Planetary Pinball Threats Spur Changes to Updated Whirlwind Code

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 24, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Planetary Pinball C&D forces homebrew Whirlwind mod to rebrand as 'Storm Blasters'

Summary

Planetary Pinball issued a cease and desist to a homebrew developer working on updated Whirlwind code for seven years, prompting significant changes: renaming the project from Whirlwind to 'Storm Blasters The Pinball Adventure' and removing all Williams/WPC branding from attract mode. The developer 'applejuice' clarifies the project uses 100% original hardware, code, and graphics with zero use of original Williams ROM code or assets, and has registered the new 'Storm Blasters' trademark independently.

Key Claims

A homebrew developer has been working on new code for Whirlwind for seven years
high confidence · Article opening and applejuice's Pinside statement confirm multi-year project timeline
Planetary Pinball issued a cease and desist order to the Whirlwind code developer
high confidence · Article explicitly states 'cease and desist order from the rightsholder of Bally / Williams games, Planetary Pinball'
The new code project is 100% original with no Williams ROM code, original hardware design, and newly created graphics
high confidence · applejuice's detailed Pinside statement provides numbered technical specifications (points 1-4)
The project has been rebranded from 'Whirlwind' to 'Storm Blasters The Pinball Adventure'
high confidence · Article states 'The main change is a brand new name for the game "Storm Blasters The Pinball Adventure"' and applejuice confirms new trademark registration
Planetary Pinball monetized 'The Forgotten Tales' (Tales of Arabian Nights homebrew) by licensing it to Mirco
medium confidence · Article author states 'easily able to monetize by farming it out to Mirco' and speculates this could have been a Chicago Gaming or Pedretti partnership instead
All Williams Whirlwind and WPC logos have been removed from the attract mode as a show of good faith
high confidence · applejuice states logos 'have since been REMOVED, in compliance with information received and as a show of good faith'

Notable Quotes

“Planetary Pinball should be honored that people still care enough about its intellectual property to dedicate years of their lives to improving it.”
Knapp Arcade (article author) — Author criticizes Planetary Pinball's aggressive IP enforcement stance, suggesting they should welcome community contributions
“So why not let a few individuals create and beta test new Whirlwind code as a hobby without selling it in the hopes that it too could be jointly commercialized one day?”
Knapp Arcade (article author) — Proposes alternative licensing model where homebrew developers could maintain non-commercial projects with potential future commercialization
“My hardware board is 100% original using my own electronic designs & firmware.”
applejuice (homebrew developer) — Establishes technical independence from original Williams hardware
“The game code is 100% original and uses 0% of the original Williams 6809 code base ('rom code')”
applejuice (homebrew developer) — Core claim of complete non-derivative code development, addressing IP infringement concerns
“There is no way with my hardware to run the original Williams Whirlwind game or any other original 'rom code'”
applejuice (homebrew developer) — Clarifies that the project cannot be used to circumvent licensing restrictions on original games
“I have created a new original logo and game name for this product instead, 'Storm Blasters' which i will share below. (UKCS Registration Number: 284745765)”
applejuice (homebrew developer) — Demonstrates developer's commitment to compliance by registering new trademark independently in UK

Entities

Planetary PinballcompanyapplejuicepersonWhirlwindgameStorm Blasters The Pinball AdventuregameTales of the Arabian Nightsgame Mircocompany Chicago Gaming Companycompany

Signals

?
business_signal: Planetary Pinball's licensing strategy: monetizing homebrew projects through commercial partners (Mirco for Tales of Arabian Nights) while simultaneously restricting independent hobbyist projects
high · Article contrasts Planetary Pinball's willingness to license 'The Forgotten Tales' homebrew to Mirco vs. aggressive C&D on Whirlwind project
?
community_signal: Cease and desist action against seven-year homebrew code project raises community tension around IP enforcement vs. enthusiast preservation
high · Planetary Pinball issued C&D; applejuice forced to rebrand and remove all Williams branding despite claiming 100% original work
~
sentiment_shift: Article author and community view Planetary Pinball's IP enforcement as counterproductive and missing opportunities for collaborative commercialization of quality homebrew projects
medium · Author states 'Planetary Pinball should be honored' and proposes alternative: 'why not let a few individuals create and beta test new Whirlwind code as a hobby...could be jointly commercialized'
?
community_signal: applejuice's strategic rebrand and compliance demonstrates savvy IP navigation: new trademark registration, logo creation, transparent technical documentation to establish independence
high · Developer registered new 'Storm Blasters' trademark (UKCS #284745765), created new logo, removed all Williams references, and published detailed technical specifications proving original work
?
technology_signal: Homebrew developers creating 100% original hardware, code, and graphics that are technically independent from original Williams systems

Topics

IP licensing and homebrew pinball code projectsprimaryPlanetary Pinball's enforcement of Bally/Williams intellectual propertyprimaryCease and desist legal action against homebrew developersprimaryRebranding and trademark registration strategyprimaryAlternative licensing models for homebrew monetizationsecondaryTechnical independence of hardware and code in homebrew projectssecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.7)— Article author is critical of Planetary Pinball's aggressive IP enforcement, characterizing it as counterproductive and suggesting missed commercialization opportunities. Developer applejuice's tone is defensive but respectful, demonstrating compliance efforts. Overall sentiment reflects frustration with IP enforcement impeding hobbyist passion projects.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

After receiving a cease and desist order from the rightsholder of Bally / Williams games, Planetary Pinball, the individual who has been working on new code for Whirlwind for seven years has made several changes to the project. The main change is a brand new name for the game "Storm Blasters The Pinball Adventure" and the elimination of any references to WPC aka Williams Pinball Company in the attract mode. Planetary Pinball should be honored that people still care enough about its intellectual property to dedicate years of their lives to improving it. The new updated "The Forgotten Tales" code for Williams Tales of the Arabian Nights started out as a homebrew project that Planetary Pinball was easily able to monetize by farming it out to Mirco (mistakenly doing so when they could have worked with Chicago Gaming Company or Pedretti IMHO). So why not let a few individuals create and beta test new Whirlwind code as a hobby without selling it in the hopes that it too could be jointly commercialized one day? Below is an update on the new code and the changes that have been made to it that the coder "applejuice" shared on Pinside: "IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Please read if you are interested in this 7 year project: Some people have got in touch to tell me there may be confusion over whether this project is an officially licenced product from the Williams rights holders. I want to make clear that this project is NOT YET officially licenced. It is an original product. In the aid of transparency and to avoid any confusion please see the following points regarding the project: 1) My hardware board is 100% original using my own electronic designs & firmware. 2) The game code is 100% original and uses 0% of the original Williams 6809 code base ('rom code') 3) There is no way with my hardware to run the original Williams Whirlwind game or any other original 'rom code' 4) The game is a DMD game not an alphanumeric game and uses newly created graphic frames, all redrawn and coloured by myself. No raw WMS DMD assets are in use 5) The speaker panel plastic artwork created to use with our dmd panels contains no williams logos and only standard wording. All art is original.As the system runs on owners own Whirlwind games there was (previously) a re-creation of the whirlwind & williams logo present in dmd form for 1 slide each on the attract mode, which have since been REMOVED, in compliance with information received and as a show of good faith. I have created a new original logo and game name for this product instead , 'Storm Blasters' which i will share below. (UKCS Registration Number: 284745765)"