# Pinball in Print **Source:** Pinball News Website **Type:** article **Published:** 2015-08-04 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/murakami.html --- ## Analysis Penguin Random House launched a special reversible hardback edition of Haruki Murakami's novels 'Hear the Wind Sing' and 'Pinball, 1973' at Waterstones bookstores in London and Glasgow on August 4, 2015. To promote the launch, the publisher placed custom-modified electromechanical pinball machines (a Williams Lady Luck in London and a Williams Paddock in Glasgow) with artwork matching the book covers in the stores for public play, with support from UK Pinball League members. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Haruki Murakami's 'Hear the Wind Sing' and 'Pinball, 1973' were published together for the first time in the UK as a special reversible hardback edition — _Direct statement in article about Penguin Random House publication_ - [HIGH] The special edition is referred to as 'Wind/Pinball' and features a die-cut front cover on the Pinball side — _Explicit description of the book's physical design_ - [HIGH] The London Waterstones machine was a Williams Lady Luck modified to be single-player with unlimited balls and no reset — _Direct description of machine specifications_ - [HIGH] The Glasgow Waterstones machine was a Williams Paddock — _Direct statement about Glasgow machine model_ - [HIGH] Custom cabinet and backbox artwork was designed to match the book's cover artwork — _Stated in article with visual evidence provided_ ### Notable Quotes > "These two, together with A Wild Sheep Chase, form the so-called Trilogy of the Rat, named after the protagonist's friend in the stories." > — **Article author** > _Provides context on how these novels relate to Murakami's broader work_ > "the first time these two novels have been published in the UK" > — **Article author** > _Highlights the significance of this specific publication event_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Haruki Murakami | person | International bestselling author whose novels are the subject of this book launch | | Penguin Random House | company | Publisher organizing the book launch and pinball machine promotional event | | Waterstones | company | UK bookstore chain hosting the launch event at London Piccadilly Circus and Glasgow Sauchiehall Street locations | | Williams | company | Manufacturer of the vintage pinball machines used in the promotion (Lady Luck and Paddock) | | UK Pinball League | organization | Community organization whose members attended the London event to support the launch | | Lady Luck | product | Williams pinball machine modified and used at London Waterstones location | | Paddock | product | Williams pinball machine used at Glasgow Waterstones location | | Hear the Wind Sing | product | Murakami novel, first UK publication as part of special edition | | Pinball, 1973 | product | Murakami novel, first UK publication as part of special edition | | Chris Poyntz | person | UK Pinball League member attending London launch event | | Lukasz Romanowski | person | UK Pinball League member attending London launch event | | Rosie | person | Penguin Random House staff who created/oversaw the custom artwork for the machines | ### Topics - **Primary:** Book launch marketing with pinball machines, Haruki Murakami novels, Vintage Williams pinball machines - **Secondary:** UK Pinball League community engagement, Publishing and retail partnerships ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Article presents the event as a successful, creative marketing initiative. Tone is celebratory and supportive of the promotional use of pinball machines. No criticism or negative sentiment detected. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** UK Pinball League members mobilized to support and participate in mainstream media/publishing event, demonstrating integration of pinball enthusiast community into broader cultural initiatives (confidence: high) — Members of UK Pinball League attended London event to support launch and pose for promotional photos - **[market_signal]** Major UK publisher uses vintage pinball machines as experiential marketing tactic to promote book launch, demonstrating pinball's cultural relevance and appeal as a promotional vehicle beyond traditional gaming contexts (confidence: high) — Penguin Random House placed custom-modified Williams machines in flagship Waterstones locations specifically as part of book launch promotion strategy --- ## Transcript Date: 4th August 2015 His name is Haruki Murakami and he is the international bestselling author of novels such as A Wild Sheep Chase, Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore. His latest publication is the reason we were in Central London, heading down to Piccadilly Circus and the flagship store for the Waterstones book shop chain. On our way down to Piccadilly Waterstones in the old Simpsons of Piccadilly building Penguin Random House were launching a back-to-back special edition of Murakami's first two novels, entitled Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973 - the first time these two novels have been published in the UK.  These two, together with A Wild Sheep Chase, form the so-called Trilogy of the Rat, named after the protagonist's friend in the stories.  This special edition - referred to simply as Wind/Pinball - is printed as a reversible hardback, with the Pinball side featuring a die-cut front cover. The special edition of the two novels To celebrate the launch, Penguin Random House arranged for electromechanical pinball machines to be placed in the London Piccadilly Circus and Glasgow Sauchiehall Street branches of Waterstones for the day and invited members of the public to play them. The display next to the main entrance Both machines had custom cabinet and backbox artwork designed to match the book's cover artwork. The artwork was created by Rosie who is playing the machine The London machine was a Williams' Lady Luck which had been modified so it was only a single player and didn't reset, giving a single game with an unlimited number of balls. In the Glasgow branch they had a Paddock machine, also by Williams. Members of the UK Pinball League turned up to help support the launch, posing for pictures with the customised machine. Chris Poyntz (left) and Lukasz Romanowski (right) from the UK Pinball League join Will and Rosie from Penguin Random House Chris gets to play the customised Lady Luck The special edition of Wind/Pinball is available from Waterstones for £12.99 ($20.21/€18.51), and in a more conventional form from other book sellers. Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3f349890-30ec-4630-a346-dca85585eb34*