Gottlieb Pinball machines are the oldest and best known pinball machines in history. Manufactured by D. Gottlieb & Co. (which later changed its name to just Gottlieb), the machines were unique in their own right. The company is known for the classic "wood rail" pinball machines, which were the rage before manufacturers began using stainless steel. The pinball industry did not originally have the flippers that we know of today. The ball could only be sent into the machine once, and it went on its own course until it came out. The flippers were introduced in 1947, which allowed the players to attempt to push the ball back into the game, thus earning them more points. With this, the game became much more engaging, and Gottlieb was quick to put the flippers in their machines as well.
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Bally Pinball is one of the most important companies of pinball machines. Since it was first started in the early 1930 by Ray Moloney, this important company gained more and more fame because of their products which were top-quality and unique. The first licensed movie theme pinball was designed by them in 1975 after the movie The Who's Tommy, followed by a breakthrough product that hit the headlines in 1979, named Star Trek Pinball, named after the famous Star Trek movie.
Stern Pinball is the sole manufacturer of arcade-quality pinball games. Pinball is a game that has ancestral links to Bowls and Bocce, which gave birth to games that required balls to be hit with sticks. This arcade game is not just a luck testing games, but it is a game where you can test your technique. Earlier, the gaming industry was jam-packed with companies that manufacture pinball games. But, in 1980s the relays of the game was replaced by its electronic version (chips). Stern Pinball Inc. is a North American pinball game manufacturer that designs and produces arcade quality pinball games. Located in Illinois, the company is the only manufacturer of coin-operated pinball games. Tracing its origin all the way back to 1930s, Stern still carries his pinball banner by producing machines with themes such as Batman, Avatar, Tron, Family Guy, Pirates of Caribbean and many more.
Data East Pinball is a machine that has an interesting history. Tetsuo Fukuda founded the Data East Company on April 20, 1976. The company was originally an electrical engineering company that focused its resources on integrating interchangeable tapes on the interior of arcade games. Originally, video game operators had to replace the cabinet when they were replacing a game from a machine. Creation of the tapes made it possible for video game operators to undergo this process without replacing the cabinet. When Data East realized there was more money to be made in the actual games, they began developing their own arcade games in 1978.
Williams Pinball machines are manufactured by WMS industries. WMS is an American company based in Illinois and is makers of electronic gaming and amusement equipment. Their two main subsidiaries are WMS gaming and Orion gaming. Williams Manufacturing Company (WMS) was founded in the year 1943 by Harry E Williams initially as Williams Electronics, Inc. Williams initially started their manufacturing business as makers of pinball tables. The first few products from the company stable were fortune-telling machines, electro-mechanical game, a novelty machine and pinball conversions. Williams was a Stanford graduate, who later on successfully developed the tilt mechanism for the pinball machines.