I agree about the huge LCD in the back box. It may look pretty cool when the game is on, but when its off its going to have nothing to look at. I do think its time though for the dot matrix to go and be replaced with a small LCD screen like you said.

Maybe Cointaker will offer an aftermarket shade we can pull down with a variety of Oz scene choices?

This pin's gonna have to work really hard to win me over with that theme. It looks great, but I just can't do it.

JJP might be trying to reach a broader market, but I think he's also alienating a good portion of his core pinhead market with this theme.

You know when I look at my DMD games the DMD is blank when it's off. I mean there is absolutely nothing to see on it.

...and that's fine, because there's plenty of room for artwork above the DMD. Actually I think CV had the best approach: full backglass with the DMD near the playfield, where the player could see it without looking up.

I threw down in Feb. 2011, and after the last update and today's light show, I know I made the right choice. WOZ is going to be a gamechanger.

If Stern takes another 5 minutes of my time on the pictures are coming front, I may shift Stern Bucks to JJack....

Why would you be looking at the machine when its off? Typically when the machines are off its because it's time to go home and they want you to leave

You are correct. That article said Dec 2011 and preorders were open until March 2011. Jack extended both of those deadlines. He extended preorders thru June 11 and said he would start production March 12. He has a production line running, just nothing shipped yet. I think the ECLE's will all be delivered before Christmas 2012. He is a little behind his first dates but not enough to worry, especially since we can see what has been done. Jack is not actually showing his entire hand, he has even said that.

Really, the knock is now in how the game looks when it is off? How does it sound when it is off? How does it play when it is off? Really?

Gameplay transcends theme IMO.

We shall see.

I wish the game would release so we can stop speculating. Exciting times

I really tried to get my kids enthused about SM, but they have no interest. I have also brought them to the local arcade to try TF and AC/DC. They wouldn't play either, but enjoyed laughing at the "ugly man who looks like a girl" on the playfield of AC/DC.

I am hopeful they will enjoy WOZ since they both love the movie, but who knows.

I really tried to get my kids enthused about SM,
Ages 7 and 4 and they love both.

photo.jpg

I don't mind they have taken longer. Right theme and I would have waited. I am waiting a long time for BHZA. I think for the folks that are OK with the theme the wait was well worth it. That machine is amazing. Its a theme issue for me. And the theme is really taken to the extreme in every way so I can't get past it.

I think that anyone who has bought a NIB and found it to be rushed or with incomplete code can appreciate that sometimes a bit of extra wait can be worth it.

I have to disagree a bit here. Gameplay is most important, yes, but it can never completely transcend the theme in my opinion. They are too interrelated.

I find it refreshing that it doesn't include any of those things. We've seen enough of those elements in pinball. I wasn't crazy about the theme, but now that I've seen how well it's integrated into the game, I think it's brilliant.

No

After seeing what they are offering, it is even more remote that I would commit to purchase based on the theme and audio. This pin requires some real life play time to be considered as a new addition to my collection. It is hard for be to believe that so many have bought prior to release It's almost like JJP is the Pied-Piper of pinball leading so many blindly to commit.

I can understand buying a pin without having played it based upon reviews of others'. But to fork over thousands on a product that hasn't been played by anyone just seems like a huge gamble to me.

I'm sure it will be kick ass etc., but i'd wait.

I think the machine looks nice, just not my cup of tea when it comes to theme. I won't say I'm not a fan of the music considering it is WoZ. I think the music is fairly well done, but I wouldn't want to listen to it outside of playing the game.

I actually like the LCD, at least based on the little that we've seen so far. I grew up playing video games so I don't mind it as much, but who knows once I see it in person.

I do like what Jack is doing and giving a demo at E3, it's going to let a lot of people see the game that otherwise would have no idea it even exists, or that pinball machines are still being manufactured.

With how fast this site moves, this is a quite a delayed reply, but...

I agree, I think the LCD is a major step forward, but it's not perfected. Right now to me it just looks like a someone cut a whole in the backglass and attached a TV. I would love to see this customized a bit more in the future, maybe an aspect ratio similar to the the classic DMD display. Although the real fun will be seeing how the LCD is incorporated into the gameplay. This should, if nothing else, be a game changer for "video mode".

Welcome to the merry old land of Oz!

Jim ECLE #825

I really want to put in a preorder on one of these, but being relatively new to the hobby I haven't established a big enough pinball bankroll yet.

Anyone need a brilliant hardware/software engineer for something worth about 7 grand?

I ordered June 11 2011 - I feel like the game will never show up. JJ has lost a great deal of credibility on delivery because milestone after milestone has been missed. However, that being said the game does look amazing and I am happy to have my machine reserved.

There sure is alot of us.

I actually agree with both of these posts to some extent. I prefer the former (except the super hero crap), but the theme is well integrated. While the theme might have an overall appeal to the general public, that is not the demographic of pinball. It is mainly men probably 25-50. Get a theme for that demo and the next pin JJP machine would kill the sales of WOZ(IMHO).

I agree, the theme does nothing for me and the music is the nail in the coffin. I am very much looking forward to what title #2 and #3 will be, as it looks like a very impressive product. Having said that, I'm tired of the super hero themes as well. I'm not against them, but surely the super hero fans have had more than their fair share of games to pick from in recent years. I'm ready for a spooky title that isn't 15+ years old!

Me too. Part of pinball for some is the Art aspect. And some backglasses are works of art.
I like having my machines on in the evenings so the back glass is lit.

Wish JJP would have went with a smaller DMD size LCD and a bigger back glass. But I undertand they are trying to capture the video game aspect of todays new players.

jarjar,
I put in in Feb of 2011 with the hope and faith it would all come together. As we are seeing now we are close to the end and it has been a jorney.
But I think we all knew that from the beginning it would not be a smooth short ride down to the conveinace store, but a long bumpy ride through the woods. No matter how the ride, its the destination thats the reward, and we are almost there.

Some here may call me stupid but I also have the faith and hope for BHZA. If you think that having faith in someone with a vision is a bad thing, then please dont bother the people who are willing to wait there time and go through the trenches to experiance something new.
Keep Stern in business.

I just don't care so much about themes. If I really did there would be few and far between games I would be interested. Circuses? BSD!? White Water rafting? I don't know, B/W themes are pretty boring but there are some really great games.

Not sure what prompted this message, but...

1. I have had a WOZ on order for about a year now and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival.

2. I am a part of "Team Heck" which is working with John Popadiuk on the BHZA project.

3. Yes, I own 3 Sterns. They're great games. I love pinball and don't care who makes them. Just as long as they're fun!

So...

I'm not sure what you're getting at. I guess what I said was misconstrued as a slight at JJP somehow... Who knows? Just have fun playing pinball!

Jason

Im not knocking the game. I think Jack has built a high quality machine by looking at the amount of detail that can be seen in the pictures. All I am trying to say is that I dont care for the look of the head with a big LCD screen stuck in it. Most home owners that have a pinball in their house dont have their pinball machines on all the time. Even when the machines are off, they still are nice to look at , and from a distance, the art work on the head is one of the first thing people notice on a machine.

I think it looks to be an amazing pin. I'd rather listen to the soundtrack on WOZ than listen to 'For those about to rock' over and over and over... The WOZ is going to be something special because there is a lot of heart in the design, maybe Stern will pick up the pace a little because other than Tron (which I really like), their last few games haven't exactly set my world on fire.

No...looks crowded and slow...and I didn't get one cheap, like the first buyers.

Robert

at $6500 for the first buyers i wouldn't consider that cheap. i guess if you compare it to sterns new X-Men at $7999 MSRP (on stern's website) then i guess it would be cheap, but at that price tag i am out for sure. i can pick up my TAF and TZ for almost as much as X-men and get to have twice as much fun.

Now that I have seen X-Men I would say I am more inclined to get one. It looks like nothing new from Stern (not that I hate it) but I want to see something different and new. I think WOZ has that. But like others have said, I just can't put that kind of money down of something I have never tried.

The mirrored backglass still looks pretty classy IMO and in general if I am looking or showing someone a pin I turn the game on, just saying.

Who would with any pin?!! LOL Besides the obvious music theme pins that is.

Well, now that I've been able to see the HD videos of silent ball movement on WOZ I like it much better than XMen (cancelled by deposit on LE.. wonderful cabinet artwork just didn't transfer to pf/oversized cheap looking toys/cluttered LE layout)
It does look fresh/lighting/artwork are great... like others not sure about theme..
Fortunately, regular WOZ is same feature packed pf so you don't' have to order LE.

The latest update obviously caused a couple more sales in the UK because Pinball Heaven have sold the last 2 ECLEWOZ.

I put done near the end of March 2011. There has been a lot of waiting but always felt like I was updated on the progress and there have been a lot of good surprises along the way.

I still don't get the LCD comments. I like where it is at. From looking at the videos (and the latest from E3), I think it's really cool how the display is split into fourths at certain points to show what objects are needed to be met. I understand people like the artwork of a backglass especially when a game is off. For me the LCD was one of the major reasons I preordered.

No. Next theme not named the Hobbitt, please.

+1

Exactly!

Robert

Hello
There will be an optional cover you can purchase that will allow you to slide a JJP licensed artwork to cover over the lcd area when the machine is off or when you want to take pics and show the pin when power is off. You can "glam" the backbox up that way. It will stand out! even when power is off.
Buddy

That would really make it look alot nicer when the machine is not powered up. Im sure the LCD is a cool feature to the game play, its just going to take a little of time for me to get use to it being there.