Gary must like Broadway. Tommy was based on the Broadway show as well.

Pretty sure this game has nothing to do with the musical, it's a public domain "license" (free) based on the book.

I think your wife would be disappointed as it has no ALW music and it's also an awful game. And it's built poorly to boot (those old DE cabinets are painfully shitty).

It was a "license" that was free and the unrelated but related musical was HUGE at the time. I mean, it's still running!

I could see why they took a shot on it. There's certainly been weirder themes.

It's not horrid. Beautiful looking game.

The problem i see is it's overpriced for what it is. It's a sub 2k pin IMO but sells for 2500 or so. Just not worth it.,

Plus, its DE... so a tad clunky feeling.

Levi has explained most of the intellectual property (IP) situation. POTO was a hot show at the time, and Stern/DE figured out a way to use the theme without licensing any of the new IP assets. Artist Paul Faris talked about this in his presentation at Pintastic New England. He was told to read the book but not go see the show, and create the art based on the original book.

Since then, many people have emerged who do re-themes, changing the music, etc. New possibilities have opened up.
.................David Marston

Levi and I don't see eye to eye on Phantom. I'm a big DE Phantom defender. I actually think it's pretty fun, if pretty shallow. Though not much more so than most games of the era. The art is beautiful and stylish, and the music is good too. Has the classic phantom "Duh.......duh,duh, duh......duuuuuh" organ riff. And I actually like how it shoots. Can't speak to the reliability though, never owned one.

You would probably have a lot better luck in the Phantom thread
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/phantom-of-the-opera-club-owners-and-fans-welcome
It's actually a great machine, one of my favorites of that era. It is an incredible art package with killer sound.
They toys easily compete with anything of the era.
It is a Data East with Data East flippers so if you expect it to flip like a different company it wont.
I own a Jurassic Park and a Phantom and I don't get why people have so many problems with them, mine have never given me an issue.
My Bram Stokers Dracula on the other hand with those optos is ten times as much trouble.

I had one and miss it. Not deep, but fun shots, and like Darscot said "It is an incredible art package with killer sound.
The toys easily compete with anything of the era."

What’s with the naked baby in a Phantom mask plastic? That’s the real question.

I hear people say this.. and I'm confused because literally I see little to no difference between DE and Williams flipper mechs. Current line up is 5 DE pins, 5 Williams, 6 Bally, 7 Gottlieb, a Sega and a Chicago Coin.

In all honestly the only one that shoots weird is Williams Blackout; has some odd shot geometry off the flippers it took me a day or two to adjust.

Same thing in regards to DE reliability, no worse than anyone else. I'd wager based on my experience more reliable than Gottlieb. I do far more System 80 work compared to DE whos worst has been fried GI connectors.

At Pintastic, Paul Farris claimed that he believed Phantom of the Opera to be one of the only pinball machines based on a book. They did not use any material or music from the musical. He also used his daughter as the model for Christine on the backglass.

I read that part about his daughter being the model on IPDB, and it’s always creeped me out just a bit!

Never played one IRL but I’ve always thought it was fun - it’s definitely a drain monster! I’ve always wanted to add one to my “Universal Monsters” collection (even though it’s not based on a movie)

Nobody made worse cabinets than Data East 1987-1990. Well except maybe Bally around 1985?

THe Data East cabs just fall apart.

"Nobody made worse cabinets than Data East 1987-1990."

LOL

Hard to take posts like this serious as all the DE cabinets I have are great but the Williams in my collection made of chip wood in the back was falling apart. Same thing with Gottlieb of the same time frame being made of HEAVY particle board, just swelling and popping like mad. Not to mention the infamous Bally Williams generic cabinets as well.

All six DE games in my collection are made from plywood with zero particle board and are in great condition.

Yeah the cabinet thing is really weird of all the things to complain about, I will take my 30 year old Data East Cabinet over a brand new Stern. Both my Data East were in way better shape than my Williams BSD.

The flipper thing I didn't mean the actual shots on the machine, I just meant the flipper mechs are kinda loud and powerful as is common to Data East.

Part number on the Lethal Weapon 3 flipper coil is a Stern 090-5001-OT (23-800) used on the following.

DATA EAST: Back to the Future, Batman, Checkpoint, Guns N Roses, Hook, Jurassic Park, Laser War, Last Action Hero, Lethal Weapon 3, Monday Night Football, Phantom of the Opera, Playboy 35th, Robocop, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Royal Rumble (WWF), Secret Service, Simpsons, Star Trek, Star Wars, Tales From the Crypt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Time Machine, Tommy, Torpedo Alley, WWF Royal Rumble

SEGA: Batman Forever, Lost World Jurassic Park, Twister

STERN PINBALL: Austin Powers, Avatar, Batman, Big Buck Hunter Pro, CSI, Dale Jr., Elvis, Elvis Gold, Family Guy, Grand Prix, Harley Davidson, High Roller Casino, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Lord of the Rings, Monopoly, NASCAR, NBA, NFL Pinballs (all teams), Pirates of the Caribbean, Playboy, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Sharkey's Shootout, Shrek, Simpsons Pinball Party, Sopranos, Spider-Man, Striker Xtreme, Terminator 3, TRON Legacy, Wheel of Fortune, World Poker Tour

I just ordered two for my LW3. The flippers really should be no more or less powerful as the machines listed above. Flipper pawl crank is same part number as well. There could be a difference on the flipper control boards, but I don't have that information.

I do find the 80s Williams and Gottlieb flippers to be on the weak side (Gottlieb more so) so maybe in comparison the DE ones are "strong"

Yeah I find my Sega Lost World and my AC/DC feel pretty much the same as my Data East. My BSD and when I had a Pinbot they felt very different, I think it is compared to Bally Williams that Data East flippers feel so strong.

I have been wondering that same thing!