I recently picked up an Atari Skydiver arcade game which has claims of being "the first video arcade game to incorporate pinball technology" which got me thinking.
There are several arcade games out there that either used pinball parts or had pinball technology incorporated in them.
One of the most classic examples I can think of is the early examples of Defender by Williams had the silver "pinball" coin doors (later runs had the typical black coin door).
Other games like Baby Pac-Man and Granny and the Gators some consider an arcade game, some consider pinball and are sort of a hybrids.
Although with Baby Pac you really can't advance on the arcade game side unless you're good at the pinball part which is where you earn all your power pellets etc.
The CRT monitor is more like a display for the video mode on a pinball machine, which is really how you have to play that game to get very far on it.

Anyhow, here are some pictures of the Atari Skydiver I picked up and a little history behind it.
Skydiver was designed by Owen Rubin.
If you’re not familiar with his work, he’s credited with such classics as Space Duel, Battlezone and Major Havoc to name a few.

To quote Owen "I was a pinball fan, so this is the first video game to have a pinball feature. When I asked for it, I had to fight to get it added because they thought I was crazy. The lamps behind the marquee for SKYDIVER are software controllable. When you start the game, the letters flash one at a time. When you jump, the lamps stop on whatever letter is on, and if you land successfully, you "earn" that letter below your score. Spell out Skydiver, and, depending on the options settings, you could earn a free life, a free game, or bonus points".

In the 1970s Atari still had a pinball division and this was the first game to incorporate “pinball technology” into an arcade machine.
Effectively you have an integrated light board with a string of bayonet style pinball bulbs that light the letters on the back glass/marquee that flash in sequence with the same letters on the top of the screen. The controls are pretty cool on this game as you actually pull a control that looks like a ripcord on a parachute to release your parachute and use it to steer left and right in the wind.

I plan on bringing this game to ZapCon next month if anyone is coming and wants to check it out.

Any other arcade games that are pinball related or incorporate things from pinball worth discussing?
Thought it would make for an interesting topic.

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