Taito Pinball

[Pedro]

Taito is a Japanese developer well-known for its arcade hits such as Space Invaders and Bubble Bobble. But did you know that Taito was best-known in Brazil for its pinball machines? During the upswing of pinball in the early 70's, Taito saw an opportunity in the Brazilian market and created Taito do Brasil to begin importing American pinball machines. However, the Brazilian government viciously raised taxes on imported video games (reaching 220%) and eventually banned them altogether in 1976. What seemed like a crippling setback became a huge opportunity for Taito. Instead of importing pinball machines, they recreated hit American tiles, changing only a few design elements. The ban was used as a shield against plagiarism lawsuits and Taito continued to clone American pinball machines until the Brazilian branch mysteriously ceased its activities in 1985. Taito do Brasil sold over 26,000 pinball machines and holds a special place in the hearts of Brazilian pinball enthusiasts. Check out some of Taito's pinball hits. Can you tell which games they were based on?

Cheers!

 

[Chris Bardon]

Thanks for sharing-I never knew about that. It's kind of crazy that those managed to get produced as such blatant knockoffs, but I suppose that's par for the course in some regions. Wonder if they actually reverse-engineered the US games or imported parts, or if everything was made locally?

 

[Pedro]

They reproduced the game layout and artwork (although some machines had original artwork), but all the hardware and software was produced locally. Almost every Taito pinball machine uses the same circuit board, which was programmed differently for each game. This is blessing for Taito pinball fans because it makes finding used parts a breeze.

Bellow are a few Taito clone with original artwork.

Cheers!

Taito Lunelle, based off Williams Alien Poker

Taito Gork, based off Gottlieb Sky Jump

Taito Shark, based off Stern Flight 2000

Taito Hawkman, based off Bally Fathom

 

[SquidVicious]

Cavaleiro Negro is the golden grail in Brazilian pinball. At Expo about ten years ago a number of Brazilian collectors put on an hour seminar regarding the history of Taito and pinball in Brazil. The seminar was excellent, at the time a fully functional Cavaleiro Negro would sell for more than a MM. The average life span of these pins was very short as the operators would usually pay them off in about 3 weeks of arcade time and within half of a year many would be junked (some parts kept cabs burned for lack of space or desire to save them) they would be replaced with the newest/latest model from Taito at that point. Brazil still has crazy import taxes .. at the time of the seminar it was noted that very few modern Stern's were in Brazil because of the taxes ... when the seminar was given (approx 2006) it was noted at a new stern was approximately 12K USD landed and paid for (at that time a new Stern in the US was 3-3.5 K or thereabouts). The funniest thing that year was watching the Brazilians hoard parts (both at the show and at Terry's party) .. ny guess is they all left clothing and everything else back in the US and returned with suitcases overflowing with parts. The folks that gave the seminar have been back to multiple EXPOs since but have not presented. There is a fairly interesting story on pinside regarding a Brazilian who migrated to either Illinios or Wisc and imported a number of Taitos (it was expense and not an easy process) ... there are also a couple of Taito collectors in the states I'm not aware of anyone in Canada with any Taito(Brazil) pins.

 

[Pedro]

With out a shadow of doubt, Taito's Cavaliro Negro is the holy grail of pinball in Brazil. Not only is it a fan/collector favorite, it's very hard to come by. Plus, the lucky few who do own one, have no intentions of selling it. This lead to one of Brazil's top pin-technicians to build brand new Cavaleiro Negro machines using brand new custom made parts. Check it out, it's quite a work of art.

Cheers!

 

[amphicar4fun]

With out a shadow of doubt, Taito's Cavaliro Negro is the holy grail of pinball in Brazil. Not only is it a fan/collector favorite, it's very hard to come by. Plus, the lucky few who do own one, have no intentions of selling it. This lead to one of Brazil's top pin-technicians to build brand new Cavaleiro Negro machines using brand new custom made parts. Check it out, it's quite a work of art.

Cheers!

I miss my Taito machines. When I moved in 10 years ago I had to sell my Cavaleiro Negro and my Gemini 2000. I still have my Titan in Sao Paulo, and are planning to bring it to Canada Soon. I was watching a video review of the 2016 Pinball expo and I saw a Polar Explorer and a Vortex. I got a Blacknight 1980, that makes me remember my Cavaleiro Negro every time I play it. Course I had to built an Virtual Pinball full size out of a regular pinball machine, where i can play simulation of all taito's, but nothing like playing the real machines... Do you know who owns taitos here in Canada? Do you brought any taitos yourself?