Video Pinball series
The Video Pinball brand is a series of first-generation single-player dedicated home video game consoles manufactured, released and marketed by Atari, Inc. starting in 1977. Bumper controllers on the sides or a dial on the front are used to control the games depending on the game selected. There are three game types in the first model of the Video Pinball series: Pinball, Basketball, and Breakout. The first model is based on the single chip 011500-11/C011512-05 ("Pong-on-a-chip") produced by Atari.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2015) |
 Model C-380 woodgrain | |
| Developer | Harold Lee[1] |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari, Inc. |
| Type | Series of dedicated home video game consoles |
| Generation | First generation |
| Released |
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| Display | Horizontal orientation, Raster, medium resolution |
| Predecessor | Atari Stunt Cycle |
| Successor | Atari 2600 |
The Video Pinball brand is a series of first-generation single-player dedicated home video game consoles manufactured, released and marketed by Atari, Inc. starting in 1977. Bumper controllers on the sides or a dial on the front are used to control the games depending on the game selected. There are three game types in the first model of the Video Pinball series: Pinball, Basketball, and Breakout.
The first model is based on the single chip 011500-11/C011512-05 ("Pong-on-a-chip") produced by Atari.[2][3]
Gameplay
[edit]Video Pinball allows 7 games—4 pinball variations, a basketball game, and two versions of Breakout (Breakout and a variant called Break Away)—for one to two players. The unit provides digital on-screen scoring, automatic serves, and color graphics.[4]: 26 Video Pinball uses a microcontroller and a small amount of RAM rather than the "Pong on a chip" IC's that had been used in the slew of pong machines Atari Inc. had been releasing. Pinball was played primarily with the side bumper buttons, and Breakout and Basketball with the dial and top buttons.[5]
Models
[edit]![[icon]](/en/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (June 2019) |
There were three different models of Video Pinball released over its lifetime. Atari released both woodgrain and cream-colored versions as "Atari Video Pinball" Model C-380. An OEM version whose name was changed to "Pinball Breakaway" was also produced for Sears under the Sears' Tele-Games label.[6]
Atari's Video Pinball was the last dedicated "Pong" console line produced by Atari before the transition to their cartridge-based Atari VCS (later Atari 2600), marking the end of the first generation of home gaming as the industry shifted toward interchangeable game libraries.[7]
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Arcade
[edit]An arcade video game version, called Video Pinball, was released by Atari in February 1979. It sold a total of 1,505 arcade cabinets.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Page 149, Atari Inc: Business is Fun, By Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel, Publisher: Syzygy Press, 2012, ISBN 9780985597405, ...Atari's solution came by way of a former Standard Microsystems employee named Harold Lee who had joined Atari in late 1973...he began to sketch out the circuits for what would eventually become PONG-on-a-chip, codenamed Darlene.
- ^ Winter, David (2013). "David Winter's Pong Rarity List and Price Guide". Pong-Story.com. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
- ^ Page 154, Atari Inc: Business is Fun, By Marty Goldberg, Curt Vendel, Publisher: Syzygy Press, 2012, ISBN 0985597402, 9780985597405
- ^ Kaplan, Deeny, ed. (Winter 1978). "The Video Games". Video (Buyer's Guide). 1 (1). Reese Communications: 17–30. ISSN 0147-8907.
- ^ Packwood, Lewis (2024). Curious Video Game Machines: A Compendium of Rare and Unusual Consoles, Computers and Coin-Ops (1st ed.). Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-3990-7377-6.
- ^ Winter, David. "Atari PONG: The Home Systems". Pong-Story.com. 2013.
- ^ "Atari Video Pinball". Game Tech Wiki. Retrieved August 12, 2025.
- ^ Product: Total Build (PDF). Atari Games. 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
External links
[edit]- Atari Video Pinball (Model C-380) at old-computers.com
