The Magic of Harry Potter
Jersey Jack Brings Beloved Franchise Into the Pinball World
With some incredible licenses already under their belts, the team at Jersey Jack Pinball has outdone themselves this time. It’s a game that company founder Jack Guarnieri has had in mind for more than a decade.
“There’s a lot of great licenses that don’t show up on amusement games,” he said, “I’m happy to be able to bring Harry Potter to the amusement industry.” The license allows the game to feature all eight Harry Potter films in its immersive gameplay experience.
Importantly packaged into the game is the new, patent-pending Jersey Jack Pinball Game Changer, an option that allows players to choose their own difficulty level for play.
“There’s all sorts of levels of pinball players, and we really want people to play the game the way that they want to play it,” explained game designer Eric Meunier. “We dubbed this as an experiment, but we’re getting such overwhelmingly positive responses from this. I could see us continuing it in the future and backporting the feature to previous games.”
It’s another long-ago idea of Guarnieri’s that’s finally coming to fruition – included in the Harry Potter game as “Easy,” “Normal” and “Wizard” modes.
Young people or novices learning to play pinball can often get frustrated playing. That’s where Easy mode will come in handy. The creators explained that each player, regardless of level, is going after the same objectives but will have it easier or more difficult than usual.
“With the Explore Hogwarts multiball, for example, that’s lit on game start in Easy mode,” Meunier said. “All these things that add anxiety as a higher-level player are cranked way down on Easy mode.” And vice-versa, gameplay is made harder on Wizard mode.
“It’s all about new technology, new ideas and new opportunities,” Guarnieri said. “I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed in this game at all.”
Part of the excitement around the game – for JJP and its operator customers – is the $10,000 Arcade Edition. (There’s also the Wizard Edition and Collector’s Edition.) To make Harry Potter more affordable for operators, the company made changes and adjustments to the Arcade Edition like not including the shaker motor, topper or outer cabinet volume control, and using different decal and backglass materials.
“The Arcade Edition has the same great gameplay as the Wizard Edition, but is $2,000 less, Guarnieri explained. “What I wanted to do was penetrate into the arcade market where we really don’t have a big footprint and this price point will make that possible.
“When I was an operator, I used to say it doesn’t matter how much a game costs, it’s how much it makes,” Guarnieri said. “This game is making money like nothing in a really long time. Harry Potter is a theme that says, ‘Take my money.’ Everyone gravitates to Harry Potter. It’s a universal kind of game.”
In the meantime, as RePlay interviewed Jack and Eric, there were a couple dozen locations running the Harry Potter Arcade Edition. (You can visit www.pinballmap.com to see an updated list of locations.) And, they noted, some operators prefer having the Wizard or Collector’s Edition on location, so you’ll find a smattering of those on location as well. Four of the games went straight to location from the Southern-Fried Gaming Expo, which was held in Atlanta in late June.
All models of the game are currently on the production line at the company’s factory in Chicagoland. “We’re trying to keep everyone satisfied,” Meunier said, adding that making this game was a career highlight.
“For me personally, this is a dream license. This is a game I’ve wanted to make ever since I started making games.” He waited in line for the books when he was a kid and noted that the first Harry Potter movie came out when he was 13.
“This is a game that – in the back of my head – I’ve been designing for years.” It was a challenging license to secure from Warner Bros., Meunier added, but “Jack was able to talk to the right people and show what we do with our games. I’m fortunate enough to be the game designer who got to do this.”
Others involved with the game include: Joe Katz (software game lead); Duncan Brown, Bill Grupp, Jason Allen and Taylor Snyder (software); Dan Lachcik (mechanical game lead); Nick Jensen (mechanical engineering); Joe Ernest, Will Mercado, Eric Miller and Luna Silverfang (electrical engineering); Minalima Studio (art); Jesper Abels (playfield art); Lars Scholten (3D sculpts); Olaf Gremie, Jean-Paul De Win and Johnny Wiegel (animation); David Thiel and Pierce Colbert (music and sound); Debbie Holstein (producer); and Krystle Gemnich (production development).
As for those operators looking to buy a pinball machine, Guarnieri says this is a great place to start: “I think if anyone’s serious about operating a pinball, they should really consider looking at our games. Eric and the whole team made a really great game. I think it’s one of the top five pinball machines ever made.”
Visit www.jerseyjackpinball.com for more information.