 | |
 Former headquarters in Chicago, IL | |
| Industry | Gaming technology |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Williams Manufacturing Company |
| Founded | 1974, in Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Fate | Merged into parent Scientific Games |
| Headquarters | , US |
| 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, Joust, 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 the Pinball 2000 concept that integrated a PC screen into the pinball game via a semi-reflective glass failed to meet sales expectations.[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.