Vintage Pinballs - EM - 50´ 60´ 70´ - part 1

http://www.youtube.com/group/visualpinball
(...) By the 1930s, manufacturers were producing coin-operated versions of bagatelles, now known as "marble games" or "pin games". The table was under glass and used Redgrave's plunger device to propel the ball into the upper playfield. In 1931 David Gottlieb's Baffle Ball became the first overnight hit of the coin-operated era. Selling for $17.50, the game dispensed five balls for a penny. The game struck a chord with a public eager for cheap entertainment in a depression-era economy. Most drugstores and taverns in America operated pinball machines, with many locations making back the cost of the game in a matter of days. Baffle Ball sold over 50,000 units and established Gottlieb as the first major manufacturer of pinball machines.

In 1932, Gottlieb distributor Ray Moloney found it hard to obtain more Baffle Ball units to sell. In his frustration he founded Lion Manufacturing to produce a game of his own design, Ballyhoo, named after a popular magazine of the day. The game became a smash hit as well, its larger playfield and ten pockets making it more of a challenge than Baffle Ball, selling 50,000 units in 7 months. Moloney eventually changed the name of his company to Bally to reflect the success of this game. These early machines were relatively small, mechanically simple and originally designed to sit on a counter or bar top.

The 1930s saw a leap forward in innovation in pinball design and devices with the introduction of electrification. A company called Pacific Amusements in Los Angeles, California, USA produced a game called Contact in 1933. Contact had an electrically powered solenoid to propel the ball out of a bonus hole in the middle of the playfield. Another solenoid rang a bell to reward the player. The designer of Contact, Harry Williams, would eventually form his own company, Williams Manufacturing, in 1944. Other manufacturers quickly followed suit with similar features. In addition, electric lights soon became a standard feature of all subsequent pinball games, designed to attract people to the game.

By the end of 1932 there were approximately 150 companies manufacturing pinball machines, most of them in the city of Chicago. Chicago has been the center of pinball manufacturing ever since. Competition between the companies was brutal, however, and by 1934 there were only 14 companies left.

During World War II all of the major manufacturing companies in coin-operated games were put into use manufacturing equipment for the American war effort. Some companies like Williams bought old games from operators and refurbished them, adding new artwork with a patriotic theme.

By the end of the war, a generation of Americans looked for amusement in their bars and malt shops. Pinball saw another golden age of growth. Innovations such as the tilt mechanism and free games (known as replays) appeared.

The post-war era was dominated by Gottlieb. Game designer Wayne Neyens along with artist Leroy Parker turned out game after game that collectors consider some of the most classic pinball machines ever designed. The most famous were designed by James Rider, the man behind the epitomous catchphrase "I've got it", amongst others.

Gottlieb's Humpty Dumpty, introduced in 1947, was the first game to add player-controlled flippers to keep the ball in play longer and added a skill factor to the game. The low power of the Humpty Dumpty flippers necessitated that three pairs be placed around the playfield in order to get the ball to the top. But the addition of a DC power supply enabled the flippers on Humpty Dumpty to become only two, more powerful ones at the bottom of the Triple Action playfield -- one of many innovations by designer Steve Kordek, who is also credited with introducing the very first "drop target" (1962 on Vagabond) and "multiball" (1963 on Beat the Clock) concepts to the game. (wikipedia)

In this movie:
Alladin Castle
Aztec
Captain Fantastic (w/Elton John)
Captain Kidd
Central Park
Cover Girl
Dancing dolls
DRAGON
Flipper fair
Flying circus
Four Millons BC
Humpty Dumpty

Visual Pinball is a free program that allows programmers to create and play pseudo-3D renditions of pinball machines on a home computer. It is unlike any pinball simulation program made previously in terms of realistic graphics and physics. This gives pinball players an opportunity to play renditions of real pinball machines that they might not otherwise ever be able to in real life. (...)

Visit
"Visual Pinball Forums - Complete Pinball Discussion"
for more information

Music:
Satelite Kingston
NEW YORK SKA JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Dancing mood

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• visual
• pinball
• table
• flipper
• game
• simulation
• pinmame
• emulation
• bally
• williams
• dataeast
• gottlieb
• pc
• mame
• roms
• emulator

[cobrachoppergirl]

Is Visual Pinball available because I went to the website and all the download links are broken...

[LanIost]

(final continuation)

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get back Donkey Kong as it's (most likely) skyrocketed in price due to thinks like "King of Kong." It truly makes me depressed but... what can I do? It was most likely a timing thing. Mother wanted them out of the house and I wasn't old enough to have moved out so.. that's what happened.

I wonder if I could get a hold of the friend that took it and see if I could get it back..

Anyway, anyone know if anyone has done Beat the Clock for this?

[LanIost]

(continued)

I think the paint job was to make it match the room. This almost makes me cry as it is such a beautiful machine. The play area has remained unchanged though. Since it didn't really have any artwork on the area he painted, it could be restored but I like it to have the original paint job if possible.

Also, I am 'the gamer' in the household. Especially retro games. Somehow Donkey Kong went to a friend of my brothers and so did Centipede. I would have literally cherished them but..

[LanIost]

This makes me wanna.. somehow.. scan "Beat the Clock" in and make it into a table for this.

I'm 25 but was lucky enough to grow up with a father who purchased Donkey Kong, Centipede, Space Invaders and two pinball games: Beat the Clock and.. I can't remember what the other is.

Anyway, the one I can't remember is at my brothers house in the garage and Beat the Clock is still in the basement at my parents house. Apparently my dad..... painted it however. Why I'll never know.

[St4ffire]

Name of the game?

[dvdfrnzwbr]

Atari kicked pinballs ass. Asteroids and Space Invaders gave you at least 10 times the game play for the same price.

[cosmikron]

Great vid...thanks

[autosmell]

Who plays the first song ? Good shit !

[TitoCompianni]

Aztec from Williams, i know her from Visual Pinball, but not personally. It looks be a great table!!! very funny

[sdfghujikl]

what game is this? looking so cool.