Pinball machine | arcade game:Hyperball

Williams released Hyperball in 1981 as one way to respond to the challenge posed to the coin-op marketplace by video games. Designed by pinball designer Steve Ritchie, the company marketed the game as neither a pinball machine nor a video game. Players fired a "hyper cannon," which shot 250 3/4" steel balls per minute at letter-targets stationed across the playfield to spell words. Although Williams sales forecasts called for a production run of 50,000, Hyperball didn't prove that popular and the company only manufactured approximately 5,000 units.