Flip-side Ep. 1
The podcast that I am hosting is called Flip-side and in it I discuss the unique history of pinball. The reason behind the name Flip-side is to play with the word flipper, as a flipper is piece on a pinball machine. In my podcast, I go over and analyze three important era’s in pinball history which are, the golden age of pinball, the downfall of pinball, and its revival era. Attached is the audio track to Flip-side.
About The Process
Making this podcast was fun, but it also wasn’t easy. For starters, choosing what to include and what not to include in my script for this podcast was a challenge. While I was able to get all of the basic information in about the history of pinball, there was some other tidbits I wish I could’ve added in but couldn’t due to having about a minute to talk. The software I used to edit and record my podcast was Soundtrap.com. My area of recording was in the vocal booth in the HCC located at The University of Mary Washington.
Sources
The two main sources I used when gathering information about my podcast were Pinball Pastimes and Betson Enterprises. What made these two sources reliable were the layouts of their website and connection to pinball. Both Pastimes and Betson had very professional looking website with an easy to navigate template within it where I was able to easily find information about both companies to see if they were legitimate. Both of these companies and website are legitimate and highly praised for what they do in their profession. What also reinforced the information that was founded in these two websites were their close ties to the arcade industries. Pinball Pastimes is a pinball museum which includes 66 free to play pinball machine games, while Betson Enterprises is one of the most dominant leaders in arcade sales and top suppliers of arcade equipment.
Intro/Outro Music
The intro and outro music I had in my podcast was a royalty-free song titled Straight by Benjamin Tissot.
Transcript of Podcast
Hello, and welcome to Flipside, a podcast about pinball.
In this week’s episode, I want to give a quick summary of the interesting history of pinball. To do this, I’ll be focusing on 3 important eras, the golden age of pinball, the fall of pinball, and its stunning revival.
The origins of our current form of pinball comes from the 18th century French game bagatelle. During the Great Depression, Americans were inspired by bagatelle tables to create their own versions of the game for inexpensive entertainment. The first electronic pinball machine was produced in 1933, with the design of lights and a glass covering being added a year later.
In 1947, the design of flippers was implemented into pinball machines, this advancement would go on to create the golden age of pinball lasting from 1948 till 1958. This feature added a unique element to pinball giving it a new perspective on how to operate a table. However, during this time, pinball machines were banned in many states and cities as it was deemed as gambling.
During the 1970’s we would see the fall of pinball as its banning would begin to be lifted in certain states. While yes this is a good thing, the timing of it was not. While pinball was trying to get back into the market, arcade machines began to make their rise, leaving pinball machines in the dust. This would accumulate to an 85% decline in sales during the start of the 1980’s.
During the early 1990’s, Pinball began to go into its revival era as companies began adding new forms of technology into their machines. Some of these advancements were animatronics, LED playfield lighting, and backboards. While home console machines like the SNES and SEGA Dreamcast did put pinball out of the spotlight for rest of the 90’s, Pinball found itself making another comeback during the mid-2010’s.
Thank you guys for tuning into this week’s episode, and I’ll catch you on the flipside
