This is good news. The Hobbit is going to be well worth the wait. Sure the game has a ton packed in it but owners will also be getting a ton of value from the games code, audio and animation work.

I honestly think that The Hobbit will have the most work put into its code, audio and animations then any other pin, even WOZ. I wouldn't be surprised when all is said and done that TH has more code, audio and animation work then TWD, ACDC and MET combined.

Sure the game is taking longer then expected but there's a ton of effort being poured into this game.

Awesome! It's been a while since I've heard how the game plays with newer code. How is it?

Thanks! While playing did you notice any custom Smaug call outs from a voice actor? I can't tell if all are from the films or if JJP hired a voice actor for custom call outs.

Thanks for the update, David! The game looks to be shaping up nicely and looks like it will have one of the most impressive rule, audio and animation packages ever created for a pin. I may very well try to get back in on the game after seeing all of the recent updates

I hear ya. Stern is making some good, fun and quality games but for the price they should be offering more in terms of innovation (at least put a Color DMD in the games), features / toys (look at their recent releases...) and overall just put more effort and polish into their games. How about offering an LE plaque that doesn't look cheesy and cheap? How about including the $400 aftermarket topper with the LE to help justify the $1500 premium over the model below? Just offer value.

With a JJP game you are getting value not only in terms of features but also in terms of code, audio and animation work as seen by Keith's, Ted's, David's and JP's work. I wouldn't be surprised when all is said and done with TH's code that more work went into its rules, animations and audio then Sterns past 3 titles combined.

Update: Looks like yet another update for WOZ is on the way based on a recent post here. Just another example of JJP offering value (regular code updates) and continuing to improve their games.

The code support for WOZ has been incredible. When the game started to ship Keith and Ted put updates out monthly, sometimes twice a month for over 6 months. The latest code updates are just improving upon what was already a very impressive and deep ruleset. These latest updates are also adding new features.

#WheresthecodeJJP? No, JJP offers the best code support in pinball and you won't be waiting 6+ months or years waiting for an update.

When dropping $7500+ on a pinball machine of all things I don't mind waiting 3 years for a game that will be loaded and offers incredible code support Haste makes waste.

If Stern can crank out 4 titles a year while continuing to strip down their games and keep prices high then why does it take them 2 years (some games longer, if ever) to complete code for a game?

None of us, other then Keith and Ted, know just how much code work has gone into WOZ. Considering the games large feature set, HD animations, sound work, multiple devices to code for and LCD intergration I'm sure it's more then any other pin to date. I wouldn't be surprised if more work as gone into WOZ's code then Stern's past 3 titles combined. The fact that Stern takes as long as they do to release code updates for games that offer 1/2 the amount that WOZ does isn't welcoming. Stern's programmers do an amazing job but it seems like they are not given enough time to work on code by management...hence one of the downsides of putting 4 titles out a year.

I'll take quality over quantity any day and quality (code, value) is something Stern cannot consistently hit on with each of their titles.

From Keith Johnson's Pinball Magaize interview. All of Keith's comments below make JJP's commitment to WOZ's code even more impressive considering the complexity over other platforms.

"PM: Is it very different to program a display effect now than when you were programming dot matrix displays?
KJ: It’s more complex. With dot matrix animations all you do is say, “Here’s a block of graphics I want to show, whether it’s for full screen or part of the screen, and then put in some text down there.” With what we do, we have a lot more to think about. There’s a lot that needs to get onto the screen and it takes a lot of time to send data to the graphics card before it gets displayed."

"The thing that took up the most time by far was working on the display effects. It’s just a lot of work. No discredit to JP, because he does great work, but it’s just a fact that it takes a while to implement effects, get them to interact with the ball the right way and make sure that they don’t interrupt everything else that is running ."

"Basically everything that we’ve done in this game has probably been an order of magnitude higher than anything else that has ever been done before. We go from lamps that can have three different shades to LED, that can have 16,000,000 different shades. We go from having a 128 x 32 dotmatrix display with 12 shades of orange to a 1360 x 768 monitor with again 16,000,000 different colors. It has been a lot to take on. But I think it’s worth it. The product is good. People like the product and I think we’re going to be in pretty good shape."

Thankfully The Hobbit is a timeless theme. Tolkiens The Hobbit and is three Lord of the Rings books are very popular and as spin off to something Bilbo says in The Fellowship of the Ring "and they always will be".

Are The Hobbit films as good as the Lord of the Rings films? No, those are masterpieces in my opinion. However, I and many others find The Hobbit films to be very enjoyable. If you have only seen The Hobbit films in 3D or 3D HFR I would encourage you to rewatch them in standard 2D as the LOTR films are. Personally I find that The Hobbit films are more enjoyable in 2D then the annoying / distracting fast motion HFR 3D theatrical releases that I originally saw.

I'm sure both games are going to be fun but putting all features aside for both games TH will offer far more value due to the large amount of effort going into the games rules, audio and animations.

Bingo. RZ looks cool but I don't see $6k worth of parts, features, design, etc in the game. Personally I think most Stern pros look more impressive and you can get one of those shipped for under $5k. For $7500 you are getting a lot of game, features, code, etc with The Hobbit.

Far more toys? Where? Maybe RZ has more stationary plastic toys then TH but certainly not actual toys that interact with the ball or player. Sorry but RZ doesn't really have any interesting toys / features in my opinion to justify it's $6k price tag. RZ also just looks cheap next to TH. That's not to say RZ looks bad (it certianly doesn't) but TH is on a different level.

Hobbit

1. 11 drop targets
2. Interactive Smaug dragon toy with ball lock, light up eyes / mouth , motorized mouth synced to audio
3. 3 way subway
4. LCD book toy
5. 4 troll pop ups
6. Kickback
7. Action button
8. 2 magnets
9. Center ramp divertor

RZ

1. Mini playfield with an odd shot
2. 1 drop target
3. ? That's it