Any footage of the panel available?

Did they really say they're going to build 200 more Houdinis later this year? I wonder what that would bring the total number up to? I'm pleased people finally caught on to what a great game it is but also kinda surprised they can still sell them so long after initial release. As for Barry Ousler's last game I believe he said it was going to be more of a simple, single-level game as that's what they wanted from him first. Regardless, I sure hope it happens and as soon as possible.

Barry's last game is getting released?

Excited for them to declare dates for Houdini. Anyone with experience w AP have a sense of if they’re likely to actually run them by that July/August target?

More American Pinball updates/rumors from Knapp Arcade

https://www.knapparcade.org/post/american-pinball-has-big-plans-for-the-future?fbclid=IwAR1XGtS2MUXx7b283sDbNz9GcZC1ub_gce7--xVOsIO4s5Mqb6ksjV58mA8

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A wide body edition of Houdini could be awesome.

Everything is already developed and this would fix the problem with the super tight shots.

I’d buy one. I think the theme is great, the look is awesome but I’m way not in the skill league required to have fun with it unfortunately.

It may open up some of the shots but the cost to convert it to widebody, especially when you can't get parts and don't have a line setup to do widebody games would be completely unjusitifiable.

Not sure where the rumor of a wide body Houdini is coming from, regardless, while we had no plans to do wide body games when we first set up the factory, we fell it would be wise to keep our options open, so the lines, rotisseries and cabinet carts, were all designed to handle both standard and wide body machines. If you have been on a factory tour we usually point this out and if you look at photos of our factory, you will see how the rotisseries and carts are adjustable for width.

Oh, apologies if I contributed to this rumor.

I played your Houdini game at TPF. I absolutely love the design and the whole vibe of the theme. It also feels high end but as has been mentioned in many reviews, a lot of shots are super tight and I’m one of those players who aren’t skilled enough nor dedicated enough to improve to the level required to have fun with a super difficult game like Houdini.

So I was just musing that a wide body version may allow for wider ramps etc, making this a must have pin for someone like me. I totally understand that AP may not ever want to consider that but I would love to have a “fun” Houdini that isn’t so punishing. I have zero knowledge how difficult it is to build a slightly wider version but it seemed like a missed opportunity if y’all already have all the mechs, design, code, electronics and all that’s necessary to evolve this into a super fun game is slightly wider dimensions.

Wooly is a widebody

I'd estimate it to be about 90% of the effort of building an entirely new game. Really the only thing you get to skip is some asset and rules creation.

The only thing I heard from tpf was you may do a less expensive version with less mechs. Kind of like a pro vs prem from stern

Smart thinking for the future!

Houdini was designed as a premium game, so I know there is talk of trimming out some of the 'bling' that adds a lot the expense to do a 'standard' version that can remain more affordable, given where pin prices are going. If this happens, I expect things like the fancy sculpts would be replaced with plastics, the fancy spot lights with generic ones, the lollypop rails would be replaced with standard rails, stuff like that.

Tight shots open up the more you play it. The big challenge when you first step up to Houdini is the shots, notably the ramp, are in different places on the flipper than most modern Sterns, so takes a bit to adjust to find the shots. It certainly is a more challenging layout, but, the more you play it, the easier it becomes and certainly will help improve your overall skills.

The same was said about ACNC LOL! I had one and sold it after 18 months because I could not get the shots down. It has very tight shots as well, so it was suggested to make it a wide body. This would be very cool!! But I can only imagine how this would drastically change everything! What to do with all that extra realastate?

So classic Houdini will be $7,295. How much was it at first release?

plus $295 USD shipping (Cointaker).

https://cointaker.com/products/houdini-hh-pinball

Booo

Will American Pinball make Sonic ?? I think it would be a great theme for pinball. The homebrew Ryan made is a fun game

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Hopefully won't be a retheme

I dunno..a sonic pin without a verticle loop? Blashphemy

I hope so! I really enjoyed Sonic at expo and wish i had more time to experience the game but there was always a line.

Agreed, that would of been amazing. I just took the kids to watch sonic 2. It was pretty good but not as good as the first

They are doing great but they need a higher caliber of artist on par with the level of quality the rest of the product has. Stern and JJP are light years ahead in presentation sadly.
I'd be in for a sonic machine! That is awesome news.

The game has a vertical loop my guy, and it’s fun as hell! Ryan is the second new designer hire from New England in the last year (Mark Seiden / JJP [metroid] being the first). I will absolutely buy this for my location. Also, for those doubting Sega is very easy to deal with and I’m sure that AP can handle the cost of this license. This is BIG NEWS for AP, very cool.

As far as the art goes, I’m sure Sega will bring aboard an approved artist to complete the package.

If/when AP does Sonic, I'll be curious if they push for callouts. Ryan has been opposed iirc but they feel pretty essential. Either way, intriguing development.

Every time someone says this I bring up AIQ, it's generally considered to be lackluster art with static "animations" on the screen. The Thanos glove is an absolute joke compared to the many scultped toys in Houdini and Oktoberfest but it's still a great game. I'm not saying they couldn't use some improvement, and they have hired a new art director that's not been involved in any game produced so far so let's see what the next game brings us.

Having great designers under their name past and present goes a long way with unlicensed themes. Who wouldn't buy a sequal to a Nordman game like White Water or an Oursler game with a space theme? Why invent new unlicensed themes when you can cash in on the classics people want more of. I think you can hit it out of the ballpark by reviving old Balley and Williams titles. Gorgar's Revenge or Pin-Bot Millenium anyone?

I really hope they make that Sonic game. I have never been an American Pinball Fan (tried all their games), but this one has promise. I doubt they could get licensing and art done before 2024, but I could see changing out a game for Sonic in a few years. For the record, even though I don't particularly care for any of their current offerings, I have been impressed by the build quality of their machines and would feel 100% confident getting a game from AP. They are doing good work.

I do like original themes but a lot of times they just don’t have that connection like a theme I enjoy does. Two recent games that would of been keepers for me if themed correctly were dialed in and americas most haunted. I loved both the play of those but the original theme killed it. If AMH would of been scooby do it would of had staying power for sure.

Sherlock Holmes rumored to be next? Interested in that

Any time I'm asked about my dream theme I say "Give me Sonic the Hedgehog." As such, I've been following Ryan's work wherever and whenever I could. If this game becomes a reality something in my lineup would disappear to make space for it, ESPECIALLY if the art is more inline with the Genesis/MegaDrive to SA2 era.

Also, if they were to bring in Jaleel White as the voice of Sonic... I really can't explain how happy/excited I would be. That would be way past cool.

Looks like it’s a very strong possibility that Sonic will be produced by AP

https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2022/04/28/ryan-mcquaid-joins-american-pinball/?fbclid=IwAR1dFgiV4MpReIVEPpPpgdE3zCwmswRpxMUbFsNE8C8YaF_qFkEEfaCaEV0

I hope it comes through as Sonic, but there is solid precident for homebrew game designers coming in with a turn key machine and having it rethemed by the manufacturer. Keith Elwin was brought on for his Home Brew Archer machine, but Stern re-skinned it as Iron Maiden.

In any case, this looks to be a good move for AP.

Point to one time AP did that though. I will also add that Legends of Valhalla was chosen as a homebrew to be released by AP so…maybe this is their part of their model going forward.

Legends of Valhalla also didn't include acquiring IP rights. Sonic may come from AP, but I definitely wouldn't assume it to be the case.

Definitely not assuming, I do think it’s a very strong possibility though. SEGA is not like Nintendo, the licensing costs are quite reasonable and they have a long history of working with pin manufacturers.

Having flashbacks to the whole "Hot Wheels loop" debate, but agree!

I don't know. I too would dream of a scooby doo game bit if it was americas most haunted layout no way in a million years. Amh suffored not because of the title.

I owned it and really enjoyed the code and layout. I thought they did a great job on it.

You know how much Sega charges vs Nintendo?

What pins has Sega done*? Nintendo has actually licensed their IP out before (back during Mario mania where he even had his own soda)

Sure Sega owned Stern Pinball, but they weren’t actually involved with the company besides owning it as an investment in an arcade equipment manufacturer.

Even then, the “long history” is like 5 years and over 20 years ago. Anyone at corporate Sega then isn’t a decision maker now.

Sega probably would license out a Sonic pin, but that’s because Sega’s business is mostly licensing out Sonic products these days (and owning a handful of video game developers)

*let’s agree Sega of Japan making some pins around 50 years ago as being irrelevant today

“Segas business is mostly licensing out Sonic products these days”

Well…you said it there yourself. Not sure why you are arguing that it’s strong possibility.

And yes, the difference in cost between Sega IPs and Nintendo IPs are vast. We’re talking 10’s of thousands vs 100’s of thousands.
There is a reason we haven’t seen any classic Nintendo IPs by Stern or any other modern pin manufacturers in the last 20 years. And JJP is definitely not licensing Metroid for their new designers home brew. It’s like they havnt even bothered to TRY to acquire it. Almost as if it’s common knowledge that Nintendo is impossible to deal with.

You’ve talked to Nintendo and Sega yourself?

People say this about Nintendo. But go down any toy aisle or clothing aisle and you’ll see licensed Nintendo merch everywhere. There is so much random junk with Nintendo properties on it. And some of it is limited edition, small run type stuff like collaborations like Nike shoes and luxury watches.

And I was never arguing Sega wouldn’t license this stuff out. I’m questioning why you say Nintendo is more expensive. Why you think Sega owning Stern 25 years ago would make any difference

You’re just speculating like everyone else.

Yes, I’ll speculating. Never said I knew anything for a fact. Not sure what the problem is here. ANYWAY…hope AP gets the IP cause it would be COOL. The end.

But you said "Definitely not assuming, I do think it’s a very strong possibility though. SEGA is not like Nintendo, the licensing costs are quite reasonable and they have a long history of working with pin manufacturers."

You said it as if it was a fact. That's all.

I’m not ASSUMING ANYTHING AS A FACT ….BUT I DO THINK ITS A STRONG POSSIBILITY.

Get it now? Jesus Herman Christ pal

Cognitive dissonance much?

To make it even more clear please READ the comment I was actually responding to.

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Bro calm down

You're the one who said Sega is so much cheaper and easier to work with than Nintendo. Do you know that? You say it like it's a fact. Based on what? Your personal interactions with the company? Maybe a personal friend or colleague of yours who has worked with them?

I just found it amusing that you said you're not assuming anything, then started talking about Sega and Nintendo as if you worked with them.

I'm not mad lol.