ABBA VOYAGE & ARRIVAL ANNOUNCED

Pinball Brothers have released more details and pictures of their third title, based on the Swedish band ABBA.

The playfield design is by Alexander Spohr, with sound design by Olof Gustafsson, video graphics by Kelly Mazurowski and cabinet/playfield artwork by Andreas Bennwik.

The game comes in two versions – Arrival Limited Edition (maximum 500 units) and Voyage Collector Edition (maximum 300 units). The Arrival Edition uses representations of the band from 1976, the year of the Arrival album release along with a clean, understated geometric design.

Here are some pictures of the Arrival Limited Edition model.

The Voyage Collector Edition uses assets from the Voyage holographic stage show currently running in London. Details of plans to establish a second Voyage show at a custom-built venue in Las Vegas were recently announced, although that is yet to be confirmed as is a prospective date for the launch.

Here’s the Voyage Collector Edition of ABBA.

Both editions include additional video content taken from the stage show to complement the promotional videos for all twenty-plus classic ABBA songs used. Both versions also come with a special model-specific goodie box.

The bottom apron includes interactive lighting effects as does the backbox illumination. There are also outputs for backbox add-ons such as toppers.

So, let’s move on to what’s on that playfield.

The playfield is the same on both versions and is a three-flippered, six-ball game using Pinball Brothers’ new Razorback+ electronics system which adds end-of-stroke switches to the flippers for improved feel and control.

Probably the most prominent feature is the helicopter which was used in an earlier tease for the game. This locks – and releases – balls for multiball.

It’s almost inevitable that the game would include a motorised disco mirror ball and, sure enough, it does.

In the picture above you can also see some of the shots available from the upper-left flipper as well as the right ramp.

Beneath the helicopter is a scoop, while to the left is the clear left ramp with a diverter to either feed the ball back to the left inlane or into a whirlpool which drops into the left orbit lane.

There are four (A-B-B-A) pop bumpers with a rebound to increase the ball action in the right pops area, a Take – A Chance – On Me standup target bank and a ‘Song Contest’ 3-bank of drop targets, as well as a trio of spinners found in the left, right and inner orbit lanes.

The storyline for the game’s rules is rather more esoteric than you might expect. It’s probably best if we let Pinball Brothers explain the game’s objectives.

The game will premiere at a special launch party being held in the Swedish city of Örebro starting at 6pm local time Saturday 6th April. Pinball News will be there to report on all the action and (hopefully) bring you some gameplay video.

The date of the launch party is significant as it marks exactly 50 years to the day since ABBA won the Eurovision Song Content with their song, Waterloo. With the management of Pinball Brothers now based wholly in Sweden, the company is proud to celebrate the band’s achievements.

Obviously an ABBA pinball has to include plenty of classic ABBA tracks and the Pinball Brothers’ game doesn’t disappoint, with over twenty ABBA tracks incorporated into the gameplay.

Some of those tracks are yet to be revealed, but we can bring you details of the first sixteen:

Dancing Queen Does Your Mother Know Eagle Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) Knowing Me, Knowing You Mamma Mia Money, Money, Money Ring Ring	S.O.S. Summer Night City Super Trouper Take A Chance On Me The Winner Takes It All Tiger Voulez-Vous Waterloo

The company has also provided a feature matrix comparing the two models. The Arrival Limited Edition (500 units) has a MRSP of US$9,995 while the Voyage Collector Edition is priced $1,000 higher at US$10,995.

We’ll be back with much more from the ABBA launch party this weekend, so check back for all the latest news right here at Pinball News.