# Why We Don't See More DC Comics Licensed Pinball Machines

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-07-24  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/why-we-don-t-see-more-dc-comics-licensed-pinball-machines

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## Analysis

The article explores why DC Comics pinball machines are rare compared to Marvel titles, attributing the scarcity to Warner Bros.' extremely high licensing costs. The author cites a rumored $5 million licensing fee for DC properties as a whole—significantly higher than fees for The Beatles ($1M), Willy Wonka ($1.2M), and Harry Potter ($4M)—making it economically unviable for pinball manufacturers. Batman licensing is reportedly more affordable, explaining why Batman machines exist, while Superman is claimed to be the most expensive DC character to license.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Warner Bros. charges approximately $5 Million to license DC Comics properties for pinball machines — _Author states 'supposedly would charge $5 Million' based on research, indicating unconfirmed rumor rather than official source_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball paid $1 Million for The Beatles license — _Stated as known comparison point but not cited with primary source_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack Pinball paid approximately $1.2 Million for Willy Wonka license — _Author attributes this to rumor ('rumored $1.2 Million'), indicating speculation_
- [MEDIUM] Kapow offered $4 Million for Harry Potter franchise but was not accepted — _Presented as known but unconfirmed, suggesting industry gossip_
- [MEDIUM] Batman license is reportedly much more reasonably priced than overall DC license — _Stated as rumor based on historical pattern of Batman machines (2016 Batman '66, 2008 Batman The Dark Knight)_
- [LOW] Superman license is the most expensive of DC characters — _Author explicitly states 'I heard a rumor' and 'for some reason,' indicating speculative hearsay_
- [LOW] Stern Pinball considered a Joker retheme of a game but viability is uncertain — _Author admits 'I don't know how much truth there is to that,' indicating unverified rumor_

### Notable Quotes

> "I love the Marvel characters and the current batch of Marvel pinball machines, heck I even personally own a Deadpool and a Guardians of the Galaxy, but look at the list of Marvel pinball machines that have already been made"
> — **Author (Knapp Arcade)**, Opening section
> _Establishes credibility through ownership while illustrating Marvel market saturation as primary motivation for analysis_

> "It would be nice to see pinball companies change things up a little bit and add some DC Comics characters into the mix"
> — **Author**, Mid-article
> _States the core desire/premise that motivates the licensing investigation_

> "A $5 Million fee is a big hole for a pinball manufacturer to dig out of"
> — **Author**, Licensing comparison section
> _Provides explicit economic analysis of why licensing is prohibitive relative to other major IP_

> "For some reason the Batman license is reportedly much more reasonably priced"
> — **Author**, Batman section
> _Highlights pricing disparity within DC portfolio that explains historical Batman machine production vs. lack of other DC games_

> "unless Warner Bros. changes its tune we are unlikely to see one from any of the known pinball manufacturers any time soon"
> — **Author**, Conclusion
> _Final prediction that DC pinball drought will continue barring significant licensing policy shift_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Warner Bros. | company | Rights holder for DC Comics IP; sets licensing fees that prohibit pinball adaptations |
| Stern Pinball | company | Primary modern pinball manufacturer; produced 11 Marvel titles listed; paid $1M for Beatles; produced Batman '66 (2016) and Batman The Dark Knight (2008) |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; allegedly paid $1.2M for Willy Wonka license |
| Kapow | company | Offered $4M for Harry Potter franchise (offer reportedly not accepted); produced Batman '66 with Stern |
| Deadpool | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2018); owned by article author; demonstrates Marvel saturation |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2017); owned by article author |
| Venom | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2023) |
| Avengers Infinity Quest | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2020) |
| Spider-Man Vault | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2016) |
| Spider-Man Home Edition | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2016) |
| Avengers | game | Stern Marvel pinball machines: 2013 'Avengers The Pin' and 2012 'Avengers' |
| X-Men | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2012) |
| Iron Man | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2012) |
| Spider-Man | game | Stern Marvel pinball machine (2007) |
| Batman '66 | game | Stern/Kapow Batman pinball machine (2016) |
| Batman The Dark Knight | game | Stern Batman pinball machine (2008) |
| The Beatles | game | Stern pinball machine; licensing cost of $1M serves as price comparison for major IP |
| Willy Wonka | game | Jersey Jack Pinball machine; rumored licensing cost of $1.2M |
| Harry Potter | game | Unreleased/cancelled Kapow offer of $4M licensing rejected by rights holder |
| DC Comics | organization | Property holder owned by Warner Bros.; characters (Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Justice League) lack pinball adaptations due to high licensing costs |
| Marvel | organization | Competing IP portfolio with 11+ pinball adaptations, demonstrating market saturation vs. DC absence |
| Bandai Namco | company | Recently launched Super Friends coin pusher arcade line; demonstrates DC IP licensing availability in adjacent arcade market |
| Atari | company | Historical reference: produced 1979 Super-Man pinball machine (widebody format) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** IP licensing costs and economics, DC Comics vs. Marvel pinball market representation, Warner Bros. licensing strategy
- **Secondary:** Marvel pinball saturation, Batman licensing as DC outlier
- **Mentioned:** Historical pinball industry comparisons

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Author expresses personal desire for DC pinball machines and frustration with Marvel saturation, but takes neutral analytical tone when examining licensing barriers. Conclusion is resigned but factual rather than emotional.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Pinball manufacturers face economic viability crisis when approaching DC licensing at $5M cost threshold, making IP adaptation decision prohibitive relative to production ROI (confidence: medium) — Author explicitly states $5M fee represents 'a big hole for a pinball manufacturer to dig out of' compared to actual licensing costs paid for other major IP
- **[licensing_signal]** Warner Bros. licensing strategy for DC Comics creates prohibitive cost barrier ($5M) compared to other major IP (Beatles $1M, Willy Wonka $1.2M estimated, Harry Potter $4M offer), preventing pinball adaptation across entire DC portfolio except Batman (confidence: medium) — Author cites multiple licensing fee comparisons with explicit dollar amounts, though acknowledges reliance on industry rumors rather than official sources
- **[licensing_signal]** Batman license within DC portfolio is reportedly significantly cheaper than Superman or overall DC license, explaining historical Batman machine production (2008, 2016) vs. absence of other DC characters (confidence: medium) — Author compares Batman license pricing favorably to overall DC licensing and provides historical production evidence (Batman '66, Batman The Dark Knight) supporting affordability thesis
- **[market_signal]** Marvel pinball market shows significant saturation with 11 titles across 2007-2023, while DC remains nearly absent except for Batman titles, creating consumer desire for IP diversification (confidence: high) — Comprehensive list of Marvel pinball machines (2007-2023) vs. documented scarcity of DC adaptations; author's personal ownership of multiple Marvel titles supports saturation observation
- **[community_signal]** Adjacent market evidence: Bandai Namco successfully licensing DC Super Friends IP for arcade coin pusher line, demonstrating DC IP availability outside pinball medium despite high pinball licensing costs (confidence: high) — Author references recent Bandai Namco Super Friends arcade coin pusher launch, indicating IP licensing flexibility across different game formats
- **[rumor_hype]** Unconfirmed report of Stern Pinball considering Joker retheme project, though veracity uncertain (confidence: low) — Author states 'I heard a rumor that Stern Pinball considered doing a Joker retheme of a game, but I don't know how much truth there is to that'

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## Transcript

Last week I was feeling a little Marvel pinball fatigue. Don't get me wrong, I love the Marvel characters and the current batch of Marvel pinball machines, heck I even personally own a Deadpool and a Guardians of the Galaxy, but look at the list of Marvel pinball machines that have already been made:

2023 Stern Pinball Venom

2020 Stern Pinball Avengers Infinity Quest

2018 Stern Pinball Deadpool

2017 Stern Pinball Guardians of the Galaxy

2016 Stern Pinball Spider-Man Vault

2016 Stern Spider-Man Home Edition

2013 Stern Pinball Avengers The Pin

2012 Stern Pinball Avengers

2012 Stern Pinball X-Men

2012 Stern Pinball Iron Man

2007 Stern Pinball Spider-Man

Whew, that's a whole lot of Marvel. It would be nice to see pinball companies change things up a little bit and add some DC Comics characters into the mix. Yeah I know that we already have a couple of Batman pinball machines, but I'd love to see things like Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern and my personal favorites Aquaman and Justice League / Super Friends. I absolutely loved the Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends as a kid and Bandai Namco recently launched a line of arcade coin pushers based upon it.

So I looked into it recently, and unfortunately I don't expect to see any new DC Comics pinball machines any time soon. Why? Extremely high licensing costs. To license a pinball machine based upon DC Superheroes as a whole, Warner Bros. supposedly would charge $5 Million. That's more than the $1 Million that Stern paid for The Beatles, the rumored $1.2 Million that Jersey Jack Paid for Willy Wonka and the $4 Million that Kapow offered (but was not accepted) for the Harry Potter franchise. A $5 Million fee is a big hole for a pinball manufacturer to dig out of.

Amongst the DC characters, supposedly the Superman license is the most expensive. For some reason the Batman license is reportedly much more reasonably priced. I suppose that's why we've seen several Batman pinball machines in the past, like Kapow / Stern Pinball's 2016 game Batman '66 and Stern's 2008 game Batman The Dark Knight. I heard a rumor that Stern Pinball considered doing a Joker retheme of a game, but I don't know how much truth there is to that.

So despite my wish to see some DC Pinball machines, unless Warner Bros. changes its tune we are unlikely to see one from any of the known pinball manufacturers any time soon.

The new Bandai Namco coin pusher:

Atari's 1979 Widebody pinball machine Super-Man

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c12255ba-0b42-450c-92eb-eb2ff34753fe*