Major Pinball Industry Production Update - Late January 2023 UPDATED

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jan 27, 2023

Analysis

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TL;DR

Jan 2023 pinball production snapshot: Stern's James Bond ramping, Spooky Scooby-Doo incoming, multiple next-gen games teased.

Summary

Industry production update from late January 2023 covering multiple manufacturers' output and pipeline. Stern is producing James Bond with ongoing code updates; Spooky is ramping Scooby-Doo production; Multimorphic founder discusses P3 module strategy despite backlog; and multiple manufacturers hint at upcoming releases including Pulp Fiction (CGC), potential JJP announcement, and American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball Code version 0.84 for James Bond launched on Tuesday, including several new modes but no multiball stacking yet
high confidence · Direct report from Stern Factory Friday video and code release
Spooky Pinball expects main production run of Scooby-Doo to begin in two to three weeks at 'decent pace'
high confidence · Direct statement from Spooky Pinball, reported with specific timeline
Pinball Brothers/Pedretti Gaming early Queen machines being used as beta units to perfect production techniques
high confidence · Direct observation of delivered Queen machines in Germany
Dutch Pinball has stated desire to finish Early Achiever Lebowski production in 2023
high confidence · Direct statement from Dutch Pinball, reported in production update
CGC's Pulp Fiction (designed by Mark Ritchie) may be shown at Texas Pinball Festival in March 2023
medium confidence · Rumor/hearsay: 'There's talk that CGC's next game... may be shown off at TPF in March'
Multimorphic has a one-year backlog but will continue announcing new P3 modules despite ongoing orders
high confidence · Direct quote from Gerry Stellenberg on Pinside forum explaining platform philosophy
Jersey Jack Pinball's next game after Toy Story 4 is coming 'pretty soon'
low confidence · Vague statement with explicit caution: 'I have to be careful what I say about the next game'
Jurassic Park Home Edition designed by Jack Danger is currently in production at Stern
high confidence · Picture shared on Deadflip Facebook page showing production

Notable Quotes

“For a platform machine, it doesn't make any sense [to wait]. That would deny owners the advantages of owning platform. Can you imagine Sony or Nintendo having a big backlog for consoles and saying they wouldn't release any new games until they finished shipping all back-ordered consoles?”
Gerry Stellenberg, Multimorphic founder @ Posted on Pinside (date not specified) — Explains platform economics and strategy: new game modules can release independently of machine backlogs, unlike traditional single-themed manufacturers
“Spooky has specifically stated that it believes the main run of Scooby-Doos will begin to run at a 'decent pace' in two to three weeks.”
Knapp Arcade (reporting Spooky's statement) @ Late January 2023 — Production timeline confirmation for Scooby-Doo ramp-up
“I have to be careful what I say about the next game, but rest assured, it's coming pretty soon.”
Knapp Arcade (reporting on Jersey Jack Pinball) @ Late January 2023 — Indicates NDA constraints on unreleased JJP information; teases upcoming announcement
“There's a rumor floating around that Spooky may show more video of it during Saturday night's Pinball Awards on The Pinball Network.”
Knapp Arcade @ Late January 2023 — Speculative reporting on Scooby-Doo reveal timing
“The Queen machines that are being delivered at this point seem to be almost what I would call Beta machines that Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers are using to perfect their production techniques for the game.”
Knapp Arcade @ Late January 2023 — Identifies Pedretti Gaming partnership in Queen production refinement phase

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyJames BondgameSpooky PinballcompanyScooby-Doogame Pinball Brotherscompany Queengame Multimorphiccompany Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity

Signals

?
event_signal: Texas Pinball Festival (March 2023) positioned as major reveal venue for multiple manufacturers' next games
medium · CGC's Pulp Fiction and American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force both rumored/expected to show at TPF in March
$
market_signal: Multimorphic explicitly embracing one-year backlog as sustainable and normal for industry, contrasting with single-machine manufacturer model
high · Gerry Stellenberg statement comparing to console platforms and explaining why module releases can proceed independently of hardware backlog
?
personnel_signal: Christopher Franchi providing art direction for American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force (designed by Dennis Nordman)
medium · Referenced as 'Galactic Tank Force, designed by Dennis Nordman with art by Christopher Franchi'
?
product_strategy: Cactus Canyon production ongoing with customer flow slower than desired, potentially delaying CGC's next title (Pulp Fiction)
medium · 'A constant flow of customers have been showing off their new Cactus Canyons... though I'm sure not as quickly as they or CGC would like'
?
product_concern: Queen early production units explicitly characterized as 'beta machines' used for production technique refinement, suggesting ongoing quality/manufacturing issues during ramp-up phase
high · Direct statement: 'The Queen machines that are being delivered at this point seem to be almost what I would call Beta machines that Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers are using to perfect their production techniques'

Topics

Production Status UpdatesprimaryCode Updates and PatchesprimaryUpcoming Game AnnouncementsprimaryManufacturing and Supply ChainsecondaryPlatform vs Single-Machine EconomicssecondaryBacklog ManagementsecondaryDesigner Transitionsmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Industry showing strong production momentum across multiple manufacturers with steady shipments and new releases in pipeline. Tone is upbeat and forward-looking. No major controversies or negative issues reported. Some cautious language around JJP next title (NDA) and speculation about timing.

Transcript

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Happy Friday everyone! Today, Stern Pinball finally showed us a glimpse of its newest machine, James Bond, on the assembly line. Stern's regular Factory Friday video showed them cranking out tons of James Bond Pros. In addition to machines flying out the door, the code on James Bond continues to progress. On Tuesday, Stern launched Code version 0.84 for the game. It included several new modes, but no multiball stacking yet. Stern is hoping to enable multi-balls to be stacked with modes in its next update. See below for pics & video of Bonds being produced. In addition to James Bond, Jack Danger's Deadflip Facebook page shared a picture of the Jurassic Park Home Edition that he designed being produced at Stern this week (see below). In other production news, Pinball Brothers' continues to slowly produce units of its new game Queen. The Queen machines that are being delivered at this point seem to be almost what I would call Beta machines that Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers are using to perfect their production techniques for the game. Below are pictures of a just delivered Queen machine that is appearing on location in Germany at a place called Multiball - Kicker Flipper Dart und Billard for the public to play this weekend. Spooky Pinball continues to build the early run of its new Scooby-Doo pinball machine. Fifty-six games are currently in various stages of being built. Typically Spooky produces a batch of early games that it and others play for a couple of weeks to make sure all of the kinks are worked out before the big production push begins. Spooky has specifically stated that it believes the main run of Scooby-Doos will begin to run at a "decent pace" in two to three weeks. Spooky recently confirmed that it is still on track to show more gameplay of the machine in January. Given the fact that today is the 27th, it has to be happening soon :). There is a rumor floating around that Spooky may show more video of it during Saturday night's Pinball Awards on The Pinball Network. If that doesn't happen, look for the company to do a stream of it, possibly on Deadflip's Twitch channel, on Monday or Tuesday. Perhaps both? UPDATE: Several minutes ago Spooky shared a pic of Scooby-Doo surrounded by camera equipment, so it looks like a stream is imminent (pic below). Multimorphic continues to build new P3 machines and Weird Al's Museum of Natural Hilarity modules. There's still a significant backlog for both, however that does not necessarily mean that the Company won't introduce a new game soon. Multimorphic's founder, Gerry Stellenberg recently had the following to say on the subject over on Pinside: "For traditional (single-themed) machines, it usually makes sense to finish shipping previous machine orders before announcing a new title (though some announce prior to that anyway). For a platform machine, it doesn't make any sense. That would deny owners the advantages of a owning platform. Can you imagine Sony or Nintendo having a big backlog for consoles and saying they wouldn't release any new games until they finished shipping all back-ordered consoles? That would punish existing console owners. We're interested in the opposite... ensuring that all P3 owners continue to have access to new games and features regardless of how many people are lined up to get their own P3s (and eventually the exact same loyalty and attention from us). That's not say to we aren't also going to continue increasing our MFG capabilities to keep the build queue reasonable even as interest continues to rise. We are. A 1-year backlog is pretty reasonable in this industry. Many machines from many pinball manufacturers have build queues longer than that. At least with us, you know that up front, and anybody interested can get in the queue now and shrink the time between new game announcements and delivery of their machine. ... and when we show off new games, a lot of people are going to wish they had. Then, when we announce future titles, a new batch of people will be lamenting the wait and wishing they'd already gotten in line today while all of you are enjoying each new game." So it certainly sounds as though we will see a new P3 module in the not so distant future. Dutch Pinball continues to produce Big Lebowski machines at a steady pace. Earlier this week, a Facebook page called Pinballdreams Belgium shared pictures of Dutch Pinball's factory (see below). Dutch still has quite a few Lebowskis to produce. They have stated that they have a "(very) great desire" to finish production of the outstanding Early Achiever Lebowski games in 2023. I'm hearing rumblings about a possible next game. Chicago Gaming Company (CGC) continues to ship out Cactus Canyons at a steady pace. A constant flow of customers have been showing off their new Cactus Canyons on Pinside, though I'm sure not as quickly as they or CGC would like. There's talk that CGC's next game, a single-level Pulp Fiction machine designed by Mark Ritchie, may be shown off at the Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) in March. I heard that the game was done a while ago, so as long as Cactus Canyon production continues the launch of the next game should be relatively soon. Jersey Jack Pinball continues to produce Toy Story 4 machines (see pic below). I have to be careful what I say about the next game, but rest assured, it's coming pretty soon. I'm assuming that Haggis Pinball continues to build and ship its Fathom Revisited machines, but I haven't seen many pictures of unboxings lately. Things have been very quiet over at American Pinball as well. I've seen posts that the company continues to ship Legends of Valhalla and Oktoberfest machines, but nothing specific about its rumored next machine, Galactic Tank Force, designed by Dennis Nordman with art by Christopher Franchi. One would think that the game will be also shown off at TPF. That should be about everyone. If I missed anybody, let me know. Have a great weekend! Stern Pinball: Pinball Brothers: Jersey Jack Pinball: Dutch Pinball: Spooky Pinball: