# Porn and Punching Bags...The Collapse of Capcom Pinball **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-03-31 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/porn-and-punching-bags-the-collapse-of-capcom-pinball --- ## Analysis Knapp Arcade examines the collapse of Capcom's pinball division through a historical retrospective, attributing the failure to poor product development decisions—particularly the Flipper Football disaster (which featured a backbox soccer ball used as a punching bag) and the controversial Zingy Bingy (a porn-themed prototype that horrified Capcom's Japanese parent company). The article documents Capcom's seven games and notes that Gene Cunningham's attempt to remake the rare Big Bang Bar resulted in his personal bankruptcy, with his former home recently listed for sale. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Capcom produced only 14 units of Big Bang Bar before pulling the plug — _Article states '14 BBB were produced before Capcom pulled the plug on it' with reference to Polygon feature_ - [HIGH] Gene Cunningham bankrupted himself remaking Big Bang Bar and his house recently went up for sale — _Opening paragraph: 'he bankrupted himself by going through the effort to remake the very rare Capcom pinball machine Big Bang Bar' with Zillow listing provided_ - [HIGH] Flipper Football featured a life-sized soccer ball backbox that patrons used as a punching bag — _Article: 'Capcom decided to place a life-sized soccer ball on the backbox of Flipper Pinball, which bar patrons decided made for a great punching bag'_ - [HIGH] Zingy Bingy was a porn-themed game with anatomically explicit playfield design — _Article details: 'It actually was basically a porn-themed game, featuring a naked man and women on the playfield. The flippers were modeled after male parts, and the bumpers and outholes were modeled after female parts.'_ - [HIGH] Capcom skipped prototype testing for Flipper Football and went straight to full production — _Article: 'the designers and management at Capcom decided not to create the typical 10 to 15 machine prototype run with Flipper Football, instead jumping right into production'_ - [HIGH] Capcom's Japanese parent company was horrified by Zingy Bingy after thousands were spent on prototypes without approval — _Article: 'Capcom's Japanese parent company was horrified by the idea and not thrilled by the fact that thousands of dollars was spent on building prototype machines without approval'_ ### Notable Quotes > "he bankrupted himself by going through the effort to remake the very rare Capcom pinball machine Big Bang Bar" > — **Knapp Arcade author**, Opening > _Establishes the catastrophic financial consequences of Gene Cunningham's Big Bang Bar remake project_ > "Flipper Football was a complete disaster, but the straw that may have broken Capcom pinball's back may actually have been another game which Python Anghelo named 'Zingy Bingy'" > — **Knapp Arcade author (from 2018 post)**, Mid-article > _Frames Zingy Bingy as potentially the final blow to Capcom's pinball division despite Flipper Football being the initial catastrophe_ > "The flippers were modeled after male parts, and the bumpers and outholes were modeled after female parts. Why Anghelo thought this game would sell is anyone's guess" > — **Knapp Arcade author**, Mid-article > _Describes the explicit anatomical design of Zingy Bingy and questions the designer's judgment_ > "bar patrons decided made for a great punching bag" > — **Knapp Arcade author**, Mid-article > _Highlights the unintended consequence of the Flipper Football backbox soccer ball design_ > "the company ran into numerous, costly design problems that needed to be corrected on the fly. When all was said and done, Capcom was forced to throw out literally millions of dollars of flawed parts" > — **Knapp Arcade author**, Mid-article > _Quantifies the financial damage from skipping prototype testing for Flipper Football_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Capcom Pinball | company | Defunct pinball division of Capcom that operated 1995-1997, produced 7 games total | | Gene Cunningham | person | Pinball designer/manufacturer who attempted to remake Big Bang Bar, resulting in personal bankruptcy; also worked on 2004 Big Bang Bar remake (182 units) | | Big Bang Bar | game | Capcom pinball game (1996) with only 14 units produced; later remade by Gene Cunningham | | Flipper Football | game | Capcom pinball game (1996) designed by Brian Hansen and Python Anghelo; featured problematic backbox soccer ball; cited as major cause of Capcom's pinball division collapse | | Zingy Bingy | game | Capcom pinball game (1997); only 1 prototype produced; porn-themed with explicit anatomical playfield design; allegedly the final blow to Capcom pinball division | | Python Anghelo | person | Pinball artist who designed Flipper Football and Zingy Bingy for Capcom; named Zingy Bingy after Williams-era term for going out drinking | | Brian Hansen | person | Designer of Flipper Football and Zingy Bingy for Capcom | | Mark Ritchie | person | Designer of Capcom's Kingpin (1996); also designed Indiana Jones and Fish Tales | | Kingpin | game | Capcom pinball game (1996) designed by Mark Ritchie; basically never produced; being remade by Circus Maximus | | Pinball Magic | game | Capcom pinball game (1995); 1,200 units produced; came out before Theatre of Magic; still loved by collectors | | Airborne | game | Capcom pinball game (1996); 1,350 units produced | | Breakshot | game | Capcom pinball game (1996); 1,000 units produced; pool-themed | | Circus Maximus | company | Attempting to remake Capcom's Kingpin pinball game | | Stan Fukuoka | person | Concept artist for Big Bang Bar (artwork shown in article) | | Williams | company | Pinball industry behemoth; faced downturn around the time Capcom pinball division collapsed | ### Topics - **Primary:** Capcom Pinball Division Collapse, Game Design Failures and Product Development, Gene Cunningham's Big Bang Bar Remake and Bankruptcy, Flipper Football Disaster, Zingy Bingy Controversy - **Secondary:** Pinball Industry History and Failed Manufacturers, Management Decision-Making in Pinball Manufacturing ### Sentiment **Negative** (-0.75) — Article examines organizational failure, poor decision-making, financial ruin, and controversial product design. Tone is analytical/historical rather than emotionally charged, but the subject matter is inherently negative. Some appreciation for the historical/curiosity aspects ('fascinating story') provides slight mitigation. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Gene Cunningham's personal bankruptcy from attempting to remake Big Bang Bar represents extreme financial risk of small-scale pinball manufacturing (confidence: high) — Article opening: 'he bankrupted himself by going through the effort to remake the very rare Capcom pinball machine Big Bang Bar' with current home sale listing provided - **[business_signal]** Capcom pinball division collapse attributed to skipped prototype testing leading to costly manufacturing errors and millions in wasted parts (confidence: high) — Article details how Capcom 'decided not to create the typical 10 to 15 machine prototype run with Flipper Football, instead jumping right into production' resulting in 'literally millions of dollars of flawed parts' being discarded - **[design_philosophy]** Zingy Bingy porn-themed design with explicit anatomical playfield elements horrified Capcom's Japanese parent company and led to unapproved prototype spending (confidence: high) — Article describes 'a porn-themed game, featuring a naked man and women on the playfield. The flippers were modeled after male parts, and the bumpers and outholes were modeled after female parts' causing 'Capcom's Japanese parent company was horrified' - **[licensing_signal]** Capcom's Japanese parent company exercised veto power over product development, indicating corporate oversight and cultural barriers in pinball design decisions (confidence: medium) — Article notes Japanese parent company was 'horrified' by Zingy Bingy and 'not thrilled by the fact that thousands of dollars was spent on building prototype machines without approval' - **[market_signal]** Capcom's pinball division collapse coincided with broader pinball industry downturn affecting even established manufacturers like Williams (confidence: medium) — Article states 'a downturn in the pinball industry that even took down the pinball behemoth Williams was right around the corner' - **[product_concern]** Flipper Football's backbox soccer ball feature became a liability when bar patrons used it as a punching bag, indicating poor product testing and operator feedback integration (confidence: high) — Article notes 'despite warnings from operators about the feature Capcom decided to place a life-sized soccer ball on the backbox' which patrons 'decided made for a great punching bag' --- ## Transcript This afternoon I heard that the former home of Gene Cunningham recently went back up for sale. For those of you who aren't familiar with Gene's story, the Polygon article on the subject below is an amazing must-read. The Cliff's Notes version is he bankrupted himself by going through the effort to remake the very rare Capcom pinball machine Big Bang Bar. The news of this listing reminded me of a post that I wrote on why Capcom Pinball failed on the Knapp Arcade Facebook page all the way back in 2018, waaaay before the new site existed. It's a fascinating story. The following is a re-post of a post of that piece. "...That got me thinking about Capcom. There was a lot of potential there, I like some of the games that they came out with, or almost came out with. The list of games that Capcom produced includes (from best to worse, IMHO): - Pinball Magic (1995, 1,200 produced): PM actually came out before Theatre of Magic. The game is still loved by many to this day. - Big Bang Bar (1996, 14 produced): Only 14 BBB were produced before Capcom pulled the plug on it. The game was remade by Gene Cunningham years later, which itself is a fascinating story that can be read about here: When pigs flew: The strange history of Capcom's Big Bang Bar A story of passion, creativity, bankruptcy and pinball’s downfall https://www.polygon.com/features/2017/3/21/14937540/history-of-big-bang-bar-pinball - Kingpin (1996): Designed by Mark Ritchie of Indiana Jones and Fish Tales fame, KP was basically never produced. A company called Circus Maximus is currently in the process of attempting to make the game and bring it out. - Airborne (1996, 1,350 produced): I've always thought that Airborne looked like a really cool game, but I have not had the pleasure of playing one yet. - Breakshot (1996, 1,000 produced): Another in a long line of pool-themed pinball machines. - Flipper Football (1996, 750 produced): One of the main reasons for Capcom pinball's demise. Designed by Bryan Hansen and the famed pinball artist Python Anghelo. - Zingy Bingy (1997, 1 prototype produced): Yes, you read that name right. Again designed by Bryan Hansen and Python Anghelo. So why did Capcom pinball fail? In short, the designers and management at Capcom decided not to create the typical 10 to 15 machine prototype run with Flipper Football, instead jumping right into production. As a result, the company ran into numerous, costly design problems that needed to be corrected on the fly. When all was said and done, Capcom was forced to throw out literally millions of dollars of flawed parts for the game. As an added bonus, despite warnings from operators about the feature Capcom decided to place a life-sized soccer ball on the backbox of Flipper Pinball, which bar patrons decided made for a great punching bag. Flipper Football was a complete disaster, but the straw that may have broken Capcom pinball's back may actually have been another game which Python Anghelo named "Zingy Bingy," a term that he coined while at Williams which essentially meant to go out drinking. OK, so a drinking-themed pin probably wouldn't be so bad, right? Well, that's not what Zingy Bingy was. It actually was basically a porn-themed game, featuring a naked man and women on the playfield. The flippers were modeled after male parts, and the bumpers and outholes were modeled after female parts. Why Anghelo thought this game would sell is anyone's guess, but unsurprisingly Capcom's Japanese parent company was horrified by the idea and not thrilled by the fact that thousands of dollars was spent on building prototype machines without approval. Shortly after Flipper Football and Zingy Bingy, Capcom pulled the plug on its pinball division, with games like Big Bang Bar and Kingpin just sitting there waiting to be produced. Who knows what would have happened if the pinball division had decided to produce those two instead of the two failures, a downturn that even took down the pinball behemoth Williams was right around the corner, but maybe the division would have survived if it had played its cards differently. This is what happened at Capcom according to research that I did on the web. Not all of the details may be correct. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on Capcom games and or information on the company itself. It may have produced some games that I missed and I'm sure that there's lots of interesting stories / history that I am not aware of or facts that the Internet got wrong." Stan Fukuoka's Big Bang Bar Concept Art Stan Fukuoka's Big Bang Bar Concept Art Stan Fukuoka's Big Bang Bar Concept Art Stan Fukuoka's Big Bang Bar Concept Art Stan Fukuoka's Big Bang Bar Concept Art A picture of Gene Cunningham's recently re-listed house https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1409-Butchers-Ln-Bloomington-IL-61701/105639708_zpid/? Big Bang Bars being assembled at a warehouse in Bloomington. Big Bang Bar machines waiting to be picked up from Cunningham 1996 Capcom Kingpin 1996 Capcom Airborne 1996 Capcom Breakshot 1996 Capcom Flipper Football 1995 Capcom Pinball Magic 1997 Capcom Zingy Bingy _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 48db38df-4b36-4812-a43d-06054cfcf996*