# Past Times Pinball History Ep 26: High Speed

**Source:** Past Times Arcade  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-09-04  
**Duration:** 1m 12s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh3g2mM62tY

---

## Analysis

Past Times Arcade presents a historical overview of Williams' 1986 High Speed pinball machine, designed by Steve Ritchie. The episode highlights the game's historical significance as Williams' first true alphanumeric pinball machine, the first to play a complete song, and the first with an operator report feature. The game was based on Ritchie's real experience driving 146 mph in a Porsche.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] High Speed is Williams' first actual pinball machine with an alphanumeric display — _Rob Burke (Past Times Arcade) states this as established pinball history fact; notes Hyperball (1981) had alphanumeric display but is not considered a true pinball machine by the community_
- [HIGH] High Speed was the very first pinball game to play a complete song — _Rob Burke directly states this historical claim about the game's features_
- [HIGH] High Speed was the first pinball game with an operator report feature — _Rob Burke presents this as a historical distinction of the game_
- [HIGH] Steve Ritchie drove 146 miles per hour in a 1979 Porsche, which inspired High Speed's design — _Rob Burke states the game was 'based on a true story by Steve Ritchie' of this specific event_
- [HIGH] Williams released 17,080 units of High Speed — _Rob Burke cites specific production number for the 1986 release_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is Williams' first actual pinball machine with an alphanumeric display. They released Hyperball in 1981 with an alphanumeric display being in the playfield, but other people don't consider that to be a pinball machine."
> — **Rob Burke (Past Times Arcade)**, ~0:45-1:00
> _Defines the historical distinction between Hyperball and High Speed in pinball canon_

> "This is also historically significant because it is the very first game to play a complete song and the very first game to actually have an operator report."
> — **Rob Burke (Past Times Arcade)**, ~1:10-1:20
> _Highlights two major feature firsts attributed to High Speed in pinball history_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Steve Ritchie | person | Lead designer of High Speed (1986); voice of pursuing officer in game; based game on personal experience driving 146 mph in 1979 Porsche |
| Python Angelo | person | Artist credited with artwork for High Speed (1986) |
| Tim Elliott | person | Voice of dispatcher character in High Speed (1986) |
| High Speed | game | Williams Electronics 1986 pinball machine; lead designer Steve Ritchie; first true alphanumeric Williams pinball; 17,080 units released |
| The Getaway: High Speed II | game | Sequel to High Speed; mentioned as available at Past Times Arcade |
| Hyperball | game | Williams Electronics 1981 game with alphanumeric display in playfield; not widely considered a true pinball machine by community |
| Williams Electronics | company | Manufacturer of High Speed (1986) and Hyperball (1981) |
| Past Times Arcade | company | Arcade/museum operator; hosts High Speed and High Speed II; source of this historical episode series |
| Rob Burke | person | Operator of Past Times Arcade; host of Pastimes Pinball History series |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball history and industry milestones, High Speed (1986) design and features, Alphanumeric display technology in pinball
- **Secondary:** Steve Ritchie as legendary designer, Past Times Arcade collection and exhibition

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Celebratory tone highlighting historical significance and achievement; respectful presentation of game's innovations; invitation to visit arcade conveys enthusiasm for the machine

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Steve Ritchie's personal experience (146 mph Porsche drive) directly inspired High Speed game design, establishing designer biography as integral to game narrative (confidence: high) — Rob Burke explicitly states game was 'based on a true story by Steve Ritchie'

---

## Transcript

for this episode of Pas times pinball history we're going to feature the very popular 1986 Williams highspeed lead designer on this is Steve Ritchie artwork by Python Anghelo they released 17,080 of these this is based on a true story by Steve Ritchie going 146 miles hour in his 1979 Porsche artist Tim Elliot is the voice of the dispatch Steve Ritchie is the voice of the pursuing officer what makes this game historically significant is this is Williams first actual pinball machine with an alpha numeric display they released hyperball in 1981 alpha numeric display being in the Playfield but other people don't consider that to be a pinball machine this is also historically significant because it is the very first game to play a complete song in the very first game to actually have an operator report come on into pastimes arcade check out Williams High speeded in its sequel the getaway

_(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3db3d583-d2bf-4b05-b126-d3d837417653*