Episode 28 - Die on this Hill: Sharkey's Shootout

Mitch defends underrated Stern 2000 Sharkey's Shootout as a well-designed, fun shooter despite harsh internet criticism.

Synopsis

Mitch from Pinball Over Boston defends Sharkey's Shootout (Stern, 2000) on the 'Die on This Hill' segment, arguing it's an underrated game with excellent layout pedigree from John Borg, fun mechanics (magic eight ball ramp, outlane post saves, valuable bumper pool mode), thematic coherence with Jeanette Lee, and accessible wizard mode. Internet critics pan it as cheap-feeling, bland, visually awkward, and inferior to 8-Ball Deluxe despite being its spiritual successor.

Highlights

• Sharkey's Shootout had only 200 copies made (later corrected to 800)
• Sharkey's Shootout was the only Stern game in the U.S. market with outlane post buttons and center post (a European legal restriction feature)
• Sharkey's Shootout was Stern's first pinball machine with ethernet connectivity
• The game features Jeanette Lee (The Black Widow), a world pool champion, as the game host with her likeness on the translite
• Sharkey's Shootout was designed by John Borg with concept/software by Dwight Sullivan, marking the end of the Sega-era Stern dream team
• The game has an average PinSide rating of 7.234, tied with CSI at #230 on their top 300 list, five reviews shy of official listing
• 8-Ball Deluxe sold 13,000 units across three production runs and was the first game in the original 8-Ball series to sell over 20,000 units
• The bumper pool mode (triggered by completing Q-C-U-E lanes) can award up to $100 million just from pop scoring

Entities

• Stern Pinball· company
• Die on This Hill· event
• Black Knight· game
• Eight Ball Deluxe· game
• Golden Cue· game
• Lord of the Rings· game
• Pirates of the Caribbean· game
• Sharkey's Shootout· game
• The Beatles (Gold)· game
• Pinball Over Boston· organization
• PinSide· organization
• Wedgehead Pinball Podcast· organization
• Alan· person
• Alex· person
• Dwight Sullivan· person
• George Christian· person
• Jeanette Lee· person
• John Borg· person
• John Youssi· person
• Keith P. Johnson· person
• Lonnie D. Ropp· person
• Mitch· person
• Johnny Pinball's· venue
• Next Level· venue
• Wedgehead Pinball Bar· venue