AwesomeArcade.net

First pinball machine with a tilt mechanism: Williams’ Advance (1932)

First pinball machine with a bumper: Bally’s Bumper (1936)

First pinball machine with full-sized backglass: Dux (1937)

First pinball machine to use flippers: Humpty Dumpty (1947)

First pinball machine to use “jet bumpers” and locate the flippers at lower end of playfield: Williams’ Saratoga (1948)

First pinball machine with score wheels: Williams’ Army Navy (1953)

First pinball machine to use a ramp on playfield: Williams’ Nine Sisters (1953)

First pinball machine for four players: Gottlieb’s Super Jumbo (1954)

First pinball machine with multiball: Bally’s Balls-a-Poppin’ (1956)

First pinball machine to feature a single shot for one million points: Williams’ Arrow Head (1957)

First pinball machine with a moving target: Williams’ Magic Clock (1960)

First pinball machine to award an extra ball: Gottlieb’s Flipper (1960)

First pinball machine to use drop targets: Williams’ Vagabond (1962)

First pinball machine to feature an up post: Williams’ Cabaret (1968)

First pinball machine to use a microprocessor: Mirco Games’ Spirit of 76 (1975)

First pinball machine that spoke (a seven-word vocabulary): Williams’ Gorgar (1979)

First pinball machine to use a pool ball as the pinball (the largest commercial game ever built): Atari’s Hercules (1979)

First pinball machine with multi-ball in the solid-state electronics era: Williams’ Firepower (1980)

First pinball machine with “lane advance” (player control of top rollover lane lights): Williams’ Firepower (1980)

First pinball machine with two-level playfield: Williams’ Black Knight (1980)

First pinball machine with Magna-Save (player-controlled magnet to prevent outlane drains): Williams’ Black Knight (1980)

First pinball machine with reverse playfield: Gottlieb’s Black Hole (1981)

First pinball machine to combine mechanical pinball with a video game: Gottlieb’s Caveman (1982)

First pinball machine with a three-level playfield: Gottlieb’s Haunted House (1982)

First pinball machine to feature a single shot for one million points in the solid-state electronics era: Williams’ Comet (1985)

First pinball machine with an alpha-numeric display: Gottlieb’s Chicago Cubs: Triple Play (1985)

First pinball machine to auto-adjust replay scores based on game history: Williams’ High Speed (1986)

First pinball machine to feature a complete song/soundtrack: Williams’ High Speed (1986)

First pinball machine with a jackpot that carried over between games: Williams’ High Speed (1986)

First pinball machine to feature a wizard mode (high-scoring mode): Williams’ Black Knight 2000 (1989)

First pinball machine to feature a shaker motor (shakes whole machine): Williams’ Earthshaker! (1989)

First pinball machine to feature a known celebrity voice (Cassandra Peterson - Elvira) especially recorded for the machine: Bally’s Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989)

First pinball machine with a dot matrix scoring display: Data East’s Checkpoint (1991)

First pinball machine to feature a choice of alternate soundtracks (selected by the player): Data East’s Checkpoint (1991)

First pinball machine without a plunger (a trigger-operated gun is used instead): Williams’ Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

First pinball machine with a cannon-launcher (player literally “shoots” captured pinball at targets): Williams’ Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

First pinball machine with a built-in dollar bill validator: Data East’s Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

First pinball machine to reward for a “death save”: Data East’s The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (1993)

First pinball machine to use a non-metallic, ceramic pinball (called a “Powerball”): Bally’s Twilight Zone (1993)

First pinball machine with a player-controlled mini playfield: Williams’ Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure (1993)

First pinball machine with multiple cannon-launchers: Williams’ Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993)

First pinball machine to overlay interactive video onto the mechanical playfield: Williams’ Revenge From Mars (1999)