10 years ago I made a unique Bond game to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Thankfully, virtual pinball has evolved immeasurably since I made this game, so now I can go back and update it for the 60th anniversary.

Might give you an idea of what Stern will come up with, if they go all-in with the license (to thrill)...

Connery is the best Bond, but Roger Moore's movies are more fun and better suited to a pinball experience. Hard as hell though, squeezing all the bonds, all the villains and all the music into a single pinball experience.

This may be the start of a Bond series... which would make perfect sense.

Bond women? When has it ever been Bond women? It's Bond girls, always has been. PC raising it's ugly head again.

I'm pretty sure Stern are planning a Roger Moore Bond as a follow up (providing sales targets are hit... and surpassed). And maybe then, your top designer will be on the job.

Roger Moore is the target demographic, not Connery. I'm 52 and Moore is the Bond I grew up watching.

Pro and LE details, but nothing on the Stern website. How very odd indeed.

https://007store.com/en-de/pages/james-bond-x-stern-pinball

OHMSS is not only the worst Bond film but also one of the worst films I've ever suffered through. Thank Christ Connery came back to save the franchise.

It depends how creative the coding team are. A plunger could be used for many other things rather than simulating a simple gunshot. It could launch missiles, torpedoes, spearguns, bowler hats, Ninja stars... limiting the ball launch to a standard gunshot would be unimaginative.

I do like novelty-shaped launchers though.

Indeed....

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Now that's what you call a marketing Jackpot.

I'm trying to figure out why they went with the wibbily wobbily 'Soviet dildo' rocket when in the movie, the spaceship opens up and swallows other spaceships (see photo), which is very cool.

In a pinball game, this mechanic would be very appealing; the rocket could open up and swallow balls, either as a hazard or to lock balls. Then spit them out for multiball.

Seems like a missed opportunity to me.

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Very early code in that phone vid. Doesn't impress much but shows good promise of what's to come.

What's this pizza bullshit? I thought this was a Bond thread.

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It will certainly be a challenge to create a fun and exciting game of pinball on a single level. Not all games need ramps, but a game that features all the Bonds, all the villains, and all the movies?... You most definitely need ramps to do the theme justice.

I suspect they will rely heavily on the LCD mounted in the playfield, to dazzle the player. Best place for the screen in an all-action game, as I demonstrated in my Bond game, a decade ago (and later in Alien at Heighway). You don't miss a single frame when the screen is at eye level, but it only works well with very clever coordination, which matches movie clips and animations with the action on the playfield.

So yeah, if they nail the LCD integration and offer a fully immersive experience, then you won't even notice the game has no ramps.

Based on the latest vid, the code is a train wreck, and the audio/video integration is a hot mess. They have some serious work to do... Bond deserves only the very best.

Tip: DON'T use the main Bond theme as the main theme in the game, save it for a special feature. And... oh my god... don't play boring, speech-heavy movie clips! Focus on animation, with action movie clips spliced in only for key moments.

Bloody amateurs (joking)... pull your finger out Stern, don't half-ass this.

If Stern do the Roger Moore era, expect 'Live and Let Die' Pro, 'Moonraker' Prem and (of course) 'The Spy Who Loved Me' LE (with JAWS bash toy, probably).

Not sure if Stern will go further than that. The Brosnan Bonds were mostly crap and Dalton was just way too serious to have any fun with. My guess is they have the license for 3 years to cover Connery and Moore.

I'm pretty sure there's no shortage of ideas at Stern, even the janitor would've come up with a better idea than a wobbly rocket. But Stern are a business who want to maximize their profits (so Gary can buy more motorcycles and funky glasses). You guys are getting royally shafted. But it doesn't matter, you're all buying what they'll selling no matter what. So why go to the trouble of having a rocket that rises from the playfield in a dramatic audio and video light show, when for a fraction of the cost they can just add a $1 spring. 1000 LEs will sell either way.

I will never understand why people spend this kind of money on a game with crappy early code. The game you actually want may be years away, and yet you'll buy this machine, look at it, occasionally play it, but will always feel unsatisfied that it's not finished.

So ultimately, you're paying 12 grand for something which is ok now but promises to be awesome later. Bizarre.

The master. Such an incredible talent.

When I was a nipper, I would buy movie soundtrack LPs more than pop music LPs. I now use my extensive library of amazing soundtracks in my own pinball creations.

GG did mention that he has most of JBs music in the Bond game, so at the very least, the music will be epic.

A very sensible decision. As they say - first impressions last. I can guarantee you, early buyers will be bitterly disappointed at the basic code. Wait a year, and you will be richly rewarded.

Stern need to pull their finger out and stop releasing games with basic, early code. I'm a coder and I can code the shit out of this game in only a few months. The best of the best are supposedly at Stern, not a chance from what I've seen.

I think he's asking for pics of the shipping notice. That's one eager beaver.

The code. They're delaying while they franticly update the code, so you have a fun game to play. It was waaaay too early to reveal this thing, but the 007 event at Christie's auction gave them little choice.

That's my best guess.

Relax and do what I do, just play them on location. I'm having just as much fun with my £1 game as anyone who owns the machine.

It's wonderful entertainment for those of us who have no interest in owning one.

My suggestion, leave the game in the box until the code arrives.

More concerned about his crossed legs pose, a bit girly if you ask me. Roger Moore was much more manly in his posters...

MoonrakerPoster (resized).jpg

The silliest backglass idea since Silly McSilly had the silly idea to spray silly string over the entire island of Scilly.

No mention of James Bond... what the game is about.