Pat Lawlor

Feel the Buzz with JJP’s Toy Story 4 Pinball!

June 15, 2022 By ausretrogamer

There is nothing like the buzz of a new pinball machine being announced. Did you see what we did there? No? Ah, never mind.

After what has been one of the worst kept secrets in pinball (but very highly anticipated), Jersey Jack Pinball has announced their latest pinball machine, Toy Story 4!

Designed by the one and only Pat Lawlor (celebrated designer of the best selling pinball machine of all time, The Addams Family), Toy Story 4 from Jersey Jack Pinball will be released in two model options, the Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition.

For the Toy Story fans out there, this is the world under glass that will bring the magic of Toy Story like never before, playing pinball with Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep, and more of your favourite toys as they come to life in this new pinball adventure.

Longer video (26 Minute) going through all the features

Source: Jersey Jack Pinball

All your fave character voices are in this game, from Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, to Duke Caboom and many more! Custom call outs from Buzz and Woody, coupled with the original soundtrack that includes a special rendition of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”, completes the Toy Story immersion.

Some of the cool features and toys include sending the silver-ball flying off the Duke Caboom jump ramp — just don’t let the Bensons block your shot! Blast into the jet bumpers to collect a super jackpot in Buzz Multiball, and aim for the stand-up targets to light Rescue Forky. Hurry up and bash Gabby Gabby into a pinball frenzy on the way to scoring Grand Champion. Take a chance on the spinning wheel to earn different awards like Extra Ball, Tiki Party, Super Loops and more! Start interactive carnival games like Star Adventurer, Dragon Zone, Squirrel Derby, and Flipball on the 10-inch playfield frame display, and don’t forget to smile for the camera – a special high-tech digital photo booth feature that takes pictures while you play!

Oh yeah, the Toy Story 4 pinball machines come fully equipped with Bluetooth audio for wireless listening and Wi-Fi connectivity for seamless over-the-air software updates. Scorbit, a competitive pinball platform and social network, is also included in the package.

So that’s it, that is the buzz, folks!

Cost:

Toy Story 4 Limited Edition US$12,000 / AU$18,000**
Toy Story 4 Collector’s Edition US$15,000 / AU$20,000** (Limited to 1,000 units – already sold out!)

** Australian prices and availability for TS4 CE and LE are not confirmed at this point in time. This post will be updated once the AU$ price and availability are confirmed.

Toy Story 4 Collector’s Edition

Toy Story 4 Limited Edition

image source: Jersey Jack Pinball

History of The Addams Family Pinball Machine

June 3, 2022 By ausretrogamer

Ask anyone that played pinball in the early 1990s to name their favourite machine, we reckon The Addams Family will be right at the top of the list.

Without a doubt, The Addams Family pinball machine is one of the greatest machines of all time. Not only was it the best-selling solid state pinball machine of all time (selling over 20,000 units worldwide) TAF, as it is affectionately known, is still beloved by many and enjoyed some 30+ years after its release. This Pat Lawlor and Larry DeMar designed pinball machine is an absolute masterpiece.

Enjoy this cool history about The Addams Family pinball machine!

source: Kevin Carrington

Pinball 2000: Party Like It’s 1999

November 29, 2019 By ausretrogamer

There is no doubt that pinball is currently going through a great resurgence and is the ‘in’ thing right now, but the silverball game was struggling to stay relevant in the 21^stcentury and was subsequently killed off in October 1999 before it could showcase the future of pinball with the Pinball 2000 platform. Wow, that was 20 years ago!

To observe the anniversary of pinball’s downfall, let’s turn the clock back two decades. It was the last year of the nineties and the last for the 20th century, so just like Prince sang many moons ago, “I’m gonna party like it’s nineteen ninety-nine”! Ah 1999, we were all panicking about the inevitable doom that the Y2K bug was going to befall on all of us, but at least the year started well for pinball.

The story goes back a few years to 1997, the then President and CEO of Williams (WMS), Neil Nicastro, challenged the pinball division to come up with something new or risk being closed down. Williams’ designers worked hard throughout 1998 to come up with something innovative, a brand new kind of pinball machine, which became Pinball 2000. Pinball 2000 (P2K) fused video with classic pinball gameplay, almost like an early augmented reality (AR), it aimed to preserve what was great about pinball yet opening up new possibilities for a product that was on its last legs.

One of the most successful pinball designers of the decade, George Gomez and Pat Lawlor had shown their new modular creation and future of pinball, with the official unveiling of the Pinball 2000 architecture and the first game on the platform, Revenge From Mars, in January 1999. Even though Pinball 2000 was a success with Revenge From Mars selling 6800+ units, Williams’ President did not see that his pinball division had innovated enough to reinvigorate pinball. Once the last Pinball 2000 machine, John Popadiuk’s Star Wars: Episode 1, was released, Neil Dicastro and his executive team dropped a bombshell by jettisoning pinball in favour of gaming (gambling) slot machines, which was very lucrative for Williams. This meant that the next two Pinball 2000 machines, Wizard Blocks and Playboy, would never see the light of day – which is a darn shame. Closing down the Williams pinball division seemed like, at the time, the death of pinball.

As history would have it, the story of Pinball 2000 came to be, and its inevitable death, at the hands of Williams’ executives, but there was one company that survived and kept the pinball light flickering, Stern Pinball. A lot has transpired in pinball since 1999, with a new golden age that is currently in full swing, so the rest, as they say, is history. Long live PINBALL!

PS: There is a great in-depth documentary on Pinball 2000, TILT: The Battle To Save Pinball, which you can watch on Amazon Prime right now!

image sources: pinball2000.de & The Arcade Flyer Archive

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Enter A World of Pure Imagination with Jersey Jack Pinball’s Willy Wonka and the The Chocolate Factory

April 13, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) has unveiled their latest and possibly their greatest pinball machine, the Pat Lawlor designed, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!

The unveiling took place earlier today (April 13 – Australian time) at the 2019 Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in front of a jam packed crowd and streamed live to tens of thousands around the world via the awesome Buffalo Pinball team.

This pinball masterpiece was designed by the legendary Pat Lawlor, designer of Dialed In!, Twilight Zone, and over a dozen other classic games, including the best-selling pinball machine in history, The Addams Family. With this kind of pedigree, we always knew that JJP would not disappoint with a Willy Wonka pinball machine.

All three models of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory™ pinball machines include:

four flippers
six balls
a captive ball
seven magnets
the Everlasting Gobstopper™
the Most Secret Machine™
Oompa Loompa™ camera sculpture
7” Wonkavision™ LCD
a 27” HD LCD screen with interactive 3D animations
and candy-colored LED light shows

Gameplay features four multiballs, collecting Wonka Bars™, spelling Scrumdiddlyumptious™, touring Wonka’s Factory™, and a host of other goodies to lead you down the chocolate river to three wizard modes, including Pure Imagination™. Scenes and dialogue from the original 1971 film directed by Mel Stuart, starring Gene Wilder are showcased bringing this exciting theme to life. This pinball machine is the epitome of the old pinball adage, ‘a world under glass’.

The Australian (AU$) pricing for all three models is as follows:

Willy Wonka Standard Edition: $12,490.00
Willy Wonka Limited Edition: $15,490.00
Willy Wonka Collector’s Edition: $19,990.00

From first impressions, Willy Wonka looks terrific and seems to have all the hallmarks of becoming a pinball masterpiece. We honestly can’t wait to enter this pinball world of pure imagination with Jersey Jack Pinball’s Willy Wonka and the The Chocolate Factory!

image source: Jersey Jack Pinball

Stern Announce Star Wars and Jersey Jack Release A Flashy Trailer For Dialed In!

June 1, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Whoa, what a way to start June!

Stern Pinball finally announced their new machine, the Steve Ritchie designed Star Wars! Funnily enough, the announcement came via a brief spot on The Star Wars Show (see embedded video). Stern has promised that Star Wars Pinball will take players to a galaxy far, far away! More information, photos and pricing to come – we can’t wait!

Stern’s new STAR WARS pinball machine makes a cameo appearance on The Star Wars Show!

source: The Star Wars Show

Also going all out was Jersey Jack Pinball. With the announcement that their latest machine, Dialed In! was in production, the New Jersey-based factory went all Hollywood by producing a very flashy and cool promotional video to show off Pat Lawlor’s brilliant original concept game. Mark our words, Dialed In! is destined to be a top 10 pinball machine of all time!

Jersey Jack Pinball’s DIALED IN! official trailer!

source: Jersey Jack Pinball

Wow, wish every month starts like this! Stay tuned for more pinball news!

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Dialed In: Meeting Jersey Jack Pinball’s Jack Guarnieri

December 9, 2016 By ausretrogamer

If you weren’t aware, there is more than one player in the pinball manufacturing business. Jersey Jack Pinball started in January 2011 and immediately took the pinball scene by storm, creating and releasing innovative, fun and quality pinball machines. This trailblazing pinball company was founded by Jack Guarnieri, an amusement veteran of some forty years and a visionary that understands that pinball must break new ground in features and technology to keep players interested and to attract new ones to this wonderful game we call pinball.

In their short history, Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) has introduced a number of pinball innovations; the high quality backboard LCD-HD screen, RGB-LED playfield lighting, rich audio, QR codes with social media integration and exquisite playfield toys to name just a few. Keeping this ground breaking momentum isn’t easy, but JJP understands that it is crucial to their continuing success.

JJP definitely took a leap of faith with their latest machine, Dialed In – it is refreshing to see a pinball company take a risk and be at the bleeding edge of pinball design and technology! Pinball designer extraordinaire, Pat Lawlor jumped on board and has integrated a number of mind-blowing features, like Bluetooth connectivity enabling additional player capabilities through a smartphone and a camera that emblazons player selfies on the backboard LCD screen. You would think that Dialed In’s original concept may not attract players to it, but we reckon Pat Lawlor and Jersey Jack Pinball have absolutely nailed it! With the game being meticulously developed over a number of years, it shows that no stone has been left unturned for an engrossing and engaging experience. With only the software left to be completed by the legendary Ted Estes, we can’t wait to see the final result!

Dialed In undercover! Waiting for the Australian unveiling

The unveiling of Dialed In! The anticipation was unbearable!

This past weekend, Mr Pinball and Bayside Pinball Club hosted the Jersey Jack Pinball event, with JJP founder and CEO, Jack Guarnieri as the guest of honour. Jack’s Australian unveiling of Dialed In drew a capacity crowd at the Sandbelt Hotel in south-east Melbourne. Eager onlookers could not wait to get their first glimpse of the machine and have a play. Once the machine was available for play, it was like moths to a flame – the queue to play the machine became longer by the second! We were glad that we waited for our turn, as playing Dialed In was a mesmerising experience that left us wanting to play it over and over again. The playfield was inviting, the ‘feel’ of the flippers felt right, the flow of the silverball was precise and that rich thumping audio was just so visceral! Dialed In is already a winner from our brief experience!

Meeting Jersey Jack Pinball’s Jack Guarnieri was both an honour and a humbling experience

The crowd is abuzz awaiting Jack’s inaugural Australian keynote speech!

The other highlight of the event was meeting Jack. Greeted by a warm hug, we knew that Jack was the kind of person we could immediately call our friend. Jack’s eagerness to get to know people, his intellect and humour made him very endearing. He made himself available for people to approach him, even going without food all day to ensure that he got to meet as many folks as possible. Jack’s keynote speech at the unveiling of Dialed In and the Q&A session were great insights into the man and the JJP company, from his fascinating beginnings in Manhattan and the Jersey Shore, to pinball operations, manufacturing and distribution. We hope that Jack returns to Australia in the not too distant future!

Many thanks to Wayne Gillard from Mr Pinball and Lucas Bardin from Bayside Pinball Club for putting on such a great event!

Jack introduces Pat Lawlor’s original concept game, Dialed In! And it’s a beauty!

The crowd gathers to take a closer look!

Always drawing a crowd – Martin Robbins gets dialled in!

Check out Marto’s selfies on the backboard!

Finally, it was our turn to play!

We were mesmerised by the playfield

The Hobbit – Black Arrow edition made its Australian debut at the event too!

Australian IFPA Co-Director, Luke Marburg is taken by The Hobbit

Getting ready for Jack’s fireside (Q&A) chat

Even with technical problems, Jack managed to power through and keep the crowd entertained!

Grant Levy shows off his Battle Pinny homebrew pinball machine

Always available for a chat

Jack and his magic TEXTA!

Last call of duty – autographs!

Bayside Pinball Club were raffling off this Judge Dredd beauty

There were other pinball machines to be played!

Stacey Borg (aka: DRC) and Martin Robbins go head-to-head

Pinball was the winner on this day!

We’ll definitely keep flippin & tweetin’

Jersey Jack Pinball Announces The Future Of Pinball

October 14, 2016 By ausretrogamer

As we had predicted in our Pinball Expo 2016 feature, Jersey Jack Pinball have announced their newest machines, and let’s just say, they have hit it out of the proverbial park!

Jersey Jack’s new machines will definitely be making history by being right on the bleeding edge of pinball design! First up, Pat Lawlor’s Dialed In. The legendary designer’s highly anticipated, original concept game will be the first pinball machine to feature Bluetooth® connectivity, a camera and additional player capabilities through a smartphone! The other special features of Dialed In will make your head spin, like the swivelling LCD mount, hidden trap door and the 3D interactive projected image to name just a few. Dialed In will come in two different variants, a Collector’s and Limited Editions.

The second machine announced is their Black Arrow Special Edition, named after the arrow that defeats Smaug™ in the acclaimed The Hobbit™ film trilogy. Special features include Black Arrow track mode animation, Black Ink body armour, black pinballs, gold Smaug™ character and plenty more to keep you excited. We honestly can’t wait to find out more about this one!

Pat Lawlor and Jersey Jack’s Jack Guarnieri proudly show-off Dialed In