Atari Pinball

"Atari Pinball" is not a specific released title but rather the name given to a generic backglass Atari used on prototype machines during testing in 1978, before a game's final released artwork was ready. The artwork, by artist George Opperman, features four score display windows at the bottom along with an additional window in the upper left.

According to former Atari employee Dan Kramer, who owns one of the surviving examples, this placeholder glass may have been used on a dozen or more prototype games, and he recalls it being installed on at least two early Atari prototypes, including a project called 'Alien Space.' It should not be confused with the glass used on Atari's actual 1978 release 'Video Pinball,' nor with the similarly undated glass associated with Atari's unproduced 'Pipeline.'

Because this generic backglass wasn't tied to any single finished game, little can be said about specific gameplay, theme, or features associated with it - its significance lies instead in what it reveals about Atari's prototyping process during the company's run in solid-state pinball manufacturing from 1976 to 1983.