditional printed newspaper of the 1980s), a telephone and even a personal computer.
Once the player starts the game, he is issued with 1,000,000 yen and must gain money using the stock market. At first, only 140 days are allotted for profit earning; the number of days is reset after moving into better housing. After earning a profit and starting a relationship with a girlfriend, the player may upgrade his living quarters from a modest apartment to a great terraced house. The final stage in the game is living in a mansion with an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The player is represented by a pencil-like cursor.
Interest rates and currency exchange rates are likely to influence the price of stocks over the course of the game. It is possible to access a screen showing the player's net worth (the combined values of his stocks, cash flow, vehicle and house). In order to take his girlfriend on a date, he must purchase an automobile. Vehicles available for purchase range from the relatively inexpensive Volkswagen Golf to the extremely expensive Mercedes-Benz. Once the player's girlfriend is reasonably happy in the relationship, she will marry the player and have children. Other information such as the news reports and crude oil prices can determine the movement of stocks in the game.
If players don't live up to the in-game expectations, the player receives a "game over" for being a bad investor. This game eventually resulted in a sequel that would become the basis for the NES game Wall Street Kid. However, no other stock market-related games have been released for any other system as a standalone product. Stock market–type minigames have appeared in games like Railroad Tycoon and Capitalism Plus to provide extra income to the player's business venture(s).
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Title screen
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Game screen
Story
A stock market investing hero must fall in love with his girlfriend Grace, get married, start a family, and earn one billion yen on the stock market within a certain amount of time.