Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, released by Gottlieb in August 1978, brought Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film to the arcade as a licensed-theme solid state game. Designed by Ed Krynski with artwork by Gordon Morison, it ran on Gottlieb's System 1 MPU and was a major commercial success, with a confirmed 9,950 units produced -- 4,572 domestic and 5,378 for export.

The four-player game offers a varied target-shooting experience: two flippers, two pop bumpers, a single slingshot, three roto-targets, three standup targets, a 5-bank of drop targets, and a spinning target. The trio of roto-targets is a distinctive Gottlieb touch, giving the playfield plenty of moving scoring opportunities. The game is a substantial piece of equipment, with an actual measured weight of 231 pounds including legs.

Arriving during the industry's transition to solid state electronics and amid the late-1970s wave of licensed themes, Close Encounters of the Third Kind captures a moment when pinball manufacturers were increasingly partnering with popular films to draw players -- and its strong production numbers show the approach worked.