Williams Electronics
Pinball wizards go digital
Williams transitioned from pinball to video games, creating arcade classics like Defender, Robotron: 2084, and Joust before returning to pinball.
Overview
Williams Electronics dominated American arcades in the early 1980s with brutally difficult, innovative games. Designer Eugene Jarvis created Defender and Robotron: 2084, games that demanded skill and offered emergent gameplay decades before the term existed. Williams eventually returned to their pinball roots, but their arcade legacy endures.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1943 as Williams Manufacturing Company (pinball).
- Video game era: 1979-1986 (primary); revived as Midway (1988).
- Key designer: Eugene Jarvis.
- Notable games: Defender, Robotron: 2084, Joust, Sinistar.
- Merger: combined with Bally/Midway; eventually absorbed into Warner.
Defender (1981)
Eugene Jarvis’s masterpiece:
- Complex controls: multiple buttons for different actions.
- Horizontal scrolling: minimap showed entire playfield.
- Difficulty: infamously challenging.
- Commercial success: second-highest arcade earner of 1981.
Robotron: 2084 (1982)
Dual-stick perfection:
- Twin joysticks: move with one, shoot with other.
- Overwhelming odds: dozens of enemies at once.
- Pure action: no levels, just escalating intensity.
- Influence: twin-stick shooters owe everything to it.