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» Bally or Williams? Which was your top manufacturer?

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Bally or Williams? Which was your top manufacturer?

By Ordinal

6 years ago

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18 posts
17 Pinsiders participating
Latest reply 6 years ago by Milltown
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#1 6 years ago

DAD

Ordinal

Inactive member

6y 24,550 33 7

Both companies made some excellent machines, and their merger only made them stronger.

But, I'm curious, who was your "money-maker" of the duo?

I cannot deny that Williams had some fantastic and persisting ideas. Games like Taxi, Medieval Madness, Funhouse, the Pinbot series, and High Speed still live on the the hearts of many to this day. Star Trek: The Next Generation is getting the most playtime out of me, personally.

However, in my opinion, Bally was the true king of Pinball. The Addams Family was one of the top sellers of all time, and even got me into playing pinball. The Twilight Zone is one of the most beloved machines ever created. Attack from Mars, Theater of Magic, and Safecracker are also highly regarded.

So, I must ask; in your opinion, which of these two were the powerhouse behind the Bally/Williams brand?

#2 6 years ago

???

Mopar

Pinside+ Member

Unknown

7y 80,050 4,180

I'm EM, and in the 70s I feel Bally start making its move.

#3 6 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,984 24 7

Williams. From Space Station until they closed. They were the money earner for me.

LTG : )

#4 6 years ago

LRP

lpeters82

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 132K 5,289 8

Williams by a hair.

#5 6 years ago

DAN

gunstarhero

Pinside member

15y 104K 3,440

Since they are the same company after 1988 the point seems a lil moot, but in the spirit of the question, I usually seem to like Bally branded games a little more. Its like 51/49 tho.

#6 6 years ago

SAP

seshpilot

Pinside member

11y 112K 2,529 169 3

Neither. Gottlieb

#7 6 years ago

KID

pinkid

Pinside member

10y 48,650 1,479

Bally for sure.

#8 6 years ago

TAK

Coin_Door_Kid

Inactive member

Unknown

8y 28,900 31 5 8

I like them both the same. Lots of great times on both growing up. We used to race to play Comet when it came out

#9 6 years ago

MAX

mbaumle

Pinside member

Gloucester Township, NJ

8y 119K 4,200 18 32

I think it depends on the generation. I never operated, only play, and here's my opinion:

EMs: Gottlieb was the undeniable king. Ed Krynski designs coupled with Gordon Morrison artwork made for killer games.

Early Solid State: Bally ruled this era. Their board set, daring designs, and rather complex rules really made them stand out. Sure, Williams had Firepower, and Gottlieb had Black Hole, but do either of them really compare to games like Centaur?

Later Solid State: Williams 100%. And then when Williams bought Bally and merged design teams, they got even better. From Space Shuttle onward, they had fantastic ideas that were executed so well.

#10 6 years ago

JAY

doompin

Pinside member

8y 51,800 155 9 75

I like most pins from the 80s. Manufacturer never made much of a difference to me but I have owned more Williams machines than any other manufacturer so I guess that the evidence is apparent.

#11 6 years ago

ECB

erak

Pinside member

Grimsby, ON

15y 122K 3,749 5 86

Basically bally/Williams system 11 pins up untill pinball2000 I still consider the most fun and best pins ever built.

#12 6 years ago

DAD

Ordinal

Inactive member

6y 24,550 33 7

Quoted from seshpilot:
Neither. Gottlieb

Wow, I had no idea Gottlieb was merged into B/W. Learn something new every day...

#13 6 years ago

Skyemont

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 125K 5,973

Wow!!! Very good question indeed. I love both companies, so I can't say. I do own more Bally pinballs than Williams at this time.

#14 6 years ago

444

sunnRAT

Pinside member

9y 119K 2,069

Gotta give the slight edge to Williams because BSD is my favorite pin.

#15 6 years ago

ROB

VectorGamer

Pinside member

Harrisburg, PA

7y 54,150 591 25

Williams

#16 6 years ago

DAV

zombywoof

Pinside+ Frequent

10y 85,300 1,481

Bally for sure in the early SS era, but they had started to slip by the Bally-Midway period, just when Williams had really started to up their game.

#17 6 years ago

JIG

jwilson

Pinball Art Prints

Toronto, ON

9y 106K 5,052 6 7

You know they just flipped the name back and forth, right? First they'd make a Williams, then they'd make a Bally. So there's no difference, it was random chance.

The only exception I think is JPOP asking for his games to be Ballys.

#18 6 years ago

MIL

Milltown

Pinside member

Palmer, MA

7y 67,350 1,399 11 7

Bally until early 80s.. then williams ..

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