Jersey Jack Pinball is an American pinball manufacturer currently based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Founded by Jack Guarnieri in 2011, the company debuted with their first title, The Wizard of Oz, in 2013. "Jersey Jack" is Guarnieri's pen name as a columnist for RePlay Magazine.[1]
The company was formerly located in Lakewood, New Jersey until they announced on February 26, 2020 that they were relocating their manufacturing processes to Elk Grove Village, Illinois.[2]
History[]
Formation and The Wizard of Oz[]
After working in New York as an arcade operator and repairman during the 1970s and 80s, Jack Guarnieri began managing Pinball Sales, a New Jersey-based online pinball distributor, in late 1999.[3][4] The business sold thousands of Stern Pinball games worldwide.[5] However, Guarnieri grew dismayed when in 2010, Stern began using simpler game designs and rules, which he attributed to lower sales.[3][5] Stating that "there was no product left for him to sell", Guarnieri decided to form his own pinball company instead.[3][5] He reportedly told Stern CEO Gary Stern his plans at the IAAPA amusement trade show on November 19, 2010.[5]
Jersey Jack Pinball launched on January 2nd, 2011, with designer Joe Balcer designing the company's first game, The Wizard of Oz.[5] Various ex-Stern and Bally/Williams employees also joined, including designer Dennis Nordman, programmer Keith Johnson, music composer Chris Granner, and artists Greg Freres and Jerry Vanderstelt.[5][6] Jersey Jack signed an agreement with Planetary Pinball Supply (PPS) to utilize their parts for manufacturing, and have access to WMS intellectual properties and approximately 40 patents.[7]
Despite the risk of producing an expensive game, Guarnieri allowed his team to build whatever they wanted: “I just said, ‘I want you guys to do the best thing you can.’"[3] Pre-orders for The Wizard of Oz were taken in March 2011.[5][6] Jersey Jack finalized its distributor list in July of that year.[8] The game entered production in March of the following year, with plans to ship machines by spring or early Summer 2012.[9] However, its release was delayed to April 2013.[10] The Wizard of Oz was the first widebody pinball machine released since 1994[10] and the first new US pinball machine not made by Stern Pinball since 2001.[11]
Games produced[]
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Hobbit
- Dialed In!
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
- Guns N' Roses
- The Godfather
References[]
- ↑ Replay Editor (February 28, 2016). "Jersey Jack – March 2016" (English). RePlay Magazine. Retrieved on July 21, 2020. “In January of 2011 [Jack Guarnieri] founded Jersey Jack Pinball (named after his RePlay Magazine pen name), which builds award-winning, full-featured, coin-op pinball machines.”
- ↑ "JERSEY MOVES TO ILLINOIS" (English). Pinball News (February 26,2020). Archived from the original on June 6, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Levin, Josh (January 8, 2017). Jersey Jack Pinball, Wizard of Oz: Pinball is dying. Can arcade entrepreneur Jack Guarnieri bring it back to life? (English). Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved on June 6, 2020.
- ↑ "Pinball Sales: The Absolute Industry Leader Brick & Mortar Since 1975 - Online Since 2000" (English). PinballSales.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved on June 6, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "NEW PINBALL MANUFACTURER" (English). Pinball News (January 2, 2011). Archived from the original on November 26, 2019.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "JERSEY JACK LATEST" (English). Pinball News (January 30, 2011). Retrieved on August 21, 2020.
- ↑ "JERSEY JACK AGREES DEAL WITH PLANETARY PINBALL" (English). Pinball News (March 26, 2011). Retrieved on August 21, 2020.
- ↑ "THE WIZARD OF OZ LATEST" (English). Pinball News (July 21, 2011). Retrieved on August 29, 2020.
- ↑ "Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. to Release First Game, The Wizard of Oz Pinball Machine" (English). PRWeb (April 6, 2012). Retrieved on August 29, 2020.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "12 Things You Should Know About The Wizard of Oz Pinball Machine" (English). Pinball Sales Australia. Retrieved on August 21, 2020.
- ↑ Plante, Chris (February 28. 2013). "No Place like Jersey: Inside the factory of the wizard of pinball" (English). Polygon. Retrieved on August 29, 2020.
External links[]
| v • eManufacturers | |
|---|---|
| Current manufacturers | American Pinball • Barrels of Fun • Chicago Gaming • deeproot Pinball • Haggis Pinball • Jersey Jack Pinball • Multimorphic • Pinball Adventures • Pinball Brothers • Spooky Pinball • Stern Pinball |
| Former manufacturers | Bally • Capcom Coin-Op • Chicago Coin • Data East Pinball • Game Plan • Gottlieb • Heighway Pinball • Mr. Game • Sega Pinball • Stern Electronics • Skit-B Pinball • Williams • Zaccaria • Zidware Pinball |