KEEPING ABREAST

Story dated 13th February 2002.

In the latest press release, Stern Pinball Inc. unveil their latest game - Playboy.

Not much of a surprise for Pinball News readers of course, since we brought you the world's first full review 3 weeks ago. But this is Stern's public admission of their next game. Playboy in now in production and should last for about 4 months if things go according to plan. There isn't any information on the Stern web site yet beyond a simple splash screen with the backglass image but Stern did send us two images of the game.

Interestingly, these pictures show the same lockdown bar as we saw at the ATEI show. This one had a plastic insert part way along it leading us to assume it was a prototype model using a patched Austin Powers part. These models also show it, though hopefully it won't be there in the production version. We shall see.

There don't appear to be any visible differences between the game shown in Stern's pictures and the games we reviewed. However, we've shown them below anyway. If you can see any changes please let us know.

Award for the cheesiest quote of the year so far must go to George Gomez for this classic:"The game recreates the excitement and glamour of the magazine within the fiction of the game." Err, right George.

Here's the press release:

Playboy, the most popular men's magazine in history, is now the pinball machine that everyone's talking about. Brought to you by Stern Pinball, Inc. and Playboy Enterprises International, Inc., the Playboy pinball machine is the work of George Gomez (designer of Monster Bash™), Dwight Sullivan (programmer of T2® and Star Trek: TNG®), and the incredible team of pinball experts at Stern Pinball. Steeped in Playboy's rich 50-year tradition, this pinball machine brings you the world's most beautiful women in a glamorous lifestyle that only can be called Playboy. This is one pinball machine you have to see to believe, and play to experience.


The Playboy pinball machine challenges you to collect Playboy Rabbit Heads, to complete a calendar year of Playmates, and experience "Mansion Mania" in a way you never have before. The Playboy pinball machine also features a mechanical Centerfold that opens and closes, along with several other unique playfield mechanisms that reveal the many beautiful women of Playboy. (Important note: photo inserts for the playfield mechanisms are interchangeable, allowing for appropriately rated images to be applied to various environments.)

The Playboy pinball machine also features an incredible art package by Kevin O'Connor (artist of Star Wars: Episode One® and PLAYBOY: 35th Anniversary), great sounds and music, and a sexy lady's voice talking to you the whole way.

George Gomez says, "This is the first Playboy pinball that truly highlights the beautiful women of Playboy. The game recreates the excitement and glamour of the magazine within the fiction of the game."

Gary Stern adds, "Playboy has the deepest rules we have ever put in a game-but most of us will just shoot the gadgets and see the pictures. And the ball flow is fantastic-Playboy shoots beautifully!"

To get your Playboy pinball machine, log on to playboystore.com or call your nearest Stern Pinball distributor. You can also contact Jolly Backer at 1-708-786-7039 or by e-mail at [email protected], or Shelley Sax at 1-708-786-7030 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Visit Stern Pinball's website at www.sternpinball.com.

©2002 Playboy. PLAYBOY, RABBIT HEAD DESIGN, PLAYMATE and CENTERFOLD are marks of Playboy and used with permission.
Monster Bash™ is a trademark of Williams Electronics Games, Inc.
Terminator 2® is a trademark of Artisan Productions, Inc.
Star Trek: The Next Generation® is a trademark of Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Star Wars: Episode One® is a trademark of Lucasfilm, Inc.

 

 

 

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