Pinball Brothers details new Ripley version, Queen updates, and hints at third game.
Summary
Erika interviews Rudy from Pinball Brothers about the new Ripley version of their Alien pinball machine, which adds Ripley as a playable character with 33 new video clips integrated into gameplay. They discuss the design philosophy of covering both Alien and Aliens films, upcoming Queen machine updates including new backglass designs, Easter eggs, code balancing challenges, and tease a third game announcement coming at TWIP. The Ripley version is positioned as the final iteration before discontinuing the Standard Version, with the Limited Edition (1,000 units) nearly sold out.
Key Claims
The Ripley version features 33 new takes on video clips with Ripley appearing throughout gameplay and cabinet art
high confidence · Rudy states '33 new takes on on those video clips and it's all embedded in the gameplay'
Alien covers two complete movies (Alien and Aliens) with players able to choose which movie to play
high confidence · Rudy: 'we cover two movies it's like Alien and Aliens so that's two whole movies in a franchise'
The Ripley version will be the last addendum to Alien; Standard Version is being discontinued
high confidence · Rudy: 'we are discontinuing the Standard Version and the Ripley version is just the last addendum'
Limited Edition Alien machines are nearly sold out at 1,000 units
high confidence · Rudy confirms 1,000 Limited Edition units with 'in the last numbers of the limitations'
Queen machine has eight chapters of Bohemian Rhapsody as separate modes, not a single song
high confidence · Rudy: 'it turns out that it's not one song it's like chapters like eight chapters and and there's whole modes'
A third Pinball Brothers game will be announced at TWIP (not before)
high confidence · Rudy: 'I don't think it'll be before TWIP' regarding the third game announcement
Leo Teller of The Art of Pinball created the new Ripley topper with integrated light show gameplay
high confidence · Rudy details Leo Teller's work on topper and hand-painted Xenomorph/monitor sculpts
Alien upgrades are available for existing Standard and Limited Edition owners
high confidence · Rudy confirms owners can 'upgrade it and have it on any of your Alien machines'
Eric Lawson (original translites/artwork) and Kelly Mazeroski (video integration) returned for Ripley version
high confidence · Rudy: 'we brought back like um Eric Lawson' and 'Kelly Mazeroski uh he's great to to work with'
Notable Quotes
“it's a perspective change because um usually um we aimed at Ripley being the um the player so Ripley wasn't really in the game and now that she's in the game and she's all in in all the clips”
Rudy (Pinball Brothers) @ ~3:00 — Core design philosophy explaining why Ripley addition was meaningful — shifts from player POV to character presence
“the famous line in there yes it is I I won't repeat it here but everybody knows what it is”
Rudy @ ~4:30 — Confirmation of iconic Alien quote ('Get away from her, you bitch') integration in Ripley clips
“we cover two movies it's like Alien and Aliens so that's two whole movies in a franchise and I think that's really great because um it doesn't really pose a problem from the from the characters”
Rudy @ ~5:30 — Unique design differentiator: dual-movie ruleset avoids character contradiction issues in multi-film IP
“this brings something else to the table yeah having a totally different um you guys have a totally different factory then because it's definitely not Chicago where there seems to be a handful of them so we talk about Italy”
Rudy @ ~9:00 — Pinball Brothers positioned as European manufacturer with Italian factory as competitive differentiator vs American model
“I see three generations of people in front of that machine and they're all having that that very special fun that you can only have I mean from from the the soundtrack is uh great it's iconic of course but also the gameplay”
Rudy @ ~28:00 — Queen's multi-generational appeal attributed to licensing quality and accessible gameplay design
“we are discontinuing the Standard Version and the Ripley version is just the last addendum to the to the to the mix but that's sort of it the the Limited Edition the Limited Edition is always going to be the Limited Edition”
Rudy @ ~36:00 — Clarifies product roadmap: Ripley as final Standard iteration; Limited Edition maintains separate tier indefinitely
“I remember when we started this uh people said well um a European machine and a thousand is not really a limitation but it turns out it is a limitation”
community_signal: Easter egg strategy includes designer personalization (Joe Scher's cat in Jonesy meow code) and hidden features (Queen party mode) for varied skill levels
medium · Rudy describes Jonesy cat Easter egg and Queen party mode for 'younger players for example who want to get into the game'
?
design_philosophy: Pinball Brothers adds character presence (Ripley) based on extended licensing negotiation win, not direct fan demand; design-driven IP expansion
medium · Rudy: 'I don't think it really works that way for us it was um we we always had the feeling that it wasn't in the cards um but um now that we uh did a an extension of the of the uh license uh we we just thought well why not'
?
licensing_signal: Queen licensing strategy leverages ongoing cultural relevance: active tours, IMAX re-release of Rock Montreal concert (mid-January), stadium fill-capacity shows
high · Rudy details Queen touring relevance: 'they are actually right now for mid-January they are proposing tours at the at the IMAX'
high · Rudy: 'in the last numbers of the limitations' and recounts industry skepticism that 1,000 units wouldn't be limiting
?
personnel_signal: Original Alien creative team (Eric Lawson, Kelly Mazeroski, Joe Scher) retained for Ripley version update; demonstrates commitment to continuity and quality
Topics
Ripley Version Product StrategyprimaryDual-Film Ruleset Design (Alien + Aliens)primaryVideo Integration and Clip ProductionprimaryLimited Edition Scarcity and Product TierssecondaryEuropean Manufacturing DifferentiationsecondaryQueen Machine Updates and LicensingsecondaryCode Balancing and Post-Launch UpdatessecondaryPinball Industry Licensing Strategymentioned
Sentiment
positive(0.82)— Enthusiastic discussion of Ripley addition, strong product differentiation positioning, celebration of sold-out Limited Edition status, collaborative team pride, and fan reception. Minor challenges discussed (COVID impact on Queen launch, code balancing iterations) presented as overcome obstacles rather than ongoing problems.
Transcript
youtube_auto_sub · $0.000
and I think uh I think we're live not live but live do that oh I'm not [Music] ready what's up everybody in this episode I got a chance to interview one of the team members from the pinball Brothers company now pinball Brothers is a pinball company based in Sweden fun fact I'm half Swedish I hope you really enjoy what we got to talk about a lot about new Ripley a little bit about Queen and without further Ado I'll just let us dive in hey R how's it going hey I'm I'm fine I'm a bit tired but everything's fine it's in the evening here yeah no it's pretty uh the early morning here for me too so thank you so much for um taking the time here to talk to me about um pinball brothers so um yeah this is really exciting for me um I enjoy playing your games right now you have two games you have alien and queen I'd love to talk about them um I have some questions for you here so with this new Ripley version is there anything new and unique that you feel like it brings into the pinball World well I think people are aware of the uh previous versions like we had a standard version and then we did a limited and The Limited was sort of like it uh it glowed blue in the dark and it got a whole new feel to it and now um with the Ripley version what is really new is uh it's a perspective change I would say because um usually um we aimed at Ripley being the um the player so Ripley wasn't really in the game and now that she's in the game and she's all in in all the clips and on the on the cabinet art as well um you're sort of um it it brings what what has always been lacking from it if you believe the like the fans they always missed her and they always wanted her and now they they can have her yeah now they have her no it's sweet no I saw the new design it looks really awesome it's great to see her on the cabinet too on the whole side there it's it's awesome also in the in the video clips I mean it's a 30 three new takes on on those video clips and it's all embedded in the gaml and so of course people have been asking like is the famous line in there yes it is I I won't repeat it here but everybody knows what it is and so so it's just awesome sweet yeah so people can upgrade so people that already own an alien machine can they update it and they'll get those Ripley Clips as well or yes that's the the the great thing that uh we um wanted to to cater to the SV and the LV owners as well of course awesome well great so you guys here to hear you know you can upgrade it and have it on any of your alien machines yes my I guess the next question would be like what do you think sets alien apart from some of the other pinball machines that are out there yeah um it's definitely that I don't really know if it's if it's been done so much in pinball machines but um we cover two movies it's like alien and Aliens so that's two whole movies in a franchise and I think that's really great because um it doesn't really pose a problem from the from the characters because most of those of course in the second movie new characters are introduced but the the main characters there and and she's fighting the battle once again and so there's no there's no contradiction there and it all works so you step to the machine and you can choose if you want to play the first movie or if you want to play the second movie and then you have all those missions in the game play there according yeah that's awesome because then you get a chance to play a little bit there's more Adventures then that you basically have like yeah exactly and and of course all of this is um it's always integrated into the game playay and so you'll have if you if you go on a mission from the first movie uh you you get those clips and if you go on a mission from the second movie like save n or find the cat or things like that you you'll get those clips in there yeah so it's a little bit of a different game each time in a way well it's always with pinball I feel like it's always a different game right because you never get the same play with the with the ball like you're never gonna follow that same trajectory every time um but it's great to have multiple experiences I also I love picking modes I think it's great when you can extra modes to pick from and gives it the chance for the game to feel like the depth is really there does the rule sets does it change a bit when you choose a different movie or yes of course I mean it's it's different missions I mean you can there are games that you'll um you'll just aim for whatever you would love most like you do the orbits or you do this one particular Target or you're trying to lock in for a multiball uh and and all of this like the objective changes and then you uh ramp up to to get the big ones the big goals nice yeah and so when it comes to um this new Ripley when it comes to this new Ripley version how do you feel that it will appeal to um pinball enthusiasts and new Pinball hobbyists it's really crazy when when we were at Expo and we showed it off for the first time um I had a lot of people come up to the machine play it and then said well okay this feels different this feels different from any other pinball machine that I've played and I I really think that's part of our strategy like we're pinball Brothers we're from Europe we're from Sweden and we make machines in Italy and um there is a sort of a an American way of doing it and I think these um machines with themes and with the um execution is quite a European way of doing it and and so this brings something else to the table yeah having a totally different um you guys have a totally different Factory then because it's definitely not Chicago where there seems to be a handful of them so we talk about Italy so it's like seems like a collaborative process which is you guys have with this game can you tell me a little bit about what like collaborating with all sorts of different entities and companies and it seems you have a new topper that came out oh yes collab that's that's really crazy that's been that's been developed right now it's in in the last steps of devel velopment um that that toer has been made by leor the art of pinball uh I think he's pretty well known in the industry and uh he he does all crazy stuff like he did a few of the sculpts in the Ripley version which are part of the Ripley version when you buy it from uh from scratch there's a there's a Zeno sculpt which is hand painted and there's a a monitor which is hand sculpted and hand painted so all of these and and an apron as well uh really great stuff and and then uh you cut to the topper and you think holy what is this so this is it's it's going to be awesome it's going to the the light show is going to be integrated into the game play so in this in the certain modes um it'll do all crazy stuff yeah I saw it at Expo it was really intricate it's got a lot of details to it it's really big too it's not small you're not getting like a little thing put on top of your game you're getting like no yeah it's a big thing yeah we um actually um we when when we were um sort of thinking about a Topper um something that I never it never crossed my mind but people usually have pinball machines in their basements and so half of the Toppers that we would really like to do you can't really do because they are too high up and so it is it is sort of like a an addition to the machine but then of course I mean it's it's usually above your head so you have to you have to be able to to see all that's happening there as well so it's a it's a complicated business with the Toppers I hear some people use them now as um a decoration though if they don't oh yeah they're B too low then they they put them on shelves and they put them on behind their desk you you can do that I mean I would would always advise to get a bunch light light your whole your whole room with it but it's a I think it's a little expensive for a for a lamp yeah just a little bit maybe I don't think I'll be getting it as a lamp but you know if I had an Al machine that topper would look really great on top but I mean the the what what appeals to people is of course that it's um integrating with the gaml and and it actually moves as well a little so yeah it doesn't move away from the pinball machine doesn't walk right off of it Noe but I always love when the topper does it has integration within the game because do that extra like I don't know how to explain but like that fourth wall almost even like you get that other feeling from from behind the glass you have something else interacting with you and yeah people around you as well if they're playing if you're playing you know out in the wild or in someone's home that has it you know that's a chance for everybody to get to enjoy a little bit something and it's hard when you don't have you know streamers streaming the game and looking at the bottom and seeing the top so at least you know people something extra to look at oh you're still here that's really exciting thank you so much um I worked pretty hard on this video and it was really fun to make with Rudy and uh yeah just wanted to say thanks in terms of design and Technology what you're like what um aspects of alien are you most proud of oh yeah I don't I don't really um know how to answer that best but um this project has been going on quite a long time and uh we are still when we did the Ripley version uh we U brought back like um oric Lawson who did the original two translites and the all the all the artwork on the on the Standard Version and on The Limited version so we have that covered and uh the guy who did all the video integration Kelly mazeroski uh he's great to to work with we've we've done a lot of stuff with him and uh he was back to integrate Ripley into the video clips so so we're really um proud of that team still being there yeah no it seems like you got a lot of great people to collaborate with and work with and quite the adventure oh yeah certainly uh with all the new clips in Alien that means do we get maybe a little new Easter eggs or hidden features and it is not a new one it's it's quite an old one I was talking to Joe Scher who did major part of the programming for for the alien uh I was talking to him at Expo and he said um there's a there's a cat in the second movie uh and and you have to find Bob Jonesi and um when you enter your initials to a certain value I don't really know which one now but I can I can follow up on that um the the cats actually start to meow and it's his cat because he has a cat that looks just like the one in the movie oh cute that's a fun one yeah famous little kitty yeah it's Bob Jonesi yes but we do actually we do actually have quite a quite a fun Easter egg uh on the queen machine oh so there's some Easter eggs on there or Easter egg or eggs or no it's a it's it's actually a party mode that you can enable you have to enable it in the settings uh uh and then if you start the game and uh press the right flipper uh you get a fail safe party mode and and you get to to to play for a long time that you wouldn't really like it hits the ball back and stuff like that so like a whole is there a certain songs that go on you pick the song like how does that mode I'm I'm not quite sure I think you can still pick the song uh but it goes on and it gives you back the ball so it's really a good thing for uh for like uh younger players for example who want to get into the game or someone like someone like you absolutely a disaster at the machine yeah I'm not a disaster but I'm not oh I'm sorry I didn't even see you play yeah no it's okay I I'm I would say I'm a decent player I wouldn't say I'm not hitting hundreds of millions of points on games um I couldn't tell you what the last score I got on an alien machine was but um I do know that fun time to play I think there's a little inflation there too I mean the the alien is pretty conservative with the scoring anyway I think yeah no I think your guys are score points is there a way that you guys go about that like with queen and alien would you say that they scores they're scoring and points are in a similar it's it's totally different U especially when you when you realize that um sometimes the games are still in development and and so of course you do the balancing all the time and you you sort of there's lots of developers on that and lots of testers but then sometimes after a while you find out that something doesn't work I mean if you if you get into a a more intricate intricate multiball or something uh doesn't work anymore and then the machine just explodes and so sometimes you have to rectify that yeah even the playing field and whatnot yeah yeah then of course I mean some some people who have gotten a high score they may be disappointed if they up upgrade to a to a different version oh because then they can't get that same High School they're harder to reach when the codes get updated because you got to figure out what's different right how how often would you say you guys update your code well it's uh there's always busy schedules and then there's times where things are mellow again of course right now we're in the big big um Rippy code um phase and with Queen uh it took us quite a while to reach 1.0 but then um people were always wondering why they couldn't play the Bohemian raps city as a song and now it turns out that it's not one song it's like chapters like eight chapters and and there's whole modes that weren't there before so that's a really uh cool thing to go through now and and so after that we sort of put it to rest and then sometimes it's just a phase of back Buck fixes and stuff yeah so with Queen you guys have now also a new backlash class right I heard that there's yeah that's different is it like a different addition I'm sorry no it's no it's not we first of all we have a the the second edition we we started with the rap city with the limited and now we have the uh the standard one as well the Champions Edition uh but then we started to do some more alternate like designs and stuff uh which is not the the backglass we showed at Expo that's not fully approved yet but we're in the middle of that and we we're going to present some more designs on that early next year okay sweet so we get a newer design it might not be exactly but it's kind of get it close yes sweet cool so then you guys are you guys are working on these negotiations getting all the things running and going um yeah and so when it comes to more about Queen let me see I I've only played it um like twice once at another show that was actually the week before Expo and then at Expo I got a chance to play it a little bit um is there anything that you'd love for people to know that's changed with the game or that's within the game that maybe a lot of people don't know or aren't uh able to get just yet well I I think we with with queen I'm so sort of a little disappointed that it had such a rough start because of covid and and of that launching stuff and now that it's getting out there people are really getting to know the value of of it as a for example it's a it's a family machine I I see three generations of people in front of that machine and they're all having that that very special fund that you can only have I mean from from the the soundtrack is uh great it's iconic of course but also the game play it's it's really there's there's special uh different um objectives really to to get and so everyone's having fun with it yeah this is this is what what you're seeing at Expo for example when you really have a line of people and and then you sort of actually get the idea why are we doing this yeah definitely I mean I I love that Queen is like uh like I know of Queen from my my father right and he listened to it and it's just such an iconic they're an iconic band like it's the just this licensing alone I really applaud you guys for getting I can imagine how tough it is to get a licensing like this yeah thank yeah but I mean the it is one thing to have an iconic license but it's also like the things are still relevant right now I mean queen for example uh one of the concerts was Rock Montreal one of the concerts we used for the for the live clips and uh they are actually right now for Mid of January they are proposing tours at the at the IMAX and they'll view this this iconic concert again via IMAX and so this is this is happening now and they're still on tour and they are filling stadiums and stuff so it's crazy yeah it must be so do you feel like when as they're still on tour and things like that do you think like alien got some new clips could you see in the future Queen getting some new clips or well we'll we'll have to do a deep think on that because probably that would mean changing gameplay and stuff as well uh with with Ripley it was it was sort of like um that was something that was demanded from the from the crowd anyway for a long time and and of course I mean alien is just as relevant right now I mean they they are doing more um TV shows and there's a new movie being made so all of this we don't really know where it's all going not right now yeah for sure that makes makes sense you know we gota just you'll just f it out I guess and it's great to know that you guys take the feedback though from you know from the players knowing that they wanted to see Ripley so I know maybe this is going a little bit back to the new Ripley game you you decided to make this new Ripley version was it because of the fan base because people wanted to see more Ripley is that one of the big pushes or how no I I don't think it really works that way for us it was um we we always had the feeling that it wasn't in the cards um but um now that we uh did a an extension of the of the uh license uh we we just thought well why not go for it why not go for all and and so we pursued it and we got it that's awesome well congratulations now she looks great on there it's really great great to see riy on the game and I'm sure a lot of players are going to be really happy to see that version and we have so you have like three versions basically of aliens yeah well it's it's like people are always confusing this because they sort of thought okay if you have a rip version that has to be this super limited super exclusive stuff that uh has has has no top to it but um it's really like we are discontinuing the Standard Version and the Ripley version is just the last addendum to the to the to the mix but that's sort of it the the L The Limited version is always going to be the limited version and so of course that is at a different price range and it's also has stuff that the others won't have uh but it's um in the last numbers of the limitations so we're sort of selling the last of them oh wow so you're how many how many limited editions you guys have you guys have only you're set to that's a thousand thousand yeah yes so oh and you're running you're almost out of your limited edition that's awesome congratulations thank you that's always a good feeling when you can sell out of your limited editions I'm sure sure yeah yeah I remember I remember when we started this uh people said well um a European machine and a thousand is not really a limitation but it turns out it is a limitation yeah I mean Pinball's very Niche like um I I say you know a thousand machines like that's yeah that's that really is a limit well it's been a really great pleasure getting to talk to you Rudy about all this pinball brother stuff new Ripley Queen um really appreciate the time you've taken to talk with me about this and knowing me Being Ned into pinball just kind of like hey what's this and what's that I really appreciate you um being able to answer my questions and looking forward to I hear you guys might have a third game coming and yeah well I I don't think it'll be before tvf okay so but we'll we'll have to wait till tpf in order to hear more news right on well you guys heard it here um gota wait till tpf to hear some more pinball Brothers news um well thank you again so much Rudy and it was a pleasure getting the chat with you it was a pleasure for me too thank you okay bye bye if you're interested in buying a pinball Brothers pinball machine pinball brothers.com has their Distributors listed they also offer the Ripley version directly so if you don't have a distributor nearby be sure to reach out and you can check out PB usas sales.com and in the shop they have all their parts thanks so much for watching I hope you enjoyed this episode feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments below and I'll catch you on the flip side and without a du the mic where's Rachel if you like the sweater I got it from Forever the it's super comfortable and I got little balloon animal dogs on here and I love that I wonder if anyone's going to be able to tell that I actually never watched the Alien movies nah nobody watches this far in credits anyway
Queen machine has a hidden party mode accessible through settings and right flipper button for casual/younger players
high confidence · Rudy describes Queen Easter egg: 'press the right flipper uh you get a failsafe party mode'
Rudy @ ~38:30 — Validates 1,000-unit LE strategy for niche pinball market despite skepticism at launch
“one of the concerts was Rock Montreal one of the concerts we used for the for the live clips and uh they are actually right now for mid-January they are proposing tours at the at the IMAX”
Rudy @ ~27:00 — Queen licensing strategy tied to ongoing cultural relevance and active touring/IMAX re-releases
“the guy who did all the video integration Kelly Mazeroski uh he's great to to work with we've we've done a lot of stuff with him and uh he was back to integrate Ripley into the video clips”
Rudy @ ~20:00 — Long-term technical partnerships crucial to quality video integration across Pinball Brothers product line
“there's a cat in the second movie uh and and you have to find Jonesy and um when you enter your initials to a certain value the the cats actually start to meow and it's his cat because he has a cat that looks just like the one in the movie”
Rudy @ ~21:30 — Hidden Easter egg detail reveals designer (Joe Scher) personalization in game code — fan engagement strategy
high · Rudy: 'we brought back like um Eric Lawson' and discusses Kelly Mazeroski and Joe Scher's involvement
?
announcement: Official reveal of Ripley version as final Standard Edition variant with 33 new video clips and character presence throughout gameplay
high · Rudy explicitly details Ripley features, clip count, and discontinuation timeline; shown at Pinball Expo; upgrade path available for existing owners
?
product_strategy: Pinball Brothers positioning European/Italian manufacturing and dual-movie ruleset as competitive differentiators vs American pinball philosophy
high · Rudy: 'there is a sort of an American way of doing it and I think these um machines with themes and with the um execution is quite a European way'
?
product_strategy: Queen machine receiving new backglass design variants in development beyond Bohemian Rhapsody/Champions editions; designs not fully approved yet
medium · Rudy: 'we started to do some more alternate like designs and stuff uh which is not the the backglass we showed at Expo that's not fully approved yet'
medium · Rudy: 'sometimes after a while you find out that something doesn't work I mean if you if you get into a a more intricate multiball or something uh doesn't work anymore and then the machine just explodes'
?
product_strategy: Third Pinball Brothers game announcement planned for TWIP event; no pre-announcement; timeline uncertain
high · Rudy: 'I don't think it'll be before TWIP' regarding third game news