PREDATOR REVEALED

Pinball Brothers have today revealed their fourth title with the unveiling of their new Predator pinball, based on the popular 1987 action/sci-fi movie.

Although there have been multiple sequels and spin-offs, this game is based solely on the storyline and characters of the first movie, Predator.

There is only one model of the Predator pinball, although this can be upgraded at time of purchase with a Predator Trophy Package which adds a number of cosmetic enhancements and some bespoke merchandise.

The standard Predator pinball is priced at $10,995. The Predator Trophy Package adds another $1,495 and includes the ‘Starry Green’ metal siderails, hinges, legs and lockbar seen above. It also adds a shaker motor, anti-reflective playfield glass and 60 interactive RGB LEDs on the rear of the backbox which illuminate the area around the game. A special Predator poster, Predator merchandise and a wood-cased ‘Jungle Service Kit’ of unspecified special goodies are also included in the Trophy Package.

So, let’s take a look at the game’s playfield.

The playfield is a collaborative design between Pinball Brothers’ CEO Daniel Janson, his Mechanical Engineer, Peter Dahlman, and Andrea Pedretti of Euro Pinball Corp who will be manufacturing the games. Cabinet, backbox and playfield artwork is by Aurich Lawson, while the video art is by Kelly Mazurowski – both familiar names from earlier Pinball Brothers designs going back to the Alien game. Also from the Alien days, software support comes from Brian Dominy.

Let’s take a look in more detail.

This widebody game has three flippers – two in the usual place and a third full-size flipper half-way up on the right side. Between the main two flippers is a centre post, while a metal wireform runs behind the flippers, sending balls to the mini-gun ball shooter on the left. There is one inlane and one outlane on either side, featuring inserts to spell out A-M-M-O.

There are multiple LEDs in the bottom apron to illuminate the flipper area. These are joined by many more RGB LEDs along the sides of the playfield which are used to create immersive colour effects at key points in the gameplay.

A representation of the Predator’s multi-functional gauntlet is built into the bottom apron, including four red LED displays which show various Yautja symbols as well as game mode information, such as the time remaining.

On the left side is the mini-gun which features a rotating gun muzzle and explosive lighting effects.

Above the left outlane is The Camp, featuring a large sculpt depicting a Jeep, trees, a hut and fuel barrels.

On the right side of The Camp is where the first of the drop targets are mounted. In this case, they are the ammo targets.

The drop targets can be shot from the main flippers and also the upper-flipper. Above them are three more upper-flipper shots.

The outer orbit includes the first of three spinners in the game. The plastic left side ramp heads across the top of the playfield and onto a spiral wireform, while the left Predator orbit lane includes the second spinner.

The Predator toy sits at the top centre of the playfield behind a drop target bank.

The right entrance to the Predator orbit lane also features a spinner, but it is angled to be shot from the main flippers.

The detailed Predator model moves up and down, as well as side-to-side, and has dedicated RGB lighting to create some dramatic effects.

To the right of the Predator are three more shots – the jungle subway, the right ramp and the right orbit lane.

The first of these three lanes is guarded by a single drop target, behind which is an underground entrance which starts the Jungle Event modes. Next to that is the right ramp which can either lead to the spiral wireform or to the lock area underneath the helicopter. The helicopter’s rotor blades are motorised to interact with ball locks and multiball start. Finally, the right-most lane is the outer orbit, although it has a magnet which can snag the ball and drop it into a lock area.

A little further down is the Wrist Blade upkicker shot which ejects the ball onto the spiral wireform and down to the right inlane.

Above the right outlane is an upkicker which is covered by a net trap.

This is fed from a lock area under the playfield and ejects the ball onto the wireform which curves behind the main flippers and sends the ball into the mini-gun kicker.

To the right is the shooter lane. This curves to the left and launches the ball towards the ammo drop targets.

Above the main flippers is an array of inserts showing progress towards towards the wizard mode – El Cazador Trofeo de los Hombres (The trophy hunters of men).

Above that is the map showing all the Jungle Event missions. The map includes some easter eggs in the form of the names of the design team (A-LAW, K-MAZ, P-DAH, D-JAN, etc.).

Here are some descriptions of the Predator game modes and missions. As usual, click the image to enlarge it.

Potential buyers of any game based on a movie would expect a healthy amount of content from that movie to be included in the gameplay. Concerns had been raised by the lack of movie characters on the cabinet, backbox and playfield, leading to suggestions Pinball Brothers didn’t have the rights to use any movie assets.

Daniel Janson, CEO of Pinball Brothers, told us how they have access to all the video and audio from the Predator movie with the sole exception of any close-up shots of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays the character Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer. This restriction is apparently due to a wider licensing dispute between the actor and Disney, which now owns the original Predator movie production company, 20th Century Fox.

Daniel told us he hopes the dispute can be resolved soon, and this would allow these close-up clips to be included on the display through a software update. He told us that all other actors can be shown, along with wide shots which include Schwarzenegger, while all the dialogue from the entire cast can be utilised.

However, it later emerged that the character Billy Sole, played by Sonny Landham, also can’t be shown. This is apparently because Sonny Landham only signed a contract to appear in the movie. When 20th Century Fox sent a subsequent contract to use his likeness in promotional merchandise he never signed it, and even sued a toy company which produced a Billy model as part of their Predator range (he lost the case, as the model was deemed sufficiently different from the actor’s appearance.

It also appears that, as of now, Schwarzenegger’s voice can’t be used in the Predator pinball, and his quotes in the game are by a voice actor.

The original Predator movie theme by Alan Silvestri is included in the gameplay at several points, but multiple additional tracks have been composed and performed by Olof Gustafsson who also worked on the sound package for the previous Pinball Brothers title, ABBA.

While audio calls from the movie are included, custom voice calls to guide the player and for pinball-specific events come from seasoned voice actor, James Burnett.

The Predator game sees the introduction of the FAST Pinball hardware system, replacing Pinball Brothers’ own system which had been used for their Alien, Queen and ABBA titles. The FAST team have been working with Pinball Brothers to help them with the integration, while the flipper and pop bumper mechanisms have also been upgraded to the more widely used design pioneered by Williams. Pinball Brothers say the combination of FAST Pinball and the Williams-style mechs gives a snappier, more responsive feel.

To get all the details, Pinball News teamed up with Pinball Magazine to interview Pinball Brothers’ CEO, Daniel Janson in a special bonus edition of our joint monthly Pinball Industry News PINcast. Click below to play our interview with Daniel.

The game has been on the production line at Euro Pinball Corp, although they are still awaiting the arrival of a couple of key components to complete the builds. These are expected soon, with shipping from the Euro Pinball factory in Italy planned to begin in mid-August.

The first gameplay video has been released showing the shots and some of the rules included so far. Here it is.

Finally, here is the promotional flyer for the game.

We’ll be back with more Predator updates right here at Pinball News.