Jersey Jack Pinball today announced some rather big news today as the company has hired legendary audio engineer or "pinball sound master" David Thiel to work on The Hobbit Pinball, the next Pat Lawlor game as well as future JJP games. Considering David's past work including the incredible sound on Tron Legacy pinball along with the groundbreaking sound system utilized by JJP, we can rest assured that the future of pinball will sound amazing.

In addition, JJP revealed new images of The Hobbit Pinball playfield art.

Read the press release and see the images after the break.

On the heels of the recent Jersey Jack Pinball update, comes another in rapid-fire succession. First off is an update on Jack's visit to the Michigan Pinball Expo as well as new statistics on WOZ earnings on location. Jack and the team have been hard at work in developing The Hobbit pinball and have some videos to show us.

New Wizard of Oz machines are being delivered and check out the uber-cool new jukebox functionality from Pinnovators as well.

Read the update below and let us know what you think about it in the comments section.

Jack and team have been busy working on the new Hobbit pinball machine as well as completing orders for WOZ in order to get ready for the next release. Read the update after the break.

Big news this afternoon at the Chicago Pinball Expo as Planetary pinball Supply in cooperation with WMS gaming have announced the new production run of the hugely popular Medieval Madness pinball machine.

Update: Due to very high demand as sales smashed through 1,000 games within 24 hours, PPS has decided to announce an additional model of "Standard" Medival Madness pinball machines in addition to the Limited Edition games. The new games will apparently be unlimited in production quantity so if you missed out on an LE model you still have a chance to get your new in box MM!

Read more after the break

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.

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.

As the resurgences of pinball marches on in the US and across the globe, another pinball museum, this time in sunny Southern California prepares to launch, IF fans of pinball are willing to pitch in.

From the Kickstarter page:

Long before video games found their way into the home, arcades across America were filled with the lights and sounds of mechanical pinball machines and the young people who were enamored by them. These machines are now finding their way back into the spotlight in barcades, private collections, and professional pinball tournaments. 

Pinball doesn’t need to be SAVED – it needs to be SAVORED!

We know YOU ARE GENEROUS and you'll want to be part of this historic opportunity. Before you CHOOSE A REWARD to the right, let us tell you a bit more about the project. 


Why a Museum of Pinball?

• Pinball is experiencing a massive comeback.
• We want young people to experience the excitement of an electronic game that doesn't just appear on a screen.
• We want people who grew up playing pinball to rediscover their passion for the game...or what we like to call a "sport."
• We want to help bring competitive pinball tournaments into the spotlight.
• We want to preserve the amazing history of the game.
• Ultimately, we just want more people to fall in love with pinball.  

We know you want to be part of this project, but don't contribute quite yet! 
There's still more to learn. KEEP READING. here 

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

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

Pinball News.com brings us an update on Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle pinball machine.

Last weekend at the German Pinball Open in Berlin, a prototype of Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle game made its first public appearance, and naturally Pinball News was there to cover it. Plus, we have big news of two new team members as preparations begin at the company's new factory.

Read more via pinballnews.com