The Scoop

Pirates of the Caribbean by Jersey Jack Pinball

At the fireside chat at Expo on Thursday evening, Jersey Jack Pinball announced their newest creation, the Pirates of the Caribbean.  The machine is packed with toys and features, including:

• A Black Pearl upper playfield ship that rocks back and forth like you’re on the open water, and features a loaded cannon which fires your pinball to sink the enemy ship.  Check out the upper playfield in action here.

• Three spinning discs in the middle of the playfield that have varying speeds, are multi-directional and can “stop on a dime”.  Not only does it effect your ball path, it also grants you awards including plundering other players points or pinballs.  Check out the discs here and check out this fun chaotic sequence which shows how much it can effect ball path.

• A 4.3 inch display on the apron that uses Captain Jack Sparrow’s compass to tell you the best shot in the game at all times.

• The Davey Jones Chest, which opens and closes and is a physical ball lock for three balls.

• The Maelstrom/Whirlpool ramp where you sink balls on the ramp to start a multi-ball.

 Check out This Week in Pinball’s DEEP DIVE into the game, with Likes, Dislikes, Overview, Code and Feature Reviews, and more.

Links to more coverage:

• For the full reveal from Jersey Jack Pinball, view Buffalo Pinball’s full stream here.

• For the gameplay portion of Pirates of the Caribbean with Buffalo Pinball and others, click here.

• For a five minute flyover of the game, check out this video from Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show.

• For an interview with Jack Guarnieri and game designer Eric Meunier by Pinball News and Pinball Magazine, click here.

• For an interview with game designer Eric Meunier by Buffalo Pinball on “Bro do you even TALK pinball”, click here.

Houdini by American Pinball

American Pinball announced some changes and some new information regarding their upcoming machine, Houdini:

• Lighting was added down by flippers with theater inspired spotlights

• Part of plastic ramp was removed and made it a wire form

• The stage marquee playfield mini lcd was revised

• Refined Catapult is now firing with upper 90% success rate, and they’re trying to implement “smart learning” in the game to record and learn from a miss

• Custom side blades will be available as an add-on

• Magic glass is being developed to compete with invisiglass/pdi, likely will be available as an add-on

• Shaker kit will be developed and available as add-on

• Set up for initial 1,000 units

• Weight of game 275 lbs. boxed

• 90 day all inclusive warranty, 1 year warranty on monitors

• Parts available to buy direct and through distributors

• USB updates at coin door

• Next game will be unlicensed

Thanks to Pinsider Skins for the above updates on Houdini.  For the flyer and full list of features, click here.  Seems like it is time for a tutorial and lengthy stream of this machine!

Steve Ritchie Working on Unlicensed Theme

According to Pinball News, during his presentation on Friday evening, Steve Ritchie said his next theme would be unlicensed.  This comes after the Stern Pinball designer recently commented on Facebook: “I’m sick of licenses right now.  I’m having REAL FUN doing what I’m doing on my next!”  This is interesting as Gary Stern has mentioned in the past plans to stick with licensed themes.  With the recent buzz around Total Nuclear Annihilation and Dialed In, it will be fun to see what Steve Ritchie and Stern Pinball have in store for us!

Pinball News Expo Coverage

Speaking of Pinball News, if you want in-depth Expo coverage, you need to check out the daily reviews from Martin and the team at Pinball News.  The main page is here, and check out the daily reviews with tons of pictures and info on everything Expo:

• Wednesday: Show Setup and Bumper Blast Welcome Party

• Thursday: Stern Factory Tour, Seminars, Vendor Hall

• Friday: More Seminars, ExpoBrawl Tournament

• Saturday: More Seminars, Banquet Speeches, Awards, Auctions

• Sunday: Tournament Finals and Show Closing

Other Expo News

A few other Expo items to note:

• The Outside Edge Hardtop: a new product introduced at Expo which is not a new playfield or a thin decal, but an alternative way to fix up a playfield with a durable rigid overlay hardcoat.  For more info, click here.

• Batman 66 Code Update: a new release will be coming soon (0.80?) which will complete the major villains and add other content, but there is no timeline on when the game/code will be completed.

• Dutch Pinball Update: Dutch Pinball introduced their new contract manufacturer, XYTECH Modules Technologies.

• Pinball Magazine Publications: Jonathan Joosten spoke of two upcoming publications, issue #5 of the Pinball Magazine, and a book called Pinball Road Trip.  Keep an eye on the Pinball Magazine website for more info going forward.

• Pinball Wizards book: Adam Ruben spoke about his book called Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, and the Cult of the Silver Ball.  To order the book from Amazon, click here.

• Congrats to Keith Elwin, Zach Sharpe, and John Replogle on finishing the Expo Flip Out tournament first, second, and third respectively!

ColorDMD Releases

ColorDMD, which will instantly increase your happiness in life by 12-15%, announced releases for Star Trek, World Cup Soccer, and Godzilla.  Check out the teaser video for the long awaited Star Trek ColorDMD here.  To buy, visit ColorDMD.com.

Multimorphic Launches Redesigned Website

Check out Multimorphic’s newly redesigned website here.  According to their newsletter, “Features and functionality of the new site will continue to grow over time to enhance customer experiences with the full P3 ecosystem.  Current major features include product overviews, our new online store, and a customer support portal, which provides information about the P3, documentation and tutorials for using and maintaining it, and an issue tracking system for customer support and feature requests.”

Alien Shipping?

CoinTaker has reported that 21 Alien pinball machines have landed in port and should be in their warehouse this week.  Retro Arcade out of Sweden is reporting that seven Alien machines should be arriving to their facility this week as well.  TWIP will update this next week as hopefully customers can pick up their machines.

Upcoming Games and Rumors

Stern Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Aerosmith

• AC/DC Vault Edition

• Star Wars

Announced/Confirmed

• Elvira 3

Rumors of Future Titles

• Guardians of the Galaxy?

• Iron Maiden?

• Jurassic World?

• Deadpool?

• Pulp Fiction?

• New Ka-Pow Title?

• Steve Ritchie Unlicensed?

Spooky Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Rob Zombie’s Spookshow International

• Dominos (*contract game)

• Jetsons (*contract game)

• Total Nuclear Annihilation (*contract/house game)

Announced/Confirmed

• Alice Cooper’s Nightmare Castle

• Ben Heck’s game

American Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Houdini

Dutch Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Bride of Pinbot 2.0

• Bride of Pinbot 3.0 (on hold)

• The Big Lebowski (production issues)

Circus Maximus

• The Pinball Circus Remake

Silver Castle Pinball

• Timeshock (coming soon)

Jersey Jack Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Wizard of Oz

• The Hobbit

• Dialed In

• Pirates of the Caribbean <<NEW!

Rumors of Future Titles

• Toy Story?

• The Muppets?

Chicago Gaming/Planetary Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Medieval Madness Remake

• Attack From Mars Remake

Rumors of Future Titles

• Monster Bash Remake?

• Big Bang Bar Remake?

• Cactus Canyon Remake?

Heighway Pinball

Most Recent Titles

• Full Throttle

• Alien (production issues)

Rumors of Future Titles

• Queen?

P3 (Multimorphic)

• Lexy Lightspeed

• Cannon Lagoon

• Cosmic Cart Racing

Homepin

• Thunderbirds (coming soon)

Phénix Pinball

• Olympic Goblin

Deeproot Pinball

• Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland?

• Alice in Wonderland?

• Magic Girl?