# The Latest American Pinball News & Factory Tour **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-07-05 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/the-latest-american-pinball-news-factory-tour --- ## Analysis American Pinball provided an extensive factory tour and business update at Pintastic New England's seminar series, revealing production flexibility with multiple assembly lines, a 12-month development cycle, and plans for a fall release after completing Legends of Valhalla Limited Edition production. The company is experiencing leadership stability under David Fix and has hired Ryan McQuaid (Sonic Spinball designer), though Sonic the Hedgehog pinball licensing was reportedly acquired by an undisclosed third party, preventing American Pinball from producing the title. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] American Pinball is installing a third assembly line within the next couple of weeks — _Direct statement from American Pinball representatives at Pintastic seminar_ - [HIGH] American Pinball uses a 12-month development cycle from initial concept to production — _Stated by American Pinball during seminar_ - [HIGH] Legends of Valhalla Limited Edition production should complete in the next one to two months — _David Fix statement at seminar_ - [HIGH] American Pinball is targeting fall for its next game release — _Stated in seminar presentation_ - [MEDIUM] Barry Oursler completed development of a game (possibly 'Food Truck') in six months that was transferred from Deeproot to American Pinball — _Seminar statement, though 'Food Truck' is identified as rumor_ - [MEDIUM] Sonic the Hedgehog pinball license was acquired by a third party other than Stern, Jersey Jack, or American Pinball — _David Fix statement; third party identity unconfirmed_ - [HIGH] American Pinball does not charge arcades for street launch machines until six months after they receive them and the machines have begun earning — _Described as AP's business model for street launches_ - [HIGH] Barry Oursler worked on six games at Deeproot in only three years — _Stated in seminar context_ ### Notable Quotes > "David Fix believes that he owes it to customers who have purchased a Legends of Valhalla (LOV) Limited Edition machine to get them their games before rolling out anything new." > — **Knapp Arcade (summarizing David Fix)** > _Demonstrates American Pinball's stated customer commitment and explains delay in new announcements_ > "In my personal opinion, stealing the Sonic license out from under American and Ryan was not cool and the move runs the risk of backfiring by generating considerable ill will." > — **Knapp Arcade (author commentary)** > _Author expresses community sentiment criticism about the Sonic licensing loss_ > "David Fix stated he believes that neither Stern Pinball nor Jersey Jack Pinball have the license. With AP, Stern and JJP out of the mix, who has the Sonic license?" > — **Knapp Arcade (summarizing David Fix statement)** > _Highlights the mystery of who acquired Sonic licensing, creating industry speculation_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | American Pinball | company | Chicago-area pinball manufacturer discussing production expansion, development roadmap, and personnel including David Fix, Ryan McQuaid, and Steve Bowden | | David Fix | person | American Pinball leadership; presented at Pintastic seminar and discussed company philosophy on customer fulfillment before new releases | | Ryan McQuaid | person | Designer of homebrew Sonic Spinball, now employed by American Pinball; unable to work on Sonic the Hedgehog pinball due to licensing complications | | Steve Bowden | person | American Pinball representative at Pintastic seminar | | Barry Oursler | person | Game designer who completed a game in six months at Deeproot that American Pinball will produce; worked on six games at Deeproot in three years | | Legends of Valhalla | game | American Pinball title currently in production on assembly line; Limited Edition production nearing completion | | Oktoberfest | game | American Pinball title currently in production on assembly line | | Houdini | game | American Pinball title scheduled to return to production after Oktoberfest run completes | | Hot Wheels | game | American Pinball title scheduled for production after Houdini | | Food Truck | game | Rumored Barry Oursler game in development at American Pinball; unconfirmed title | | Sonic the Hedgehog | game | Pinball license acquired by unknown third party; was intended for Ryan McQuaid/American Pinball but license was secured by competitor | | Sonic Spinball | game | Popular homebrew pinball machine designed by Ryan McQuaid | | Pintastic New England | event | Pinball seminar series hosting industry presentations; first video featuring American Pinball uploaded to YouTube | | Stern Pinball | company | Mentioned as potential but non-holder of Sonic the Hedgehog license | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Mentioned as potential but non-holder of Sonic the Hedgehog license | | Deeproot Pinball | company | Barry Oursler previously worked on games there; relationship with American Pinball not explicitly detailed | | Derek Karamanian | person | Pintastic volunteer who alerted author to seminar video availability | ### Topics - **Primary:** American Pinball production expansion and capacity, American Pinball development roadmap and game pipeline, Sonic the Hedgehog pinball licensing controversy - **Secondary:** Ryan McQuaid joining American Pinball, Barry Oursler game development at American Pinball, Pintastic New England seminar series, American Pinball customer commitment and fulfillment priority ### Sentiment **Mixed** (0.62) — Positive sentiment toward American Pinball's production expansion, transparency, and leadership ('great group of people', 'easy to root for'); negative sentiment regarding the lost Sonic license acquisition by competitor ('stealing', 'runs the risk of backfiring', 'generates considerable ill will') ### Signals - **[business_signal]** American Pinball installing third assembly line within weeks, indicating confidence in production demand and expansion trajectory (confidence: high) — Direct statement from seminar: 'in the next couple of weeks, American Pinball is installing a third assembly line' - **[sentiment_shift]** Community frustration with Sonic licensing loss perceived as anticompetitive move toward small manufacturer, generating 'considerable ill will' and reputational risk (confidence: medium) — Author commentary: 'stealing the Sonic license out from under American and Ryan was not cool and the move runs the risk of backfiring' - **[licensing_signal]** Sonic the Hedgehog pinball license acquired by unknown third party, blocking Ryan McQuaid and American Pinball from producing the title despite McQuaid's design background (confidence: medium) — David Fix statement ruling out Stern and JJP as licensees; identity of actual licensee remains unknown - **[market_signal]** American Pinball's business model for street launches includes deferred payment (6 months post-deployment) from arcades, enabling location testing without upfront operator risk (confidence: high) — Described as AP's strategy: 'does not charge the arcades...until six months after they have received their games' - **[personnel_signal]** Ryan McQuaid (Sonic Spinball designer, homebrew community) hired by American Pinball; represents talent acquisition from enthusiast/DIY community (confidence: high) — Seminar confirmation; well-known industry fact according to author - **[announcement]** Barry Oursler completed game development from Deeproot transferred to American Pinball; likely 'Food Truck' though title unconfirmed; production planned but not next release (confidence: medium) — Seminar statement: 'Barry Oursler finished development...American is Definitely producing that game soon, though it is not the company's next pinball machine' - **[product_strategy]** Clear development pipeline with 12-month cycles; LOV LE completion in 1-2 months triggers next game announcement targeting fall release (confidence: high) — Seminar statements on 12-month development cycle and fall release targeting --- ## Transcript After a quiet holiday weekend pinball and arcade news-wise, here's a great way to start off the week...Pintastic New Robert Englunds just uploaded the first video replay of their pinball seminar series to YouTube and it's a good one. In Eipsode 1, American Pinball's David Fix, Ryan McQuaid and Steven Bowden share all sorts of awesome information about the company, including the first ever video tour of the company's production facility. They seem like a great group of people and are super easy to root for. - First up in the seminar is the video tour. It gives us an excellent behind the scenes look at American Pinball and its facilities. - Both Legends of Valhalla and Oktoberfest are currently on the line at AP. Once the current run of Oktoberfests is complete, Houdini will go back into production and then Hot Wheels. I like how the company has the flexibility to not only produce multiple titles at the same time, but also is willing to revisit earlier games in their catalog. - Even more impressive, in the next couple of weeks, American Pinball is installing a third assembly line. - American Pinball is currently working using a 12-month development cycle, meaning that it's approximately one year from initial concept to production. The company currently has several games in various stages of development. American has not released a new game yet because David Fix believes that he owes it to customers who have purchased a Legends of Valhalla (LOV) Limited Edition machine to get them their games before rolling out anything new. Once that is done, the next game will be launched. The company should be done producing the LOV LEs in the next month to two months. Look for the next title after that. - American Pinball is targeting the fall for the release of its next game. The company is planning on doing another "street launch" for the game, similar to what it did with the Legends of Valhalla where the game will be unveiled at several prominent arcades across the country for the public to play simultaneously. Interestingly, American Pinball does not charge the arcades that are selected for the street launch until six months after they have received their games and it has been earning on location. - Barry Oursler finished development of a game that he was working on at Deeproot for American Pinball in only six months. American is Definitely producing that game soon, though it is not the company's next pinball machine. The normal royalty proceeds from that game will go to Barry's wife. That machine is rumored to be "Food Truck" but Barry was working on six games at Deeproot (in only three years) so it is possible that it is a different theme. - As has been talked about numerous times, Ryan McQuaid - designer of the super popular homebrew pinball machine Sonic Spinball, is now working for American Pinball. It is also well known that another pinball company swooped in and scooped up the license for a Sonic the Hedgehog pinball from American Pinball so that they now cannot produce Ryan's game. In the seminar, David Fix stated he believes that neither Stern Pinball nor Jersey Jack Pinball have the license. With AP, Stern and JJP out of the mix, who has the Sonic license? In my personal opinion, stealing the Sonic license out from under American and Ryan was not cool and the move runs the risk of backfiring by generating considerable ill will. A special tanks to my friend and Pintastic volunteer, Derek Karamanian, for giving me the heads up about the YouTube videos. Pintastic will post a new seminar video every Tuesday. Here's the upcoming lineup: 1) American Pinball Update and factory tour. 2) Scorbit update. 3) Jersey Jack Pinball Update 4) Roger Sharpe - What if WMS Pinball stayed intact? 5) Late Breaking News segments like Project Pinball update, Shipmypinball fuel surcharges, etc. 6) Kris Medina NYC League update with remembering Al Cihak. 7) Ryan Zlomek talking about Skill Shot Arcade and the future generation of pinball. 8) Podcasters panel. 9) Jim Patla fireside chat. 10) Modifying a Dual-Mode Add-A-Ball to use both modes. 11) Backbox Pinball Podcast seminar. 12) TNT Amusements talk about Pinball Mods. 13) Eric Stone - How to Play Pinball 14) Homebrew maker seminar. Below are the American Pinball presentation and a bunch of cool screen captures from it. If you're interested in what the awesome Pintastic show is like, I've included a link to my write-up of the last one, held in December 2021. I unfortunately couldn't make the recent show because my youngest son had a lacrosse tournament that weekend (they won the championship :) ) and then I caught COVID and couldn't even attend that LOL. Hopefully I'll make the next one. 2021 Pintastic New Robert Englunds Game Room Show Wrap-Up: Vids, Pics & More https://www.knapparcade.org/post/2021-pintastic-new-Robert Englunds-game-room-show-wrap-up-vids-pics-more _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: aacf5425-e971-45e4-af73-c7f969c137bd*