Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Pop Culture»Toys & Games
    Toys & Games 2 Mins Read

    Video Pinball

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Despite some industry fears, video didn’t kill the pinball star. Flipper-fuelled action had been an arcade mainstay since long before the days of Pong, and pinball’s popularity was only enhanced by the flocks of kids entering arcades in the late 1970s for the latest round of Breakout or Space Invaders.

    In 1979, Atari attempted to fuse the old school with the new, releasing Video Pinball to arcades everywhere.

    To give the game an authentic feel, Atari designed a cabinet with a real 3-D playfield, lit up with LED’s and a blacklight, and illustrated with bright colours, stars, a cityscape and a disco couple.

    The requisite bumpers, channels and bonus items were all permanent fixtures, but with the use of a mirror mounted in the game cabinet, the ball, flippers and drop targets were projected from a video screen onto the playfield.

    Video Pinball played exactly like the real thing, complete with a plunger, flipper buttons, extra balls and other bonuses. The control panel even allowed players to nudge the ball by pressing down on it, being careful not to push their luck and get a Tilt.

    The game had all the features and all the fun of a traditional pinball machine, but with so many real pinball machines still filling arcades, players preferred their video games with aliens or asteroids.

    Atari released a version of Video Pinball for the 2600 home system, but no future arcade sequels were planned.

    Related Posts

    • Tank
      Tank
      Into a world of Pong clones rolled a pair of…
    • Breakout
      Breakout
      Designed by future Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs (though Apple…
    • Pac-Man
      Pac-Man
      It will come as no surprise that Pac-Man originated in…
    • Pong
      Pong
      The first successful computer game was a video version of…
    • Hayburners II
      Hayburners II
      Flippers have been an important part of pinball games since…
    • Xevious
      Xevious
      A classic vertically-scrolling shoot-em-up Namco arcade game (distributed by Atari),…
    • KISS Pinball Machine
      KISS Pinball Machine
      In the late 1970s, celebrities became a popular theme for…
    • Bazaar
      Bazaar
      One of the most frustrating things about almost every pinball…

    Arcade games
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleXenon
    Next Article Popeye

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • So Long at the Fair (1950)
      Young Englishman Johnny Barton (David Tomlinson) and his sister […]
    • Exciters, The
      Brenda Reid, Carolyn (Carol) Johnson, Lillian Walker, and Sylvia […]
    • Different World, A
      1 9 8 7 – 1 9 9 3 (USA) 142 x 30 minute episodes 1 x 60 […]
    • Gambit (1966)
      This charming caper film teams Michael Caine with Shirley […]
    • Fox Tales
      1 9 8 5 (UK) 12 x 10 minute episodes This animated puppet series […]
    • Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
      Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty) […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.