Shoot Again

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Aug 15, 2005

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Gottlieb replacement playfield kit project approved by licensees to rescue worn classic machines.

Summary

John Greatwich from Halifax announces a plan to produce replacement playfield kits for worn Gottlieb solid state machines from the late 1970s-early 1980s, with licensing approval from Mondial and Steve Young (Gottlieb licensee). The kits will feature new playfields, backglasses, cabinet art, and plastics while preserving original game layouts and rules under new themes. Devil's Dare, Cleopatra, and Count Down are announced as the first conversion targets.

Key Claims

John Greatwich received approval from Robert Fesjian (Mondial) and Steve Young (Gottlieb licensee) to produce replacement Gottlieb playfield kits
high confidence · Direct quote from John about obtaining go-ahead for sample playfield and artwork package
Gottlieb game layouts and rules were typically completed before themes were attached during original manufacturing
medium confidence · John's explanation of why changing themes doesn't detract from playability; presented as historical manufacturing practice
Devil's Dare, Cleopatra, and Count Down are the first games selected for conversion kit treatment
high confidence · Update section explicitly announces these three titles
Initial playfields will be hand-routered rather than machine-routed
high confidence · John states prototypes will be hand-routered; machine routing may follow if demand warrants
Pat Lawlor encouraged John's project when contacted
high confidence · Direct quote: 'Talked with Pat Lawlor who said to keep trying, at least that was positive encouragement'

Notable Quotes

“I always wanted to make a new prototypes from scratch. I contacted people still making games, not interested.”
John Greatwich — Explains initial rejection from active manufacturers before pursuing Gottlieb route
“Talked with Pat Lawlor who said to keep trying, at least that was positive encouragement, Thanks Pat.”
John Greatwich — Shows support from legendary designer; indicates industry gatekeeping concerns
“I was afraid to contact certain people (does the word lawyer come to mind?).”
John Greatwich — Reveals licensing/legal concerns that shaped project strategy; humor masking real obstacles
“The Gottlieb owner would need to have a working game and have the minimal skills required to change out the playfield.”
John Greatwich — Describes target customer and accessibility of conversion process
“I know that it has to be affordable and would think that it has a chance for all the serious collectors out there looking for rare or low number items.”
John Greatwich — Positions project as serving collector market for preservation of rare/low-run Gottlieb titles

Entities

John GreatwichpersonPat LawlorpersonRobert FesjianpersonSteve Youngperson GottliebcompanyMondialcompanyWilliamscompany Ballycompany

Signals

?
business_signal: Licensing approval from Mondial and Gottlieb licensee Steve Young for third-party aftermarket playfield kit production represents opening of IP licensing to restoration ecosystem
high · Robert Fesjian and Steve Young approved sample playfield development with path to official Gottlieb branding
?
community_signal: Pinball design legend Pat Lawlor provided encouragement to Greatwich's licensing approach, validating project viability
high · Greatwich quote: 'Talked with Pat Lawlor who said to keep trying, at least that was positive encouragement'
?
announcement: Launch of aftermarket Gottlieb playfield conversion kits targeting preservation of late 1970s-early 1980s solid state machines
high · Devil's Dare, Cleopatra, and Count Down announced as first conversion kit targets with hand-routed prototypes
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technology_signal: Introduction of commercial graphic inkjet printing and CNC routing for playfield reproduction as alternative to original manufacturing methods
medium · Greatwich describes using graphics program for custom work and playfield router files for reproduction

Topics

Gottlieb machine restoration and preservationprimaryAftermarket playfield and cabinet art manufacturingprimaryLicensing and IP rights in pinball industrysecondarySolid state pinball games (late 1970s-early 1980s era)primaryCollector market for rare/low-production pinball machinessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Article presents Greatwich's initiative optimistically as solution to preserve worn Gottlieb machines. Industry support (Pat Lawlor's encouragement, Mondial/licensee approval) reinforces positive framing. Focus on accessibility and affordability suggests community-focused mission.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Story dated August 15, 2005 The average pinball collector has more than just a smattering of dot matrix games from Williams, Bally and Data East. But what about those earlier solid state games and in particular the many thousands of Gottlieb games coming out of the company's Northlake factory in the late '70s and early '80s? A large number of them will have been played almost to death with worn out playfields, cracked or flaking backglasses and damaged cabinets. Despite the fact that they are still functioning, devoid of any monetary value, these games are often stored away or broken for parts. But hope is in sight if one man gets his way. John Greatwich from Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada has plans to produce replacement kits to rescue these Gottlieb solid state games with replacement playfields, backglasses, playfield plastics and cabinet art. John told Pinball News about how his idea began. "I always wanted to make a new prototypes from scratch. I contacted people still making games, not interested. Talked with Pat Lawlor who said to keep trying, at least that was positive encouragement, Thanks Pat. I was afraid to contact certain people (does the word lawyer come to mind?). So I contacted Robert Fesjian (at Mondial, the holding company for D. Gottlieb), who would talk with Steve Young (exclusive licensee for Gottlieb products), about the possibilities of making Gottlieb Prototype Games." John's plan is to use the game's existing playfield parts since these can be difficult to come by, and transfer them onto his new playfield which will use the same layout and rules but a different theme. When the earlier solid state games were originally manufactured it was quite usual for the game layout and design to be completed before a theme was attached, so changing the theme shouldn't detract from the playability of the game. Now Robert and Steve have given John the go-ahead to produce a sample playfield and artwork package. If they approve it, the product will be given the Gottlieb name and sold as an official Gottlieb kit. John described the conversion process: "The Gottlieb owner would need to have a working game and have the minimal skills required to change out the playfield. The new backglass, cabinet art & playfield plastics should be easy to install. I will be doing what I believe is more coloured background, simpler designs. Custom work would be possible by using a graphics program." Right now he need potential purchasers to provide him with playfields he can scan and turn into the necessary files for a playfield router. "The light lenses are here, only best quality plywood will be used with good paint front & back using commercial graphic inkjet work and clearcoating of the finished playfield. I need people to tell me what unpopulated playfields they may have and can send. I'm looking for worn playfields, not NOS, to copy the layout but they should still have the scoring and rules visible." If you can help and contribute to the project you can e-mail John here or see his adverts in Gameroom Magazine and Mr Pinball Classifieds. "I know that it has to be affordable and would think that it has a chance for all the serious collectors out there looking for rare or low number items. Everyone should come out ahead, especially the Gottlieb Pinball community." Update John has now announced that the first game to be given new playfields, plastics, backglass and artwork treatment is Devil's Dare and it will be followed by Cleopatra and Count Down. John also told Pinball News: "The first playfields will be hand routered, since they are prototypes. If the prototypes move towards making conversion kits, they still might be hand routered, unless the demand warrants it." Back to the news index Back to the front page