Sources
Contributors to this record: Flipcommons AI Descriptions (Manufacturer), Flipcommons Catalog.
- description
- Flipcommons AI Descriptions (Manufacturer)*R.M.G.* — Renato Montanari Giochi — was one of the many small artisan coin-op firms clustered around [[location:italy/bo/bologna]] in the 1960s and 70s, working from a base at Quarto Inferiore and turning out [[technology-generation:electromechanical]] pinballs and video games whose market reached well beyond Italy.[1] Founded by Renato Montanari, the firm produced a modest line of roughly fifteen machines from 1970 onward,[2] most of them *bootleg* rebuilds of [[manufacturer:gottlieb]] designs recreated from scratch. Montanari presented the firm's wares at the first ENADA coin-op trade fair, held in Rome in 1972.[3] R.M.G. also traded as Skill Game, issuing a run of tables badged "The Best" in place of a maker's name — among them *[[model:the-best-wizard]]*, its take on [[manufacturer:gottlieb]]'s *[[model:wizard]]*.[4] That label had a curious origin in the Italian trade: print shops that supplied backglasses to game makers began selling glasses straight to arcade operators, cutting the maker out, and lettered them "The Best" where the manufacturer's name would otherwise sit.[5] The firm built pinball from 1968 until 1974, when the business was reconstituted as [[manufacturer:europlay]].[6]
- opdb_manufacturer_id
- 142Flipcommons Catalog
- name
- R.M.G.Flipcommons Catalog
- slug
- rmgFlipcommons Catalog
Citations
- TILT.IT — https://www.tilt.it/flipper_pinball/museo
Dalla 'Zaccaria' di Calderara di Reno alla 'RMG' di Quarto Inferiore, dozzine di aziende artigiane costruivano flipper e videogiochi poi esportati in tutto il mondo. [...] Renato Montanari della RMG di Quarto Inferiore (Bologna)
- Museum of the Game (Arcade Museum) — https://www.arcade-museum.com/company/renato-montanari-giochi-rmg
Renato Montanari Giochi / RMG released 15 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1970.
- TILT.IT — https://www.tilt.it/flipper_pinball/2007/02/bonus-scan-enada-1972-stand-rmg-renato-montanari-giochi-022007
risalente alla prima Enada, tenutasi a Roma nel 1972. Stand RMG: Renato Montanari (al centro nella foto) presenta i suoi prodotti
- TILT.IT — https://www.tilt.it/flipper_pinball/ipdb/skill-game-the-best
The Best Card King [...] The Best Wizard – em – 1p [...] (inspired from Gottlieb's "Wizard")
- Internet Pinball Database (IPDB) — Internet Pinball Database (IPDB) #6836
Printing companies in Italy that made backglasses for manufacturers of games such as Skilgame's Galaxie would also sell some of the glasses directly to operators, bypassing the pinball manufacturer, and for these glasses they were known to add the words "The Best" as part of the name
- TILT.IT — https://www.tilt.it/flipper_pinball/ipdb/rmg
R.M.G. (1968-1974 -> Europlay)