TCW Podcast Episode 059 - Williams' Crazy Story

Part one of a look at the history of Williams Manufacturing Company.  Starting with Harry Williams' monumental contributions to the pinball industry with the creation of the tilt mechanism and later on adding electromechanical elements to the machines.  We cover the sordid history of the company as it changes hands multiple times, and the pinball/video games that made them a valuable asset to be traded around.  We continue with looking at the designers responsible for some of the major hits Williams had in both pinball and video.  Finally we note how because they invested in the development of pinball during the rise of video before the crash this uniquely helped them weather the crash by being able to rely on pinball for revenue.

All American Baseball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4nOA2S2KTw

Flash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUERAj0ROo

Firepower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBJNag4OmrY

Gorgar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vylGtiR0HVA

Defender Cabinet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZiUH41fZ2c

Defender Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gss3lxeqCok

Stargate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i20vwYTf6mI

Robotron 2084: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOVA2Axxfdk

Joust: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWoiLNri0OM

Space Shuttle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZx9-S5SGxU

High Speed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoSDLKe1dQo

New episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month!

TCW Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: @tcwpodcast

Alex's Video Game History Blog: http://videogamehistorian.wordpress.com

Intro Music: Josh Woodward - Airplane Mode -  Music - "Airplane Mode" by Josh Woodward. Free download:http://joshwoodward.com/song/AirplaneMode 

Outro Music: RolemMusic - Bacterial Love - http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/Pop_Singles_Compilation_2014/01_rolemusic_-_bacterial_love 

Copyright: Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/