![]() There are a lot of younger people getting into it. They could make up to 300 units and were sold out of them in three weeks. The Rob Zombie pinball game is the first licensed game they made. Their first game, “America’s Most Haunted” sold out of 150 units in two years. The crew of only ten employees, including Emery’s family, has been making about two pinball machines a day. The current pinball game, “Rob Zombie Spookshow International”, is a fairly complicated game to build. Each pinball machine is different in the manufacturing process. But to date, they have sold upwards of 150 Domino’s Pinball games. Emery saw someone make three pizzas in 36 seconds. Celebrities from Pen and Teller to Magic Johnson were there along with the world’s fastest pizza making competition. But Domino’s was all over it and stuck with it.” The big reveal was out in Las Vegas at the Domino’s World Wide Rally for 9,000 people. “We have been approached by a few corporate gigs to do that kind of thing but they rarely go through because pinball is incredibly complicated and expensive. ![]() They went to Pinball Life’s open house last October, right around the pinball expo when Adam Gacek, Vice President and General Counsel at Domino’s, approached them about potentially building a game for them to help their Domino’s Partner Foundation, the charity that Domino’s runs. So the Benton State Bank stepped in and Steve Malone bought the game to keep it here in town so that the very first game we ever built would stay here.” They just débuted their pinball machine for Domino’s Pizza. “The village wanted to keep it in the community as did we. The first game ever built is still in town, down at Lawrence Pub and Eatery. “I spent the first year of Spooky Pinball engineering then learning how to set up a manufacturing process.” The very first game they sold was to Joe Newhart from PinballSTAR Amusements in Pennsylvania. Emery’s daughter Morgan, who is only 16, makes all the wiring harnesses. Common pinball parts come from Pinball Life in Chicago but all the unique pieces, all the cabinets, everything else is engineered in house. The only things not made in Benton are the electronics, which are designed and engineered by Parker Dillmann from MacroFab in Houston and Ben Heckendorn who hosts his own internet TV show in Madison called “The Ben Heck Show” and was the one who helped them design and set up their first game “America’s Most Haunted”. We are looking to probably add on next summer.” It probably doesn’t take long to run out of room when everything that goes into the pinball machine is made in house, in the building. ![]() The company started out in the Benton Business Incubator but in March 2016 they moved to their new building just down the road at 184 Ridge Ave. I love all things creepy and weird.” The podcast became really popular and the name flowed over to the company. ![]() “To give the podcast sort of a theme, I’m a spooky, horror movie loving guy. So after three years of that I quit and started Spooky Pinball.” The name Spooky Pinball came from the podcast that Emery and his family, wife, Kayte, and children Corwin “Bug” and Morgan “Squirrel”, created. “But at the same time we wanted to do our own thing and make our own games. Emery worked with his employer and they helped another pinball company get their start. After showing off their game, phone calls started coming in wanting more games like that one. The printing technique came from SSi Decals in Galena where Emery had worked for over 20 years. That lead to some phone calls,” Emery explained. We took it to a gaming show in Milwaukee for fun and the printing technique garnered some industry attention. “My son and I re-themed an old game into a Godzilla game when he was really little. Spooky Pinball is one of only three pinball manufacturers in the United States. BENTON - The pinball industry is alive and well according to Charlie Emery of Spooky Pinball out of Benton.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |