In a mid-2024 Facebook comment (shortly after the reveal of Stern's John Wick), George Gomez claimed that licensing restraints left them unable to put text over film clips in James Bond 007 (2022). I unfortunately do not have a direct source - I believe I got this screencap from a Pinside thread.

Dave Christensen's art for Spirit of '76, an unmade pinball game slated for 1976 (unrelated to Gottlieb's). According to the IPDB, who got this image from Jay Stafford, it is currently unknown if Bally ever considered producing it despite their logo's presence. Source: www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?i...

Song: Main Theme Game: Red & Ted's Road Show (by Williams) Composer: Chris Granner The prelaunch theme is considered a part of the song's loop yet isn't included at the start - this is accurate to how the original game handles it. I plan to upload an edited version stitching the two together later.

Steve Ritchie proposes that operators set Black Knight 2000's volume high to increase earnings, taken from a letter sent out after the game's release. Excerpted from a PDF on the IPDB: www.ipdb.org/files/311/Wi...

Song: Ball 1 Locked Game: Doctor Who (by Bally/Midway, a subsidiary of Williams Electronics) Music: Jon Hey Original composer: Ron Grainer

In this excerpt from a 2009 interview, John Popadiuk briefly discusses the popularity of Cirqus Voltaire among the LGBT community. Taken from the Pinball Blog: www.thepinballblog.com/2009/07/pinb...

Song: Main Theme Game: World Challenge Soccer (by Premier, using the Gottlieb name) Composer: Duane Decker Like many Gottlieb/Premier songs from this era, this track's pitch increases after every single loop. For length and listenability reasons, I cut it off after two loops.

Early artwork for Bad Cats' cabinet sides, done by Python Angelo. Image provided to the IPDB by James Loflin: www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?i...

Song: Video Mode / Choose With Flippers Game: Super Mario Bros. (by Premier, using the Gottlieb name) Music: Dave Zabriskie* Original composer: Koji Kondo * I'm not 100% sure about this - Pinside credits him as the game's composer, but IPDB doesn't.

The first whitewood for Black Knight 2000, from a photo found and posted on Facebook by programmer Ed Boon in 2013. He notes that the game was originally meant to be a sequel to Flash (also designed by Steve Ritchie), hence the "FLASH" inserts. Taken from Pinside user "woz" - link in replies!

Song: Multiball Game: World Cup Soccer (by Bally/Midway, a subsidiary of Williams Electronics) Composer: Vince Pontarelli

Like many Sega Pinball games, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein sometimes displays Sonic the Hedgehog during its attract mode. Unlike other Sega games, it will occasionally depict him with scars and stitches (like Frankenstein's monster).

Song: Jackpot Collected Game: Baywatch (by Sega Pinball) Music: Brian Schmidt Original songwriters: Jimi Jamison, Joe Henry, Cory Lerios, & John D'Andrea

Song: Outlane Drain / Video Mode Death Game: Super Mario Bros. (by Premier, using the Gottlieb name) Music: Dave Zabriskie* Original composer: Koji Kondo * I'm not 100% sure about this - Pinside credits him as the game's composer, but IPDB doesn't.

In this excerpt from the November 1995 issue of Play Meter, Gary Stern (then at Sega Pinball) mentions how licensed games can benefit from subsequent developments in the same franchise. Originally uploaded to the Internet Archive by Hubz.

Song: Turbo Multiball Game: Indianapolis 500 (by Bally/Midway, a subsidiary of Williams Electronics) Composer: Chris Granner

A photograph of Gary Stern and Pat Lawlor with RollerCoaster Tycoon (designed by the latter), released around the time the game was first officially announced. Taken from Pinball News: www.pinballnews.com/games/roller...

Song: Boston Tea Party Game: World Cup Soccer (by Bally/Midway, a subsidiary of Williams Electronics) Composer: Vince Pontarelli

Williams' Time Warp features an unauthorized depiction of fantasy artist Michael Whelan in its art. Whelan himself first noticed this in 1980; he believes it was referenced from a photo included in the 1978 art book Sorcerers. Images from Classic Playfields & Whelan's Substack - links in replies!

Funny enough, history repeated itself with Jack*Bot and it was Larry DeMar's turn to help get a game done in record time to keep the production line humming. It was pitched as "simple, easy to learn!" because there wasn't time to do anything more complex. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEXf...

Excerpt from a statement provided by Ed Suchocki, programmer of Time Fantasy (1983), to the Internet Pinball Database regarding the game's creation. Source: www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?...

Song: Multiball Game: Ripley's Believe It or Not! (by Stern Pinball) Composer: Chris Granner Requested by notaboomstickboy on YouTube. There may be some slight crackling in this upload - I apologize for that.

According to Steve Ritchie (in a 2006 interview with Jim Jansen for Pinball News), a designer who left Williams for Bally who knew about the then-unfinished Black Knight took advantage of that knowledge to create Flash Gordon for the latter company. Source: www.pinballnews.com/games/worldp...

Song: Ball 2 Locked (Multiball Ready) Game: Ripley's Believe It or Not! (by Stern Pinball) Composer: Chris Granner There may be some slight crackling in this video - I apologize for that.

Song: Bob's Crazy Selfie Mode Game: Dialed In! (by Jersey Jack Pinball) Composer: David Thiel I had to edit in the loop to match how the song plays in-game.

Song: Intro Game: Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball (by Bally) Original composer: Toshio Kai I'm not sure who arranged this version - the closest thing to a proper music credit for the game that I know of is programmer Rehman Merchant, who I suspect may have also handled its sound.

As of February 2026, Barrels of Fun's Winchester Mystery House is playable at its namesake in San Jose, California. Source: www.instagram.com/winchestermy...

Early concept art for the backglass for Stern's Star Wars, shown by artist Greg Freres at 2017's Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show. Taken from Pinball News: www.pinballnews.com/games/starwa...

According to Super Mario Wiki user AndratVA, who emailed composer Dave Zabriskie, Gottlieb's Super Mario Bros. pinball machine features the voice of Craig Brolley as Mario. Source: www.mariowiki.com/File:Zabrisk...

Song: Game Over Game: Transformers (by Stern Pinball) Music: David Thiel Original composers: Ford Kinder & Anne Bryant Link to original backglass image: vpuniverse.com/files/file/2...

There is a museum dedicated to the 1996 film Twister in Wakita, Oklahoma. In this clip, manager Linda Wade discusses their pinball machine based on the film, originally owned by star Bill Paxton. Taken from a YouTube upload by David Chasanov: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RZ5...

According to a January 2026 Pinside post by J. Brian Vincent, current owner of American Pinball, Barry O's Barbeque Challenge (released under prior management in 2024) only had 200 units produced at most, implying that it did not sell well. Source: pinside.com/pinball/foru...

In a 2025 Pinside post, Josh Kugler (programmer of American Pinball's Houdini) claimed that vice president David Fix insisted that the company start using Mirco playfields after he joined, despite them previously being rejected for poor quality. Source: pinside.com/pinball/foru...

Constantino Mitchell's original playfield art for Williams' Stellar Wars (1979), alongside comments he made about his work to the Internet Pinball Database. Original photograph by James Loflin: www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?i...

This original drawing of the playfield for Bally's Space Invaders (sold by Planetary Pinball) indicates that it was originally planned to have 4 full-length flippers instead of 2 plus 2 shorter ones. This backs up a previous statement made by designer Jim Patla to the IPDB. Sources in replies!

A clip from Stern's official making-of video for Jaws (2024) discussing the creation of the shark bash toy. They originally planned to have it serve as a scoop that would "eat" the ball, but problems with visibility led to the design being retooled. Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyxH...

A reader-submitted letter from the October 15, 1980 edition of Play Meter magazine. Originally scanned by Hubz & uploaded to the Internet Archive - link in replies!

Promotional pictures for the 60th Anniversary Limited Edition of Stern's James Bond 007, such as the one below, consistently show a score of 1,962 on the scoring reels. This references the fact that the first Bond film, Dr. No, came out in 1962. Image source: sternpinball.com/wp-content/u...

Song: Trolls! Game: Medieval Madness (by Williams Electronics) Composer: Dan Forden

A picture of Stan Lee with his personal Amazing Spider-Man machine (by Gottlieb). Photographed by Michelle Faraone McCallum. Source (including much higher-resolution image): therealstanlee.com/life-of-an-i...

Song: Multiball Game: Jack*Bot (by Williams Electronics) Music: Jon Hey Original composer: Chris Granner

Song: Multiball Ready Game: Space Jam (by Sega Pinball) Music: Brian Schmidt

Song: Multiball Ready Game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (by Data East Pinball) Sound: Brian Schmidt

Song: Come Fly with Me Game: The Party Zone (by Bally/Midway, a subsidiary of Williams Electronics) Sound: Dan Forden Original composer: Jimmy Van Heusen

Song: Multiball Ready Game: South Park (by Sega Pinball) Music: Kyle Johnson Composer(s): Adam Berry, Bruce Howell, and/or Trey Parker* * The episode credits Berry as main composer & the latter 2 for "additional music." Unsure of who to list here, I erred on the side of caution.

A photograph of Revenge from Mars from its debut at 1999's ATEI show in London. From left to right: Larry DeMar, Lyman F. Sheats, George Gomez, all of whom worked on Pinball 2000. Image taken from the Pinball Owners Association's website (archived): web.archive.org/web/19990508...

Merry Christmas, everyone! youtu.be/zf7Vlbq8TnQ

The October 15, 1980 edition of Play Meter accompanied an interview with Gottlieb CEO Robert W. Bloom (which discussed the pinball industry's shift from electromechanical tech to solid state) with this cartoon. Originally scanned by Hubz on the Internet Archive - link in replies!

Song: Turkey Multiball Game: Big Buck Hunter Pro (by Stern Pinball) Music: Ken Hale Since this song does not loop in the game's files, I edited it to do so (basing the timing on how it plays in-game).

Song: Paradise City Game: Guns N' Roses (by Data East Pinball) Music: Brian Schmidt Original writers: Guns N' Roses (Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler, & Slash)