Episode 118 - Pinball Hindsight Awards 1995

1995 Pinball Hindsight Awards crown Attack from Mars, Theater of Magic as standout games of strong commercial year.

Synopsis

Wedgehead Pinball Podcast Pinball Hindsight Awards for 1995 evaluates 19 pinball machines released that year across multiple award categories using historical perspective. The episode recognizes standout games like Attack from Mars, Theater of Magic, and Indianapolis 500 across art design, sound, innovation, mechanics, and software categories. Key themes include 1995 as the crest of the '90s pinball wave before industry decline, the competitive emergence of multiple manufacturers (Williams, Sega, Premiere, Capcom), and the departure of legendary designer Steve Ritchie from Williams.

Highlights

• 1995 saw 19 new pinball machines released from the major manufacturers plus Capcom as a newcomer
• Steve Ritchie left Williams after 15 years following No Fear, his final game for the company
• The pinball market was already declining by 1995 and would experience rapid intensification leading to near-extinction by 1999
• Attack from Mars is ranked as the seventh best pinball game of all time
• Theater of Magic features a superior art package and theme integration compared to Pinball Magic despite both being magic-themed games released the same year
• Linda Deal was the lead artist on two games in 1995 (Theater of Magic and Whodunit) and deserves recognition as a working female artist in the era
• Premiere released several games before the company died the following year (1996)
• Capcom acquired ex-Williams employees who wanted to compete with a magic-themed game, prompting the development of Pinball Magic

Entities

• Capcom· company
• Premiere· company
• Williams· company
• Attack from Mars· game
• Indianapolis 500· game
• Pinball Magic· game
• Theatre of Magic· game
• Whodunit· game
• Alan· person
• Alex· person
• Barry Oursler· person
• Brian Eddy· person
• Chris Granner· person
• Dan Forden· person
• Dan Hughes· person
• Dave Zabriskie· person
• Dwight Sullivan· person
• John Papadiuk· person
• Kevin O'Connor· person
• Linda Deal· person
• Lyman Sheats· person
• Markus Rothkranz· person
• Paul Barker· person
• Paul Faris· person
• Steve Ritchie· person