Fans of musical pinball machines have a new game to seek out among pinball parlors and arcades, although this one is decidedly not based upon a rock band as most in the genre are. ABBA is the third title from Pinball Brothers, who are now operating out of Sweden. ABBA, as you might know, was a Swedish pop band that was big in the ’70s. As it turns out, this past Saturday was the 50th anniversary of ABBA breaking out onto the scene with their song, Waterloo. To celebrate, Pinball Brothers held a launch event for the game on that day. Let’s take a look.
ABBA Pinball
ABBA follows in the footsteps of Pinball Brothers’ Alien and QUEEN. PinballNews.com got the scoop on both the game and the launch party (some of which is in footage below). Here’s their story on the game; story for the launch party. Per the game’s product page on Pinballbrothers.com, here’s what they are aiming for with this release:
With their catchy pop melodies, rich wall of sound, and emotional lyrics, it’s no wonder ABBA remains in the super trouper spotlight. After all, who can resist their dynamic harmonies and multilayered vocals?
ABBA has been acclaimed through movies, musicals, museums, and, more recently, the show ABBA Voyage. This ABBA adventure is our way of congratulating Sweden’s musical treasure on turning 50 — and our way of saying “Thank you for the music.”
Here’s a groovy little promo trailer:
There are two editions, both limited in production numbers: Voyage (300 units) & Arrival (500 units). Doing a little poking around distributors, it looks like Voyage is retailing for $11kUSD plus freight, with Arrival @ $10k. Voyage is based upon a recent holographic revival of the band, while Arrival is based upon their signature 1976 ABBA album:
The Playfield
The playfield is the same between both editions, featuring three flippers, six balls, two ramps, four pop bumpers & drop targets, a motorized disco ball, 20 ABBA songs, and a helicopter ball lock toy. Also per PinballNews, the rules are a bit… weird. I’m sure any fan will figure it out without much trouble though.
The only real difference between the two seems to be the art package and one is slightly more limited than the other.
ABBA Pinball In Action
PinballNews also has the first direct footage from the game, although sadly it’s 9:16 instead of the other way around.
In looking at various distributors, they are taking pre-orders for the game now. I suppose with a launch party it’s technically available now, although from the US-based distros I’ve looked at, they only mention pre-order deposits at the moment.
Congrats to Pinball Brothers on making it to game #3. That is a feat that many have failed to accomplish on the market, and they’ve done so with some fairly high profile licenses.
On a separate thought note, I wonder why none of the pinball makers have attempted to integrate video arcade rhythm game elements into these games? While that is slightly more difficult with a ball & flippers, having the player feel like they are making the music would be an interesting draw to these types of games.
Is this the kind of pinball table that you would add to your collection or business?
