# New Tour de France Pinball Design from Jon Norris

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-06-06  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/new-tour-de-france-pinball-design-from-jon-norris

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## Analysis

Jon Norris, a legendary pinball designer with a history at Gottlieb and Stern, has unveiled a new street-level pinball design called 'Champs Elysees' with a generic Tour de France bicycle race theme. The unlicensed game is designed to be manufacturable using off-the-shelf assemblies and is being pitched to potential manufacturers. Norris is currently independent after his most recent work with Deeproot Pinball.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jon Norris designed prolific games for Gottlieb in the 1990s — _Article states Norris 'churned out game after game for Gottlieb back in the 90s'_
- [HIGH] Jon Norris designed High Roller Casino for Stern — _Article identifies High Roller Casino as 'one of my favorite older Sterns' designed by Norris_
- [MEDIUM] Norris previously designed a Tour de France-themed pinball in the mid-1980s — _Article cites Internet Pinball Database: 'he played with a design for a pin based on this theme back in the mid-80s'_
- [HIGH] Norris most recently worked with Deeproot Pinball — _Article states 'Jon was most recently a designer with Deeproot Pinball, but he is not currently with any company'_
- [HIGH] Champs Elysees uses off-the-shelf assemblies and is designed for easy manufacturing — _Norris's quoted statement: 'uses generic "Off-The-Shelf" assemblies and would be easy to manufacture'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I'm happy to announce that I have completed a new street-level pinball design. This is an unlicensed 'Tour De France' theme that would be a perfect first game for any new pinball start-up."
> — **Jon Norris**
> _Official announcement of the Champs Elysees design and its positioning as an entry-level manufacturing opportunity_

> "It uses generic 'Off-The-Shelf' assemblies and would be easy to manufacture. I've completed both the playfield design and rule set."
> — **Jon Norris**
> _Norris emphasizes manufacturing feasibility and completeness of the design_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jon Norris | person | Legendary pinball designer with history at Gottlieb (1990s) and Stern (High Roller Casino); recently with Deeproot Pinball; now independent |
| Champs Elysees | game | New unlicensed street-level pinball design by Jon Norris featuring generic Tour de France bicycle race theme; designed for manufacturing ease |
| High Roller Casino | game | Stern pinball machine designed by Jon Norris; noted as a well-regarded design |
| Gottlieb | company | Classic pinball manufacturer; Jon Norris designed multiple games there in the 1990s |
| Stern | company | Major pinball manufacturer; produced High Roller Casino designed by Jon Norris |
| Deeproot Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer where Jon Norris most recently worked as a designer |
| Internet Pinball Database | organization | Reference source documenting Jon Norris's mid-1980s Tour de France design concept |
| Street Level | product | Category designation for Champs Elysees pinball machine |

### Topics

- **Primary:** New game design announcement, Independent designer pitching to manufacturers, Manufacturing accessibility and design philosophy
- **Secondary:** Jon Norris design history, Unlicensed vs licensed themes

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Enthusiastic coverage of Norris's design credentials and the new machine concept; author expresses genuine interest ('The layout looks really cool to me') and encourages manufacturers to review the design

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** Norris emphasizes manufacturing accessibility and use of off-the-shelf components as deliberate design strategy for entry-level manufacturers (confidence: high) — Norris states design 'would be a perfect first game for any new pinball start-up' and uses 'generic Off-The-Shelf assemblies'
- **[market_signal]** Norris's recurring interest in Tour de France pinball theme across decades (mid-1980s concept vs. current Champs Elysees design) (confidence: medium) — Internet Pinball Database reference to mid-80s Tour de France design, now revisited in more refined form
- **[personnel_signal]** Jon Norris transitioned from Deeproot Pinball to independent status, now pitching designs to potential manufacturers (confidence: high) — 'Jon was most recently a designer with Deeproot Pinball, but he is not currently with any company in the industry'
- **[announcement]** Jon Norris unveils Champs Elysees, a new street-level pinball design based on Tour de France theme (confidence: high) — Article headline and Norris's social media announcement quoted in full

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## Transcript

The well-known pinball designer Jon Norris, who was a designing machine who churned out game after game for Gottlieb back in the 90s (and one of my favorite older Sterns, High Roller Casino - if you have one that you'd sell, hit me up), recently shared the design for a new Street Level pinball machine that he has been working on on social media. Titled "CHAMPS ELYSEES" the game is intended to have a generic bicycle race theme, loosely based upon the famous Tour de France race.

This isn't the first time that Jon has toyed with the idea of producing a Tour de France-esque game. According to The Internet Pinball Database, he played with a design for a pin based on this theme back in the mid-80s, though that design looks very different and much less refined than his current one.

Jon was most recently a designer with Deeproot Pinball, but he is not currently with any company in the industry. He seems to be interested in pitching the game to potential manufacturers. The layout looks really cool to me, so if you have the capability to build pinball machines, give it a look! In the coming weeks Jon will share more information about the design. Here's what he has said about it so far:

CHAMPS ELYSEES

I’m happy to announce that I have completed a new street-level pinball design. This is an unlicensed “Tour De France” theme that would be a perfect first game for any new pinball start-up. It uses generic “Off-The-Shelf” assemblies and would be easy to manufacture. I’ve completed both the playfield design and rule set.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting about some great features on this game.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 41c5ebb5-a65c-4131-9df1-10e1393cc08f*