This Week in Pinball, we're turning on speed mode: a faster read after a few heavier issues, as we soak in Sonic release week.
Pull this up in your browser for the best reading experience.
Song of the Week
This week's pick should really be something from the Danny Go catalog, based on my recent listening habits, but I don't think there's much overlap here with aficionados of toddler music.
So in honor of Sonic week, I dug through my saves for something fast and fun. Portland's Buddy Wynkoop put out a great punk track, "Nouveau Riche," about a month ago, and parts of the video were filmed at Quarterworld Arcade in Portland (there may even be some pinball sounds mixed into the end), so it's doubly relevant. Plus, it's well under three minutes long. Fast, high energy. Something to stomp around the house to before heading out for pinball adventures this weekend.
Pinball News of the Week
JJP's Sonic the Hedgehog Is Here
After months of teasers, a leaked playfield, and a prior title confirmation, Jersey Jack officially launched Sonic the Hedgehog on Tuesday. We have all the details in our launch article: editions and pricing, photos, launch media, key storylines, and more.
One note on the rollout: as launches go, this one was fairly smooth (though we did catch one small slip-up). Their best material also came a little late: the "Complete First Look," out Thursday, was their more typical launch content, with a full walkthrough of the game, interviews with the production team, and more.
Personally, it’s always hard to tell from launch media alone, but so far I like what I see, and I’m looking forward to trying it for myself as soon as I can!
Pinball Machine Management for Operators and Collectors
Pinventory keeps everything about your machines in one place.
Operators track collections, revenue, and audits across their locations, including public QR codes that link to online issue reporting with no app needed.
Collectors catalog their whole lineup with full maintenance history, parts, and manuals on hand.
Every machine, repair, and number lives in one place instead of scattered notes and spreadsheets.
Your data stays private and secure, visible only to you and the people you invite.
Built by Ed Giardina, creator of the IFPA Companion App. Free to use.
Slash on Guitar (and in the HoF)
Speaking of Sonic: Slash returns for another Jersey Jack release, this time contributing guitar solo work to two of the songs on the Sonic soundtrack.
Relatedly, we teased his U.K. Pinball Hall of Fame induction last week, and the full piece is now up on Kineticist. Hall chairman Gary Flower, who presented the award, wrote it up for us, and it includes a quick video interview with Slash from the induction. Sounds like he might have some fresh ideas for a new game kicking around!
How to Actually Play Transformers
Stern's latest, Transformers: More than Meets the Eye, is rolling out to locations everywhere, and our own Noah Crable already has a tutorial up. For an early-release game, the code is surprisingly deep, which tracks with everything we heard coming out of its launch. So if you're headed out to play it for the first (or second) time this weekend, be sure to pull up our guide to play your best.
Links of the Week
LoserKid Pinball Podcast: Steve Ritchie breaks down Sonic — Ritchie walks through his latest release and drops a few new nuggets in LoserKid's regular launch podcast.
Pinball Nerds Podcast #675: 5 Rad, 1 Bad on Sonic — A newsletter favorite is back, putting the new Sonic through their "5 rad, 1 bad" segment.
Under the Glass: Sonic launch party with Steve Ritchie — For those of you in the NY/NJ region, there's a Sonic launch party at the new Under the Glass Pinball Speakeasy in Red Bank, featuring meet-and-greets with Steve Ritchie and Jack Guarnieri on Saturday (6/27).
Delta Fringe Podcast: Jack Guarnieri of Jersey Jack Pinball — A good sit-down with the JJP founder, timely in the middle of Sonic launch week.
Flip N Out Pinball: Transformers Pro stream with lead dev Elizabeth Gieske — Joel and Jared stream Transformers: More than Meets the Eye with lead programmer Elizabeth Gieske on video chat. Gieske says the code packs more content than Dungeons & Dragons and previews patches on the way.
Purdue students built a working World Cup pinball machine — Five Purdue Polytechnic engineering students spent two semesters building a fully functional, soccer-themed pin (automated goalie included), with mechanical-engineering partners in Germany.
Colorado's first arcade bar closes its original location — The 1up, Colorado's first arcade bar, shut its original LoDo location June 22 after 15 years. The chain still runs several other locations, though, and this fall it opens its biggest yet: 13,000 sq ft in Lakewood's Belmar, taking over the old Lucky Strike.
AC/DC's Power Up tour is giving away a pinball machine — The band's pop-up shops (one per city, July 10 through September 29 across 18 North American stops) are dangling a full AC/DC pin as a sweepstakes prize. While this is an interesting note, it comes as rumors of an AC/DC remaster float about. Makes more sense for AC/DC to give away a refreshed package fitting the new tour branding versus the older model. Food for thought.
Silverball Chronicles: The Complicated Legacy of John Trudeau — On a heavier note: Ron Hallett and Dave Dennis weigh one of pinball's most inventive designers against the charges that now define his name. The classic art-vs-artist question.
Poll of the Week
Last Week’s Poll Results
“While it’s a good one to choose as a remake and I hope it sells well, it’s not for me. Games of that era lack the depth that I come to look for in a game. Not that I’m a good enough player to see all that a game has to offer, but I love it when a game surprises me and I don’t see TOTAN doing that.”
“I owned the original TOTAN and sold it after eight years. It became boring.”
“Would never buy anything from this manufacturer and far too expensive, especially for a B-level title.”
“Original and remake are both beautiful pins! Unfortunately it’s a shallow game for players. I owned the original but lost interest very quickly.”
“New electrics and new art give TOTAN a new life.”
“Despite it's a amazing machine, I think for the universe of pinball is more powerful get more new machines born in 21 century. Why not create one?”
“It was a pretty but mediocre game when it was new and original. The remake will be the same.”
“I would like to play it, but there’s no way I would buy it.”
“There's so much pink and purple, it looks like the inside of Tinkerbell's vagina. I'll never understand the fascination with colored/rainbow GI.”
“Already own an original! Still enjoy and get periodic inquiries asking if I want to sell or trade - not yet!”
Weekly Feedback
Your feedback helps us improve our work. All notes are appreciated!