Pingame Journal RS news
Lloyd Olson
Pinball Life
Terry.
tomdotcom
wife can't find it!!!
c2
Wow. JJ Pinball developments just keep getting better! Thanks for
the link.
-Craig
Rare Hero
> Wow. JJ Pinball developments just keep getting better! Thanks for
> the link.
That's great! I hope Dennis can recapture the magic of Whitewater on
a new title!
Greg
Jay Bass
PinballSales Jack
> awesome
We are really excited - much more news and information to come!
JJP
January 21, 2011--World famous pinball designer Dennis Nordman has
joined Jersey Jack Pinball! Dennis has designed some of the best loved
pinball machines including, Pirates of the Caribbean, Whitewater,
Scared Stiff, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Demolition Man, Indy 500,
and others. Joe Balcer, who is designing the Wizard of Oz, Jersey
Jack's first release, will collaborate with Dennis on design elements
and together they are sure to create a great game.
Dennis will also be designing game #2 for Jersey Jack Pinball.
Recently, Dennis and partner Greg Freres have been working on the Whoa
Nellie! Big Juicy Melons custom pinball game from their Whizbang
Pinball company, and have produced a limited edition of four special
games. “Words can’t describe how thrilled I am to be given the
opportunity to design pin games again," Dennis says. "Jack is a great
leader and motivator and I know we will build an exciting product.”
Jersey Jack promises more exciting news about developments of The
Wizard of Oz as well as more additions to the company in the near
future.
Rum-Z
Jeff R.
Daniel Tonks
news:37b0d970-0f92-4b81...@v17g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
>
> We are really excited - much more news and information to come!
>
> JJP
>
> January 21, 2011--World famous pinball designer Dennis Nordman has
> joined Jersey Jack Pinball! Dennis has designed some of the best loved
> pinball machines including, Pirates of the Caribbean, Whitewater,
> Scared Stiff, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Demolition Man, Indy 500,
> and others. Joe Balcer, who is designing the Wizard of Oz, Jersey
> Jack's first release, will collaborate with Dennis on design elements
> and together they are sure to create a great game.
>
> Dennis will also be designing game #2 for Jersey Jack Pinball.
>
> Recently, Dennis and partner Greg Freres have been working on the Whoa
> Nellie! Big Juicy Melons custom pinball game from their Whizbang
> Pinball company, and have produced a limited edition of four special
> opportunity to design pin games again," Dennis says. "Jack is a great
>
> Jersey Jack promises more exciting news about developments of The
> Wizard of Oz as well as more additions to the company in the near
> future.
Ah, so WOZ is now kind of a design collaboration. For such an important
release, I'm sure two heads will be better than one. :-)
- Dan
PinballSales Jack
> "PinballSales Jack" <J...@pinballsales.com> wrote in message
>
> news:37b0d970-0f92-4b81...@v17g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > We are really excited - much more news and information to come!
>
> > JJP
>
> > January 21, 2011--World famous pinball designer Dennis Nordman has
> > joined Jersey Jack Pinball! Dennis has designed some of the best loved
> > pinball machines including, Pirates of the Caribbean, Whitewater,
> > Scared Stiff, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Demolition Man, Indy 500,
> > and others. Joe Balcer, who is designing the Wizard of Oz, Jersey
> > Jack's first release, will collaborate with Dennis on design elements
> > and together they are sure to create a great game.
>
> > Dennis will also be designing game #2 for Jersey Jack Pinball.
>
> > Recently, Dennis and partner Greg Freres have been working on the Whoa
> > Nellie! Big Juicy Melons custom pinball game from their Whizbang
> > Pinball company, and have produced a limited edition of four special
> > opportunity to design pin games again," Dennis says. "Jack is a great
> > leader and motivator and I know we will build an exciting product.
>
> > Wizard of Oz as well as more additions to the company in the near
> > future.
>
> Ah, so WOZ is now kind of a design collaboration. For such an important
> release, I'm sure two heads will be better than one. :-)
>
> - Dan
Pinball Design should always be a collaboration with a lot of ideas
and elements from a number of people. Every game we do will be
important on many levels.
Having a team that pulls together instead of apart is something that
we are building upon.
mr tobias
It's encouraging that Jack is already planning a second title with
Dennis in the designer's chair. I will continue to hope they do a
Haunted House/Zombie themed game at some point. Dennis would be a
great choice to work on something like that.
Gary Stern should be afraid......very afraid!
Tom G
Great news. Thanks for the update Lloyd.
Crossing fingers #3 will be either Steve Ritchie or Pat Lawlor.
Daniel Tonks
Indeed. Though WOZ will set the tone, and provide capital for the next
title, so the better... the better!
Next you need to woo a top-notch rules designer. :-)
- Dan
Daniel Tonks
news:ce473a26-cac2-4738...@v17g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
Why not both? I've always wondered if it would be possible to merge Steve's
ultra-flow with Pat's shot & goodie-packed playfields... a challenge
indeed...
- Dan
Comatose
I second the Zombie theme. The walking Dead would be a good theme if
you REALLY need to license it.
I second the haunted house theme, too. Both are GREAT ideas for
pinballs.
And down the road if the company really takes off and starts selling
lots overseas, Iron Maiden [band] would be a massive seller all over
the world.
It might be a little weak in the US but I'm 100% sure it would move
more than Rolling St0nes will in the US.
A+ to Jack. I haven't bought a NIB since LOTR. He might just get my
second!
D
jackb...@yahoo.com
Pinball original creations at the link below would make fantastic
physical pinball machines, IMHO. 2 of them even have the dark/scary
theme that might suit what a couple in this thread like. Might not
fit the model Jack has in-mind since the layout, rules, and some
design elements that translate to a physical pin might already be
there. All three of those games rock.
http://www.blindmankind.tecnopinball.org/
- David
mnpinball
You're not to far off ;-) The flow master will be back.
djcharlie17
Dennis is a great guy, and a great designer... I can't wait to see
what he comes up with when Jack really turns him loose!
Charlie
http://www.spookypinball.com
On Jan 21, 10:34 pm, "Lloyd Olson" <l...@ssbilliards.com> wrote:
Bryan Kelly
Adding Dennis to the team, excites me even more.
As far as I'm concerned, Stern games have gone downhill, especially
based on their cost, to a point where I have no interest in them.
I've got new pin money burning a hole in my pocket. Don't f'k this
up. ;-)
Bryan (CARGPB 14)
http://usergallery.myhomegameroom.com/gallery/bspins
mnpinball
> I've got to say, Jack, It'll be exciting to see how WOZ turns out.
> Adding Dennis to the team, excites me even more.
>
> As far as I'm concerned, Stern games have gone downhill, especially
> based on their cost, to a point where I have no interest in them.
>
> I've got new pin money burning a hole in my pocket. Don't f'k this
> up. ;-)
>
>
> On Jan 22, 5:36 am, PinballSales Jack <J...@pinballsales.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Jan 22, 12:51 am, Jay Bass <themasterofs...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > awesome
>
> > We are really excited - much more news and information to come!
>
> > JJP
>
> > January 21, 2011--World famous pinball designer Dennis Nordman has
> > joined Jersey Jack Pinball! Dennis has designed some of the best loved
> > pinball machines including, Pirates of the Caribbean, Whitewater,
> > Scared Stiff, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Demolition Man, Indy 500,
> > and others. Joe Balcer, who is designing the Wizard of Oz, Jersey
> > Jack's first release, will collaborate with Dennis on design elements
> > and together they are sure to create a great game.
>
> > Dennis will also be designing game #2 for Jersey Jack Pinball.
>
> > Recently, Dennis and partner Greg Freres have been working on the Whoa
> > Nellie! Big Juicy Melons custom pinball game from their Whizbang
> > Pinball company, and have produced a limited edition of four special
> > games. “Words can’t describe how thrilled I am to be given the
> > opportunity to design pin games again," Dennis says. "Jack is a great
> > leader and motivator and I know we will build an exciting product.”
>
> > Jersey Jack promises more exciting news about developments of The
> > Wizard of Oz as well as more additions to the company in the near
> > future.
thread ;)
Imagine what Brian Eddy, Barry Oursler, or John Trudeau would do on a
new game ? Imagine John being able to finish his Alien Area 51 WMS
title we saw a glimpse of in Pingame a year a go.
homebrood
I don't know if Gary should be afraid, this might be good for Stern. A
little healthy competition brought to the market can benefit everyone
especially the buyer. Would think Gary might pull out all the stops if
Jack ups the ante, and make something special to counter. We the
players and buyers could be in for some really special games from both
companies in the near future, now that Jack has come to the table and
yes pun intended. Anyone care to CHIME in? Hey a new game with Chimes
would be cool, sounds and chimes combined to work for different modes?
You could have an EM mode and like one set of score reels that take
over as like a bonus round then when that round is over the score on
the reels gets added to that players score then reset to zero till the
next time a player gets in that mode... wow I think I'm designing a
pinball machine...
Tom
JediTurtle
Oh hell yea! I just got way more excited about JJ...and I was already
excited. Dennis Nordman with less constraints to work under will mean
very, very cool things. One of the best and most innovative designers
out there...can't wait to see what he comes up with next! :)
Pappy Boyington
> Gary Stern should be afraid......very afraid!
Why? He may be thinking that once Jack fails everyone will be more
appreciative of what Stern is doing.
I am excited to see a new pinball manufacturer and I'm a huge fan of
Dennis. BUT how in the world does Jack expect to sell more than 500
games at his price point? Will somebody please help me out? How are
people going to afford that kind of money today? Why would ops pay
that kind of money? It would be years before they recoup their
investment. Honestly I just don't see it. Step out of dreamland for a
minute and tell me honestly how many folks here would buy a new pin
for over 7K? My guess would be MAYBE 50. Plus it better be a badass
pinball machine for that small group to even think about it.
Rich Wiski
Lloyd Olson
business. LTG :)
"mnpinball" <mnpi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:26b80f46-4ea8-4c6f...@k13g2000vbq.googlegroups.com...
Taylor-VA
Lloyd Olson
markets. And there is plenty of time to get one's shit together. LTG :)
"mr tobias" <john_...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:20fea5e5-4d88-4a16...@t23g2000vby.googlegroups.com...
Lloyd Olson
"mnpinball" <mnpi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3a9fcdee-fe10-450b...@f9g2000vbq.googlegroups.com...
c...@provide.net
The good thing about Dennis is his versatility.
He's worked for several pinball companies,
over several decades. (he's seen the good and
the bad.) He's had great titles and bad titles.
(again seen the good and the bad.) But he's
also had a VERY successful title in the last
10 years. That's something that most designers
today can't speak to.
Overall, Dennis is the "all around versatile designer",
and probably the smartest move Jack could make.
Dennis also has one other very good attribute - he's
modest and humble. That makes him easy to
work with, and in a new pinball company, that's
exactly what you need.
Lloyd Olson
stern distributorship in 2000. He told gary he could move a 1,000 units a
year on the internet and home sales.
Jack was right.
He's got a pretty good handle on HIS market and future trends.
And according to the podcast, Jack has customers in America and Europe, and
he sells game room stuff. And he doesn't have a lot of product to sell right
now.
He is filling a need. He needs product to sell.
Now I have no idea his plans as far as how many units he'll build a year,
how many different models a year, how many of each model, etc. etc.
Jack is doing this to fill a need in HIS market.
Others may benefit from his endeavors. Hobbyists, collectors, operators,
shows, museums, people here, etc. etc. But his first concern is HIS customer
base and that is what he is planning to satisfy. LTG :)
"Pappy Boyington" <rwi...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:80a459e4-ead7-4a93...@r16g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
mr tobias
> No reason to be afraid. Both companies might be building for two different
> markets. And there is plenty of time to get one's shit together. LTG :)
>
>
> news:20fea5e5-4d88-4a16...@t23g2000vby.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Gary Stern should be afraid......very afraid!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Gary Stern will not be a happy man right now, and if he's not afraid
then he doesn't care anymore. He struggled in recent years when he had
the whole market to himself. It ain't going to get any easier,
especially if Jack structures his product such that it offers a viable
alternative for operators. Gary may be forced to rethink his company's
strategy, and not before time. I hope he doesn't decide to compete
with Zizzle.
If Jack's venture isn't going to ultimately hurt Stern, the latter
will have to improve their product line. That will be the best thing
that has happened to pinball in the last fifteen years as it could
well lead to more pinball machines out on location if the two
companies have a slightly different customer base. The lack of
competition has encouraged complacency, inward looking strategy and
increasingly lacklustre product. It's going to be VERY interesting to
see how this plays out.
c...@provide.net
If Jack is successful at selling his games,
this may have an unintended consequence of
RISING the price of new Stern games. Since
jack's games are considerably more expensive
than a new Stern, it may give Gary the idea that
he too can sell new Sterns for more money.
I hope that doesn't happen...
cody chunn
& finish quality. I think Jack's intent is to provide more to justify more
cost. Stern couldn't just say "Well he's charging more for his so I will
too." I think they'd see a huge evaporation of clients.
-cody
wrote in message
news:85eef27e-f4ef-4922...@i13g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
kevinb
>
> Next you need to woo a top-notch rules designer. :-)
Keith Johnson! Keith Johnson! or Keith Johnson!
Pinheads adore deep rules and there is none better than Keith. Add
him, Steve R, and Pat L to the mix and Williams has been reborn!
KRB
(LOTR, TSPP and counting)
Pappy Boyington
>
> Jack is doing this to fill a need in HIS market.
Right, so how is this going to be good for the average collector? Most
people here are not going to pay 7.5K for a pinball machine.
I also don't believe the competition will do anything positive for
pinball. People here keep saying the competition will force Stern to
make a better pin. I believe it could hurt Stern. The pinball market
is on life support and the loss of a well known PROVEN company such as
Stern will only hurt pinball. When Stern stops making pins then
pinball will be dead.
Rich Wiski
Lloyd Olson
Even stern's higher prices may be shutting the average collector out.
"Pappy Boyington" <rwi...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:8aea1488-3869-425e...@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Scylla
Many people say this but I don't believe no new machines means pinball
is dead. It just means no new machines Pinball goes on. Hey, hey,
bye, bye rock n roll will never die. Same idea.
mr tobias
If Stern did that without a major improvement in the product, it's
highly likely they'd simply go out of business. After all Gary's
already raised prices, including the LE strategy, and he's undoubtedly
lowered the standard product's content.
In addition if you want to sell to operators there's a very real limit
to how high you can go with your pricing.
underlord
THE WALKING DEAD! THE WALKING DEAD! That would rule! C'mon Jack,
make our dreams ( nightmares) come true on this one! Next pin idea
right here. Voice calls from Rick Grimes, intro music from the show.
If you aren't keen on the license, then you could go with a generic
zombie pin! I have been a zombie fan my whole adult life, and would
be happy to provide some genre plots and ideas that may not suck! ;)
I really like the AMC series, and Robert Kirkman's books...give it
some thought Jack! Plenty of support for this idea on this group.
--Rick.
PinballSales Jack
Next game is up to Dennis and Greg.......see how I got out of that
one....LOL!
Jim D. in TN
The games have to have worldwide appeal and to all types of deep
pocketed buyers. I'm not sure "Walking Dead" theme would be loved by
all.
Jim D. in TN
> I am excited to see a new pinball manufacturer and I'm a huge fan of
> Dennis. BUT how in the world does Jack expect to sell more than 500
> games at his price point?
I don't know how many Jack will sell but I see Stern & JJP selling to
different markets for the most part. I don't see operators paying
$6500-7500 when new games are available for $2-3K less. The public
isn't enamored of deep rule sets nor are operators thrilled with 15-60
minute ball times.
homebrood
It's hey hey my my not bye bye, just sayin'
:)3
Hey I just made a Griffin by accident! Ha!
Peter (as a child): Why did all the dinosaurs die out?
Man at Museum: Because you touch yourself at night.
cody chunn
IMO.
-cody
"kevinb" wrote in message
news:e39a5f8d-527c-4184...@e20g2000vbn.googlegroups.com...
cody chunn
-cody
"PinballSales Jack" wrote in message
news:7f676365-f848-4369...@n10g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
cody chunn
average operator. That's a strictly high-end price.
I may tend to agree that this form of competition won't have much positive
impact on Stern's product. It looks like it will only compete with the LE
models, and I don't think there's enough of them to make or break Stern.
What it might do is kill off all the LE versions from Stern. I don't think
the loss of the LE game sales will be enough to shutter the Stern factory. I
believe operators will still be buying the pro versions for routes instead
of the much higher priced JJP counterparts.
Then again, themes may become more important than ever now, as
speculators/trophy collectors buy pins based on theme and cosmetics more
than anything else.
Who knows?
-cody
"Pappy Boyington" wrote in message
news:8aea1488-3869-425e...@l17g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
On Jan 22, 1:15 pm, "Lloyd Olson" <l...@ssbilliards.com> wrote:
Lloyd Olson
There isn't a lot of product out there for ops right now. Some of them do
have money.
It will come down to the game. Not price. A game $2-3K less that don't earn
won't sell. LTG :)
"Jim D. in TN" <jd_1...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:cbbaf749-0365-44b2...@21g2000prv.googlegroups.com...
cody chunn
stereo sound...how do you think that one would do?
Pinball design needs to get simpler and more efficient in the build so we
can get the final cost down, but still deliver enough entertainment value to
keep it viable on route.
I think with the saturation of video entertainment that pinball is poised
for a route comeback, as it's an experience not easily replicated in the
home.
"PINBALL, a REAL pulse-pounding gaming experience in TRUE 3D!!"
Hey, that makes me wonder....
I don't see boutique high-end sales being very sustainable for very long.
-cody
"Lloyd Olson" wrote in message
news:xJCdnYMk3u9y-KHQ...@skypoint.com...
Lloyd Olson
"cody chunn" <cch...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ihhvd3$9mj$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> But a $3000 total cost game that played great with good flasher use and
> stereo sound...how do you think that one would do?
Good for two weeks max. Considering shipping ( and some states sales tax on
purchase ) You'll be out a few thousand.
>
> Pinball design needs to get simpler and more efficient in the build so we
> can get the final cost down, but still deliver enough entertainment value
> to keep it viable on route.
Every company that tried that.................IS GONE. Can't turn back the
clock. Pnball has had growth spurts in it's history that nudges it along.
Time for new growth not a simlified slow death like what is going on.
>
> I think with the saturation of video entertainment that pinball is poised
> for a route comeback, as it's an experience not easily replicated in the
> home.
Pinball has a route chance because there isn't much else for ops to buy and
put on location and try and make money on. A great game would be a real
alternative to pool, darts, touch screens.
>
> "PINBALL, a REAL pulse-pounding gaming experience in TRUE 3D!!"
>
> Hey, that makes me wonder....
>
> I don't see boutique high-end sales being very sustainable for very long.
I do. I don't see crap games sustainable for even a short time.
>
> -cody
Daniel Tonks
For at least the first JJP title, if it LOOKS different and high-tech enough
with LCD and all, I can see a lot of ops giving it a shot - just because
different is good.
- Dan
Lloyd Olson
"Daniel Tonks" <dtonks@sunstormADD-DOT-COM> wrote in message
news:4d3cb84c$0$65832$892e...@auth.newsreader.octanews.com...
Daniel Tonks
> Really ? Ops are scared of different. LTG :)
The one thing a JJP machine will have going for it, is that in a row of pins
it will [hopefully] look 20 years newer tech. Of course the 70 year old
license will temper that... ;-)
- Dan
cody chunn
-cody
"Daniel Tonks" wrote in message
news:4d3cc2e1$0$65838$892e...@auth.newsreader.octanews.com...
Daniel Tonks
> Now just to locate a row of pins...lessee...hmmmm...
>
> -cody
On the bright side, I guess that means no WOZ's will be abused by the
public.
- Dan
Pinball Plus
maybe with an LCD screen and other cross over advertising tie-ins when
the game is idle on location could generate additional revenue for the
op/location. If done properly with an LCD screen $1 dollar play can
become more common place again??
Steve
> I am excited to see a new pinball manufacturer and I'm a huge fan of
> Dennis. BUT how in the world does Jack expect to sell more than 500
> games at his price point? Will somebody please help me out? How are
> people going to afford that kind of money today? Why would ops pay
> that kind of money? It would be years before they recoup their
> investment. Honestly I just don't see it. Step out of dreamland for a
> minute and tell me honestly how many folks here would buy a new pin
> for over 7K? My guess would be MAYBE 50. Plus it better be a badass
> pinball machine for that small group to even think about it.
>
> Rich Wiski
BINGO!