What if the game had what appears to be a dot matrix display in it. And, when the game gets going and when Dorothy enters Oz the dot matrix display changes to reveal an LCD in full color!??!?
New Pinball Manufacturer on the Horizon
- Thread starter nocashvalue
- Start date
Pinball Wizard
Well-known member
LOL the only reason I would watch this movie as a little kid is that I couldn't get through the B&W part of the movie, now you expect me to wait through DMD animates and later tell me there is an LCD in it, pssh.
ElfShotTheFood
New member
after listening to the podcast, I think jack can make it work. his company has enough other apples in the basket that the pins will not make or break anything. this may be bad news for stern, but good news for pin lovers.
as for the wizard of oz, name 1 other license that is as well known as the wizard of oz? do you think little girls, moms and grandmas would want to play a tron pin more than they would play a wizard of oz pin?
as for the wizard of oz, name 1 other license that is as well known as the wizard of oz? do you think little girls, moms and grandmas would want to play a tron pin more than they would play a wizard of oz pin?
Sure they'd rather play Wizard of Oz. I'm sure Grandma will just put her quarters up to save her spot while she's at the bar finishing her Jaagermeister.
Do you see pins at any family friendly places aside from Chuck E. Cheese? I don't, and my local Chucky's has one pin -a Pirates Of The Caribbean with a dead flipper.
I'm not a "pinball guy" (though there are a few I want) but I don't think this theme is a bad idea. Seriously, what is the average age of a pinball collector here? If the theme is more "family friendly" and they can convince more family-oriented establishments to buy these then it could open up a new generation of pinball enthusiasts. Seems like a win-win situation to me. More new pinball machines and maybe the pinball-enthusiast species won't be extinct due to death from old age...
sosage
Well-known member
That is a ridiculous challenge, but I'll play. I'll close my eyes, tie a hand behind my back and only use my pinkie nail to scratch the surface:
Mickey Mouse. I win. What's the prize?
Loony Tunes. I win again. Can I get second place's prize?
Something that will only be attractive to little girls, but appreciated by women of all generations and be more popular than Wizard of Oz? Barbie Anniversary theme. What's third place's prize?
...more relevant to the current generation? Harry Potter.
The entire theme discussion is not a "you're either with pinball or against pinball" situation. Yeesh.
P.S. You don't need a "feminine" theme to attract female pinball players. My local league has at least 6 of them. There's a bigger issue of just finding playable machines for either sex to play on...
I just listened to the entire interview. I had heard of pinballsales.com but had never heard of Elaut before. Jack sounds like a smart guy that gets things done. It should be interesting to see this unfold.
The part about opening up the source code for future original themed pinballs is a great idea. What I think could also work would be an entirely modular game where the pinball company creates the playfield, ramps, etc., but people could customize the theme and artwork. It's really limiting to have just TV or movie licenses like we are seeing now. There are a lot of creative people out there and I'd like to see what they can come up with.
The part about opening up the source code for future original themed pinballs is a great idea. What I think could also work would be an entirely modular game where the pinball company creates the playfield, ramps, etc., but people could customize the theme and artwork. It's really limiting to have just TV or movie licenses like we are seeing now. There are a lot of creative people out there and I'd like to see what they can come up with.
TK_Monkey
New member
Could bring the price down doing somewhat of a kit version for the home buyer who then would have to drop art in it on delivery. If it came down enough, might mean sales to more than the maybe half dozen home folks who can afford a NIB Stern. Sending custom art for them to put into it would probably drive the price way up with setup costs for screening/etc. I like the line of thought, don't know how it could be executable well, maybe we'll see something like that in the future depending on how "open" they're planning on making them.
hsapinball
Well-known member
Making a new pinball machine is a big project.
I seen the challenges first hand with Big Bang Bar (cost overruns, part suppliers, cost of labor, etc) and that was just hand building 185 of them.
Wayne thought he was going to remake MM and CC pins. Even took deposits. He made a few parts but even after a few years the games never got made.
Lots of work go into assembly of a playfield. Even Stern hand assembles the playfields. I have done several playfield swaps and these newer DMD games take 20-40 hours for me to get a playfield done.
I seen the challenges first hand with Big Bang Bar (cost overruns, part suppliers, cost of labor, etc) and that was just hand building 185 of them.
Wayne thought he was going to remake MM and CC pins. Even took deposits. He made a few parts but even after a few years the games never got made.
Lots of work go into assembly of a playfield. Even Stern hand assembles the playfields. I have done several playfield swaps and these newer DMD games take 20-40 hours for me to get a playfield done.
LyonsArcade
Well-known member
I believe if Jack decides he wants to do it, he has the ability to do it. Elaut is a very large company that's built many machines in the past. The game is going to be expensive though, Stern will end up being the poor man's nib because there's no way in hell Elaut is going to make something more modern than a Stern for the same price.
Dr_Gonzo
Active member
Pre-orders are being taken.
http://www.pinballsales.com/asp/default.asp
My wife and I have been discussing this tonight, very seriously thinking of putting down our deposit. Anyone else?
http://www.pinballsales.com/asp/default.asp
My wife and I have been discussing this tonight, very seriously thinking of putting down our deposit. Anyone else?
VectorJunkie
Well-known member
Hyde
Well-known member
I think this is awesome news for the arcade game industry as a whole. You don't have to be a huge fan of the theme, but you have to at least admire the effort that is being put into designing an entirely new pinball machine from a company that is a new (or should I say the only?) contender in that industry, aside from Stern of course.
Let's hope they do something really cool with it. Something different, creative, unique. I'm not sure what that could be (or if they will do it at all), but unless something rather radical happens, the fate of this pinball will be the same as many other. That is, pushed into a corner of the arcade, half-working and overshadowed by the redemption machines.
Let's hope they do something really cool with it. Something different, creative, unique. I'm not sure what that could be (or if they will do it at all), but unless something rather radical happens, the fate of this pinball will be the same as many other. That is, pushed into a corner of the arcade, half-working and overshadowed by the redemption machines.
HudsonArcade
Well-known member
Uh... no...
It's an allegory about the US currency going to the sliver standard instead of the gold standard.
Silver slippers (not ruby) on top of the yellow brick road... "Oz"... etc.
LyonsArcade
Well-known member
I'm excited about the game, I would never pay new prices for any pinball machine though, so it's wayyyy out of my price range. For those of you that DO buy new games though, don't you think it's kind of jumping the gun to put a deposit down on one that
A. you've never seen
B. you haven't heard any specifics about
C. is from a company that's never made a pinball machine
D. has no release date
? I know Jack is a good guy and it's an exciting thing, but I think it might be prudent to be rational about this. 6500 bucks! That's a lot of money for something you haven't seen even a picture of, no details, etc.
A. you've never seen
B. you haven't heard any specifics about
C. is from a company that's never made a pinball machine
D. has no release date
? I know Jack is a good guy and it's an exciting thing, but I think it might be prudent to be rational about this. 6500 bucks! That's a lot of money for something you haven't seen even a picture of, no details, etc.
Dr_Gonzo
Active member
Yeah, it's a little freaky but...
Refundable deposit
TSPP designor is doing it
Most likely will be the first pin ever with an LCD display
Jack has said he is basically making this for collectors. Which means to me deep ruleset, something you won't tire of quickly.
I guess if I see pics of it and think it's unappealing to me (between now and Dec 2011) I can get my deposit back. I'm still not sure about it, but damn I think this is going to be a sweet game. Anyone wish they had got Big Bang Bar for the original price? I think it was like $4500-$5000 if I remember right.
LyonsArcade
Well-known member
Do what you want. I'm just saying it's crazy. LOL . I've done crazy before too, so it doesn't mean you're stupid or anything. Just crazy! Here, I'll break it down some mo.
A. 6500 dollars.
B. Bad Economy
C. Item does not exist yet
D. Guy from Jersey says he'll mail it to you later
LOL
A. 6500 dollars.
B. Bad Economy
C. Item does not exist yet
D. Guy from Jersey says he'll mail it to you later
LOL
sosage
Well-known member
One of the TSPP designers. I believe Keith P. Johnson is the one that is mostly responsible for TSPP.
I am really interested in this pin. I think there are endless possibilities. Price is about $1,500 too much IMO.
Tighe
Well-known member
I figured that Benjamin Heckendorn would have been first, he just got a CNC.
http://benheck.com/12-06-2010/begun-the-pinball-wars-have
http://benheck.com/12-06-2010/begun-the-pinball-wars-have
