Jack and the team over at JJP released an update today which covered the pace at which Wizard of Oz machines are being produced, software updates, new game deliveries and a couple of tidbits regarding the production of their upcoming game The Hobbit and a video of the new Hobbit trailer.

Also included in the update are details and pictures of Jack and Ted's visit to Hollywood and the premiere of the 75th anniversary IMAX 3-D release of The Wizard of Oz.

It looks like the gang all had a great time. Check out all the details after the break.

That was fast! As we patiently awaited an update of another playfield drawing from JJP's upcoming, "The Hobbit" pinball machine which was finally shown last week JJP has been quick to release yet another picture in record time. This time detailing the center section of the playfield and what looks to be an action-packed design with cues from the #1 rated Williams game, Medieval Madness which incorporate pop-up trolls into the design. What will be included in this game is yet to be known. 

Along with classic design, auto kickback feature, a cross playfield ball launch and at least 4 flippers, this game looks like it will satisfy those looking for the "classic" look and feel of the Williams / Bally design along with the outstanding build quality that JJP is known for in their games.

See the press release below.

Greetings Pinball Fans,  

Today we are happy to release another section of The Hobbit Limited Edition Pinball Machine playfield.    

Click here to view the middle and lower portion of  

The Hobbit Pinball Playfield  

This will be a 4 flipper game with multiple shots from all 4 flippers. The upper flippers are very active with the game rules.  

As a reminder, as of September 1st the price of The Hobbit LE will increase $500 to $8000.00. We ask that you are current on the payment schedule for The Hobbit by 8/31/13. Those who are not current will see a $500 increase in the price of their game after 9/1/13, making their game $8000.

We will proudly show the full playfield before the end of August. This is going along better than WOZ as much of the basis of the platform is already created.

If you missed this in the previous update, click here to view the top right portion of the Playfield 

JJP Distributor, PinballSTAR Amusements is happy to announce that in conjunction with the fine folks at the PAPA 16 event this week in Pittsburgh, he will be running a WPPR points side tournament on a Wizard of OZ on Friday 10-5.     

     

WPPR points awarded and over $3,100 in prizes and giveaways. All proceeds to go to the PinballSTAR Amusements charity fund towards donation of WOZ machines to Children's Hospitals. For questions regarding this please click here for more info or email Joe atSales@PinballSTAR.com  

After what may seem like an eternity for pinball fans who crave new pinball information, JJP has released another detail drawing of The Hobbit and gives us another clue to the playfield design. 

Greetings Pinball Fans,  

Today we are happy and very excited to release another section of The Hobbit Limited Edition Pinball Machine playfield. This game will have several new and innovative features which will be detailed in coming weeks.  

As of September 1st the price of The Hobbit LE will increase $500 to $8000.00. We ask that you are current on the payment schedule for The Hobbit by 8/31/13. Those who are not current will see a $500 increase in the price of their game after 9/1/13, making their game $8000.

Many people are paying according to the schedule which enables us to develop the game as we did with WOZ. We need to reward those who are loyal and stay on the payment plan while others who do not pay now will pay more later. There may be another price increase before the game goes into production. We have several distributors around the world looking to increase their orders so demand is growing for the game as more information is released.

We will proudly show the full playfield before the end of August. This is going along better than WOZ as much of the basis of the platform is already created.

We are excited to reveal the top right portion of  
The Hobbit Pinball Playfield - Click here to view the PDF
  

This area shows multiple entrances into the pop bumper area which can be controlled by the game or by skill or luck. We also show one magnet and one spinner and a target above the banana shaped insert. There is a lot in this 25% of the main playfield to absorb. We will release another section of the playfield next week. The playfield is packed and the game is very different than WOZ.           

If you missed this in the previous update,click here to view the lower portion of The Hobbit Pinball Playfield

Wizard of Oz games continue to roll off the line. Getting through the first few days of massive orders has taken time but we are now into group shipments and we have 180+ ECLEWOZ games in the queue for August with only 18 of them as WOZ. We are also expecting another code update in the next several days.    

It has been a long road but we got here as fast as we could. We are producing the best game we can which gets better every day. We thank our loyal JJP customer base for their patience and support and we will soon announce a reward system for those loyal customers for parts and goodies at reduced cost.    

Jack definitely did not do it alone but that's the name of the AOL segment. If anyone missed this, we were recently featured on anAOL.com/Huffington Post segment called "How I Did It - Here's the link to view - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/jersey-jack-pinball_n_3504566.html     

Stay tuned here for more Hobbit pinball news as it's released.

LAKEWOOD — The “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine features an old-time story in which Dorothy needs to be saved from the flying monkey, the lion needs courage, the scarecrow needs a brain and the tin man needs a heart.

Yet in a 21st century twist, players follow the story — and their score — on a 26-inch LCD screen. The playing field brightens with colorful LED lights. A crystal ball displays 31 different videos.

“You’re basically telling a story through game-playing,” says Jack Guarnieri, president and CEO of Jersey Jack Pinball Inc. “You’ve got to get Dorothy home.”

Jersey Jack Pinball is rolling out its “Wizard of Oz” game, a painstakingly built pinball machine that is turning heads as fast as Dorothy’s house spins with a perfectly played shot.

It combines newfangled technology with an old-school game in a way that industry observers say could win back consumers who left pinball machines for video games at home and arcade games that offer redemption prizes.

By way of proof: Guarnieri started the Lakewood business in 2011 without the help of bankers, instead depending on pre-orders from customers to raise the $2 million he needed to get started. Two years later, the company is on pace for annual sales of $8 million.

The “Wizard of Oz” game is front and center at the Silver Ball Museum in Asbury Park, which offers visitors the chance to play dozens of pinball machines, some of which date to the 1930s.

Fedak Arashi, 19, a camp counselor from Middlesex supervising a field trip to Silver Ball last week, took aim at the record 136,461 points set by someone named Jim S. He didn’t come close to the record.

Arashi said he was neither a fan of “The Wizard of Oz” nor pinball. But he walked away with what sounded like new-found respect.

“It’s a pretty good pinball machine,” he said. “I give it two thumbs up.”

Jersey Jack Pinball employs about 50 workers at its 42,000-square-foot headquarters in an industrial park in Ocean County and at a smaller office in Arlington Heights, Ill.

It has given New Jersey a manufacturing company that — aside from the high-definition screens and digital stereo sound systems — is decidedly low-tech.

Workers have as many as 5,000 parts to assemble for the finished product. They make 10 machines a day, five days a week. And it’s tough to envision much room for automation.

Even with a six- to nine-month wait, sales have been brisk. The company sells a standard pinball machine for $7,000 and a limited edition pinball machine — one with emerald-colored rails, legs and wire ramps and a glass top that doesn’t reflect light — for $10,000. Guarnieri pulled up a photo on his iPad of musician Slash, standing in front of his new “Wizard of Oz” pinball machine.

Read more via thedailyjournal

You don't typically think of pinball -- the pastime of famous 1970s characters like the Fonz and The Who's Tommy -- as a particularly cutting edge technology.

Yet that's just what Jack Guarnieri is setting out to do with his recently launched company, Jersey Jack Pinball. Guarnieri founded the company in 2011, after 35 years in the pinball industry as a mechanic. His machines offer a significant upgrade on what you'd expect from the beloved arcade machines, offering cinema quality animations and LED lights that can change into any color -- an industry first.

Guarnieri says he wants to use new technology to make "the greatest pinball machine ever.”

Now Guarnieri and Jersey Jack Pinball are celebrating the successful release of itsWizard of Oz pinball game, selling a first run of around 1,500 units for $7,000 each, according to CNNMoney.

Jersey Jack Pinball's timing appears to be spot on as the game seems to be undergoing a "resurgence," as Guarnieri puts it. Competitor Stern Pinball -- the only other company still surviving in the business -- has seen sales triple since 2009, while the International Flipper Pinball Association saw membership grow 30 percent last year, according to CNNMoney.

As the company prepares to release its second game in 2014, this time based on The Hobbit, it remains to be seen whether or not Jersey Jack Pinball will foster a full-fledged renaissance for the game that was once so loved.

One thing’s for sure though, it’s a whole lot of fun -- and not just for the customer.

“The best part of this job is being involved with something that I love, so it’s not work,” he said.

Read the article, pics and video here http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/jersey-jack-pinball_n_3504566.html

Vendingtimes has posted an article about JJP shipping games to customers as well as some insight into the companies production facility and game features.

LAKEWOOD, NJ -- Jersey Jack Pinball Inc. has begun shipping the production version of its first game, The Wizard of Oz. Pinball machines are on their way from the company's 42,000-sq.ft. building in Lakewood, NJ, to the more than 1,400 customers worldwide who preordered the JJP original. A few games left the factory in early March.

Coin-op veteran Jack Guarnieri announced the formation of JJP on Jan. 1, 2011, to design and build commercial pinball machines. Jersey Jack Pinball licensed the iconic film, "The Wizard of Oz," from Warner Bros. Consumer Products to theme its first game. Guarnieri starting repairing electromechanical pinball machines in 1975.

JJP is building 1,000 WoZ Emerald City Limited Edition models, which have been sold out since 2011. Its next step will be to produce the standard version of Wizard of Oz, which the company expects to be a worldwide hit. It has spent $2 million to make it.

The Wizard of Oz machine is said to incorporate some "industry firsts" designed to bring pinball into the 21st century. These include a 26" high-definition LCD screen for custom animation, movie clips, scoring and much of the backglass artwork. The playfield is illuminated by LEDs, while the soundtrack and effects are generated by a seven-speaker digital audio system. The solid-wood cabinet and the playfield feature full-color digital imprinting, the playfield is protected by a premium Clearcoat overlay.

Guarnieri reports that the machine's aesthetics were thought out carefully, inch by inch, to ensure that all aspects of The Wizard of Oz are illustrated. The game includes a magnetized flying monkey that scoops up the ball, Dorothy's house which spins and drops on the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East, a crystal ball that displays animations on a small backlit LCD monitor, ruby red "slipper flippers," and many other visual references to the movie.

With Wizard of Oz now rolling off the assembly line, the company has begun work on its second game. This will be based on the movie version of J.R.R. Tolkien's children's book, The Hobbit. The first of the three movies in this trilogy premiered in December 2012, with the two remaining films set for release in December 2013 and December 2014.

The Hobbit pinball is currently in the design phase, and will be released late 2014. The company says it already has pre-sold more than 1,000 units.

Guarnieri has proven that a pinball startup, while not easy, is possible -- if it has a loyal and tolerant clientele. The former distributor for Stern Pinball Inc., which until now was considered the only manufacturer of authentic pinball machines for more than a decade, could now be considered a Stern competitor. If and when its second title rolls off the Lakewood factory line, Jersey Jack Pinball could become more than a one-pin wonder.

As for the first game, Guarnieri exclaims, "My Oz is finally seeing these incredible games make their way out of our factory and into the homes and arcades of our unbelievably loyal and patient customers. We hope this game will bring smiles to their faces for many years to come."


via Vendingtimes

Jack and the crew at Jersey Jack Pinball have sent out big update with some impressions from a happy new Wizard of Oz pinball owner and his two happy kids proudly taking a picture. JJP have also included a sneak peek at the lower playfield section of the Hobbit pinball machine currently in the design phase. With some unique features not seen before like the slingshot mounted articulating axes, long-since-seen outlane kickback and what appears to be another long-missed and unique feature, a cross playfield trajectory shooter lane instead of the usual straight to the back shot.

Look for the rest of the announcements including the addition of Lloyd Olsen to the technical support staff and a link to the JJP E3 video produced by us here at performancepinball.com

Performancepinball.com in cooperation with Jersey Jack Pinball is proud to release an exclusive video for the new pinball machine based on beloved classic movie, the Wizard of Oz by JJP. Performancepinball was in attendance at the 2012 E3 Expo and produced this exclusive video news release with the team behind the game.

Watch the video after the break and stay tuned for more exclusive content from www.performancepinball.com and JJP including exclusive, in-depth interviews with Jack Guarnieri, Keith Johnson and more.

It's been a long road but it looks like to day JJP officially starts shipping customer games and boards and other components have been finalized and incorporated into waiting games.

JJP has alerted fans and customers with the following release.

Greetings JJP Fans:

Today marks one of our biggest milestones as Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. proudly announces that it has begun shipping Wizard of Oz Pinball Machines!   

While the proverbial yellow brick road may have been a bit longer than anticipated, we are absolutely thrilled to be shipping games now. In these coming weeks the game code will continue to evolve with regular updates as Keith and Ted implement more modes and rules.....If you "tweet", we have created a special Twitter Page to announce code updates when they're ready. We will also announce when code updates are available on on the Jersey Jack Pinball Facebook Page. 

We are completing more games daily and shipping them as they go through burn-in and final testing. The games are shipping in the queue in which orders were placed.        

Whether you have been following our journey since day one, or have recently found out about our company, Thank You. This experience has been extremely special and we could not have imagined abundance of support we have been given. JJP couldn't be more thrilled that The Award Winning game has begun to make its way to amusement centers, taverns, truck stops, amusement parks and home game rooms around the globe!  

A billion ideas, thousands of parts and millions of dollars have created this game for you!  

This weekend, Jack as well as Joe Newhart of PinballSTAR Amusements will be at Pinfest 2013 on May 3rd & 4th in Allentown, PA with 3 WOZ Pinball Machines. For more  information about the show visit, http://www.pinfestival.com/.  

At the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown in Denver this weekend, WOZ won 1st place for "Crowd Pleaser" & another award for "Most Unique"!  

A hearty congratulations is due to all the people at Jersey Jack Pinball for making this dream come true for so many who never imagined it could be done.

By Kevin L'Heureux

Performancepinball.com in cooperation with Jersey Jack Pinball is proud to release an exclusive video for the new pinball machine based on beloved classic movie, the Wizard of Oz by JJP. Performancepinball was in attendance at the 2012 E3 Expo and produced this exclusive video news release with the team behind the game.

Watch the video after the break and stay tuned for more exclusive content from www.performancepinball.com and JJP including exclusive, in-depth interviews with Jack Guarnieri, Keith Johnson and more.