WMS Industries' former headquarters in Chicago, IL
Industry
Gaming Technology
Predecessor
Williams Manufacturing Company
Founded
1974, in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Defunct
2016
Fate
Merged into parent Scientific Games
Headquarters
Enterprise, Nevada
,
United States
Products
Pinball tables, Arcade games, Slot machines, online gambling, mobile gambling, gaming software/hardware development
Parent
Seeburg (1974–1977) Xcor International (1977–1981) Scientific Games Corporation (2013–2016)
WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams. However, the company that became WMS Industries was formally founded in 1974 as Williams Electronics, Inc.
Williams initially was a manufacturer of pinball machines. In 1964, Williams was acquired by jukebox manufacturer Seeburg Corp. and reorganized as Williams Electronics Manufacturing Division. In 1973, the company branched out into the coin-operated arcade video game market with its Pong clone Paddle Ball, eventually creating a number of video game classics, including Defender and Robotron: 2084. In 1974, Williams Electronics, Inc. was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Seeburg, which changed its name to Xcor International in 1977. Williams Electronics was spun out as an independent company in 1981.
In 1987, the company went public as WMS Industries, Inc. using a shortened version of its name which it also selected for its stock ticker symbol. In 1988, it acquired Bally/Midway, the amusement games division of Bally Manufacturing, which had decided to focus on its casino operating and manufacturing businesses. The video game operations were consolidated under the Midway name, while pinball machines continued to use the Williams and Bally names. After a string of arcade successes by Midway, WMS acquired Tradewest in 1994 to allow the company to publish its own home ports of arcade games directly, instead of licensing them to other publishers. Midway Games was taken public in 1996, and fully spun-off in 1998.
WMS created a subsidiary, WMS Gaming, for manufacturing gambling equipment in 1991. Beginning with video lottery terminals, the division introduced its first slot machines in 1994 and became a major player in the business.
It closed its pinball division on October 25, 1999 after high losses with the Pinball 2000 concept that integrated a PC screen into the pinball game via a semi-reflective glass.[1]
In 2013, WMS became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games.[2][3] In 2016, WMS was merged into Scientific Games, which renamed itself Light & Wonder in 2022.[4]
^Headlam, Bruce (October 28, 1999). "Pinball Line Closing Down". The New York Times.
^"WMS Annual Report for Fiscal 2013", (ending June 30, 2013) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 29, 2013
^"News release: Scientific Games Completes Acquisition of WMS", Scientific Games Corporation, October 18, 2013
^"Scientific Games rebranding with new name, identity". Las Vegas Review-Journal. March 3, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
WMSIndustries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's...
games. WMS was originally a subsidiary of WMSIndustries, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Scientific Games Corporation in 2013. WMS entered...
In 1988, Bally Manufacturing sold its amusement games operations to WMSIndustries, the former Williams Electronics, which used the plain Midway name for...
Medical School, British medical school of Warwick University WMSIndustries and subsidiary WMS Gaming, US electronic gaming and amusement companies Williams...
A warehouse management system (WMS) is a set of policies and processes intended to organise the work of a warehouse or distribution centre, and ensure...
region. In 1994, the company was acquired by WMSIndustries and became Midway Home Entertainment when WMS spun off its video game operations as Midway...
was already partly held by Time Warner. It was active until 1996 when WMSIndustries, the owners of the Williams, Bally and Midway arcade brands, bought...
company WMSIndustries ceased pinball production in 1999, having spun off the video game unit as Midway Games the previous year. WMSIndustries has licensed...
to offer a "second screen" bonus round was Reel ’Em In, developed by WMSIndustries in 1996. This type of machine had appeared in Australia from at least...
Vid Kidz was a video game developer formed in 1981 by Defender programmers Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, following their departure from Williams Electronics...
1994, the company was sold to WMSIndustries in 1996, and became part of Midway Games when that company was spun-off by WMS in 1998. It ceased operations...
Manufacturing tecnoplay The Valley Company Viza Wico Williams Electronics / WMSIndustries (1943-1999) Zaccaria (1974-1988) Zidware List of pinball machines Glossary...
to be an enormous commercial success and even a cultural phenomenon. WMSIndustries, owner of Midway at the time, reported its 1993 sales in the quarter...
Winchester Winning Appliances – John Winning and the Winning family WMSIndustries, WMS Gaming – Harry E. Williams Wolfram Research - Stephen Wolfram Wood...
like Williams under the name Leland Interactive Media. In 1994, when WMSIndustries acquired Tradewest, Leland was absorbed into their internal development...
by WMSIndustries under the Bally label. It is based on the Popeye comic/cartoon characters licensed from King Features Syndicate. It is part of WMS' SuperPin...
and Playboy Pinball 2000 prototypes. Schelberg, Jim (October 2004). "The WMS Playboy Story". The PinGame Journal. No. 106 – via The Pinball 2000 Collectors...
system would be adopted by Atari Games, following their acquisition by WMSIndustries. DCS2 RAM-based multi-channel: This version used the ADSP2181 DSP and...
unsuccessful bid by Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell, the company was sold to WMSIndustries, owners of the Williams, Bally, and Midway arcade brands, which restored...
(2021)". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved January 31, 2022. "2005 Annual Report". WMSIndustries. Retrieved April 28, 2023. Official website Pearson site for Supermarket...
SuperPin is the name given to any of the widebody pinball games released by Williams and Midway (under the Bally name) between 1993 and late-1994. Aside...
technology. In June 1995, with Bally already considering a buyout offer from WMSIndustries, Alliance made an unsolicited offer of $210 million in cash, stock,...
simultaneously and can be accessed by the flippers. Trademarked by WMSIndustries in 1981 as "Multi-ball" and by Templar Studios in 2000 as "Multiball...
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