Queen Pinball Reveal Delayed, American Pinball's Next Game Three Months Away

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Sep 9, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Queen delayed, American Pinball preview teased, Franchi clarification on Bond game

Summary

Pinball Brothers' Queen game reveal has been delayed due to approval issues and will not appear at the Cointaker Super Awesome Pinball Show Tailgate Party, though they aim for Pinball Expo in October. American Pinball will preview their next game at the tailgate with artwork and theme reveal, with full game availability expected in three months. Christopher Franchi did not do artwork for Stern's James Bond game but has art coming on multiple non-Stern machines.

Key Claims

Pinball Brothers' Queen game delayed due to approval problems
high confidence · Official statement from Pinball Brothers via SAPS podcast
Queen will likely debut at Pinball Expo Chicago (October 18-22)
high confidence · Pinball Brothers statement on SAPS podcast
American Pinball's next game will be ready for sale in approximately three months
high confidence · SAPS podcast hosts reporting game availability timeline
Pinball Brothers has shipped approximately 600 Alien machines across both models
high confidence · Pinball Brothers interview on SAPS podcast
Christopher Franchi did not do artwork for Stern's James Bond game
high confidence · SAPS podcast hosts clarifying recent rumors
Original Heighway design for Queen was a widebody with playfield screen; completely reworked by Pinball Brothers
high confidence · SAPS podcast interview with Pinball Brothers
Queen Brian May and Roger Taylor recorded callouts for the new game
high confidence · Pinball Brothers interview on SAPS podcast

Notable Quotes

“We regret to inform attendees, but as of the time that we were editing this show we received an e-mail from the Pinball Brothers stating that there was some approval problems which severely delayed the shipping of the game”
SAPS podcast hosts (reporting Pinball Brothers statement) @ N/A — Official confirmation of Queen delay with regulatory/approval issues cited
“the preview will give attendees a preview of the artwork, the theme and the logo for the theme. They are not going to show the full game or the backglass because the full game will probably not be ready to go on sale for another three months”
SAPS podcast hosts @ N/A — Details on American Pinball's teaser strategy and production timeline
“Christopher Franchi did not do the artwork for any version of Stern Pinball's new James Bond game. He does have art coming out on several non-Stern pinball machines soon, two that will likely be released at the same time and compete with each other”
SAPS podcast hosts (reporting findings) @ N/A — Clarification on Franchi's recent work and denial of Bond involvement; hints at multiple competing releases

Entities

Pinball Brotherscompany American Pinballcompany Christopher Franchiperson Queengame AliengameSuper Awesome Pinball Show (SAPS)organizationCointaker Super Awesome Pinball Show Tailgate PartyeventPinball Expo Chicago

Signals

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design_philosophy: Queen game underwent complete design rework from original Heighway widebody/screen concept to Pinball Brothers' version
high · SAPS reporting: 'The original Heighway design for the Queen game was a widebody with a screen in the playfield. The design was completely reworked to create the Pinball Brothers' version.'
?
event_signal: American Pinball providing exclusive preview (artwork, theme, logo) at Cointaker tailgate with full game availability in ~3 months
high · SAPS podcast reporting American Pinball's deliberate teaser strategy with timeline
?
licensing_signal: Queen band members (Brian May, Roger Taylor) provided voice callouts for Queen pinball game, indicating active IP licensor involvement
high · SAPS podcast: 'Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor did a number of callouts for the new game'
$
market_signal: Pinball Brothers' Alien production continuing at scale (~600 units shipped) while simultaneously launching Queen game with dedicated production line
high · Pinball Brothers interview: 'approaching 600 Alien machines shipped' and 'production of Alien will continue in tandem with production of the new Queen game at Pedretti. There will be two lines.'
?
community_signal: Christopher Franchi has multiple non-Stern pinball art projects launching simultaneously in competitive timeframe
medium · SAPS hosts: 'He does have art coming out on several non-Stern pinball machines soon, two that will likely be released at the same time and compete with each other'

Topics

Game delays and production issuesprimaryPinball Brothers' product pipeline and manufacturingprimaryAmerican Pinball's next game announcement/preview strategyprimaryArtist personnel and IP licensing (Franchi, Stern Bond)secondaryPinball industry events and show schedulingsecondaryQueen band IP licensing for pinball gamesecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.45)— Negative on Queen delay (approval issues, missed event), positive on American Pinball teaser and Franchi clarification, neutral on factual reporting. Tone is news-focused but acknowledges disappointment for event attendees.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

I'm currently listening to the new episode of always fantastic Super Awesome Pinball Show (SAPS) podcast featuring Christopher Franchi, Christian Line and Jeff Parsons and heard some breaking news. Despite hopes that the Pinball Brothers' upcoming game Queen will be at the upcoming Cointaker Super Awesome Pinball Show Tailgate Party, they released the following statement: "We regret to inform attendees, but as of the time that we were editing this show we received an e-mail from the Pinball Brothers stating that there was some approval problems which severely delayed the shipping of the game and they most likely will not be on hand to play at the event." Pinball Brothers stated that they are hoping to bring the game to Pinball Expo in Chicago, which is scheduled to take place from October 18th through the 22nd. Despite the absence of Queen, attendees of the tailgate party will get a sneak peek at American Pinball's "really imaginative and fun new game." Specifically, the preview will give attendees a preview of the artwork, the theme and the logo for the theme. They are not going to show the full game or the backglass because the full game will probably not be ready to go on sale for another three months. Another interesting tidbit that I was able to grab from the podcast is that despite the recent rumors, Christopher Franchi did not do the artwork for any version of Stern Pinball's new James Bond game. He does have art coming out on several non-Stern pinball machines soon, two that will likely be released at the same time and compete with each other. The latest SAPS episode also contained an interview with Pinball Brothers. They stated that they are approaching 600 Alien machines shipped, including both models. Production of Alien will continue in tandem with production of the new Queen game at Pedretti. There will be two lines. The original Heighway design for the Queen game was a widebody with a screen in the playfield. The design was completely reworked to create the Pinball Brothers' version. Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor did a number of callouts for the new game. The Super Awesome Pinball Show is always jam packed with cool interviews and information. Click on the link below to check out the latest episode: https://superawesomepinballshow.libsyn.com/