Episode 49 - The 90s Pinball Renaissance Pt.1 w/ Roger Sharpe

Roger Sharpe recounts how strategic licensing and mechanical innovation drove pinball's 1990s renaissance.

Synopsis

Roger Sharpe discusses his hiring as Williams Electronics' marketing director in 1988 and the factors that drove the pinball renaissance of the 1990s. He explains how the industry recovered from near-death in the early 1980s through innovations like System 11 technology, the strategic use of licensed themes (notably Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and the introduction of elaborate mechanical toys pioneered by Pat Lawlor. Sharpe emphasizes that licensing should serve promotion and creativity rather than be pursued for its own sake, and credits designers like Pat Lawlor, Steve Ritchie, and others with revitalizing pinball through a blend of technology and interactive gameplay.

Highlights

• Roger Sharpe was hired by Williams as marketing director in March 1988 to replace retiring Nancy Goodwin
• Sharpe first attended a licensing trade show in summer 1987 and identified Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a potential property for Williams pinball
• Williams initially resisted the licensing strategy after acquiring Bally Midway; Sharpe had to convince leadership that selective licensing (4 per year) could work
• Pat Lawlor is credited as the pioneer who introduced elaborate mechanical toys to pinball, starting with Banzai Run
• High Speed (1986) was the first Williams pinball game in six years to achieve commercial success and proved pinball could survive in the coin-operated market
• Sharpe pursued a Batman license for Williams but was unable to use actor likenesses (Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson) for promotion, leading to the cancellation of that project
• Pinball experienced rapid decline in the early 1980s due to competition from video games, with Stern closing in 1982 and multiple designers leaving the industry
• System 11 era games introduced ramps that returned balls to flippers, fundamentally changing game length and modern pinball design
• Sharpe co-created PAPA (Professional and Amateur Pinball Association) with Steve Epstein and later his sons Josh and Zach took over its operations
• By the late 1990s, pinball games had become oversaturated with mechanical features and redundant gameplay elements, leading to a market correction

Entities

• Bally Midway· company
• Data East· company
• Gottlieb· company
• Williams Electronics· company
• Stern Electronics· company|person
• Attack from Mars· game
• Banzai Run· game
• Cactus Canyon· game
• Earthshaker· game
• High Speed· game
• Medieval Madness· game
• Pinbot· game
• Police Force· game
• The Addams Family· game
• Whirlwind· game
• IFPA· organization
• Josh Sharpe· person
• Larry DeMar· person
• Mark Eastman & Renee Laird· person
• Nancy Goodwin· person
• Pat Lawlor· person
• Roger Sharpe· person
• Steve Ritchie· person
• Zach Sharpe· person
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles· product