Episode 73 - Gottlieb System 3: The End of an Empire
Support the show: https:/ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode we discuss the final chapter of Gottlieb as a pinball manufacturer. The prevailing narrative around these games is that they're all terrible, but that's simply not true. There was a bunch of talented individuals working at Gottlieb at this time, making some very interesting games on extremely tight deadlines, with few resources and we wanted to highlight their talents and work. You may know these games by their po...
Kineticist’s take
Wedgehead examines Gottlieb System 3 design failures and the cult-like persistence of bad engineering decisions.
Synopsis
Alan and Alex from Wedgehead A Pinball Podcast explore Gottlieb's System 3 era (1989-1996), examining why these games are widely considered the worst ever made despite technological improvements. They analyze design choices including controversial pointy-boy flippers designed by John Borg, outdated engineering decisions (two-piece flipper assemblies, open stack relays, non-solid-state flipper electronics), and the company's stubborn resistance to industry-standard consolidation practices that ultimately contributed to Gottlieb's decline.
Highlights
- Gottlieb System 3 is widely regarded by many pinheads as the worst era of pinball machines by any manufacturer ever
- John Borg designed the controversial pointy-boy flippers while at Gottlieb before jumping to Data East
- Lights Camera Action (1989) was the first System 3 game and the first game with modes, beating Adam's Family by two years
- System 3 increased lamp drivers from 64 to 96, a significant improvement in capacity
- Gottlieb used lithium coin-style batteries instead of alkaline double-A batteries, making them more reliable than competitors
- System 3 could power 32 solenoids by default, compared to System 80's limit of nine
- Gottlieb continued using 24-volt flipper power in System 80 before jumping to 48 volts in System 3
- Gottlieb was the last major manufacturer to transition from electromechanical to solid-state electronics in the late 1970s
Entities
- Coca-Cola/Columbia Pictures· company
- Data East· company
- Gottlieb· company
- Stern· company
- Williams· company
- Pinball Renaissance· event
- Adam's Family· game
- Bone Busters· game
- Lights Camera Action· game
- Pastimes Arcade· organization
- Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex· person
- Ed Krinsky· person
- John Borg· person
- John Burrus· person
- John Norris· person
- Larry DeMar· person
- Steve Young· person
- System 3· product
- System 80· product