Gottlieb

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This article is about the arcade game maker. For other uses, see Gottlieb (disambiguation)

Gottlieb (formerly D. Gottlieb & Co.) was an arcade game corporation, which was established by David Gottlieb in 1927 and first produced pinball games, but also produced various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games (notably Reactor and Q*bert) as well.

Like other manufacturers, Gottlieb first made mechanical pinball games, then electromechanical starting in 1935, and solid state tables starting in the late 1970s.

Gottlieb was bought by Columbia Pictures in 1977. In 1983, after the Coca Cola Company had acquired Columbia, Gottlieb's pinball assets were transferred to a new Coca Cola subsidiary, Mylstar Electronics. In 1984, Coca Cola sought to divest itself of Mylstar, which also made video games. A management group, led by Gilbert G. Pollock, purchased Mylstar's pinball assets in October 1984 and continued the manufacture of pinball machines under a new company, Premier Technology. Premier Technology continued in operation until the summer of 1996, when the demand for pinball forced the company to cease business. Premier did not file for bankruptcy, but sold off all its assets for the benefit of its creditors.

Today, Gottlieb's pinball games (along with those distributed under the Mylstar and Premier names), as well as the "Gottlieb" and "D. Gottlieb & Co." trademarks (USPTO registration nos. 1403592 and 2292766, and other numbers in countries around the world), are owned by Gottlieb Development LLC, a New York limited liability company.

Gottlieb's most popular pinball game was Baffle Ball (mid-1931), and their last released game was Barb Wire (early 1996).

Contents

[edit] Gottlieb video games

  • Curve Ball (1984) (published under Mylstar name)
  • Exterminator (1989) (published under Premier Technology name)
  • Faster, Harder, More Challenging Q*bert (1983) (prototype only, developed under Mylstar name)
  • Knightmare (1983) (prototype only)
  • Krull (1983)
  • New York New York (1980) (licensed from Sigma Enterprises Inc.)
  • No Man's Land (1980)
  • M.A.C.H. 3 (1983) (Laser Disc game, published under Mylstar name)
  • Mad Planets (1983)
  • Protector (1984) (aka Videoman / Argus /Guardian) (prototype only)
  • Q*bert (1982)
  • Q*bert Qubes (1983) (published under Mylstar name)
  • Reactor (1982)
  • Screw Loose (1983) (prototype only, developed under Mylstar name)
  • The Three Stooges In Brides Is Brides (1984) (published under Mylstar name)
  • Tylz (1982) (prototype only, developed under Mylstar name)
  • Us vs. Them (1984) (Laser Disc game, published under Mylstar name)
  • Video Vince and the Game Factory (1984) (prototype only, developed under Mylstar name)
  • Wiz Warz (1984) (prototype only, developed under Mylstar name)

[edit] Gottlieb pinball games

[edit] Pure mechanical pinball/bagatelle Ggames

Incomplete list:

[edit] Electromechanical pinball/flipperless games

Incomplete list:

  • Relay (1934)
  • Playboy (1937)
  • Humpty Dumpty #1 (1947)
  • Bank-A-Ball #34 (1950)
  • Wishing Well #107 (1955)
  • Kings & Queens #? (19??)
  • Happy Clown (1964)
  • Sing Along (1967)
  • 2001 #298 (1971)
  • Flying Carpet #310 (1972)
  • Fast Draw #379 (1975)
  • Spirit of 76 #381 (1975)
  • Royal Flush (1976)
  • Target Alpha (1976)
  • Buccaneer (1976)
  • Pyramid (1978)

[edit] System 1 pinball games

Incomplete list:

  • Cleopatra #409 (1977) (was also released as two EM versions (Cleopatra, 4 player and Pyramid, 2 player))
  • Sinbad #412 (1978) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Joker Poker #417 (1978) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Dragon #419 (1978) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Solar Ride #421 (1979) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Charlie's Angles #425 (1978) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind #424 (1978) (was also released as an EM version)
  • Count Down #422 (1978)
  • Pinball Pool #427 (1979)
  • Totem #429 (1979)
  • Incredible Hulk #433 (1979)
  • Genie #435 (1979)
  • Buck Rogers #437 (1980)
  • Torch #438 (1980)
  • Roller Disco #440 (1980)
  • Asteroid Annie and the Aliens #442 (1980)

[edit] System 80 pinball games

[edit] System 80A pinball games

  • Devil's Dare #670 (1982)
  • Rocky #672 (1982)
  • Spirit #673 (1982)
  • Punk! #674 (1982)
  • Caveman #PV810 (1982) (features an additional video game screen and a joystick)
  • Striker #675 (1982)
  • Krull #676 (1983)
  • Q*bert's Quest #677 (1983) -based upon the Q*bert video-game
  • Super Orbit #680 (1983)
  • Royal Flush Deluxe #681 (1983)
  • Goin' Nuts #682 (1983)
  • Amazon Hunt #684 (1983)
  • Rack 'Em Up! #685 (1983)
  • Ready...Aim...Fire! #686 (1983)
  • Jacks to Open #687 (1984)
  • Touchdown #688 (1984)
  • Alien Star #689A (1984)
  • The Games #691 (1984)
  • El Dorado City of Gold #692 (1984)
  • Ice Fever #695 (1985)

[edit] System 80B pinball games

  • Bone Busters Inc. #719 (1989)
  • Bounty Hunter #694 (1985)
  • Chicago Cubs Triple Play #696 (1985)
  • Rock #697 (1985)
  • Tag-Team Pinball #698 (1985)
  • Ace High #700 (1985) (prototype)
  • Raven #702 (1986)
  • Hollywood Heat #703 (1986)
  • Rock Encore #704 (1986) (conversion kit for Rock)
  • Genesis #705 (1986)
  • Spring Break #706 (1987)
  • Gold Wings #707 (1986)
  • Monte Carlo #708 (1987)
  • Arena #709 (1987)
  • Victory #710 (1987)
  • Diamond Lady #711 (1988)
  • TX-Sector #712 (1988)
  • Big House #713 (1989)
  • Robo-War #714 (1988)
  • Excalibur #715 (1988)
  • Bad Girls #717 (1988)
  • Hot Shots #718 (1989)

[edit] System 3 pinball games

Gottlieb was last to introduce a solid-state system, and last to cease manufacture of electromechanical games. The first version of Gottlieb's solid state pinball hardware was called System 1, and had many design flaws. Likely it was rushed to compete with the new solid-state games from other manufacturers, particularly Bally. An entirely new platform was produced in 1980, System 80, which was refined in System 80A and System 80B. The final revision was System 3, first made in 1988.

[edit] References

[edit] External links