New Game Round-up

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Jun 1, 2011

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

New pinball manufacturers emerge: Skit-B, Vonnie D, and Dutch Pinball announce games amid market consolidation.

Summary

Pinball News reports on new manufacturers entering the market as of June 2014. Skit-B announces their second game, Experts of Dangerous (featuring Mythbusters personalities), to be manufactured by Jersey Jack Pinball. Vonnie D Pinball launches a Kickstarter campaign for Pinball Gremlins, successfully funding $104,050. Dutch Pinball continues progress on The Big Lebowski with anticipated Q2 2015 release. The article highlights an emerging wave of boutique manufacturers attempting to establish production capacity.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball are the only companies making machines in any quantities at the moment
high confidence · Opening statement establishes market landscape as of June 2014
Skit-B's Predator game, first announced in June 2011, had completed manufacturing ('mission complete') four months prior but none of the 250 machines had shipped yet
high confidence · Direct reporting on production status and timeline
Skit-B contracted manufacturing of Experts of Dangerous to Jersey Jack Pinball to accelerate production
high confidence · Explicit business partnership detail reported
Barry Oursler has eighteen years of experience making pinballs for Williams
high confidence · Direct attribution in article about Vonnie D partnership
Vonnie D Pinball's Kickstarter campaign set a $100,000 target and raised $104,050 total
high confidence · Specific funding numbers reported
Dutch Pinball anticipated The Big Lebowski would be available in Q2 2015
high confidence · Explicit timeline stated in article

Notable Quotes

“Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball are the only companies actually making machines in any quantities at the moment”
Pinball News (Editorial) @ Opening paragraph — Establishes market concentration and defines the competitive landscape of June 2014
“in an apparent bid to get the ball rolling faster once the design and coding is complete, Skit-B has contracted manufacturing of the game to Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, New Jersey”
Pinball News (Editorial) @ Skit-B section — Reveals manufacturing partnership strategy to accelerate production
“To help them bring the game to market they have teamed up with game designer Barry Oursler to lend his know-how and eighteen years of experience making pinballs for Williams”
Pinball News (Editorial) @ Vonnie D section — Highlights industry veterans supporting new entrants and validates Vonnie D's credibility

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanySkit-BcompanyKevin KulekpersonVonnie D PinballcompanyBarry Ourslerperson Dutch Pinballcompany Predatorgame

Signals

?
business_signal: Vonnie D Pinball uses Kickstarter crowdfunding as primary capitalization strategy for new startup with no manufacturing track record; targets $100k with pricing range $6,500-$10,000
high · their choice of Kickstarter project as a means to fund the company and sell their games attracted a lot of attention. Setting an ambitious target for a start-up company with no track record of pinball manufacturing of $100,000, they were offering a range of machine variants from $6,500 for a standard up to gold accented model at $10,000.
?
business_signal: Market structure consolidation: only Stern and JJP producing in quantity; new entrants using external manufacturing partnerships to reduce capital barriers
high · Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball are the only companies actually making machines in any quantities at the moment, but there are several others on the brink of producing their first game
?
event_signal: Vonnie D Pinball pledges to deliver Pinball Gremlins prototype to Pinball Expo October 2014
high · Regardless of whether the target would be reached or not, Vonnie D have pledged to bring a prototype Pinball Gremlins machine to Pinball Expo in October.
?
licensing_signal: Experts of Dangerous promotional video removed pending licensor approval for promotional strategy
high · The title was announced in a video on YouTube which has since been taken offline pending a decision by the licence holders on how they are going to promote the game.
?
announcement: Dutch Pinball announces progress on The Big Lebowski with features including mini-playfield, under-playfield bowling lane, color display, and custom cabinet art

Topics

New manufacturers entering marketprimaryProduction delays and manufacturing challengesprimaryCrowdfunding as market entry strategyprimaryGame announcements and IP licensingprimaryManufacturing partnerships and outsourcingsecondaryMarket consolidation around Stern and JJPsecondaryCustom playfield mechanisms and design innovationsecondaryPricing strategies for boutique manufacturerssecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Article is optimistic about new entrants and market expansion, though it acknowledges challenges like Skit-B's delays and funding skepticism. Tone is neutral reporting with underlying enthusiasm for emerging manufacturers.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Date: 15th June, 2014 Stern Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball are the only companies actually making machines in any quantities at the moment, but there are several others on the brink of producing their first game who have made recent announcements. One of the earliest to show their hand at short-run pinball manufacturing was Skit-B with their Predator game, first announced in June 2011. Although a sample game has been shown at many pinball shows, and despite stating four months ago that it was "mission complete", none of the 250 machines appears to have shipped yet. But that didn't stop Skit-B announcing their second game last weekend at the California Extreme show, and shortly after with a promotional video on YouTube. Skit-B's Kevin Kulek revealed that their next title would be Experts of Dangerous, featuring Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery Channel's show Mythbusters. Skit-B's second title, Experts of Dangerous Experts of Dangerous translite Although not an officially-branded Mythbusters game, Experts of Dangerous is the name given to the pair's offshoot venture, and the theme is bound to be heavily based on their on-screen exploits. The title was announced in a video on YouTube which has since been taken offline pending a decision by the licence holders on how they are going to promote the game. No pricing or predicted availability has been announced yet, but in an apparent bid to get the ball rolling faster once the design and coding is complete, Skit-B has contracted manufacturing of the game to Jersey Jack Pinball in Lakewood, New Jersey. Meanwhile, a new pinball start-up based in Colombia, Missouri, Vonnie D Pinball, announced at the end of June their intention to build pinballs, starting with their unlicenced Pinball Gremlins title. Vonnie D's Pinball Gremlins logo The game design is mostly complete and the team released a simplified playfield layout which shows it is a three-flipper widebody game with some interesting features and shots. Pinball Gremlins' widebody playfield layout To help them bring the game to market they have teamed up with game designer Barry Oursler to lend his know-how and eighteen years of experience making pinballs for Williams. A prototype Pinball Gremlins playfield being populated with inserts As interesting as the game and the team is, their choice of Kickstarter project as a means to fund the company and sell their games attracted a lot of attention. Setting an ambitious target for a start-up company with no track record of pinball manufacturing of $100,000, they were offering a range of machine variants from $6,500 for a standard up to gold accented model at $10,000. After a slow start and doubts about whether the target could be reached, a number of purchases of the $10,000 gold edition and the $9,000 limited edition models during the last few days saw the total reach $104,050 when the fundraiser ended. Regardless of whether the target would be reached or not, Vonnie D have pledged to bring a prototype Pinball Gremlins machine to Pinball Expo in October. Over in Europe, Dutch Pinball have been showing the progress they have been making with their The Big Lebowski pinball. The Big Lebowski translite image Their latest videos reveal the cabinet, backbox and translite artwork, along with the size of their colour display to go with their earlier reveals of the playfield layout. The colour display Cabinet side art Backbox side art The playfield has a number of custom mechanisms, including an upper mini-playfield and an under-playfield bowling lane viewed through a clear window. The mail playfield The Brunswick-licensed mini bowling lane Pre-orders for The Big Lebowski are currently open, and the Dutch Pinball team anticipate it will be available in the second quarter of 2015. We'll keep you up-to-date with all the developments from Skit-B, Vonnie D, Dutch Pinball, and the other new pinball manufacturers right here at Pinball News. Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page