The Star Wars pinball machine brings back memories in so many different ways. It was created 20 years ago, to keep the Star Wars spirit alive in a time when the world started forgetting about this space saga.
The Star Wars pinball machine was created in December 1992, so there are still a few months left till the exact anniversary. According to the Internet Pinball Database, 10,400 such units were built by Data East Pinball, Incorporated. The machine was designed by John Borg, with artwork by Markus Rothkranz. The music and sound effects were handled by Brian Schmidt, while Neil Falconer and Lonnie D. Ropp developed the software. The 2 flippers and 4 bumbers are this pinball machine’s most notable features, from a mechanical point of view. Of course, geeks will see past that, as the main theme is one of the most important sci-fi flicks in history.
It is believed that this pinball machine was created at a point in time when people were starting to forget about Star Wars. After all, the last episode of the saga had been watched by people in 1983, nine years before this pinball machine was launched. This device was not alone in the Star Wars comeback concerted by Lucasfilm two decades ago.Video games whose quality was rather impressive at that time, were also created, to make sure that the fans do not forget on which side of the Force they are found. The company also Make sure you continue reading after this series of images.
The aforementioned database should be consulted for more technical details regarding this pinball machine. It’s really fascinating that such databases exist, and I’m rather sure that they are made by geeks for geeks. The page dedicated to the Star Wars pinball machine includes documentation, a list of ROMs, as well as audio files. Not at last, a Star Wars rulesheet is included, along with a great number of images, taken from various angles and at different zoom levels.
Want to see this pinball machine in action? Check out the following video! I must admit that the sound and light effects are nothing short of impressive, especially considering that this pinball machine was created 20 years ago. In these two decades, the Star Wars pinball machine was featured in newspapers, magazines and pinball references books. Ultimately, this pinball machine represents a very important piece of geeky history.
If you liked this post, please check the Iron Man pinball machine and the homemade Portal pinball machine.
