It's already dead. HBO cancelled it before filming the last season. That show really went off a cliff fast...and I used to be a big fan.

that would be so cool but honestly (though me and all my freinds grew up reading them), way too obscure. better to do an original table; "Dirty Smelly Hippies!" or "Weed Smoking Drop-outs!" or "420: The Pin" or "Ganga Queens" or "Mari Jane."

And just use the soundtrack from “Dazed and Confused”. Massive hit.

Damn it, was looking forward to Season 4 too
Yeah i agree it did kinda evolve into a different place but i was still enjoying it. Still reckon it would make for a great pin though.

Cypress Hill could fit the bill .

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I personally will lose interest if the timeline is anything newer than Jeff Spicoli… because screw all you youngsters!

First season was like:
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Then, after that, it was like:
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I Don't Know

It's been suggested before, but I honestly think one of the best unused license opportunities is Futurama. The intro practically looks like a pinball playfield:

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Some loopy wireforms with a section that passes through a green tube (ala Xenon or BBB) would be a great look for attracting location play.

The basic delivery framework makes for a good ruleset base, there are tons of episodes to draw content from, and animation works really well for LCD screen displays. See Rick and Morty for example, but unlike R&M it's an 'adult' show without being R rated or problematic for families. Easier to sell to a broader audience.

And the extra bonus is it's popular with a geeky audience that tends to be old and wealthy enough to afford a pinball and could be tempted to own their first. No magic theme is going to sell thousands of pinball machines to people who've never owned one, but this feels like it has as good a chance as any to cross over that way.

I'm about 95% certain Futurama is coming out in the near future....

Yup. After 2nd season simply Unwatchable.
Really bad.

Men in Black? That was rumored a long time ago, but I guess the government shushed that as too close to the truth. Joking, of course.

All kidding aside, lots of great footage, music, and callouts exist for that IP. I make this look good!

Day one purchase for me !

I love it! Oh and we need a pencil for the shooter rod!

Yeah definitely not for the masses. It was tongue in cheek because someone else posted weed smoking hippies. But I love Groo too lol

1 billion percent would buy!!

+1

Batman VS Superman....plase....

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Yes, I grew up with GI Joe, and I think it would be a wonderful license...but aren't we starting to grow out of that demographic? Although, they just released a machine centered around '60s Bond movies, so what do I know?

C'mon, Pokemon would kill. Stern gets the license from Williams to recreate Slugfest's card dispenser...boom, you have exclusive cards that come out from the machine. This thing would print money.

Not to mention, this theme has been around since 1998 in the US...and it's stuck around...with like a 1,000 Pokemon now? The biggest hurdle is Nintendo which Gottlieb witnessed with The Legend of Zelda pin.

Futurama as a tribute to BBB seems like an obvious way to go

I'm surprised it hasn't been done tbh.

And not because it's my favorite show or a dream theme or anything like that, it just seems like a really smart "actually good for pinball" license.

Multi-season TV shows > movies or bands or just about anything when it comes to lots and lots of assets and themes in general.

Way more callouts, episodes provide mode idea fodder, tons of extra characters and potential mini-bosses etc. Futurama has all that in spades. Great voice acting, that might be available for custom callouts. Battling the robot Devil for instance is an easy slam dunk idea. Feed grapes to the Hedonism-bot. Get taunted by Zapp Brannigan. There's a long list of really obvious and easy good ideas to draw from.

Animation and modern LCD screens are a perfect fit. Content looks great on them in HD, and it's easier to work with 2D assets when it comes to cutting things out, making new icons and text etc. Less 3D rendering, a lot of much faster Photoshop work. Futurama has great 'simple' art that's a good match for working with.

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From the perspective of working on pinball and really seeing what ingredients are helpful for making the game come together I honestly thing animated series are hard to beat. But there are a limited amount with genuine adult appeal that don't cross the line into too weird. There have been two Simpsons pins for a reason.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this. I touch type and sometimes my executive control substitutes a similar word for the actual word. Since I'm often thinking and typing but not reading as I type, I don't even realize it until I read it back. Over time, I've found that think/thing is really common for some reason, even though the swapped k/g letters aren't even close on the keyboard. It's less a typo and more some kind of executive control/autopilot substitution without authorization.

lol yes, happens to me all the time. I swear more often as I get older …

It’s not autocorrect it’s exactly as you said, touch typist meets brain.

I can see why it wasn't done before. The show was cancelled multiple times for various reasons. Though more importantly fan demand has brought it back multiple times

But now seems like a better time to do it, especially with the...what third revival of the show being in production?

Again, I'll be mildly surprised if we don't see a Futurama pin within two years. Just not from Stern...

My top three animated choices are The Incredibles, Futurama, and Scooby-Doo.
I swear I'll buy the first one of those three that gets made into a pinball machine.

Uhhhh, you are in luck....
http://shop.spookypinball.com/scooby-doo-collector-s-edition-initial-payment-2000-p160.php

Stern should seek the rights from Naughty Dog (& maybe HBO) for The Last of Us.

It has had a huge surge in popularity with the new show.

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This would be 2 pins featuring the same lead actor! He's also The Mandalorian.

And not a stretch to think at all really. Altho I would be hugely disappointed with pretty much anything except....

GI JOE. A real American Hero!

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I would like to see Mad Max Collection of all 4 movies into the one Game

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Just the first two for me .
Happy Australia Day everyone

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How about a motorbike themed machine based on The Goose

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The Toecutter said he will be happy with part 1

There is enough content to make an epic MAD MAX pin.

1 and 2 are the best...

Kundalini wants his hand back !

Happy Australia Day !

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That line always cracks me up

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The Nielsen numbers for most streamed TV shows of 2022 came out. I think updating the Stranger Things pinball is a no-brainer. Also, how about Seinfeld? A comedy from Stern would be a new and welcome direction.

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What was the last "original" pin? I get it that themes dominate and was trying to think of the last original themed pin. Was it TNA?

AP Oktoberfest was after TNA, Legends of Valhalla was 2021.

Drained is the most recent original game. If for some reason you don't want to count 3rd party P3 add-on titles and just count fully complete non-licensed then I think it's Legends of Valhalla.

Black Knight SOR is a sequel to an original theme, I think that should count too. And we have Galactic Tank Force coming out soon. There are quite a few options for collectors that like original themes.

It's older though, even if you count it. Since the question was what was the last one. But sure, even though it's the third game in a trilogy of sorts it's not a license. Return of the Jedi was still an original Star Wars movie.

Absolutely a license (Bally/Williams through Planetary)

By that definition all of the Chicago gaming remakes are also licensed themes because CGC paid to license them. Gene's Big Bang Bar too since they licensed it from Capcom.

Of course

Does anyone really care that Steve Ritchie’s third game in his original series had to have the name licensed because another company he didn’t work anymore for owned it?

Yes, it’s a licensed name. It’s still an original game which is what we’re actually discussing.

By definition, yes. Well done!

By comparison or what was actually meant, not at all.

In addition:
It‘s still Steve Ritchies baby, but he holds no rights to it/ the name. But the license was ‚free‘, or at least that‘s what Planetary Pinball said they‘d want if he ever does a new one.

So basically you compare the license of a multi million dollar franchise to a free license noone cares about, by it‘s original creator.

Absolutely! I thought Borg would have done this already, Ironman but on Steroids!

Magnets and drops to fight back at the player, a super tight shot like the amp on avatar for head shots, combos galore!!

I would be seriously interested but keep it to the first two films the 3rd was a little over stuffed.

There is also some great artwork out there for John Wick.

So glad I can make my own games. Ticking off my wish list 1 month at a time. Mad Max has been on my radar for some time now, now that would be epic.