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NYHETER
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STEVE RITCHIE DESIGNER FOR STERN
 I kjølvannet av ryktene rundt Chigaco Flipper, er det kommet en pressemelding fra Stern om at velkjente Steve Ritchie har inngått en kontrakt om å designe en flipper for dem i løpet av 2003.
Steve Ritchie er velkjent for de fleste flipperfreaks for sine kjappe og svært gjennomtenkte flipperdesigns. Richie står bak titler som blant annet Black Knight, Terminator 2, Getaway og Star Trek: TNG. I likhet med Pat Lawlor (som nå designer flippere for Stern via sitt firma PLD), har Steve Ritchie en stor fanskare over hele verden som elsker hans spill.
Ritchie forlot WMS (Williams) på midten av 90-tallet for å konsentrere seg om videospill, og jobbet en periode for Atari i California før han begynte å jobbe med gambling/slotmaskiner. Han forutså nedgangstider i flipperindustrien og valgte derfor å trekke seg tilbake før det hele kollapset.
Før han trakk seg tilbake uttalte Steve følgende om flipperindustrien:
"I do not think there is much of a chance of Pinball ever coming back because, well I dont think it is a product of the 21st century....I mean there is no market for pinball. We all loved pinball so much, and believe me, if it made sense, we would be doing it too."
Nå, syv år etter at han designet sitt hittil siste spill – No Fear, er han tilbake! Det er planlagt at han skal designe et spill for Stern som er klart mot slutten av 2003.
Her er hva Stern skriver i sin pressemelding (gjengitt i sin helhet):
Stern Pinball is very excited to announce that former Williams designer Steve Ritchie will be designing a new pinball machine for the company in the upcoming year.
Ritchie has a very distinguished place in pinball industry. He started making pinballs for Atari with AIRBORNE AVENGER and SUPERMAN. He then went to work for Williams in Chicago, Illinois in 1978 where he designed FLASH, STELLAR WARS, FIREPOWER, BLACK KNIGHT, HYPERBALL, HIGH SPEED, F-14 TOMCAT, BLACK KNIGHT 2000, ROLLERGAMES, TERMINATOR 2-JUDGEMENT DAY, THE GETAWAY, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, and NO FEAR/DANGEROUS SPORTS. In the late nineties, Ritchie returned to Atari and made CALIFORNIA SPEED, a linked-video driving game system. He is currently designing animated slot machines and gambling devices.
Steve Ritchie is not only known for his strong titles and gameplay, but also for his innovation, being named as one of the owners of many pinball patents.
Ritchie says, "I am excited to be back at my CAD station designing another pinball and working with Gary Stern, Dwight Sullivan, Ray Tanzer, and the rest of the people at Stern. It feels great to be working on a pinball design again and with this strong team of uniquely talented professionals. I think we can promise a very special game in the coming year."
Gary Stern says, Steve is at the top of the elite class of pinball designers and we are extremely happy to have him working with Stern. We know Steve will design another great game.
Christian Grande - 8/28/2002
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