WMS Industries, Inc. was an American company that made electronic games and amusement machines in Enterprise, Nevada. In 2016, it was merged into Scientific Games. WMS was formed from the Williams Manufacturing Company, which was started in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that later became WMS Industries was officially created in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
Williams originally made pinball machines. In 1964, Williams was bought by Seeburg Corp., a company that made jukeboxes, and became the Williams Electronics Manufacturing Division. In 1973, the company began making coin-operated arcade video games, starting with a version of Pong called Paddle Ball. It later created famous video games such as Defender, Joust, and Robotron: 2084. In 1974, Williams Electronics, Inc. was formed as a company fully owned by Seeburg, which later changed its name to Xcor International in 1977. In 1981, Williams Electronics became an independent company after Seeburg went bankrupt in 1979.
In 1987, the company became a publicly traded company named WMS Industries, Inc., using a shortened version of its name for its stock ticker symbol. In 1988, it bought Bally/Midway, the amusement games division of Bally Manufacturing, which decided to focus on casino-related businesses. The video game operations were grouped under the Midway name, while pinball machines continued to use the Williams and Bally names. After Midway had success with arcade games, WMS acquired Tradewest in 1994 to publish home versions of arcade games directly, instead of licensing them to other companies. Midway Games became a publicly traded company in 1996 and was fully separated from WMS in 1998.
In 1991, WMS created a subsidiary called WMS Gaming to make gambling equipment. Starting with video lottery terminals, the company introduced its first slot machines in 1994 and became a major player in the industry. In 1999, WMS closed its pinball division after a new pinball concept called Pinball 2000 did not meet sales goals. In 2013, WMS became a fully owned subsidiary of Scientific Games. In 2016, WMS was merged into Scientific Games, which later changed its name to Light & Wonder in 2022.
Early history
Harry Williams, who studied engineering at Stanford University, joined the coin-operated amusement industry in 1933. He helped develop important pinball features, such as the tilt mechanism, electrically-powered scoring holes, and a way to earn a free game by reaching a certain score. After working for several companies, including Pacific Amusement Manufacturing, Rock-Ola, and Exhibit Supply, he started a business with Lyndon Durant in 1942, called United Manufacturing. In 1943, Williams founded his own company, Williams Manufacturing Company, located at 161 West Huron Street in Chicago, Illinois.
The first seven products made by Williams included a fortune-telling machine called Selector Scope (1944), two electro-mechanical games, Periscope (1944) and Liberator (1944), a novelty called Zingo (1944), a pinball conversion named Flat-Top (1945), another electro-mechanical arcade game, Circus Romance (1945), and a second pinball conversion, Laura (1945). The two pinball conversions were made by modifying older pinball machines from other companies. During World War II, a shortage of materials made it difficult and expensive to build new machines. The first original pinball machine made by Williams was called Suspense (1946), which did not have flippers.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Williams continued making pinball machines and some bat-and-ball games. In 1950, he created Lucky Inning, the first pinball machine with bottom flippers facing inward in the modern style.
In 1948, Williams sold 49% of his company to Sam Stern, a Philadelphia distributor, who became a vice president and managed daily operations. In 1959, Stern arranged for Consolidated Sun Ray, a New York retail company, to buy Williams. The company was renamed Williams Electronic Manufacturing Corporation. Harry Williams left after the buyout but occasionally worked for the company. His last game designed for Williams was Rancho (1977), one of the last electro-mechanical games made by the company.
In 1961, Stern bought Williams back from Consolidated Sun Ray. Three years later, the company was acquired by Seeburg Corporation, which also owned United Manufacturing. The two companies were combined under the Williams name but moved to the United factory. Sam Stern continued managing the amusement business, which was renamed Williams Electronics in 1967.
In 1962, 3 Coin became the most popular Williams machine, selling 1,100 units. The next year, Skill Pool sold 2,250 units. In 1964, Seeburg Corporation purchased Williams. Its 1966 pinball machine, A-Go-Go, with a futuristic 1960s theme, sold 5,100 units. Early Williams pinball machines often included new features, such as mechanical reel scoring and the "add-a-ball" option for places that did not allow game replays. By 1967, pinball was in its "golden age," and sales of pinball machines increased rapidly. Popular Williams pinball machines from this time included Shangri-La (1967), Apollo (1967), Beat Time (1967), Smart Set (1969), Gold Rush (1971), and Space Mission (1976).
Golden age of arcade games
After seeing Atari, Inc.'s success with Pong in 1972, Williams decided to join the new coin-operated arcade video game industry. After early talks with Magnavox, Williams hired Magnetic Corporation of America to make its first arcade game, Paddle-Ball. In 1974, the company reorganized as Williams Electronics, Inc. In 1980, Seeburg, which was struggling financially, sold Williams to Louis Nicastro. Nicastro and his son Neil later took the company public and led it for more than 20 years.
Williams created its own major success with the 1981 game Defender. This game introduced new features, such as horizontal scrolling and bright colors, that influenced many later games. Defender was followed by a sequel, Stargate, in the same year. Other popular games from Williams included Joust, Robotron: 2084, Sinistar, and the licensed game Moon Patrol. Except for Sinistar, these games were later released for home systems by other developers and publishers, such as Atari.
In 1983, the game Dragon's Lair helped make LaserDisc video games popular. Williams then created Star Rider, a game that combined LaserDisc video with computer graphics. This game caused the company to lose $50 million.
In 1988, Williams bought Bally/Midway, a company that made amusement games and was owned by Bally Manufacturing, a longtime competitor. Bally Manufacturing left the video game business to focus on casinos. Midway had strong sales in the early 1990s with games like Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam. In 1994, Williams acquired Tradewest and renamed it Williams Entertainment to publish home versions of Midway’s arcade games. Two years later, WMS bought Atari Games from Time Warner. That same year, all video game operations were combined under Midway. Atari Games became Midway Games West, and Williams Entertainment became Midway Home Entertainment. Pinball rights remained with WMS under the Williams brand.
Solid state pinball
In 1976, Williams created its first solid-state pinball machines as early models based on electromechanical games, including Aztec (1976) and Grand Prix. Williams kept making electromechanical pinball machines until October 1977, when it released its final one, Wild Card. Starting in November 1977, Williams only produced solid-state pinball games, beginning with Hot Tip (1977), which sold 4,903 units. Earlier, the electromechanical version of Hot Tip sold 1,300 units. From the late 1970s through the 1980s, Williams created many new pinball games, such as Gorgar (1979, the first with a synthetic voice), Firepower (1980), Black Knight (1980, the first with multiple levels), Jungle Lord (1981), Space Shuttle (1984), Comet (1985), High Speed (1986), Pin*Bot (1986), F-14 Tomcat (1987), Cyclone (1988), and Taxi (1988).
Between 1989 and the mid-1990s, pinball saw a rise in popularity as machines used dot-matrix displays. During this time, Williams released several successful games, including Black Knight 2000, FunHouse, The Machine: Bride of Pin-Bot, Terminator 2, Fish Tales, and The Getaway: High Speed II.
In 1992, Williams made a licensed pinball game called The Addams Family based on the 1991 movie, produced under the Bally label. The Addams Family sold 20,270 units, a record that remains unbroken. In 1993, Williams released Twilight Zone, which sold 15,235 units. After 1993, even though Williams remained the top company in the market, it never reached those sales numbers again. Williams won the American Amusement Machine Association’s 1995 Manufacturer of the Year award. Medieval Madness, released in 1997, is often considered the greatest pinball machine of all time.
In 1999, Williams tried to boost pinball sales with its Pinball 2000 machines, which combined pinball with computer graphics on embedded raster-scan displays. This innovation did not succeed because the costs to make the machines were too high compared to what the market could afford. That same year, WMS left pinball to focus on slot machine development.
Focus on gambling machines
As the pinball industry declined, WMS invested in the hotel industry. The company took its hotel business public and later separated it into a new company called WHG Resorts in 1996. WHG Resorts was later bought by Wyndham International.
In 1994, WMS entered the market for reel-spinning slot machines. Its products helped shift the industry away from simple mechanical slot machines toward games that use well-known themes from movies, TV shows, and other popular culture. For over 100 years, starting in the late 1800s, mechanical slot machines used limited themes such as card suits, horseshoes, bells, stars, fruits, and the Liberty Bell. In 1996, WMS introduced its first successful casino slot machine called Reel 'em In, a video slot machine with multiple lines, coins, and a bonus feature. Later, the company created other successful games, including Jackpot Party, Boom, and Filthy Rich. By 1996, WMS had transferred all copyrights and trademarks for its video games to Midway, including games like Defender, Stargate, and Smash TV. WMS took Midway public and later separated it into an independent company in 1998. In 1999, WMS closed its pinball division and focused only on gaming machines. During the 1990s, the gaming industry grew as more states allowed casinos and video lottery games, and Native American tribes built casinos.
By 2001, WMS launched its Monopoly-themed slot machines. Instead of selling these games to casinos, the company licensed or leased them. These games used themes from popular entertainment, such as Men in Black, The Price Is Right, Star Trek, and The Lord of the Rings. Some of these machines are connected across casinos, allowing players to win large jackpots based on total play. These branded games became popular and profitable for WMS, as the money earned from licensing and leasing exceeded the profits from selling games directly. Other recent games included Brazilian Beauty and Hot Hot Super Jackpot. In 2006, WMS acquired a gaming company in the Netherlands called Orion Financement Company B.V.
From 2006 to 2011, WMS’s revenue increased from $451 million to $783 million, and its net income reached $113 million in 2010. Revenue dropped to $690 million in 2012.
WMS continued to produce video gaming machines and, to a smaller extent, reel-spinning slots for sale and lease to casinos in the U.S., some foreign countries, and state lotteries. Some of WMS’s designs reflected changes in the industry. Younger players who grew up with video games often seek more challenging experiences than older players, who traditionally played slot machines. To meet this demand, some machines now include surround sound, flat-screen displays, and animated images.
WMS also made the G+ series of video reel slots, the Community Gaming family of connected slots, mechanical reels, poker games, and video lottery terminals. In 2010, WMS began offering online gaming to people over 18 in the UK. In 2011, it expanded to the U.S. at www.jackpotparty.com. In 2012, WMS partnered with Large Animal Games to create a Facebook game called Lucky Cruise, which uses slot machine-style gameplay with a strategy element. That same year, WMS introduced mobile gaming and launched My Poker video poker games for casinos.
WMS’s technologies included:
– Transmissive Reels: A gaming platform that uses video animation displayed around and with mechanical reels. This technology is based on the CPU-NXT2 operating system.
– Operating Platforms: The CPU-NXT2 uses an Intel Pentium IV processor, up to 2 gigabytes of memory, an ATI 3-D graphics chip, and a 40 gigabyte hard drive. The CPU-NXT3 was introduced in 2012 for participation games and new cabinets.
– Cabinets: The Bluebird2 cabinet, introduced in 2008, includes dual 22-inch high-definition screens, Bose speakers, and a bill acceptor. The Blade and Gamefield xD cabinets were introduced in 2013.
In 2010, about 70% of WMS’s revenue came from U.S. customers. Its design facilities were in Chicago, Illinois. Other offices and facilities were in the U.S. and internationally, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and the UK. An online gaming center was located in Belgium.
In 2012, WMS acquired Jadestone Group AB in Sweden and Phantom EFX in Iowa, which later became part of a new subsidiary called Williams Interactive. This subsidiary focused on online gaming. At the same time, WMS launched Jackpot Party Casino, a Facebook social casino game. Later that year, Betsson and Unibet online casinos signed multi-year agreements with Williams Interactive to offer games like Jackpot Party, Zeus, and Reel 'Em In to their players. In 2014, EveryMatrix partnered with Williams Interactive to distribute online slot content.
Acquisition by Scientific Games
In October 2013, WMS merged with Scientific Games. After the merger, WMS became a company that is fully owned by Scientific Games. Scientific Games paid $1.5 billion to buy WMS, and each share of WMS stock was worth $26.00 to shareholders. The next year, Scientific Games also purchased Bally Technologies, which is the company that took over the slot machine operations from Bally Manufacturing. In 2016, WMS was reorganized and fully combined with Scientific Games. In 2022, Scientific Games separated its lottery terminal operations into a new company and changed its name to Light & Wonder. WMS remains a brand under Light & Wonder, along with Bally and Shuffle Master.