Play Meter

Issue: 1976 May - Vol 2 Num 5

[continu d from pag 41 )
dimes to quarters? From nickels to
dimes?"
" But don't forget ," added De-
Selm, " three-ball games come with
a liberal extra ball , so your average
game will be four or five balls . A
five -ball game is too long for the
money." The average game today
runs two minutes and 20 seconds
compared with one minute and 20
seconds, the average length when
Williams began the company in
1945.
Williams officials foresee another
change in the pinball industry, an
increasing dominance of four-player
machines and they believe that's
good . At present, W illiams exports
four-player and some two-player
machines. All single player mach -
ines are for domestic markets only .
" One day," predicted DeSelm ,
" there will be nothing but fourplayer
machines in the U .S . It' s the best
game . With the higher prices, you
get more merchandise . The price
warrants the highest quality gim-
micks . "
Besides manufacturing pinball
machines at the Chicago plant,
Williams also produces slot mach-
ines under the Seeburg label. The
company is behind Bally in sales; it
only entered the market in 1973, but
Williams officials claim they can
convert to large-scale production of
the slots if demand picks up .
Next to the pinball department are
the shuffle alleys. Dozens are pro-
duced each day under the United
label, the company which introduc-
ed shuffle alleys in 1949.
Williams has plans to manufact-
ure arcade games . At present, their
production is limited to the pins,
slots and shuffle alleys, but the area
is not new to Williams. In the past
Williams has produced baseball ,
arcade games and novelty items
including a paperback book vending
machine .
Because of competitive consider-
ations, Williarrls officials are vague
about the games they plan to
produce or when they might go on
the market . It may be in six months,
but nothing appears definite, at
least to an outsider .
Whatever the new games, if they
perform nearly as well as Williams'
present pinball machine, it will be
another successful mission for the
company.
.
•••
• ~~
--
/-------
.;:;:---
---
'til it

'mf;(.t;'
"Well, this proves there's intelligent life here. "
Its electronic anti -cheat coin
circuit keeps profits coming
. .. for you!
Its built-i n, auto matic
advertising sequence will
coax lots o f qu a rters
... for you!
Delivery now! Call:
Delivery now! Call:
Jacksonville (F L)
(904) 356-0 256
Miami (FL)
Min neapol is
(612 ) 887-5300
(305) 625 -83 0 7
Tampa (FL)
(8 13) 251 - 180 1
~
Rowe international, inc.
See Ad Page 4
t:::)PIEBERMAN
~MUSICCO.
See Ad Page 4
57
~
Still 25¢ per player, but
two can ploy . Result?
There ' s more in it
. .. for you!
Delivery now! Call:
Houston
(713) 523-7366
I Ie./ 1. I-Y/A]\ 'Z & CO.
See Ad Page 4
Another money-making,
low-maintenance attention
getter . .. for you!
Delivery now! Call:
Grand Rapids (Kentwood)
(616 ) 949-2030
Detroit (Ferndale)
(313) 399-7600
Miller-Newmark
Distributing Company
See Ad Page 4
I continued from page 99)
present and future plans. But for all
the curious-- behind the walls of all
pinball manufacturers, assembly
lines look remarkably similar. It is
funny to think that some feel that D.
Gottlieb does it any differently,
although in truth each manufacturer
has their own unique style and
set-up.
I was taken on what was pointed
out to me a very rare tour of the
facilities and realized that when you
specialize in one endeavor, you can
innovate and improve in procedures
to the point where they become
second nature .
Space is a valuable commodity
here and utilized to its fullest
potential with areas planned out
according to function and need. In
many ways D. Gottlieb & Co . is self-
sufficient, but maybe more-so, it is
self-replenishing . A family spirit is
inherent in what is a close-knit
microcosm of the entire pinball
industry.
The secretiveness many feel is
prevalant at Gottlieb is more a
protectiveness that has evolved
through the years as a reaction to
misrepresentation and slanted pub-
licity (a dilemma all have suffered by
in the pinball business) . But this
company protects its " children"
with an ardent fervor that should be
commended for its self-preservatory
attributes.
The road has been a long and
hard one for the industry and
reactions to the struggle vary. There
are I am sure other stories behind
. why things have volved the way
they have but my intention has
never been to sensationalize the
input I have received but rather to
act as an impartial reporter of the
industry as a whole .
What is behind the doors at D.
Gottlieb & Co? A philosophy that
transcends human potential and
offers an exciting proposition of
creating amusement . There are no
deep dark secrets to be relayed .
Wiring and assembly lines have
different faces, but equipment per
se is the same . Designers work in
their own corner of the world . And
the red , white and blue display room
offers the thrill of new pinball
machines to be played .
It is an efficient operation on all
levels and far less frightening than
childhood nightmares . D. Gottlieb &
Co. for me was a spirit of one man's
dream that is being carried on nobly
by the second generation . Their
growth and popu larity is probably
the truest test of t heir mettle and the
fact that being "conservatively ag-
gressive" has its ultimate benefits.
© 1976 by Roger C. Sharpe
I continued from page -40)
for about $15 million in sales and
bingo machines $5 million.
Arcade games are a $10-million
business . Bally moved into the
field in 1969 and it builds -such
coin -operated amusement de -
vises as rifle, helicopter and video
games. These last use TV sets
and small computers to simulate
road-race games, baseball, bas-
ketball and the like. Despite the
newness and excitement gener-
ated by the video games,
0' Donnell doesn't think they'll
every outsell "pins" and " slots ."
He sees the future of the
company in its present fields, but
expanding into such " virgin mar-
kets" as Africa, South America
and the Communist nations. He
also expects his gambling equip-
ment to become legal in many
states where it is now banned .
Illinois is one of 37 states with
bills in the hopper, he says .
The exciting new
one-an-one action game
is ready to make money
. .. for you!
Delivery now! Call:
Seattle
(206) 682 -5700
M
--V
MUSIC -VEND
D"",bul
"9 (0
See Ad Page 4

Download Page 50: PDF File | Image

Download Page 51 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.