what about better node boards? seems like they can burn up away to easy.

G.I Joe, more things you can do with that I would imagine. Cobra Commander is a bad ass lookin dude , the art would be great.

I like TS4. Fun to play, lots of shots. It's like a "Best of Lawlor" pin. It has the NGG jump ramp to upper deck playfield. Playfield spinners from NGG and Whirlwind. Pop up bash toy like NGG. The lower third of the playfield shares the same layout as Dialed In, NGG, Wonka and maybe others. I could care less about Toy Story as a theme but as a Lawlor fan I enjoy the game quite a bit and the theme doesn't get in the way of that. Hoping to pick one up down the road on trade when the prices come down a bit more.

Nah, Harry Potter has already been done

They're selling rights to "Pokemon Go" for $3.5B, which tells me:
1. They're in the mood to license Pokemon for big $
2. They would be motivated to do a deal that raises Pokemon's profile (pinball ain't exactly mainstream, but hey, every little bit of exposure helps)

I'm assuming "further down the chute" you mean "further up the pipeline" or some other analogy to a bowel movement that will take more time to materialize. But the actual meaning is for something to be going to shit / deteriorating and failing to be realized. From the internets:

"The expression "down the chute" has several meanings. It can refer to something going awry or deteriorating, as well as to something being squandered or destroyed. In rodeos, it describes the moment when a bull or bronco bursts out of its holding pen and into the arena. In everyday conversation, it signifies any sudden or unexpected situation."

Is Nintendo slowing stuff down?

As much as I liked GIJOE as a kid they've done a pretty terrible job keeping it relevant. I mean I didn't mind the first couple of live action movies, but it's pretty way down the list at this point of childhood things I loved that should be turned into a pinball machine.

I believe Niantic owns a good portion of Pokemon Go. Nintendo/The Pokemon Company has the rights to Pokemon itself. So they will have to go through them to get the actual Pokemon assets. Nintendo has been very stingy in releasing their IP's to pinball. If Pokemon pinball is made, I'll be curious to see the assets they get.

Things aren't constant. There's every reason to think Nintendo is getting less stingy with licensing themselves out. From theme parks to having their games on phones, not exclusive to their consoles, they are getting looser with their ip.

There is no pokemon pinball in the works.

Look at the money they want for pokemon go alone- look even if someone went there with more money than has ever been spent on a license, like some redic number like $20mil flat fee upfront just to even start working on the game- it basically does not even get the receptionists attention, let alone someone whos making decisions.

Whether or not Pokemon pinball is in fact in the works, saying it's impossible to license because of what Pokemon Go might sell for is silly.

Of all the upcoming themes rumoured

- GB, pokemon, gi joe, hp, top gun, beetlejuice
And all
These do nothing for me.
Would have to be AMAZING “best ever” to garner my attention.
Especially HP & top gun, lol, zero interest, tho somewhat amusing to wait for the laughs.

The only one I’m excited for is KING KONG.
All that matters
Have a feeling it’s gonna be a Monster.

Where did I say impossible? My point is that since there is unlikely a strong internal draw to make a pokemon pinball happen from within you need to have access to decision makers, and straight up money isn't going to do it.

I'm not going to get into a whole diatribe about how their business practices are different- but that has a lot to do with things as well. And these are all reasons why something that we know would make tons of money does not currently exist.

They don't technically need or care about most things they've licensed Pokemon to. It's an argument pinball fans like to repeat, that no one wants a pinball machine. But it's missing the part that most of these companies license because they like free, risk free money. It all adds up even if the individual things they license their ip to don't always amount to much.

I've never been in the "pokemon pinball can't be popular in Japan" person if you've noticed.

Let's admit there is a large barrier that exists in that when the last time A large Japanese video game IP was licensed to pinball companies they were received quite poorly by the pinball community here in it's home market of NA so it's harder to build on pinballs base with C-grade execution of beloved IP. Just saying they tend to have more people vocal with their displeasure of such things and it can be hard to overcome. It's serious for them and they don't want the social embarrassment that comes with this.

Much easier to overcome this with a game like GZ which is really hitting on all cylinders with theme execution, assets that were generously given and used, coding that anyone can enjoy, etc...I know there is potential distribution channel issues with even getting games there from what I have heard, and many buy from the Aus distro. Obviously the "pinball at home" market in Japan has got to be quite miniscule due to various lifestyle and living standards there.

Would be great to hear from anyone who has routed games in Japan.

I don't think the pinball in Japan thing is that relevant. Pokemon is a worldly popular ip. It's a country with space problems, pinball circus' form factor needed to catch on to gain traction in Japan. As for quality, they also made the stupidest most laughed at Mario movie back in the day. Sometimes just a passage of time needs to pass for things to make more sense.

Anyways, I was more making the point initially that a ip's worth doesn't correlate with the ease at which it is to license. And it's been stated enough by Stern that it's a small think tank that even decides what ips they use. Which leads to not much outside the box ips. It's not always just the cost of license, sometimes the desire just isn't there.

I just generally think Pokemon would work in pinball, and the rumor mill feels a little more than just wishful thinking. But I don't really know for sure at this point.

Yes this is an excellent point- you only catch fish in the pond you drop bait in.

I've spoken to Jack Guarnieri on this subject. He's sat down with Nintendo several times, but they won't budge on a license. Their reason is because why spend time on a pinball machine when a video game has a lot more profit to it.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly hope that Nintendo is opening up. I would buy a Zelda LE/CE sight unseen.

I would hate to be a game developer for Nintendo. They would pay you peanuts why they millions off of your hard work.

That makes sense and at the same time absolutely doesn‘t.

We‘re talking about licensing. Nintendo does the videogames themselves. The license is addional money for letting companys print your IP on your underpants or manufacture a nightlamp. So a pinball machine does not compete with the video games, it competes with your Pikachu Nightlamp.

THE DIFFERENCE IS that there is a lot more suvervision necessary for developing a pinball gam then greenlighting a Nightlamp.
So because of their high IP standards Nintendo propably would want to be too involved in the development of the product then is financially feasible for them.

If Stern would want to produce a ‚whack a mole‘ game with pokemon, it‘d be licensed in a whiff!