For most of the 20th century it seemed that pinball was sort of the 'cockroach' of the amusement industry--just too tough and/or too adaptable to kill. It survived wars, economic downturn, moral outrage and most recently video games. Despite the changing cultural climate, it was still a shock when WMS Industries, the dominant player in the industry for the past decade and the maker of Williams and Bally machines, announced that it was getting out of the business several years ago. WMS wasn't in any sort of financial peril, but rather they wanted to focus on their more lucrative slot machine and video poker business.
Until the 1980's, pinball dominated the arcade. In the late 1970's and on the heels of the film adaptation of The Who's pinball themed rock opera 'Tommy' arcades featured row after row of new machines from over a half dozen US based manufacturers. Countless other machines were made worldwide. The first shot of the video game industry didn't make much of a dent--'Pong' was revolutionary, but its gameplay was downright dull compared to pinball. It also required two players, another downside in the often solitary isolation of the arcade. The first real challenge to pinball was the second generation of video games, including 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.
Pinball put up a good fight, and popular games continued to appear through the mid 1980's. Several pinball games were actually spinoffs of popular video games--"Spy Hunter and Space Invaders and a number of not so good ones based on the Pac Man video games. For awhile, pinball and video games enjoyed an uneasy co-existence, much like Mac and Windows in the computer world.
It was the late 1980s"when video games became more technologically advanced and began to offer superior play experiences"that pinball lost its way. Depending on the manufacturer, they did it in different ways. Gottlieb and others made simple, traditional games that just couldnt compete with their video counterparts. Bally and other manufacturers went the opposite route"by cramming so much onto a playfield that the game hardly resembled traditional pinball. Some of Ballys late 1980s games"with so much playfield gimmickry going on"were nearly unplayable. By this point"and in large part due to the paucity of compelling pinball machines turned out during this era"video had taken over the arcade. Some larger arcades continued to offer a few pinball machines to placate hardcores, while some eliminated pinball altogether.
Pinball began to experience a bit of a comeback in the 1990's driven by well designed, enjoyable games that finally got the balance between traditional gameplay and modern technology right. Williams and Bally (whom WMS later acquired), along with Data East, were making the majority of new games and some would become classics. Pin-Bot, Earthshaker The Adams Family and Diner are among my favorites of this era. Articles started to appear in the traditional media about the durability and timelessness of pinball, about how the average pinball machine received much more repeat business than the average video game and about the devotion of the pinball player.
With the century drawing to a close, it seemed that the Williams/Bally outfit had found a niche and would be able to grind out pinball machines for the aficionados forever. The final nail in the coffin, however, was a lot of societal changes beyond their control. For one, video games and video arcades became less profitable as companies like Sony and Nintendo were able to transform a lot of the high end gameplay to the home platform. Meanwhile, trends like new urbanism,which saw a return to downtown storefronts and the growth of online shopping combined to hurt traditional shopping malls. Fewer people were going to malls, and they werent staying as long when they did. Mega-malls like the Mall of America and the Forum Shops at Caesar's were the exception to this, but there just werent enough to these to sustain demand. As the century ended, the WMS corporate braintrust decided to pull the plug on pinball and concentrate on their highly profitable gambling machine business. From a business standpoint, it probably made sense but that didnt make it any easier for lifelong pinball enthusiasts to reconcile with.
Pinball still soldiers on, with something of a hipster revival of the games in cities like Seattle and Portland where lovingly restored machines sit alongside new offerings by Stern Pinball, the only remaining manufacturer in the world. At this point, it appears that the only hope for pinball players is that some effort will be made to preserve the machines that already exist.
Until the 1980's, pinball dominated the arcade. In the late 1970's and on the heels of the film adaptation of The Who's pinball themed rock opera 'Tommy' arcades featured row after row of new machines from over a half dozen US based manufacturers. Countless other machines were made worldwide. The first shot of the video game industry didn't make much of a dent--'Pong' was revolutionary, but its gameplay was downright dull compared to pinball. It also required two players, another downside in the often solitary isolation of the arcade. The first real challenge to pinball was the second generation of video games, including 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.
Pinball put up a good fight, and popular games continued to appear through the mid 1980's. Several pinball games were actually spinoffs of popular video games--"Spy Hunter and Space Invaders and a number of not so good ones based on the Pac Man video games. For awhile, pinball and video games enjoyed an uneasy co-existence, much like Mac and Windows in the computer world.
It was the late 1980s"when video games became more technologically advanced and began to offer superior play experiences"that pinball lost its way. Depending on the manufacturer, they did it in different ways. Gottlieb and others made simple, traditional games that just couldnt compete with their video counterparts. Bally and other manufacturers went the opposite route"by cramming so much onto a playfield that the game hardly resembled traditional pinball. Some of Ballys late 1980s games"with so much playfield gimmickry going on"were nearly unplayable. By this point"and in large part due to the paucity of compelling pinball machines turned out during this era"video had taken over the arcade. Some larger arcades continued to offer a few pinball machines to placate hardcores, while some eliminated pinball altogether.
Pinball began to experience a bit of a comeback in the 1990's driven by well designed, enjoyable games that finally got the balance between traditional gameplay and modern technology right. Williams and Bally (whom WMS later acquired), along with Data East, were making the majority of new games and some would become classics. Pin-Bot, Earthshaker The Adams Family and Diner are among my favorites of this era. Articles started to appear in the traditional media about the durability and timelessness of pinball, about how the average pinball machine received much more repeat business than the average video game and about the devotion of the pinball player.
With the century drawing to a close, it seemed that the Williams/Bally outfit had found a niche and would be able to grind out pinball machines for the aficionados forever. The final nail in the coffin, however, was a lot of societal changes beyond their control. For one, video games and video arcades became less profitable as companies like Sony and Nintendo were able to transform a lot of the high end gameplay to the home platform. Meanwhile, trends like new urbanism,which saw a return to downtown storefronts and the growth of online shopping combined to hurt traditional shopping malls. Fewer people were going to malls, and they werent staying as long when they did. Mega-malls like the Mall of America and the Forum Shops at Caesar's were the exception to this, but there just werent enough to these to sustain demand. As the century ended, the WMS corporate braintrust decided to pull the plug on pinball and concentrate on their highly profitable gambling machine business. From a business standpoint, it probably made sense but that didnt make it any easier for lifelong pinball enthusiasts to reconcile with.
Pinball still soldiers on, with something of a hipster revival of the games in cities like Seattle and Portland where lovingly restored machines sit alongside new offerings by Stern Pinball, the only remaining manufacturer in the world. At this point, it appears that the only hope for pinball players is that some effort will be made to preserve the machines that already exist.
About the Author:
Ross Everett is heavy metal editor for The Savage Science, a website covering both MMA news and popular entertainment culture. He's an avid MMA and boxing enthusiast as well, and reportsUFC news for several mainstream sports broadcasts and websites. He's studied judo since childhood and has earned the rank of black belt.
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