The Pinball Show Correspondents - August 9, 2021

The Pinball Show·podcast_episode·5m 19s·analyzed·Aug 9, 2021

Analysis

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TL;DR

Steve Ritchie joins JJP, Spooky reveals Halloween/Ultraman, Lyman Sheets rumored at CGC

Summary

The Pinball Show reports on major industry moves in August 2021: Steve Ritchie joins Jersey Jack Pinball alongside Pat Lawlor and Eric Menyer; Spooky Pinball streams Halloween and Ultraman gameplay revealing rules and assets; Haggis Pinball provides manufacturing update on Fathom production; speculation emerges about Lyman Sheets potentially contracting with Chicago Gaming Company to work on Pulp Fiction and other projects.

Key Claims

Steve Ritchie has joined Jersey Jack Pinball after departing Stern
high confidence · Ken Rudberg reports on official JJP announcement and posted video of Ritchie's first day
Pat Lawlor and Steve Ritchie collaborated on some of the greatest games in pinball history at Bally Williams
high confidence · Pat Lawlor quote from JJP press release confirming prior collaboration and excitement to work together again
Rumors exist that Pat Lawlor and Steve Ritchie don't get along
medium confidence · Ken Rudberg mentions rumors but both designers publicly deny tension via JJP press release quotes
Spooky Pinball streamed Halloween and Ultraman gameplay via Jack Danger on Deadflip Facebook
high confidence · Dr. John reports stream was uploaded and featured hosts Bug and Lucas discussing rules
Haggis Pinball's Fathom cabinets are starting to be cut and Celts game finalization is underway
high confidence · Damien released factory update on Haggis Facebook showing production progress
Lyman Sheets is rumored to be leaving Stern and possibly doing contract work for Chicago Gaming Company
medium confidence · Morrison cites rumor that has been circulating and mentions speculation he was finishing Elvira and Cactus Canyon code simultaneously
Mark Ritchie and Lyman Sheets may be working on two games together, one being Pulp Fiction
low confidence · Morrison cites rumor from Canada's Pinball Podcast
Cactus Canyon code has been finished in some capacity
medium confidence · Morrison assesses that production sounds ready to come out soon based on available information

Notable Quotes

“I'm thrilled to be able to work with Steve again. Some of the greatest games in pinball history happened when the two of us worked together and collaborated on a daily basis.”
Pat Lawlor @ N/A — Lawlor publicly addresses and denies rumors of tension with Steve Ritchie, emphasizing their successful prior collaboration
“I'm very excited to begin a new gaming adventure at Jersey Jack Pinball. I have known Jack for more than 30 years and I'm delighted that we will be working together. It's going to be awesome.”
Steve Ritchie @ N/A — Ritchie's official statement on joining JJP, establishing long-standing relationship with Jack Abbas and expressing enthusiasm
“things are looking good, and if you want to know a little bit about the troubles of pinball manufacturing, have a look at the Facebook update, including problems with footpath construction”
Dr. John @ N/A — References Haggis Pinball's operational challenges beyond game design, including infrastructure and supply chain issues
“Could CGC be ramping up to drop two games in a 12-month window?”
Morrison @ N/A — Speculation about Chicago Gaming Company's production capacity and potential release schedule acceleration

Entities

Steve Ritchieperson Jersey Jack Pinballcompany Pat LawlorpersonSpooky PinballcompanyJack Dangerperson Haggis Pinballcompany Chicago Gaming Companycompany

Signals

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community_signal: Spooky Pinball conducting public gameplay streams via Jack Danger on Deadflip to reveal Halloween and Ultraman and address community concerns
high · Dr. John reports stream occurred, noting community feedback (Pinside discussion) and Spooky's plan to add more video assets/callouts
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design_philosophy: Spooky Pinball design team (via Charlie Emery assessment) characterizes Halloween as 'packed' with rules content and gameplay depth
medium · Dr. John reports Charlie Emery's characterization and notes gameplay appears suitable for home players, tournament viability uncertain
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market_signal: Chicago Gaming Company potentially accelerating production capacity with possibility of releasing two games within 12-month window
low · Morrison poses speculative question about CGC ramping up releases; Pulp Fiction rumor combined with Cactus Canyon readiness suggests pipeline acceleration
?
personnel_signal: Lyman Sheets rumored to be departing Stern Pinball for potential contract work with Chicago Gaming Company
medium · Morrison reports rumor and speculates Sheets was finishing Elvira and Cactus Canyon code simultaneously
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personnel_signal: Steve Ritchie leaves Stern Pinball and joins Jersey Jack Pinball, reuniting with legendary designer Pat Lawlor
high · Official JJP announcement with video of first day; both designers provide public quotes confirming move

Topics

Personnel moves and designer migrationprimaryJersey Jack Pinball design team compositionprimarySpooky Pinball game reveals and community receptionprimaryChicago Gaming Company production and pipelineprimaryHaggis Pinball manufacturing progress and delayssecondaryPinball designer rumors and interpersonal dynamicssecondaryGame code development and production timelinessecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.72)— Generally optimistic tone across all segments with excitement about major personnel moves (Ritchie to JJP) and game reveals (Spooky). Minor uncertainty/skepticism about CGC release timing and Lyman Sheets rumors. Manufacturing challenges noted for Haggis but presented as expected industry friction.

Transcript

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The Pinball Network is online. Launching The Pinball Show. Pinball is a game of skill. For some, it's a passion and a lifestyle. It's time for The Pinball Show. It's pinball with personality. It's time for TPN Industry News. Hi, this is Ken Rudberg with your Jersey Jack update. It's been a busy week for Jersey Jack after Monday's blockbuster announcement that one of Pinball's most loved designers has come on board. Steve Ritchie is now with Jersey Jack Pinball and back in the company of another iconic designer, Pat Lawler. Eric Meunier, the relative newcomer to pinball design and designer of Jersey Jack's most recent offering, Guns N' Roses, rounds out the design team. Jersey Jack posted an exciting, if somewhat awkward, video of Steve coming through the company's front doors on his first day of work There some questions regarding how excited Pat and Steve are to be working together again as there are rumors that they just don get along Steve and Pat worked together back in the Bally Williams days, and for his part, Pat tried to put these rumors to rest with a quote from Jersey Jack's recent press release. Quote, I'm thrilled to be able to work with Steve again. Some of the greatest games in pinball history happened when the two of us worked together and collaborated on a daily basis. End quote. Steve sounds excited as well, saying, quote, I'm very excited to begin a new gaming adventure at Jersey Jack Pinball. I have known Jack for more than 30 years and I'm delighted that we will be working together. It's going to be awesome. End quote. Now that Steve has settled in after his first week, I'm sure the hard work is about to begin. For the Pinball Show, this has been Ken Rudberg. Hi and welcome to this week's SHIT Update with Dr. John on the Pinball Show. So this week it's all about Jack Danger's stream revealing Halloween and Ultraman gameplay from Spooky HQ in Benton, Wisconsin. The stream has been uploaded to the Deadflip Facebook page for those who missed the live stream but a number of hours of gameplay in depth was shown by Jack on both games with hosts Bug and Lucas going through the rules Generally, everything was accepted well in Pinside, well as well as can be expected, with more video assets and callouts to be added to Halloween in particular to keep people calm in the future. I'll be interested to hear Zach and Dennis' opinion of gameplay and rules, but for a spooky game, it does seem packed, as Charlie suggested, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Whether it stands the test of time for tournaments or not, we'll wait and see, but for those who purchased it, I think they'll all be happy after having watched the stream. And on the Haggis front, Damien has just released an update on his Haggis Facebook page with a factory tour, letting people know where he's at in the Fathom build progress. Cabinets are starting to be cut as at tomorrow, and the finalisation of the Celts games are underway. Things are looking good, and if you want to know a little bit about the troubles of pinball manufacturing, have a look at the Facebook update, including problems with footpath construction. You'll know more once you've seen that. And that's it for this week. Check out the Deadflip Facebook page for the stream and see what you think of Spooky latest update Catch you all next week I'm Morrison here with your Chicago Gaming Company update for the week. A lot has been happening in the world of pinball since our last update with Steve Ritchie leaving Stern, also rumors of Lyman Sheets leaving, and possibly doing contract work for CGC. The rumor that Lyman was going to CGC has been around for some time. Is it possible that Lyman was finishing Elvira and finishing Code on Cactus Canyon at the same time? Also recently rumored on Canada's Pinball Podcast was that Mark Ritchie and Lyman may be working on two games together, one being the long-speculated Pulp Fiction. We'll have to wait and see on those. As far as Cactus Canyon recap news, it's starting to sound like the Code has been finished in some capacity. The topper is some type of shooting gallery. I'm hoping a Hogan's Alley, Wild Gunman type situation. It certainly feels like this thing is ready to come out any time now. Could CGC be ramping up to drop two games in a 12-month window? Well, I guess only time will tell. Back to you guys.