Quoted from smalltownguy2:Now that's just outright blatant agism. I'm not going to dignify that statement with any kind of answer.
Ageism is irrelevant when it comes to perception.
I thought he made a great point...it's hard to position yourself as the industry leader in innovation when your accompanying videos and stills look like they were filmed at picnic day at the old folks' home.
*slow clap*
Quoted from joecitizen:I wear the black for the playfields beaten down
For the pooling and the chipping art abound
I wear it for the limited manufacturer’s warranty,
Why you’d think they’re laughing straight at you and me.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Time will tell, but who really won this Monday?
.....Steve, probably. He likely got a pay bump or the same, along with being able to design games with more mechs and less cost cutting. Hopefully he got a nice long contract so they can't just walk him out the door when his game isn't an instant hit due to all the OTHER issues.
It will seriously be strange to play a Ritchie game with JJP flippers...I just don't see that working out well. Can't wait for the 1500 buck price hike purely due to Ritchie's name being attached. Ya'll have fun with that....
Quoted from PanzerFreak:"but but I thought JJP was going out of business" - Stern fanboys.
"but but I think Steve Ritchie is washed up and has nothing innovative to offer pinball consumers and Zep proves he should retire"
- JJP Fanboys last week.
Maybe this is just part of Jacks diabolical plan of regaining control of his company, the old Skeletor vs Hordak routine.
Quoted from Beechwood:Is it just me, or shouldn't the "Welcome" pics they posted on FB be... oh, I don't know... not blurry? Nothing about those pictures screams "quality" or "professionalism".
My wife takes better pictures of our cats!
They appear to have used a Nokia 3300 from 2003 for these photos.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:"but I thought Steve Ritchie was washed up and has nothing innovative to offer pinball consumers"
- JJP Fanboys last week.
They were right 
Don't know if you're reading this thread Steve (reading it, I kind of hope not! 
) but best wishes in your new job... hope you create great things! 
I swear the hate for Kaneda and MM staying 1st is the lifeblood keeping pinside alive
Quoted from Tranquilize:I was a release buyer of DI. The code for Bob and multiballs is the weakest part of the game. There are also imbalances in scoring that should not appear in modern games. The coding is not great.
Gnr has base code that is not that exciting. Wonka is okay, about the same as DI. Pirates is maybe about the same but is in dire need of an update. They all lack climactic moments.
Lyman would fix the lack of excitement in future coding. Multiballs would feel like you've earned something, and jackpots would feel like... Well, jackpots. Even Munsters has more tension than any jjp machine.
I love their design and builds, but coding is their weak spot imho.
Agree with you on weak multiballs & jackpots, but disagree on overall tension. DI is one of my favorite games for the feeling of losing a chance at a sim card when draining. When ya have a few sim cards ready to be collected, the tension gets me every time, which is the main reason I come back. (Had my first Armageddon yesterday, now just need to reach showdown)
Quoted from Tranquilize:I was a release buyer of DI. The code for Bob and multiballs is the weakest part of the game. There are also imbalances in scoring that should not appear in modern games. The coding is not great.
Gnr has base code that is not that exciting. Wonka is okay, about the same as DI. Pirates is maybe about the same but is in dire need of an update. They all lack climactic moments.
Lyman would fix the lack of excitement in future coding. Multiballs would feel like you've earned something, and jackpots would feel like... Well, jackpots. Even Munsters has more tension than any jjp machine.
I love their design and builds, but coding is their weak spot imho.
DI is JJPs best game and is a good throw back to 90s Bally Williams.
GnR is an operators game and is still missing code for at least one mode.
WW is a sleeper hit that takes TZ and goes crazy with stacking.
I’m happy to own all three.
"I'm thinking you guys need another game with lots of magnets like Black Knight. Or BK2000. Or BK3. But not like Rollergames. I hated that."
Quoted from Blindseer:DI is JJPs best game and is a good throw back to 90s Bally Williams.
GnR is an operators game and is still missing code for at least one mode.
WW is a sleeper hit that takes TZ and goes crazy with stacking.
I’m happy to own all three.
Agree with you on each statement, but my comments were about bad code.
Quoted from DylanFan71:What's the soonest we see a title from Steve? 2023?
I think even that is pretty optimistic.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:The fact that most people seem more interested in arguing about Kaneda or laughing at the press release seems to undermine the level of excitement a blockbuster announcement like this is supposed to stir up.
It just seems like a strange move to me. It addresses a "problem" I wasn't aware JJP had - lack of name/established pinball designers. And as many have pointed out, SR's layouts (let's face it we all know what to expect at this point) don't really seem to lend themselves to JJP mechanics. Most JJP fans have been trashing Steve for years, I would not say there was a groundswell of demand among the JJP faithful for this move.
I'm not sure who really gains most from this event. It's not really moving the needle, "need another established pinball designer" is about 22nd on the list of needs/issues most of us would list for JJP, and Stern seems to have plenty of fresh talent able to crank out games in Steve's absence and the resources to recruit or develop more young staffers.
Time will tell, but who really won this Monday?
Stern did not win thats for sure regardless of what your comeback is. 
i love Steve Ritchie pins, but i do not like how long it takes JJP to get machines to their customers. Great that SR will get more money to spend on each machine, but just wonder how many will actually get out of the factory and to us collectors in a timely fashion. 
Best of luck King Ritchie!!
as for the shades, dont listen to the haters. you be you Steve!!!
Quoted from Tranquilize:It does look like a seniors party.
But man, Richie's shades are just god-awful.
[quoted image]
agree. i feel embarrassed for him
Quoted from Frax:.....Steve, probably. He likely got a pay bump or the same, along with being able to design games with more mechs and less cost cutting. Hopefully he got a nice long contract so they can't just walk him out the door when his game isn't an instant hit due to all the OTHER issues.
It will seriously be strange to play a Ritchie game with JJP flippers...I just don't see that working out well. Can't wait for the 1500 buck price hike purely due to Ritchie's name being attached. Ya'll have fun with that....
I will...I'll be buying his first JJP for sure!!!
He's a legend in this business, there wouldn't be a Pinside today if it wasn't for SR and PL; show some respect you ingrates.
Quoted from woody76:agree. i feel embarrassed for him
I wouldn't go that far. He's maybe going for the end of the road Elvis look. 
I know that Pat Lawlor was the guy that he had the awkward handshake with but who did he hug? Was that Keith Johnson?
Quoted from PismoArcade:I know that Pat Lawlor was the guy that he had the awkward handshake with but who did he hug? Was that Keith Johnson?
Yes
Not sure if people are aware, but keeping the line moving is the reason they probably packed on more talent. And SR is no designer I would place in any category of "has been". I bet he has forgotten more about pinball than most Pinsiders will ever know, and I wouldn't want to compete with him head to head. Most designers I have talked to say the hardest part of the job is supporting the line while your design is being built, be it a sample game or the 587th game to roll off the line. There are always manufacturing problems to overcome, wether its due to unavailability of parts or field reports of major issues, they are run ragged during the build phase. If Eric is working on GnR issues, he can't damn well design the next game. Pat is finishing Toy Story, and they need a machine after that ready to go down the line. How ever you slice it, they needed another designer, and the Flow King surely has stuff in his "reserved for bigger BOM" folder thats probably 3 inches fat after spending the post B/W years at Stern. Long live the King.
20190727_185823 (resized).jpgWayne Neyens is probably laughing his ass off at all the "look how old these pinball guys look' routines.
Quoted from dsmoke1986:I will...I'll be buying his first JJP for sure!!!
He's a legend in this business, there wouldn't be a Pinside today if it wasn't for SR and PL; show some respect you ingrates.
Oh please. Get the hell out of here with these BS strawman arguments. If Ritchie never existed, someone else would've filled the hole. If you want to make an argument that pinball wouldn't still exist without Oursler, then we can have a reasonable discussion. Ramps saved the industry and changed the game. What, exactly, has Steve ever added to pinball in that way? The claim to fame of innovations on a Ritchie game is flashers (Okay, those are pretty widely used), magnet accelerator chains (Um.... HS2, No Fear, and Star Wars.....all Ritchie games..), and.....uh.....a laser pointer with a splitter filter on it?
He just makes solid games, that's all. He's not a god. I hope he gets the chance to do something really unique with JJP. I don't even understand why the hell you chose to quote me there. I haven't really bagged on the guy (or Lawlor for that matter??) at all on this thread. I said JJP flippers suck, especially for the type of games Steve has designed anytime in the recent past...they'd probably be fine for WPT, though....that has nothing to do with Steve or Lawlor, it's an issue with their mechanical and electronics designers.
Quoted from Tranquilize:It does look like a seniors party, but these designers are magnificent! Great to see them together again.
But man, Richie's shades are just god-awful.
[quoted image]
He looks like he is about to go snowboarding
Quoted from SmallyBells:Maybe Pat can’t get Toy story to work?
Steve’s sunglasses should ge included on his next title.
Now all they need is JPOP.
Pinside sucks it's just a dark whole of cynicism!!
Quoted from Tranquilize:It does look like a seniors party, but these designers are magnificent! Great to see them together again.
But man, Richie's shades are just god-awful.
[quoted image]
I like that Pat really lives the Dialed In! outfit experience.
Name this trio. WRONG answers only.
02-steve-ritchie-joins-jjp (resized).jpg
Quoted from Guinnesstime:Name this trio. WRONG answers only.[quoted image]
The boss, and the two guys who kept pinball alive between 2000 -2010
https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2021/08/02/steve-ritchie-joins-jjp/
How did no one know that Lyman left Stern at beginning of the year?
He leaves a much bigger hole at Stern than Ritchie leaving.
It's in above article.
Quoted from Guinnesstime:I like that Pat really lives the Dialed In! outfit experience.
Name this trio. WRONG answers only.
[quoted image]
2B5FB7CA-B6E8-48DC-95BA-4AFF2D78F4EE (resized).jpegQuoted from NC_Pin:The boss, and the two guys who kept pinball alive between 2000 -2010
Not sure about Jack being the boss. That would be Brett Abess.
Quoted from PismoArcade:Not sure about Jack being the boss. That would be Brett Abess.
Lol… could be.
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