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Episode 33 - Die on this Hill: A Nightmare on Elm Street
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago54 min listen
Highlights
- Nightmare on Elm Street is ranked #244 out of 290 machines on Pinside's Top 100 list of solid state machines
- The game was designed by Bill Parker and Ray Tanzer for Gottlieb Premier in 1994
- Nightmare on Elm Street functions as an effective onboarding tool that converts casual players into regular pinball enthusiasts
- The game features accessible design elements like one-button skill shots and immediate multiball rewards that create positive player feedback loops
- Nightmare on Elm Street 4 was the highest-grossing film in the franchise
- Gottlieb typically avoided ultra-violent or sexually risqué themes compared to Bally in the pinball era
- The Freddy Krueger glove toy on the game is poorly constructed and deteriorates quickly due to steel ball impacts on thin plastic
- West Craven's New Nightmare released in 1994, same year as the pinball machine, kept franchise licensing valuable during that period
Notable quotes
“I'm gonna get a freddy freddy is my grail game like that is my grail game”
“I put freddy right there with pac-man Because once you put them in an arcade, even if you don't give a shit about arcades or pinball, you know who Pac-Man is.”
“without that important first step you might not have that future player”
“It's boring, repetitive, and feels cheap.”
“If their heart's into it, then they're doing it not because they want to make a quick buck off of it, because they're doing it because they love to do it.”
“that carnival aspect of a pinball machine what's that game gonna do before you even press the start button to make you stop dead in your tracks”
“yeah he is terrifying dude”
“I don't think it's a great pinball machine”
“The games love to throw multi-balls at you. And to your player that is very decent, half good, and is experienced in pinball, you're like, well, geez, they're just giving you everything.”
Entities
- Gottlieb Premier· company
- Propeller Arcade· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Wedgehead Pinball Bar· company
- Nightmare on Elm Street (pinball)· game
- Pinside· organization
- Alan· person
- Bill Parker· person
- Ian Matheson· person
- Kevin Yager· person
- Ray Tanzer· person
- Renny Harlin· person
- Robert England· person
- Wes Craven· person
