Quoted from Menace

One of the designers stated it was strickly a haunted / haunted house theme.  (ghosts and whatnot, not monsters)

D

The Haunted House theme got shelved in favour of Playboy.  

Quoted from Sparky

Let us dream... could this be the rebirth of Pinball 2000? Or even better Williams Pinball?

Not to be negative, but after talking to part of the Nucore team and Gene at IPB.... it sounds like it would take a lot of effort to get something going without having to deal with all these legalities and licenses.  Part of the P2k hardware, as I was told, is still under copyright.  Things like the guide/rail bars underneath are included in that.

Quoted from Monkeybug

The Haunted House theme got shelved in favour of Playboy.  

/me puts on his best Ed McMahon voice... "YOU ARE CORRECT SIR!"

I'll be thankful when this product hits market and proves to be influential to pinball. For now I am respectful.

Unfortunately I have seen enough commercial pinball ventures go awry in the past few years to make me scheptical.

I truley hope they are successful. Technological success yes. Business success we will wait and see.

Quoted from Menace

...Of course all of these kits would have to be licensed, which we all know is a whole other issue.

D

Why licenced???? Sure... maybe Wizard Blocks and TOM2 as they are probably Williams property, but the rest??? Pinball survived quite well for over 50 years without licenced themes. In fact, unless it is an AWESOME and timeless licence, I believe it actually hinders value and general appeal. Very few Sega/Stern pins gathered any excitement due to themes being dated not long after their release. Do you see anyone running to buy a Twister? Baywatch? Independence Day? Not really... Pirates of the Caribbean? Last I heard, not many jumping on them.  The same will happen with CSI and 24. There are some enduring themes like Simpsons, LOTR and South Park (God knows why...), but historically, themed pins are not necessarily a recipe for success.

Just look at the two P2K pins... RFM = non-licenced and did fairly well for a first example of something completely radical. SWE1 = licenced, total flop.

Am I the only one that would LOVE to see a cooperation between NuCore, IPB, CPR and possibly a designer in order to develop new kits, or even entirely new pins?

Imagine with the availability, simplicity and versatility of the NuCore system, in a new cabinet with an LCD monitor (cutting cost and weight), I still think that P2K, if followed through, would be a success... unfortunately to the expense of Stern.

Don't get me wrong... I like Stern... but I personally believe that the standard pin layout with a DMD is becoming old... costly mechanical toys can be replaced with visual toys backed by standard mechanical components.

Quoted from Monkeybug

Not to be negative, but after talking to part of the Nucore team and Gene at IPB.... it sounds like it would take a lot of effort to get something going without having to deal with all these legalities and licenses.  Part of the P2k hardware, as I was told, is still under copyright.  Things like the guide/rail bars underneath are included in that.

Hmm... I agree that there would be some negotiating with Williams on that... but I still see the potential. There is definitely money to be made there. Even though they have officially been out of the pin business for 10 years now, the name is still recognized and respected with operators. I am sure that if someone revived Williams Pinball, it would work.

Quoted from Sparky

Even though they have officially been out of the pin business for 10 years now, the name is still recognized and respected with operators. I am sure that if someone revived Williams Pinball, it would work.

They are marketing through Pinball Life which indicates to me their target market is guys like us and not operators.

I'm just thinking of the huge potential for new PB2000 games to hit the market now.  It's no longer a dead platform.  That has to mean something!

Quoted from Bish

I'm just thinking of the huge potential for new PB2000 games to hit the market now.  It's no longer a dead platform.  That has to mean something!

"Potential" Bingo!

It has to come to fruition to be anything more than that. This announcement is another step in the process.

Yes it is exciting to see progress, but to start thanking everyone is a little premature.

Quoted from Sparky

Why licenced????

See Monkeybug's post...  Pretty much all the P2K proprietary hardware / mechs are ALL patented by WMS, which means either IPB or TPF or BOTH hold the rights to these patents.  So if anyone produces a P2K "kit", they will undoubtedly be required to pay licensing fees to any / all of the parties mentioned.

So even though you could create a non-licensed theme for a P2k kit, you would still be on the hook for the mechanical stuff to allow it to drop into / interface into a P2K cab.

D

Quoted from Menace

See Monkeybug's post...  Pretty much all the P2K proprietary hardware / mechs are ALL patented by WMS, which means either IPB or TPF or BOTH hold the rights to these patents.  So if anyone produces a P2K "kit", they will undoubtedly be required to pay licensing fees to any / all of the parties mentioned.

So even though you could create a non-licensed theme for a P2k kit, you would still be on the hook for the mechanical stuff to allow it to drop into / interface into a P2K cab.

D

Nothing is impossible. Hopefully they will realize that they have the opportunity to build a pinball machine which is simpler and most probably cheaper to build but superior in MANY ways than what your competitor is selling.

Using a standard computer opens up a lot of doors... I am sure that building boardsets are a large cost for Stern, while computers will always be affordable.

There were 10403 Pin2k machines made and adding one or 2 playfields to them won't save pinball.

Face it people. Pinball 2k sucked. it killed pinball.

How many of you have one ?!  how bout 2? let's do a hand count?