The Paperboy of Pinball Machines that Almost Was

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jan 23, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Red Line Fever: cancelled Capcom pinball with handlebar flippers designed by Greg Kmiec

Summary

Article discusses Red Line Fever, an unreleased Capcom pinball prototype designed by Greg Kmiec that featured innovative handlebar-controlled flippers similar to Paperboy. The game was cancelled when Capcom shut down its pinball division during development of other problematic titles like Zingy Bingy. Only one whitewood prototype exists.

Key Claims

Red Line Fever was designed by Greg Kmiec and featured handlebar-controlled flippers
high confidence · Direct quote from IPDB credited to designer Greg Kmiec describing the game concept
Red Line Fever was Capcom's next scheduled game before the company shut down its pinball division
high confidence · Greg Kmiec quote: 'It was the last game developed by Capcom before the doors shut. It was scheduled to be Capcom's next game.'
Only one prototype whitewood of Red Line Fever exists
high confidence · Greg Kmiec quote: 'There is only one prototype whitewood in existence.'
Red Line Fever was cancelled during development alongside Python Angelo's Zingy Bingy prototype
medium confidence · Article states: 'the game was under development at the same time as Python Anghelo's disastrous Zingy Bingy prototype when Capcom pulled the plug'
Red Line Fever concept combined motorcycle racing with handlebar flippers, hybrid of Paperboy arcade and Demo Man pinball
high confidence · Greg Kmiec description and article comparison to both source games

Notable Quotes

“Red Line Fever was designed to combine the real-world experience of motorcycle racing with the symbolism of pinball by offering playfield racing-themed features in addition to handlebar flipper switches.”
Greg Kmiec — Designer's official explanation of the core game concept and innovation
“It was the best game I ever designed. It was the last game developed by Capcom before the doors shut. It was scheduled to be Capcom's next game.”
Greg Kmiec — High confidence claim about game quality and its status in Capcom's product pipeline at cancellation
“There is only one prototype whitewood in existence.”
Greg Kmiec — Establishes extreme rarity and potential collectibility of the prototype

Entities

Greg Kmiecperson Red Line Fevergame Capcom PinballcompanyPython AngelopersonInternet Pinball Database (IPDB)organizationBig Bang BargameDemo MangamePaperboygame

Signals

$
market_signal: Growing community interest in Capcom Pinball history as recent Big Bang Bar remake rumors spark discussion of other cancelled/rare Capcom titles
high · Article cites recent Big Bang Bar rumor post sparking forum discussion; dedicated Pinside thread discussing Capcom Pinball history; multiple Capcom titles mentioned (Red Line Fever, Zingy Bingy, Big Bang Bar)
?
leak_detection: Red Line Fever details and prototype existence publicly documented on IPDB; historical pinball industry information emerging through dedicated Pinside forum discussion
high · LTG mentioned prototype on Pinside; IPDB has dedicated page with designer quotes describing game and prototype status

Topics

Unreleased/prototype pinball machinesprimaryCapcom Pinball history and product lifecycleprimaryInnovative pinball control mechanics (handlebar flippers)primaryRare prototype collectibilitysecondaryGreg Kmiec pinball design legacysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Nostalgic and appreciative tone toward unreleased game concept; admiration for designer's innovation; regret that game never reached production

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

The other day I wrote about a rumor that an unknown company may be in the process of remaking the rare Capcom pinball machine Big Bang Bar. That post has spurred a lot of discussion about the short, yet fascinating history of Capcom Pinball. There's a new dedicated thread on the subject over on Pinside in which the pinball industry legend LTG mentioned a prototype pinball machine that I had never heard of before, Capcom's Red Line Fever. The great website Internet Pinball Database, aka IPDB, has a page dedicated to this unmade machine. Check this wild game out! It was going to have handlebars that controlled the flippers, sort of like a hybrid between the 1984 Atari arcade classic Paperboy and the 1994 Williams pinball machine Demo Man. I love both of those games, so I bet this Capcom pin would have been pretty cool. Alas, the game was under development at the same time as Python Anghelo's disastrous Zingy Bingy prototype when Capcom pulled the plug on its pinball division, so Red Line Fever never made it into production. IPDB has a description of the prototype game from its creator, the famous pinball designer Greg Kmiec, who designed such iconic games as Breakshot, Skateball, The Six Million Dollar Man, Xenon, Vector and Transporter the Rescue: "Red Line Fever" was designed to combine the real-world experience of motorcycle racing with the symbolism of pinball by offering playfield racing-themed features in addition to handlebar flipper switches. The handlebar was mounted on the front of the cabinet. A few real-world motorcyclistspinballers relayed their approval to me of the game when it was shown. It was the best game I ever designed. It was the last game developed by Capcom before the doors shut. It was scheduled to be Capcom's next game. There is only one prototype whitewood in existence. https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=red+line+fever&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick The super cool pin that almost was...