AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for pinball machines

pinball machines

Peter Brock – ‘King Of The Mountain’ Pinball Machines

By

Leaving a burnout at last week’s AGE – the Australasian Gaming Expo (August 13 to 15), was Vector Pinball’s Peter Brock “King Of The Mountain” pinball machines – which were the talk of the exhibition. Both models of the Peter Brock themed pinball machines were on display at the Big Top Amusements booth.

The fully licensed Vector Pinball made machines feature Peter Brock’s 1979 Torana and the 1984 VK Commodore winning race cars at Mount Panorama (aka: Bathurst). Both variations of the King Of The Mountain retail for AU$11,900 (GST inclusive)!

For those pinball players outside of Australia, Peter Brock was a championship winning race car driver for Holden (GMH), much to the lament of the blue oval (Ford) lovers. Brocky won the Bathurst 1000 a record-breaking 9 times.

GAME FEATURES

  • Commercial Grade, Uses off the shelf Industry Standard Parts, 1 Year Warranty, 7 Day Phone Support, Onsite warranty options, depending on your location.
  • Different artwork on each side of the cabinet, 2 Backglass art versions available (see photo gallery), Option to have Black or White Playfield rubbers & acorns.
  • 3 Speaker Sound system
  • Cabinet Inner art Blades around the playfield to help create a world under glass.
  • Topper included
  • Shaker Motor Included
  • 3 or 5 ball play, digital volume control, etc all adjustable inside coin door
  • 32 Digit Alpha/Numeric Score/Information display. 2 digit Count Down Timer under playfield for challenge modes
  • Standard Ball Shooter with Auto Shooter built in for use when required
  • 2 & 3 ball Multi Ball modes
  • B R O C K upper lanes & K I N G Lower rollover lanes with lane change feature
  • Minimum play time – with auto Ball return feature
  • Skill Shot, Extra Ball, Jackpot & Super Jackpot, Bonus Hold features
  • 6 Drop Targets
  • Ball gate with Lift Control (top left)
  • 3 Flippers
  • 2 Sling Shots
  • 3 Pop Bumpers
  • 1 Spinner
  • 1 Captive Car shot
  • 6 Static Targets, 1 rebound switches
  • 2 LED strings, Each RGB LED on to and below the playfield is individually addressable for incredible light shows.
  • Software is upgradeable
  • 4 Highest Scores stored along with player entered initials
  • End of Game lucky Number match, Old School Knocker built in to Alert Match & Replays Awarded
  • Standard Pinball Tilt Bob Mech

If you missed playing these machines at last week’s AGE, then you still have a chance to have a flip at the upcoming PINFEST event in Newcastle (Sept 14 – 15) and also at the Melbourne Pinball Expo (Nov 30 – Dec 1).

PETER BROCK – 79 Holden Torana Edition

PETER BROCK – 84 Holden VK Commodore Edition

Playfield

image source: Vector Pinball

 

The Australian Pinball Museum Visits The Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum

By

Prior to exhibiting at the 2024 Texas Pinball Festival (TPF), the Australian Pinball Museum visited the Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum in Hillsboro (Oregon, USA), and we are so glad that they did!

Obviously this place is now on our bucket-list of places to check out when we next visit the ole US of A. For more drool-worthy images from their recent visit at the Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum, check out the Australian Pinball Museum post right here and also their walkthrough video!

source: Facebook post via Australian Pinball Museum

New Pinball Games To Be Revealed at Pinball Expo

By

With Pinball Expo ’23 only a few days away, pinball manufacturers are clamouring to outdo each other in the new release stakes.

We already had Barrels of Fun announce their Labyrinth pinball game over the weekend (which will be playable at the expo), and now it’s Pinball Brothers’ turn with an Ellen Ripley edition of their Alien pinball machine. As Alien(s) fans, this definitely piques our interest!

This Ellen Ripley version of Alien pinball will come with new cabinet art, a loader battle translite, an updated software package (v4.0) and a bunch of extra movie scenes we have never seen in Alien Pinball before! Announcing their collaboration with modder Lior Rajwan from The Art of Pinball, this new machine will include hand-sculpted mini-screen, a hand-painted Xeno-head and a beautifully designed apron. Pinball Brothers are also planning an interactive topper which we hope they bring to the expo!

Alien Pinball – The Ellen Ripley Version

The Ellen Ripley Edition’s In-game Extras

Not to be outdone, Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) will also announce Steve Ritchie’s next pinball machine on October 19 (US time), which is rumoured to be an Elton John music themed pin. We aren’t the biggest Elton John fans, but with Steve designing this one with a higher BoM (bill of materials), you can bet it will be an amazingly flowy (and possibly brutal) game, packed with cool mechs and toys – well, that’s the hope.

The Master of Flow – Steve Ritchie. JJP will showcase his latest game at Pinball Expo

Will it be Elton John? We’ll see on October 19 (US time)!

Oh how we wish we could be at Chicago this week to experience and play these new machines – if someone could fly us out to Chi-town, we’d be forever in their debt 😉



What I Love Most About Pinball and My Top 5 Favourite Games

By

The silverball game lured me in 1986 and hasn’t let go since!

Have you ever stopped to think what you love most about the hobby you are really into? I must admit, I have never done that, but upon reflection, when I think about why I love pinball, it is of course the fun that it generates – there is nothing like flipping that shiny silverball into targets on the playfield, and the adrenaline rush you get when multi-ball kicks in – there is nothing quite like it! I have also loved (and still do) the pinball machine aesthetic – it is a work of art even when it sits there begging to be played. Equally, it is the people that you meet that have a mutual love for the same hobby you are into – I have made countless friends due to pinball, which makes it darn priceless to me. Oh yeah, the competition to get a high-score is another boon for pinball, but being a mediocre player, I tend to enjoy the socialising side of competition/tournament play.

Part of being into pinball is the ever difficult question of, “what are your favourite pinball games?”. This question is difficult as there are hundreds of games I enjoy on any given day, and with new releases coming out every year, it makes it even harder to pinpoint a favourite pinball machine.

As difficult as it is, I did promise Colin (Kineticist) that I would wrangle a top 5 list of games I really enjoy coming back to.

Here are my current top 5 pinball machines (which can change on whim!):

5. Star Trek LE (Stern)

As a Trekkie fan, I loved Steve Ritchie’s The Next Generation (Williams) widebody pinball machine, but with it becoming harder to find and play, it was Steve’s second bite at the Trek cherry with his 2013 Stern incarnation. The LE in particular was a stunning piece of art and more importantly, an absolute banger of a game. They don’t call Steve The Master of Flow for nothing!

4. Star Wars Premium (Stern)

Yep, another Steve Ritchie pinball game – do you see a pattern here? Star Wars (Prem/LE) isn’t particularly a flow-fest, and some don’t like it due to it being a drain monster, but the integration with the original movie trilogy with all of your fave scenes and characters are all there. The lightsaber battle with Vader, where all the playfield RGBs glow red (Vader) and blue (Obi-Wan) always get the heart racing. Oh yeah, I still reckon the hyperloop habitrail is still one of the best mechs in modern-day pinball (and hence why I only prefer the Prem/LE edition of this game)!

3. Dialed In (JJP)

Original themes aren’t as popular as back in the day (look at our number 2 fave game below!), but I still think Jersey Jack Pinball’s Dialed In is an amazing machine to play. Designed by the legendary, Pat Lawlor, this machine is full of innovations that (at the time) were well ahead of the competition, from the first-ever pinball machine to feature Bluetooth connectivity, a camera, to the additional player capabilities through a smart phone – which you could wreak havoc on your friends by taking control of the flippers with your mobile phone! I honestly still don’t get the theme (is it a city disaster you must avert), but I don’t care, Dialed In is one superlative pinball machine.

2. Medieval Madness (Williams)

I could have easily loaded this top 5 list with Brian Eddy games, from Medieval Madness, to Attack From Mars, The Shadow, Stranger Things and The Mandalorian, but that would constitute cheating.

When combining Brian Eddy’s design with the late (and great) Lyman F. Sheats Jr.’s coding prowess, you know you have a special pinball game. Brian and Lyman also worked on Attack From Mars, so you understand why these two machines in particular are still in many player’s top 5 lists. Medieval Madness has it all – an amazing flowing game with plenty to do and hit, some very cheesy dialogue and that amazing feeling you get when destroying the castle. Each shot on MM has purpose and doesn’t seem like a waste or like you are chopping wood, which is quite hard to say for many other pinball games.

1. The Walking Dead Pro (Stern)

TWD is Lyman F. Sheats Jr. magnum opus. The John Borg designed machine integrates the TWD theme quite well, with a unique look and feel playfield straight out of the first few seasons of the hit AMC series. But it is Lyman’s code that brings this beast to life – TWD is so deep, you probably need to own it for years and years before you get to see and experience every bit of Lyman’s amazing code. The machine isn’t the easiest to play (plenty of ways to drain), but it is balanced just right to keep you coming back to slay more Walkers! Having owned this machine since 2016, it is never going to leave our collection.

Just to be sneaky, if this was a top 10 list, then I would have also included America’s Most Haunted (Spooky), Haggis Pinball’s Celts, Spider-Man Vault Edition (Stern), Theatre Of Magic (Bally) and Monster Bash (Williams).

To say I can’t wait to play the latest games, like Labyrinth and Pulp Fiction would be a massive understatement. Pinball is in a good place right now (if only they could be cheaper). Now someone please make a Masters Of The Universe machine for me!

Long live the silverball game!!



The Silverball Planet 2023 Walkthrough with Alex Kidman

By

Our good friend and Australia’s preeminent tech journalist, Alex Kidman, always heads to the coolest place when he visits Japan!

We were so glad Alex took time to go to The Silverball Planet in the Amerikamura district of Osaka, while traveling around Japan.

This is Alex’s take on one of the best pinball amusement centres in the world:

It’s been a few years since I’ve been back to Osaka (for rather obvious reasons) and I was keen to check out The Silverball Planet again. I was last here in very early 2020, and it’s one of my favourite places in Osaka to wind down and spend a few yen.

It didn’t disappoint. One big plus with The Silverball Planet is that it’s nicely affordable even if you are on a budget, with all games costing ¥100 (or less for some older games) a go; compared to the regular Australian price that’s quite a bargain that’ll definitely keep me playing for longer periods. Like any classic arcade it is bright and a touch chaotically noisy — not great for those sensitive to such things — though it is markedly quieter if you visit earlier in the day.

Aside from the machines specifically noted as being out of order, everything’s very well kept and in great condition, allowing me to check out a range of machines I’d not played before, including Stern’s James Bond 007 Pro (loved the theme, couldn’t quite get on with the layout), Elvira’s House of Horrors (very nicely done!) and Spooky Pinball’s Halloween (only so-so in my opinion) .

Plus, well, because I’m me (and I’m in Japan, it would be impolite not to) more than a few games of Godzilla. The new Stern one, not the older Sega one, mind. Yes, I have something of a fan bias here, but I do honestly think it’s one of the best machines Stern’s put out for some time. I just wish I could find the space for one at home — and the funds!

Some quick tips for getting there: Google Maps is your friend, and it’s quite walkable if you’re already visiting the Namba area or dining in Dotonbori. Be aware that while it’s listed as being on the 3rd floor, the standard in Japan is that the street level is counted as the first floor — so it’s actually only two floors above what you might consider ground level.

Can’t make it there? I shot this walkthrough video (and completely forgot to throw in the near obligatory “please like and subscribe” bit at the start and end, I hope I don’t get thrown out of the YouTube fraternity for that. Speaking of which…)


source: Alex Kidman

Ahhhhh, for now, we will keep living vicariously through Alex’s walkthrough of the myriad of amazing machines. We have our bib on, as we can’t stop drooling!



Ann Arbor Pinball Show Is On In May!

By

The good folks at Sparks Pinball Museum shared a tweet about the upcoming Ann Arbor Pinball Museum Show in Michigan, which only opens to the public once a year, so if you are nearby, then we’d say it is a must visit on May 6th and 7th, and for those that love tournaments, you’ll need to get there a day earlier on May 5th!

With over 500+ pinball machines from every era (check out the list here), every attendee is guaranteed to find one (or a plethora) of games to enjoy!

ADS

Pinball Expo ’22 is Celebrating its 38th Year!

By

Oh how we wish we could go to this year’s Pinball Expo! We’ll be watching from afar. But, if you are one of those lucky folks that will be attending, Pinball Expo’s Rob Berk reckons this will be the biggest and best yet…..

Playing Magic Girl (the broken one!) at Flipout 2018! Beautiful to look at, but that’s about it!

MAGIC GIRL IS BACK!

After seven years in the making, the elusive Magic Girl pinball game is finally complete! The storied history of this machine can be traced back to 2015 when its first designs were being formulated. Through a troubled development cycle only 19 machines were ever built… but none of them were truly complete and had many missing components. But, through the hard work of American Pinball and an intrepid team of builders in the Netherlands, Magic Girl has finally been restored and the first ever fully-functional Magic Girl pinball machine will be unveiled on U.S. soil at Pinball Expo 2022!

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR

Pinball Expo 2022 will also be hosting the first ever Pinball Expo World Cup Tournament! Players from around the world are signing up to compete, with tournament attendees on board from the U.S., Spain, and the Netherlands – and we’re looking for more! With guest speakers also hailing from Australia, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, Pinball Expo’s global influence has never been greater!

…BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

ENTERRIUM is opening its doors to Pinball Expo 2022 attendees to enjoy pinball, games, food, and fun! Come on down and catch up with old friends and meet new ones too at this upscale restaurant, bar, and arcade in Schaumburg, Illinois! The entire facility will be open with all pinball machines, arcade machines, bowlers, and more available to play at no charge!

And finally, the Vendor Hall this year will have longer show hours and will be packed with great manufacturers including Stern Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball, Chicago Gaming, Pinball Adventures, American Pinball, Spooky Pinball, and – all the way from Sweden – Pinball Brothers who will be there to show off their latest games : Alien and Queen! And we’re working with even more manufacturers to have their latest creations on display!

…BUT WAIT, THERE’S EVEN MORE!

For the first time ever Jersey Jack Pinball will be hosting a tour of its pinball facility! Check the website for more details!

Pinball Expo is truly an “Everything for Everybody” show and you’re guaranteed to have a pinball experience to remember in 2022!

Visit www.PinballExpo.com for more information about the event and to book your rooms today!

Thank you,

Rob Berk
Pinball Expo Chairman

image source: Better.net

story source: IFPA



The Future Is Here – Stern Pinball Launches Insider Connected Online Platform

By

The world’s largest pinball manufacturer, Stern Pinball, have launched their new online platform, Insider Connected!

According to their press release, Insider Connected is a comprehensive technology initiative to connect the universe of Stern pinball machines. The platform is designed to enhance and extend player engagement with the games across both home and commercial environments. It also presents operators of pinball machines with a robust set of tools to drive location play, build player loyalty, analyze performance, make adjustments remotely and maintain the machines.

Registration for Insider Connected is free; players can either scan a QR code at the games or go to the Stern Pinball website where they will need to enter an email address and create a password. Once players register for Insider Connected, they are issued a unique QR Code that can be used to identify that player at any connected Stern pinball machine, anywhere in the world. When a player logs into the machine, they can track their progress, earn new game specific achievements, engage with the player community and participate in promotions and Challenge Quests.

Challenge Quests can be issued by operators to drive play at their locations and build player loyalty or by Stern Pinball to highlight a game title or engage the community. When players complete quests, they receive loyalty rewards.

Key launch features of the Insider Connected platform include:

  • Gameplay up to 4+ players – friends or foes
  • Game achievements and promotions
  • Stern authorized Quests and Operator authorized Quests
  • Loads on loads of free play, pay to play games, rewards and treasure chests


source: Stern Pinball

All Stern Spike® 2 LCD games produced after the September 2021 launch will ship with the Insider Connected system installed; this includes new runs of previously released titles. Any existing Stern LCD game can be added to Insider Connected by installing a simple, inexpensive retrofit kit available from Stern distributors, dealers and the Stern Store® – we have asked Stern to provide more details about this kit. We will update this post once we receive their response.

By the end of the year, all 17 Stern Spike 2 LCD system titles will be added to Insider Connected, which means we’ll be able to connect our Star Wars Comic Art Premium machine! At launch seven titles will be supported, with the remaining Spike 2 LCD machines added over the next year.  with full system with added features will be rolled out. Once again, we have reached out to Stern to confirm the seven titles that be supported at launch – we will keep you posted!

We have written about internet connected pinball machines in the past, so it is great to see Stern Pinball finally enter this new age of online pinball play and cool tools to interact with pinball machines. This is a game changer for sure, so we will keep an eye out on the evolving feature set and will report back on what more we can find out from Stern Pinball about their Insider Connected platform – so stay tuned!



PS: We have reached out to Stern Pinball with a number of questions relating to their Insider Connected platform, so look out for a future update!

The New Pinball Hall Of Fame in Vegas

By

We have fond memories of our times in Vegas. Travelling to the US was never complete for us without popping into the desert city to catch a show, fly over Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon, and of course, hit the Pinball Hall of Fame (PHoF).

Since our last visit at the Pinball Hall of Fame in 2015, a lot has changed! Pinball Hall of Fame’s Tim Arnold bought a large parcel of land on the strip (4925 Las Vegas Blvd South), which allowed for a huge building to be erected (25,000 square feet to be exact!) to house the many many pinball and arcade machines that the PHoF had in their old location (on and in storage. When we stumbled upon Debbie Courson Smith’s Facebook post about her visit to the new Pinball Hall of Fame, we were quite chuffed to see how far along Tim and his crew had come since we saw an empty lot that long ago.

According to Debbie, this was a soft launch, with the grand opening scheduled for July. Once air travel is safe, we know where we are going again 😉

PS: If you want to see how the old Pinball Hall Of Fame looked like, check out this post.

image source: Debbie Courson Smith via Facebook