Alien Space

Alien Space is a Generation 2 Atari pinball prototype that was never put into production. Named 'Alien Space' on its instruction card and playfield inserts, it originally carried the working title 'Hyper Space' before being renamed -- reportedly because Atari's 1979 video game Asteroids already used a 'Hyperspace' button on its cabinet. As an unreleased widebody prototype, it offers a rare window into Atari's pinball development process in the late 1970s.

Alien Space is a 4-player, solid-state widebody game with an Aliens/Outer Space theme, built on the Atari Generation/System 2 platform. It features three pop bumpers, two slingshots, five drop targets, two kick-out holes, a horseshoe lane, a spinning target, and dual inlanes, along with a 3-ball multiball. Scores are displayed at the bottom of the backglass rather than in a traditional score reel or digital display area.

Because the game was never produced for sale, the surviving example uses a generic prototype backglass reading only "Atari Pinball" rather than custom Alien Space artwork. The cabinet resembles Atari's Generation 1 widebodies in that it uses the same size backglass, though the backbox was modified to accommodate the new board design and relocate the score displays.