Those graphics are amazing!!!!

Uh... The schematic is available. The point here is to show the game is real, not vapor ware. The Hobbit has most of the crazy stuff at the top like most other pinballs.

Hobbit is far along I hear.

Cabinet and computer are the same as WOZ
Art is almost done
White wood is done
Toys are done, but waiting on Smaug
Software core code is there, but the rest is probably really early

I'm guessing that if Smaug gets finished and produced with no hiccups, they'll meet their date

This game is going to be insane!!!

I think the giant Smaug is the real deal. It makes so much sense.

Steven P, I am a huge supporter and fan of JJP. I believe Hobbit will be a huge success and I covet it more than any other pinball. But you are wrong about Star Trek LE. The modes need some improving, but there is something incredible about this game. Once the new code hits, it's top 5 forever. The flow, lighting, sounds and excitement are unparalleled. It is the best of everything Stern has been doing for the past 10 years.

This is going to be one hell of a pin. Very excited!! Could be very flowy with two ramps and two VUKs plus the loop shot.

Jersey Jack is hunkered down getting the Hobbit done. Lots to do in the next month. Judging by the progress made last month, I wouldn't bother them.

I don't know. Smaug moves a bit which is underwhelming but he talks which is really cool and they have all the Smaug speech from the movie to work with.

best looking figure/head I've seen on a pinball

Smaug SE looks killer!!

Pop up targets will make the middle interesting. Still needs more GI.

Game looks absolutely stunning. Needs gold mirror blades like my LOTR.

I ordered mine on June 6, 1975

I hear production begins in April. Bag End is still better than the Shire on LOTR. Going to be the deepest game ever!

Hobbit has four pop up targets, Smaug who talks and moves, a very cool ramp configure, captive ball, two VUKs ,cool drops and will have the best video, music and Sfx in any (non band ) pinball. What's not to like?

I hope the code does something cool with the captive ball in the center shot. TZ had the cool clock millions shot in the center. It's always amazing what a good sound effect can do for a target.

I hear people will see Hobbits starting in late May and code will be decent from day one. Good times!!

Can't wait for the 1/2 sized shire version!!!

This will be another one a kind like WOZ. But with a better theme. Can't wait!!

30 plus Hobbit modes will probably work because they have such strong thematic support for each one. The story and video support for each one should inspire a good mode and inspire fans to complete the mode. Also each mode has an original orchestral track from Two Steps From Hell and speech from the films. The key to successful modes is to use all the targets in a way that will allow players to feel progress as they go through the mode, using sound effects and speech/callouts. It has to be clear and guided by voice commands and the video. The reason that Stern Star Trek has shitty modes is there is a disconnect between the DMD animations and the shots. The screen says "land on the platform" and the Playfield lights up five shots which you have to shoot all or some or who the frack knows how many in some unknown period of time. If you succeed or fail it doesn't seem to matter and making the shots seems to not be relevant to completing the task. I think the Hobbit will not be like this. If they let you know what each successful shot accomplishes it will be a home run.

All the Smaug speech they are putting in the game will make Smaug a winner.

The good news is the machine will ship with killer code.

I like the way Jack is straightforward and says what he thinks. I am so sick of people trying to tell others how to run their business. customer is always wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Lol

That is a shame

Guys!! The music is done by Two Steps From Hell, not David Thiel. David is responsible for all the awesome SFX and speech.

If JJ was in huge trouble they wouldn't have made all those improvements to the Hobbit. They would have pulled a Stern. Instead, they made the Hobbit great. If they were in huge trouble, they wouldn't be developing Lawlor's game. I hear thats swimming along. I think it's been rough, but they have a chance of making some money once they build the first run of Hobbits. I think they will sell as much as 3000 by next Xmas. It's that ground breaking. And then there is Lawlors game. I'm a huge fan, so I have high hopes.

Thank goodness the preorder model will no longer exist after the Hobbit. Preorder is supposed to mean order it early so you get an early ship date. It turns out many companies twisted it to mean "invest in my startup" JJP included, but JJP proved that they are a serious company with WOZ. It was a bumpy road and it continues to be with the Hobbit, but the road is leading somewhere. I am certain that this Rocky period will soon be behind them. What needs to be remembered above all else is JJP is trying to make the best pinballs ever conceived. That is truly their goal. You can criticize Jack all you want for some snafus, screw ups and some inelegant politics, but his heart is in the right place. Jack will do what it takes to achieve his goal. I admire that. Think of this: Wizard Of OZ is unlike any pinball before it. The Hobbit is also unlike any pin before it. Stern makes some great games, but they are all very similar. I'm getting tired of it, personally. JJP is a true alternative.

I agree about the Hobbit being a hit. It's going to be a must have. Immersive movie based missions unlike any pin before it.

I own a tricked out LOTR. It's a great game, but not without faults. Clunky right ramp, path of the dead is lame, music is really lofi and synthetic. The Hobbit will be a whole new world and not just for Tolkien fans. in a pinball it's not important how great the movie was. It's just important that the theme pulls you into the world and makes you want to complete modes and see more. The Hobbit world is really cool and so are the characters. The movies have enough action and that's all you need. Tron is a good example. Movie was OK but it's a great theme for a pin.

Unbelievably stupid post! The Hobbit is a fantastic theme. It doesn't matter how perfect the movies were. It has great characters, monsters, action and its middle earth!! Tron was a shit movie but it's a great theme for a pin. Infortunately JJ really screwed up the planning on this pin, but all will be forgotten when it's released.

VUKs are wire form. Who says otherwise?

Possibly the best looking game I have seen. Even better looking than LOTR and in the same realm as TZ, MM, TOM and WOZ of course.

honestly it's time for stern to rethink strategy. Pumping out flawed titles that had potential is just a damn waste. Stern does many things right, but GOT is just penny pinching and rushed. where is the wall of ice and all the great vibe that is GOT??

Hobbits are almost on the line. I hear that the complexity of the machine, an unreliable vendor and perhaps not the best planning led to the delays. Machine is going to be groundbreaking. I mean really sick.