The Next Bally / Williams Pinball 2.0 Kit is…

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Apr 29, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Knapp Arcade predicts Whirlwind as next Pedretti Gaming 2.0 kit based on current popularity.

Summary

Knapp Arcade speculates on which classic Williams/Bally pinball game will receive the next 2.0 upgrade kit from Pedretti Gaming, to be revealed within days. The author analyzes production numbers of high-volume early 80s/late 90s machines and predicts Whirlwind as the most likely candidate based on current community affection, despite it having fewer units produced than alternatives like Firepower or High Speed.

Key Claims

Pedretti Gaming is scheduled to reveal its next Bally/Williams 2.0 kit next week
high confidence · Author states this was announced 'earlier this morning' on Knapp Arcade
Word broke in February that the next 2.0 kit was coming soon
high confidence · Author references prior reporting from February
Whirlwind had 7,304 units produced
high confidence · Author cites production data in decision matrix
Someone is already working on an unsanctioned Whirlwind 2.0 kit
medium confidence · Author notes 'unsanctioned' modification efforts exist but uses tentative language 'sort of doing'
Whirlwind is 'probably' the most beloved of the high-production Williams games today
medium confidence · Author's subjective assessment based on current community sentiment

Notable Quotes

“There's no reason to produce a 2.0 kit for a rare game because there won't be a large enough audience of potential buyers to justify putting all the work into making it.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Establishes the logical framework for predicting which game will get the kit based on production volume thresholds
“To me the most beloved of those games today is probably Whirlwind. So sales numbers aside, I'm changing my guess to Whirlwind.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Author's final prediction, acknowledging tension between production volume data and current community enthusiasm for a specific title

Entities

Pedretti Gamingcompany Knapp Arcademedia Whirlwindgame Firepowergame High Speedgame Gorgargame F-14 Tomcatgame

Signals

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sentiment_shift: Whirlwind currently represents high community affection relative to production volume metrics alone
medium · Author's assessment that Whirlwind is 'probably the most beloved' of high-production Williams games today informs prediction
?
announcement: Pedretti Gaming scheduled to reveal next Bally/Williams 2.0 kit within days
high · Author states announcement was planned for 'next week' based on information from earlier Knapp Arcade reporting
?
technology_signal: Ongoing development of 2.0 upgrade kits as significant category for classic pinball games, including unsanctioned community efforts
high · Author notes unsanctioned Whirlwind 2.0 already in progress, indicates broader trend of classic game modernization

Topics

Bally/Williams 2.0 upgrade kitsprimaryClassic pinball game production volumes and popularityprimaryCommunity sentiment and modern collecting preferencessecondaryPedretti Gaming product announcementsprimaryUnsanctioned pinball modificationssecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Author maintains analytical tone while engaging in speculative discussion. No strong positive or negative sentiment expressed about Pedretti Gaming, Whirlwind, or the category overall. Tone is curious and community-focused.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Earlier this morning, I wrote about how Pedretti Gaming is scheduled to reveal its next Bally / Williams pinball 2.0 kit next week. Back in February when word broke that the next kit was coming soon, I wrote an article speculating what it could be. There's no reason to produce a 2.0 kit for a rare game because there won't be a large enough audience of potential buyers to justify putting all the work into making it. The highest production early 90s / late 80s solid state Williams games include: Firepower (17,410 units though there already is a Firepower II) High Speed (17,080 there's already a sequel for this game as well) F-14 Tomcat (14,502 units) Gorgar (14,000 units yes I realize that this was '79, but that's close) Black Knight (13,075 I don't see this happening given how many BK sequels there are already) Pinbot (12,001 already sequels) Cyclone (9,400 units sort of already has sequels) The Machine: Bride of Pinbot (8,100 units, already has a 2.0 kit) Whirlwind (7,304 units - someone is already sort of doing a 2.0 for it, but it is unsanctioned) Taxi (7,303 units. Potential licensing issues with the characters?) Earthshaker (surprisingly only 5,265 units, I thought that it was more popular than that) At the time, I guessed that the next kit might be for Firepower or Gorgar because of how many units were produced. Well, I'm changing my guess. To me the most beloved of those games today is probably Whirlwind. So sales numbers aside, I'm changing my guess to Whirlwind. Will that be the game that gets the next 2.0 kit is for? What's your guess? We'll find out in a few days.