Following the reveal of Stern’s The Uncanny X-Men, Jersey Jack Pinball have now pulled back the curtain on their newest title, AVATAR: The Battle For Pandora, to the pinball masses – and not only that, it is already shipping out to buyers too. Let’s dive in:
AVATAR: The Battle For Pandora Intro
Jersey Jack’s latest design is based upon the AVATAR film franchise, with a particular focus on the second movie which came out back in 2022. This is also the second pinball machine from the franchise, although this is a rare instance where the design has hopped over from one manufacturer to another.
Recreating the world of Pandora beneath glass, players experience both the sea and sky in the playfield layout, where there are two lower playfields. These are connected to each other, with the first featuring a pop-bumper (I don’t know if such a thing has been done before – the deep dive below says that this is the first game to have two lower playfields, but I also don’t know if there has been a pop bumper on a lower playfield), the second featuring a pair of small flippers.
There are two models available for AVATAR, which follows JJP’s standard format now – no longer do they do Standard models, instead focusing on a Limited Edition (LE) and a Collector’s Edition (CE). Both models are limited in production numbers, with them falling at 5,000 and 1,000, respectively. Pricing is also the same that we’ve seen from recent JJP releases, of $12,000 MSRP and $15,000 MSRP, respectively. You can contact your preferred Jersey Jack Pinball distributor for exact pricing, freight, etc. They’ve also posted similar details to what is on their website (but with more photos) on Facebook.
The Specs
There are no differences in the playfield layout between the two games, both coming with the same principal feature set such as: six flippers (three large, three mini), six balls, six ramps, three slingshots, scoop & scramp targets, a playfield magnet, the two lower playfields, the
Infinity Mirror ball lock, UV lights and reactive decals, a magnet, and the sculpted playfield toys. There are six different versions of the “UV Reactive Banshee Sculpture” that the game can come with.
It also has lines recorded by actor Stephen Lang (Col. Quaritch in the films), and clips from both films. Although as mentioned, the artwork and game modes primarily focus on the sequel.
The main differences are aesthetic, with the CE featuring a cooler “holographic” topper, bioluminescent RGB UV inks in the art, additional backglass lighting, specialized cabinet armor (that is not going to have the exact same pattern between cabinets), Neytiri’s Arrow Shooter Rod, and a couple of other collector’s niceties. With a much reduced production number, those will certainly help this one hold its value.
The Deeper Dive
If you’ve got 18 minutes to spare, here’s Jersey Jack’s official “deep dive,” where the various people behind the game explain AVATAR in great detail. I haven’t seen a features matrix yet, but I’m sure there will be one popping up (along with a rules set chart) here soon. They point out some really cool gameplay features, such as the left hand combo where a kicker on the left outlane holds the ball; when it is launched, you can only use the left flipper to score (using the right breaks the combo).
Thoughts
I’m not exactly a fan of AVATAR – I saw the first movie once, didn’t catch the second, but my first impressions of this one is that this game looks really good. It looks like fun and I would probably want to spend more time playing it than watching one of the films. Of course I can’t pass final judgment on it without playing it, but with a deep ruleset and great looking layout, it seems like it provides a great time. Jersey Jack is leaning hard into the “premium” experience for pinball, and I think it shows. I also greatly appreciate when they come up with new innovations – that is also tied to the whole history of AVATAR in pinball.
As mentioned in the post where I had some thoughts to share on pinball here recently, it was Stern’s AVATAR that caused Jack to get into the pinball making business, where The Wizard of Oz had several innovations that changed pinball forever. It also brought competition back into the market. While this game doesn’t have quite the number of groundbreaking ideas, it certainly looks like Stern’s effort will be memory-holed, while this game will be “the” AVATAR game to play. It’s a fascinating full circle.
Also speaking of those recent pinball thoughts, what do I think about this as an operator? While I’ve heard that Toy Story 4 has been a strong earner on location (which comes in at the same price point as AVATAR does), I’ve not heard that it’s earning anywhere close to what a video game that costs $12k does. This isn’t just a problem with JJP, but every pinball maker out there – their games just don’t make money on location if you put them toe-to-toe with another amusement product in the same price range. Can AVATAR break that mold? I doubt it, as deep, complex games are once again great for collectors (the vast majority of pinball buyers now), but not great for casuals on location.
Note that when I say this, it doesn’t mean that this or any other pinball I bring up are bad games. Not at all – it’s just the sad reality of operating pins on location these days. Either pinball has to be dumbed down to a level like skeeball where anyone and everyone can easily approach it without needing a teacher telling them how it all works, or the pinball playing audience needs to grow enough to where everyone knows what it is and how to play it. The latter exists in some pockets of the world, but not every where like it used to be before video games existed.
What are your thoughts on this one? Discuss it below or on our Discord server!
