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Episode 76 - Original Themes
PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday1 hr 15 min listen
Highlights
- Williams stayed away from licensed games during the 1970s while Bally pioneered licensing, and Williams designers took pride in creating original games from scratch
- High Speed (1986) sold 17,000 units and Getaway (1992) sold over 13,000 units, proving unlicensed themes could be massive commercial hits
- Best games from the 1990s Williams renaissance were unlicensed originals, and these themes aged better than contemporary licensed competitors
- Data East and Sega made only licensed games by 1989 and were outsold by Williams despite those licenses
- Gary Stern becoming the last manufacturer standing after Williams closed shaped the industry toward all-licensed games
- Modern boutique manufacturers create original themes primarily as cost-cutting measures, not creative necessities
- Vacation America (2003) flopped not because of the original theme but because the game itself wasn't good
Notable quotes
“Williams was the company that was like we can make our own and we can make these characters we can make them iconic we can tell stories we can make them memorable us as pinball players we remember that shit”
“when you see luke skywalker you're like that's star wars you're not like oh that's pinball luke skywalker”
“this game is better because it's unlicensed if this was monty python and the holy grail it would be worse it would be significantly worse”
“they did it because it was cheap they didn't do this because it fits the narrative of the game better they did it because it was cheap they were cutting costs”
“history is written by the victors and this is where i think change things”
“The difference between Vacation America and Attack from Mars is one of them is a good game that people want to buy”
“you could create a new character and immediately make the audience like dislike them and understand that's an antagonist and you want to beat them it's just the ability like what you can do with an original theme it's just like the doors are wide open”
“nobody on paper would say that you're like yeah tornado chaser uh earthquakes in california like these are like brilliant themes but these games are iconic in pinball because they are great games”
Entities
- Chicago Gaming Company· company
- Data East USA Inc.· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Williams· company
- WMS (parent company)· company
- Pintastic· event
- Attack from Mars· game
- Black Knight / Black Knight Sword of Rage· game
- Earthshaker· game
- Funhouse· game
- Getaway· game
- High Speed· game
- Medieval Madness· game
- Pinbot trilogy· game
- Vacation America· game
- Whirlwind· game
- Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex / Waterboy· person
- Gary Stern· person
- Greg Freres· person
- Papa Duke / John Papaduke· person
- Pat Lawlor· person
- Roger Sharpe· person
- Steve Richie· person
