Pinball people are always asking, why did Chicago Gaming Company and Raw Thrills / Play Mechanix' announce their Pulp Fiction pinball machine so far in advance of it going into production. Well, I have an answer for you!
Per the licensing agreement for Pulp Fiction, they had to officially announced the game prior to March 31, 2023. If the game was not announced prior to that date the Company would have been forced to amend the licensing agreement. Announcing it then was the path of least resistance. According to a recent direct conversation that I had with Josh on the subject, the Pulp Fiction license is "good for many years to come in the future."
The Companies decided that Pulp Fiction pinball is so different than any of the other games that were announced in the March 2023 pinball avalanche that they weren't very concerned about losing out on business to the other launch titles. Given the strong sales and rave reviews for Pulp Fiction pinball, that seems to have been the correct read on the situation.
When asked the question about when is Pulp Fiction going to "hit the streets" Josh responded:
"I would love to be able to tell you. I don't know. I know that there is a bunch of inventory ready to go and stuff is happening. They said October shipping...so I hope before October 1st games will start to leave the factory.
On the rules of Pulp Fiction:
"In terms of code [being] functionally complete, the entire game is in and has been for over a year. Almost two years probably. It will be done when it ships, as it should be."
Also of interest in the interview, Josh stated that the IFPA, which he is head of, will likely eclipse 10,000 sanctioned pinball tournaments in 2023.
Kudos to Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama and Josh for the great interview. I can't wait to see Pulp Fictions start to ship out and be available at more locations and on more streams!
I have embedded the YouTube video of the interview below for anyone who is interested in checking it out.
Also, hot off the press, Josh sent me a link to a brand new Pulp Fiction gameplay video that he uploaded to YouTube an hour ago. I've included that below as well.
