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The Birth Of Pinball : 1800s - 1900
The "ancestor"
of all pinball machines is acknowledged to be the 19th
century "Bagatelle-Table",
a sort of hybrid between a "pin table" and pool table.
Players tried to hit balls with cue sticks and
get them into pockets or slots surrounded by nails and
pins. Another step towards the modern
pinball form occurred sometime at the end of 19th century,
when inventor Montague Redgrave patented a device called
a "ball shooter", which was based on the recently invented
steel spring.
"Ball-Shooter" Drawing, Circa 1830's
Games similar to this pictured below were first
popular in bars and cafes in France and America,
but they were not coin operated - Players first exchanged
money for balls to play with, then if players obtained
a high enough score, they would be awarded free drinks,
meals and or cigarettes. Soon after came the introduction
of the first coin-operated Bagatelle and "Bingo" pin
tables.
Bagatelle Table Ad
Bingo Pinball Ad
Pinball - The Early Years :
1930s - 1950s
The first
coin-operated "pinball machine" was
invented in 1931 by Automatic Industries and was called
"Whiffle Board". But the gaming industry really
began in the mid 1930's with the production
of a game called "Ballyhoo". It was invented by one
Raymond Maloney, who later started the Bally
Manufacturing Company of Chicago, IL.
"Whiffle Board", Automatic Ind., circa 1931
"Ballyhoo", Bally Mfg, circa 1934
The pinball machines of this era had wooden legs and
wooden rails on the sides of the machine,
not like today's modern marvels of chrome and steel.
"Ballyhoo" Ad, Circa 1934
It is thought the term "pinball" came into play at this time most likely due
to the fact that the all the machines of this era had
many holes and pins in them. In 1933, electricity was
first introduced to pinball by adding a battery to the
machine and in 1934, the first automatic scoring mechanism
would appear in the form of a "clock" counter, as well
as the first "sounds" in a pinball machine
by way of electromechanical chimes, bells and buzzers.
The popularity of the pinball machine rose dramatically
during the mid to late 1930's in part due to the Depression
and the need for low-cost entertainment for the masses.
Since many pinball operators in the 1930's gave away
prizes based
on high scores, some players tried to cheat by shaking
and lifting the game, so in 1935, the "tilt" mechanism
(a control that determine how hard a pinball machine
can be "shaked") was thought
up by Harry Williams, founder of the famous Williams
Manufacturing Company, in response to
players learning how to control the game to their advantage.
Modern day pinball machines employ two such "tilt devices",
one that measures the movement of the game side to side,
and another
called the "slam tilt" that is used to movement up and
down and prevents such acts as
"slamming" your hand into the machine or trying to drop
the machine.
The "slam tilt" consists of a couple of "leaf switches"
that detect a slam when they touch each
other, while the "movement tilt" uses a pendulum and
bob device that freely hangs inside a metal detection
ring. A tilt warning occurs when either the leaf switches
meet or if the free-swinging pendulum rod touches the
metal ring. Most modern machines give one to three warnings
(user adjustable) before ending the game. Also in 1935,
the first "backglass" appears with lighted
scoring. As more features were added, pinball machines
are then outfitted with electrical transformers so they
could be plugged into standard 110V electrical outlets;
with that advance,
in 1937, the first "coil bumpers" were introduced on
Bally's "Bumper" pinball machine. In 1939,
"disc bumpers" are then introduced to the game.
Pinball From The 50's to the 90's
Pinball machines really
grew in popularity after World War II. The ten year
period of 1948-58 is referred to by some as the "Golden
Age" of pinball, due to the invention of flippers in
1947 by
the D. Gottlieb Co. in a game called "Humpty Dumpty",
and was one of the main reasons for
the renewed interest in pinballs at the time.
"Humpty Dumpty" Gottlieb, circa 1947
"Humpty Dumpty" Sales Flyer, circa 1947
In 1948, a firm called Genco placed one set of
flippers at the very bottom of the playfield in a
machine called "Triple Action" - But the setup was still
a little unusual by today's standards;
the flippers were facing outwards, not inwards like
today's models. See the picture below:
"Triple Action", Genco Mfg., circa 1948
The first game that had a modern flipper arrangement
was the "Spot Bowler", a 1950's D. Gottlieb Co. machine.
Take a look at the picture below if you have not seen
any of these games - you will
be surprised at the smaller size and position of the
flippers - it was not until the mid 70's that most pinball
machines adopted the longer 3 inch flippers we play
with on today's modern machines.
"Spot Bowler" Playfield, D.
Gottlieb, circa 1950
"Spot Bowler" Ad, D. Gottlieb,
circa 1950
It was also in the mid 70's that solid-state (or electronic)
pinball machines were first introduced, starting yet
another huge wave of public popularity due to new games
innovations, features,
Game reliability and cool design features like electronic
scoring, alphanumeric scoring,
electronic sounds and finally electronic speech, which
lasted well into the late 80's.
"Spirit
Of 76" Ad, Micro Games, circa 1975
"Joker Poker", D. Gottlieb, circa 1978
The late 80's saw Williams and Bally merge to become
the dominant player in the market, and in the 90's they
both produced some of the most amazing pinball machines
concepts ever dreamed of like Medieval Madness, Cirqus
Voltaire, Twilight Zone, Theatre Of Magic, Monster Bash,
Scared Stiff, Tales Of The Arabian Nights and the most
popular pinball machine in modern history, Addams
Family (with over 20,000 produced), along with many
other modern-day collectible classics, and finally the
last pinball machines of the golden era of pinball manufacturers,
Cactus Canyon and
the "Pinball 2000" machines, which combined video movies
over standard pinball action.
![[full]](Images/revengefrommars.gif) .
"Addams Family", Bally Mfg., 1992
"Revenge From Mars" (Pinball 2000), Bally Mfg, 1999
Pinball Today : The Next Century
Pinball has come a long
way in the last ten years or so, particularly in complexity,
rulesets and
game quality. Pinball will continue to advance with
the introduction of high-tech devices and
advances incorporated into machine, such as LED's, LCD's,
color dot-matrix displays, and
today new color LCD and plasma flat panel monitors replacing
the traditional pinball playfield.
"Virtual Pinball",
TAB Austria, 2002
"Ultrapin" Digital Pinball, Global VR, 2006
Pinball has now become a "in" item with high-profile
celebrities, baby boomers, business exec's
& families, and has become a fixture on many TV shows
and commercials, movie sets and many
magazine shoots, perhaps due to the "nostalgia factor"
and the advent of personal home game rooms, or realization
that a individual can now easily purchase a pinball
machine, or the fact that playing a few good games of
pinball after a hard day's work can be a tremendous
stress-reliever!
Coke commercial with David Arquette shown
playing one of three classic pinballs in his
actual home collection in the foreground.
In 2009, the industry is left with just one major
designer and manufacturer, Stern Pinball, based
in the Chicagoland area and run by Gary Stern, the son
of Stern Electronics' founder Sam Stern. Stern has released
quite a few interesting and collectable titles over
the past few years, and
hopefully will continue on in the tradition of great
firms like Williams and Bally on future releases.
"Indiana Jones", Stern Pinball,
2008
Stern Pinball's ratio of "home sales" to commercial
sales has risen from practically zero to an estimated
35% - 60% of their total sales in just the last 3 years,
which is an encouraging new
market for them to sell into in the coming years as
operator and commercial account orders
continue to dwindle. There have been some rumblings
of other firms within the coin-op industry
having aspirations of jumping into the pinball machine
game, but nothing seriously has been
reported or announced to date. It will be very interesting
to see what the future holds for pinball
over the course of the next century... However, in late
2008, Stern announced, for the first time
in its history, a major layoff of many in-house pinball
designers, engineers and technical staff,
due to declining sales because of the current economic
climate, which questions the future
of Stern Pinball, and new pinball machines in doubt
- So it you want to purchase a new pinball
machine, buy one as soon as possible, because we predict
that if Stern actually goes out of business, the price
of all remaining pinball machines will skyrocket after
the economy improves.
As for the state of used or "pre-owned" machines, supplies
are very tight and getting tighter,
with ASP (average selling price) of good quality of
pre-owned pinball machine of popular titles
from the late 80's to 90's now appreciating at a rate
of 10% - 25 % or more per year, even in
this economic climate, as more and more individuals
discover (or re-discover) the pleasures
of pinball ownership and supplies dry up. Just a few
years ago, America had all the machines
it ever needed to meet domestic supply; but now it is
estimated that over 60 % of all preowned
pinball machines now sold in the US come from overseas
sources in countries such as Western Europe and Latin
America, due to the increasingly high demand from Americans,
even now.
Surprising Pinball Facts:
Did you know that it
was illegal to own a pinball machine in New York
and other states
at one point in time? Pinball machines were officially
banned in New York by Mayor LaGuardia
on January 21, 1942 because the administration viewed
the game as a "game of luck" rather
than a "game of skill", hence making a pinball machine
a gambling device (in their eyes).
To celebrate the new ban, Mayor LaGuardia proceeded
to smash a large number of
pinball machines directly in front of large crowd of
welcoming onlookers!
From the Las Vegas Mercury Newspaper, Thursday,
March 28, 2002 -
"In their earliest
incarnations, some pin games (so named for the pins
that dotted the playfield, guiding
the ball into holes with point values) such as Bally's
1933 Rocket offered cash payouts to the player if
he landed the ball in certain holes. It wasn't unusual
to see such games taking their place next to conventional
slot machines.
The advent of payout machines, versus nonpaying "novelty"
machines manufactured by many of the
same companies, raised some sticky questions about this
new form of entertainment: Was pinball a
game of skill or luck? The answer would mean the difference
between a harmless game and a form of gambling- even
if the "payout" was a free game.
Some states decided the latter and banned pinball machines.
In January 1942, for instance, New York Mayor Fiorello
Henry LaGuardia banned pinball as a form of gambling,
smashing several machines
in a publicity stunt.
Also, the passage of the Johnson Act in 1950 outlawed
interstate shipping of certain types of pinball machines,
as they were deemed gambling devices. Pinball manufacturers
such as Williams and
Gottlieb responded by mounting a campaign of their own
under the aegis of the Coin Machine Institute; these
pinball makers eliminated payout machines and sought
to show that pinball was a wholesome pastime that had
no connection to gambling--especially with the advent
of flippers in 1947, which
turned pinball, more than ever, into a game of skill.
Still, the ban in New York lasted until 1976; free games
in the form of awarded replays are still illegal
in New York and in other cities, though the laws are
rarely enforced."
Modern Pinball History Timeline
1951 - The first
"slingshot" kickers were introduced.
1953 - The first two-player pinball machine is
released. (pinball machines before this were
strictly
one player affairs)
1954 - The first multiple player pinball machine,
"Super Jumbo", is released by D.Gottlieb.
1956 - The first "multiball" feature is featured
on Bally's "Balls-A-Poppin"
pinball machine
1957 - The first use of a "match" bonus feature
(a number in your final score is matched at
random
to a number the machine picks, resulting in a free game,
or "credit") in
pinball
is introduced.
1960 - The first "add-a-ball" (extra ball) game
called "Flipper"
is developed by D. Gottlieb.
The add-a-ball
award was developed to counter various laws in effect
during this
period that made
it illegal for a game to award replays in certain parts
of the
country because
it was consider a "gambling" activity.
1962 - The first drop target was introduced by
Williams Manufacturing in the "Vagabond"
pinball
machine.
1963 - The first "spinners" were introduced.
1964 - The first "mushroom" bumper (common in
all of today's modern games) was
introduced
by Bally
1966 - The first digital scoring pinball machine,
"Rally Girl" is produced by a French
company
called Rally.
1968 - The first modern flippers (three inches)
are introduced on
Hayburners II by Williams
1975 - The first solid-state, or electronic pinball
machine, "Spirit
of 76", was first introduced
by Micro.
It marks the beginning of the switch from electromechanical
(EM) machines
to "solid-state",
or electronics-based pinball machines.
1976 - The first widely available solid state
pinball machine was introduced by Bally and is
called
"Freedom".
Many of the games from the mid 70's were produced in
two
versions
(both electronic and electromechanical), and the first
"wide-body" pinball,
"The Atarians"
is introduced by Atari. Also in this year, the long-time
pinball machine
manufacturer,
Chicago Coin, makes it last game - The company is taken
over by
Sam Stern
and renamed "Stern Electronics". Gottlieb is sold to
Colombia Pictures.
1977 - The first electronically produced sounds
in a pinball machine were introduced. Also
the first
photographic backglass display is introduced by Bally
on "Lost
World"
1979 - The first "talking" or electronic speech
game was introduced by Williams and was
called "Gorgar",
along with the first machines to have a continuous electronic
background "soundtracks".
This was also the year in which the very last electro-
mechanical pinball
machine is made by Gottlieb
1980 - The first "multi-level" pinball machine
is produced by Williams as "Black Knight:
1984 - Colombia Pictures, owner of Gottlieb,
decides to close. Company is taken over
by Premier Technology.
1985 - The first "alphanumeric" game display
is introduced
1986 - The first automatic replay percentage
feature is introduced. Also the first pinball
machine that
uses a actual photo on the glass is introduced by Gottlieb
on "Raven"
1987 - The first pinball machine with stereo
sound (Laser
War) is produced by Data-East.
1988 - Bally Manufacturing is taken over by Williams
Electronics, but the two companies
continue to produce
separate lines of pinball machines under both names.
1990 - The first solid-state (electronic) flippers
are introduced by
Data-East.
1991 - The first "dot-matrix" game display is
introduced by Data-East in "Checkpoint"
along with
video "modes" that animate certain parts of the game
part on screen.
Also in
the year, electronic plungers become common and the
"ball-saver" feature
is introduced,
in part due to laws in the UK (England) governing games
of chance.
1994 - Sega buys out Data-East
1996 - Gottlieb goes out of business for good.
1998 - The first pinball machine with a video
screen integrated into the design is introduced
by Williams
in their new "Pinball
2000" series machines.
1999 - After just two Pinball 2000 releases,
Williams Manufacturing (WMS) exits the pinball
machine business
for good, but continues on as a maker of gaming devices
for the
global gambling
industry. Also in this year, Gary Stern buys Sega Pinball,
renames
the combined
firms Stern Pinball and continues on as the only pinball
producer
in the world
today (as of early 2004).
2002 - A prototype of the first truly digital
pinball machine,
Virtual Pinball, is introduced at
the 2002 IAAPA
Amusement Show in Orlando by
TAB Austria, and comes with a
a flat panel
monitor replicating the playfield and housed in a non-standard
cabinet.
2006 - The first digital video pinball machine
that replicates the look, play and feel of a
traditional
pinball machine,
UltraPin, is introduced by
GlobalVR, and features
twelve
re-created classic pinball machine playfields from Funhouse,
Eight Ball,
Pin-Bot,
Medieval Madness, Black Knight 2000, Attack from Mars,
F-14 Tomcat,
Fathom,
Firepower, Strikes and Spares, Sorcerer and Xenon all
in one unit.
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