Ken Fedesna papers

Collection — Box: 1-10

Identifier: 2019.fedesna

Staff Only

The Ken Fedesna papers are a compilation of documentation on various projects from Midway/Williams during the 1990s-2000s, including TouchMaster, the Midway Tournament Network, and Infinity System. Materials include notes, memos, correspondence, business plans, license agreements, reports, statistics, arcade fliers, reference articles, and more. The bulk of this collection is dated between 1995 and 2003.

The Ken Fedesna papers have been arranged into four series, one of which has been further divided into subseries. The collection is housed in ten archival document boxes.

Dates

1975 - 2007
Majority of material found within 1995 - 2003

Creator

Fedesna, Ken (Person)

Language

The majority of this collection is in English, with some instances of German.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is open for research use by staff of The Strong and by users of its library and archives. Though the donor has not transferred intellectual property rights (including, but not limited to any copyright, trademark, and associated rights therein) to The Strong, he has given permission for The Strong to make copies in all media for museum, educational, and research purposes.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Additional Description

Abstract

Biographical Note

Ken Fedesna is an American executive and manager with more than 40 years’ experience in the video and electronic games industry.

After earning his B.S. and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Fedesna began his career with Motorola. He joined Williams Electronics, Inc. in 1977. Fedesna stayed with the company as it acquired competitors Bally/Midway and Atari and expanded its development of pinballs, video games, video lottery terminals, and other electronic games. During his nearly three decades there, Fedesna served as the Vice President and General Manager of WMS Industries and Executive Vice President and General Manager of Midway Games, where he was responsible for managing the design and engineering of both coin-operated video games and home video games.

After the closure of Midway in 2003, Fedesna founded Cashbox Games, Inc., which manufactured and designed redemption games. He also served as President of White Rabbit Game Studio alongside former colleagues from Bally/Midway and Williams. In 2009, Fedesna joined brothers Frank and Ed Pellegrini at Team Play, Inc. in Chicago, which develops video games, redemption games, and photo booths. As of 2019, Fedesna is COO of Team Play.

System of Arrangement

Series I: Countertop games, 1989-2004

Subseries A: TouchMaster, 1995-2004

Subseries B: Midway Tournament Network, 1999-2000

Subseries C: Other amusements, 1989-1997

Series II: Home video games, c. 2001-2003

Series III: Arcade games, 1975-2003

Series IV: Reference, 1989-2007

Custodial History

The Ken Fedesna papers were donated to The Strong in November 2017 as a gift of Kenneth and Brigitte Fedesna. The papers were accessioned by The Strong under Object ID 117.9829 and were received from Fedesna in six boxes, along with the United Manufacturing Co. records, library materials, and two arcade games.

Related Materials

The Strong houses a TouchMaster Infinity and a PlayPorTT from Ken Fedesna. The Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play holds issues of magazines (including RePlay, Play Meter, and Vending Times), Mortal Kombat comic books, and the book The Art of Midway: Before Pixels and Polygons, also from Fedesna.