The annual Pinball Expo is happening tonight and as a part of it, American pinball manufacturer Jersey Jack Pinball has taken the opportunity to announce their newest game: Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean. This is not the first time that the franchise has been in arcades through pinball, Stern Pinball having released their take on it back in 2006 (it was also in video form earlier this year through the Dave & Busters exclusive, Disney Crossy Road, PotC Edition). Also recall that last year they unveiled the Pat Lawlor designed Dialed In! at Pinball Expo.
The New Pirates Of The Caribbean By Jersey Jack
As you likely know, the PotC franchise (as I’ll call it to save space) has done fairly well for Disney, enough to make five films from. Let’s pass on from that to look at this new game.
Three versions have been announced by JJP, a Standard, Limited Edition and Collectors Edition. From their website:
Is the Pirates life for you? This fast-playing, challenging and feature packed game captures memorable scenes and elements from all top five motion pictures in the series, and hosts 3.25 sextillion game play variations, so you’ll never play the same game twice. Players can choose to play as one of 22 movie characters, fire their pinball-loaded cannon from the rocking Black Pearl on the upper playfield and enjoy features such as an interactive concentric map with 216 useable combinations for gamers to experience.
From reactions I’ve been reading online of people watching a feed from the Expo, they sound rather impressed, mainly talking about the huge amount of variation that is present thanks to the characters and map feature. Here’s the Standard version:
Each version is a wide body game, features a 27″ HD display in the backbox, five flippers, a 5 speaker 2.1ch sound system and more. JJP already has a features matrix document (link goes to a PDF), where pricing is also listed out as: $8500, $9500, $12500 (not including shipping and options). I’ve also read that there is a second LCD that works as a compass on the playfield; it’s in an odd spot from what we’re used to though, it’s right at the very bottom of the playfield below the flippers, on top of the ‘skirt’ (that area where the rules are held). It also has 2 magnets, 6 diverters to make for various different ball paths, aimable cannon ball at target ship and multiball modes for each movie. You can also “plunder” (steal) another player’s points when in multiplayer mode. Most people who have seen it in person keep talking about the “spinning discs” and rocking upper playfield. Something you have to see in action I suppose 😛
Collector’s Edition will be limited to 200 units while both it and the LE have full RGB LED lighting (Standard has white general illumination while LE/CE use RGB there too); CE/LE also have the external headphone jack, Invisiglass, a shaker motor, a 72-light “starlight field” on the back that shows different constellations, moving pop bumper rotation (from what I’ve read, this is a new innovation), target decals and from the sounds of it, more detailed toys. In this sense, I believe there is more here that is setting the LE/CE apart from the standard.Here’s the LE:
CE also has unique playfield art focused on the villain Davy Jones, 3D molded pieces on the armor and a different topper with a moving ‘Ship in a bottle’.
Come back to this post for more info as I find it. What do you think about the return of Pirates of the Caribbean from what you’ve seen and heard so far? I am pretty sure that this will be at IAAPA 2017 a month from now, much like Dialed In! was. At least, I really hope that all recently announced games will be 😛
