Friday, August 06, 2004
Link: Documentary, "The Future of Pinball"
Link to documentary's home page
I'm a big pinball nut, or at least I would be if I had the chance to play (there seem to be no machines remaining in Statesboro). Pinball suffered a great blow when Williams, the biggest pinball manufacturer in the world, suddenly left the business. Strangely, they got out less than a year after releasing the revolutionary Pinball 2000 system, which was quite profitable right out of the gate with only two released, Revenge from Mars and Star Wars: Episode 1 (both games I've played and enjoyed). Yet ten months later their entire pinball staff was disbanded, including Pat Lawlor, the most successful pinball designer of all time, creator or Funhouse, Addams Family Pinball and Twilight Zone. Many of their engineers went over to Stern Pinball, the only major manufacturer left, or Pat Lawlor's new company, which creates games for Stern.
The documentary is the story of the creation of Pinball 2000 and its success, and its rapid demise at the hands of WMS Industries management, and is due out sometime in the remainder of this year. And I, for one, can't wait to see it.
In other news....
- Still looking for a job. Oy.
- After almost twenty years of on-again, off-again play, I have finally won a game of Rogue! I'm still a bit light-headed from the accomplishment.
Link to documentary's home page
I'm a big pinball nut, or at least I would be if I had the chance to play (there seem to be no machines remaining in Statesboro). Pinball suffered a great blow when Williams, the biggest pinball manufacturer in the world, suddenly left the business. Strangely, they got out less than a year after releasing the revolutionary Pinball 2000 system, which was quite profitable right out of the gate with only two released, Revenge from Mars and Star Wars: Episode 1 (both games I've played and enjoyed). Yet ten months later their entire pinball staff was disbanded, including Pat Lawlor, the most successful pinball designer of all time, creator or Funhouse, Addams Family Pinball and Twilight Zone. Many of their engineers went over to Stern Pinball, the only major manufacturer left, or Pat Lawlor's new company, which creates games for Stern.
The documentary is the story of the creation of Pinball 2000 and its success, and its rapid demise at the hands of WMS Industries management, and is due out sometime in the remainder of this year. And I, for one, can't wait to see it.
In other news....
- Still looking for a job. Oy.
- After almost twenty years of on-again, off-again play, I have finally won a game of Rogue! I'm still a bit light-headed from the accomplishment.
