Straight from Replay Magazine E News.
Chicago Gaming Co. announced last week that it will begin manufacturing a series of classic Williams pinball
game titles, starting with the blockbuster hit Medieval Madness. The contract game maker, which also produces
home recreation attractions, has signed on as the manufacturing partner of Planetary Pinball, which holds the rights to the games.
Chicago Gaming's Doug Skor explained in a recent company newsletter: "The first pinball that will go in to
production by Q1 of 2014 will be Medieval Madness.This game was originally produced in 1997 and was
designed by Brian Eddy. Being introduced during the downturn in the amusement industry, only 4,000 of these
machines were produced for worldwide distribution when in a slightly earlier time, a pinball run would easily
hit 15,000 to 20,000 units. However, the game was loved by pinball enthusiasts and collectors. Today, there is
a real shortage for these used 16-year-old pinball machines whereby used games are trading between $15,000 to $25,000.
When they were new back in 1997, they sold through distribution for about $3,000."
In a nice twist of fate, Chicago Gaming operates from a 100,000-sq.-ft. facility that happens to be the former
Williams Electronics cabinet plant. "One challenge for CGC has been not only resurrecting all the old parts, but
the software had to be developed to run on a modern board system," noted Skor. "The chips and boards that
were used to run the pinballs of the 1990s are extinct and no longer available."
Planetary Pinball has already taken over 1,000 machine orders, according to Skor.