Silverball Chronicles with Ron and David

Episode 20: Pinball Is Dying - Part 2: Bally/Williams

 

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Episode Summary 

The 90s saw the biggest leap in pinball mechanics and technology that the hobby had ever seen. The Dot Matrix Display and how Bally/Williams leveraged it, made the pins from the previous decade look like a horse and buggy. The purchase of Bally by Williams created a competitive shark tank, forcing designers and engineers to continuously one-up each other.

 

But as the 90’s marched on, the industry contracted. Designers exited or moved on to other areas, junior designers took their place and built some of the best machines Bally/Williams had produce, but sadly the sales numbers didn’t reflect that.

 

Ron and Dave chat all about the final years of Bally/Williams including Adam Rhine’s Dot Animation, Congo’s amazing shot layout, J-Pop, Attack From Mars, Dave saying 'spider' correctly after listening while editing, George Gomez giving a poetic definition of ‘Flow’, Chicago Gaming Company Remakes, and can the magic of Bally/Williams be replicated? 

 

 

Sources: 

Pinside at Pinside.com

WMS- IGT Settlement Agreement. Here.  

This Week In Pinball – George Gomez, Armed and Dangerous. Here. 

TOPCast Pinball Show:

#10 John Trudeau. 

#63 Keith Johnson. 

#40 George Gomez.

#28 Adam Rhine  


Shalhoub, Michael (2004). The Pinball Compendium: 1982 to Present. Schiffer Publishing, Lt. Here