Tucson, AZ
I saw the WoZ machine in Seattle and had the good fortune of a "sit down" over lunch with Jersey Jack and Keith this past weekend. JJP has a very talented and experienced team of people working on the machine, and their prototype is of exceptional build quality. The playfield and cabinet are both beautiful to look at, in my opinion.
I was not able to develop an opinion, either way, on the use of the video clips nor on the the possible benefit/detriment of the HDTV in the backbox. I personally am not a big fan of Pinball 2000, but I do like some video games, especially those made in the 1980's and 1990's. I don't have a Wii, xbox, etc.
In my opinion, there was just not enough integration of the game play, video and sound to make a reasonable judgement on if WoZ will be a good pinball machine or not. I am a pinball player, first and foremost, and prefer more challenging machines for the most part. I have an appreciation for the artwork, design and other creative elements of certain machines. For instance, I think that Bally Fathom is one of the most attractive machines with amazing artwork, but for playability I was not a big fan and I ended up selling it after a couple of years.
In my view JJP and company have a long way to go before they build any number of machines (ie 50 or more) that are ready to ship. Once they get their factory location secured and fully outfitted with tooling, and only after they hire the workforce to put the machines together, then I will start to become excited and more convinced that we will see the machines shortly afterwards.
At this point, I don't think that it is appropriate to get into my personal thoughts about game play or when the machines will hit the streets based on a very limited exposure. My wife does like the theme, so I may purchase one if/when the time comes. Let's just wait and see with our fingers crossed.
