Start up Down Under

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Apr 14, 2004

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Mr. Pinball Australia announces manufacturing startup with new hardware platform and international market focus.

Summary

Wayne Gillard (Mr. Pinball Australia), an Australian pinball dealer, announced plans in April 2004 to establish a pinball manufacturing operation in Victoria with a team of six designers including Andrew Field and Marc Alexander. The company would use completely new hardware and software with modern features like USB software updates and network connectivity, targeting international markets rather than just Australia. Gillard cited difficulty sourcing games from Stern and dissatisfaction with their current game quality as motivation, estimating $1 million in startup costs with first whitewood samples expected by end of 2004 and production in 2005.

Key Claims

Wayne Gillard assembled a six-person Pinball Design Team including Andrew Field and Marc Alexander to build games from scratch
high confidence · Direct quote from Pinball News article dated April 14, 2004
The new platform would feature USB software updates and memory stick-based software transfer instead of EPROM burning
high confidence · Article describes planned technical features in detail
License fees typically cost between US$50-$200 per pinball machine
high confidence · Direct quote from Wayne Gillard to Pinball News
Gillard estimates US$1 million startup cost to produce a machine from scratch
high confidence · Direct quote from Wayne Gillard at article conclusion
Stern only sells through Australian distributors at markup prices higher than retail US purchasing with airfreight
medium confidence · Wayne Gillard's stated business frustration, not independently verified
First whitewood sample expected by end of 2004 with production commencing in 2005
high confidence · Direct statement in article about production timeline

Notable Quotes

“Both. It is a catch 22 situation; license themes usually sell but cost between US$50 & US$200 per pinball for the license fee, original games save you money but cost you more in artwork and development”
Wayne Gillard @ article body — Explains licensing strategy and cost tradeoffs for new manufacturer
“I am in the business of selling pinballs and it is getting harder to get both used & new pinballs; Stern will only sell via their Australian distributors who charge more than I can buy them retail from a US distributor and airfreight them in for.”
Wayne Gillard @ article body — Primary business motivation for starting manufacturing; highlights distribution tension
“I think the World has unique requirements not serviced by Stern since the No 1 pinball company Williams ceased making pinballs.”
Wayne Gillard @ article body — Expresses dissatisfaction with Stern's game design direction and market gaps
“The market is not big enough here in Australia, it will be the international market we will target and we have the support from the Australian government with this venture for exports.”
Wayne Gillard @ article body — Reveals export focus and government support for the venture
“I can confirm it does cost approx US$1 million to produce a machine from scratch.”
Wayne Gillard @ article conclusion — Quantifies startup investment required for new pinball manufacturer

Entities

Mr. Pinball AustraliacompanyWayne GillardpersonAndrew FieldpersonMarc AlexanderpersonMurrumbeena facilitylocationPinball NewsorganizationStern PinballcompanyWilliamscompany

Signals

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business_signal: New pinball manufacturer startup with government export support, challenging Stern's market dominance
high · Wayne Gillard announces manufacturing plans with six-person design team, US$1M startup investment, government support for exports, targets international markets
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design_philosophy: Manufacturer aims to address perceived gaps in Stern's game design and market strategy that emerged after Williams exit from industry
medium · Gillard states 'World has unique requirements not serviced by Stern since Williams ceased' and expresses dissatisfaction with current Stern game quality
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licensing_signal: First game planned to be licensed theme; licensing costs quantified at US$50-$200 per machine; manufacturer balancing licensed vs. original designs
high · Gillard confirms first game uses licensed theme and details licensing cost tradeoffs in direct quote
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market_signal: Distribution channel tension between Stern and Australian dealers; retail pricing disparity between US and AU markets creating arbitrage opportunity
high · Gillard states Stern only sells through Australian distributors at markup; cheaper to buy retail in US and airfreight than buy from official Stern AU channels
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product_strategy: New manufacturer differentiating through generic parts compatibility, flat-pack/pre-assembled options, home versions without coin mechanisms for retail/mail-order distribution
high · Article details plans for modular parts, kit forms, home retail versions, and upgrade kits for earlier models

Topics

New pinball manufacturer startup in AustraliaprimaryHardware and software platform innovationprimaryDistribution challenges and Stern's Australian market strategyprimaryLicensing vs. original IP game design strategysecondaryManufacturing cost structure and startup investmentsecondaryInternational export market focussecondaryPost-Williams competitive gap in pinball marketmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Article is largely neutral reporting, but underlying sentiment from Gillard is frustrated with Stern's market position while optimistic about his new venture. The initiative is presented as ambitious and well-intentioned, but there is no independent validation of achievability or market reception.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Story dated April 14, 2004 The world's second volume manufacturer of pinball games could soon be with us, and this time they're not based anywhere near Chicago. Australian pinball dealer Wayne Gillard who trades under the name Mr Pinball Australia, has unveiled plans to start building games at his Murrumbeena facility in Victoria, south-eastern Australia. He has assembled a Pinball Design Team of six including Andrew Field and Marc Alexander to build the games from the ground up with completely new hardware and software. Starting with a blank slate gives the company the chance to incorporate many new features and improve on the games we are all familiar with. A network connection is a desirable feature that will be included as well as the ability to update the software through a USB port rather that having to burn EPROMs. It is envisioned using a memory stick to transfer the software making it easy to update many games from one device. But some elements will remain unchanged. The game will still use a dot-matrix display but in a development of the "custom message" facility, it will be able to display adverts either for the location or for other companies. Manufacturer supplied adverts could help reduce the purchase price of the game. Shipping games should be easier with the game coming either pre-assembled or in a flat-pack kit form. Additionally, home versions could be made available without coin mechanisms so that they could be sold through retail outlets or mail-order. The team is already looking ahead to future games, so each new game will be available as a kit to upgrade earlier models in the same way as Williams made Star Wars Episode 1 kits for Revenge From Mars or Congo kits for World Cup Soccer. In these cases however, the latter games were not as popular and the kits did not sell well leading to the "upgrades" often being viewed as downgrades. Both these kits were based on licensed themes and Stern place great value on licences as a way to provide instant recognition and familiarity. Pinball News asked Wayne whether he would be using licences in his games or going for original designs. "Both. It is a catch 22 situation; license themes usually sell but cost between US$50 & US$200 per pinball for the license fee, original games save you money but cost you more in artwork and development - for example music/sounds etc. Having said that, our first game is a licensed theme!" Most parts used by the Pinball Design Team in the new games will be generic to provide easy access to replacement parts and make it simpler to swap parts between games to fix problems. It is also intended to make them easier to repair by swapping-out boards. Wayne told Pinball News why, after many years selling games he decided to get into pinball production. "I am in the business of selling pinballs and it is getting harder to get both used & new pinballs; Stern will only sell via their Australian distributors who charge more than I can buy them retail from a US distributor and airfreight them in for." But Wayne is also not happy with the games Stern is producing and thinks he and his team can do better. "I think the World has unique requirements not serviced by Stern since the No 1 pinball company Williams ceased making pinballs." Although manufactured in Australia, the games will not be aimed at a purely Australian market. "The market is not big enough here in Australia, it will be the international market we will target and we have the support from the Australian government with this venture for exports." Wayne intends to sell the games around the world and is expecting to spend many months touring trade shows and distributors around the world promoting the games. Indeed, he sees himself spending so much time on the pinball design and manufacturing business that he has put the retail sales business up for sale. "I work all hours of the day and night doing both, so selling the pinball retail business would free my time up more." The first whitewood sample should be ready by the end of the year with production in 2005. Finally, the cost of this venture? "I can confirm it does cost approx US$1 million to produce a machine from scratch." Back to the news index Back to the front page