Internet Pinball Machine Database: Midway 'Theatre of Magic'

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Theatre of Magic

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Theatre of Magic / IPD No. 2845 / March 28, 1995 / 4 Players

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Average Fun Rating:

8.3/10 (454 ratings/281 comments) [ Add Your Rating! ]

Manufacturer:

Midway Manufacturing Company, a subsidiary of WMS Industries, Incorporated,
of Chicago, Illinois, USA (1988-1999) [Trade Name: Bally]

Date Of Manufacture:

March 28, 1995

Model Number:

50039

Common Abbreviations:

ToM

MPU:

Williams WPC Security (WPC-S)

Type:

Solid State Electronic (SS)

Production:

6,600 units (confirmed)

Serial Number Database:

View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net) (External site)

Theme:

Show Business - Magic

Notable Features:

Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (3), Slingshots (2), Tiger Saw Multiball (2), Trunk Multiball (3), Trunk Multiball w/Vanish Lock (4), Magna-Save (2), Captive ball (1), Newton ball post (1), Rotating trunk with magnet, Levitating ball. Maximum 3 buy-in balls per player (operator option).

Toys:

Magic trunk on playfield, levitates ball (with magnet) and makes it "disappear" to start multi-ball. The "Spirit Ring", a round magnet which grabs the ball from the left ramp and releases it to the ramp across the playfield. Upper rollovers are hidden from player's view by the ramps, but can be seen with a mirror on the back panel.

Concept by:

John Popadiuk

Design by:

John Popadiuk

Art by:

Linda Deal (aka Doane)

Dots/Animation by:

Brian Morris, Adam Rhine

Mechanics by:

Jack Skalon, Ernie Pizarro

Music by:

Dave Zabriskie

Sound by:

Dave Zabriskie

Software by:

Jeff Johnson

Notes:

Reportedly:
Holding the left flipper when pressing the START button initiates a game of Digital Pinball.
Holding down the right flipper button when pressing START reveals on the display some useful codes for the Mortal Kombat 3 video game.

In John Popadiuks' article in the July 2000 issue of GameRoom Magazine, he stated that all of the prototype games have an Up-post between the flippers (labeled "Magic Post"). Also, he stated this game originally was going to be 'The Magic of David Copperfield' and the playfield design for this theme commenced while pursuing the license. The game was modified when the license did not happen.

Per information from Dave Zabriskie, the male voice was performed by Mike Wadswoth, a good friend of his and an opera singer. The female voice was performed by Cathy Schenkelberg, an accomplished film/stage actor and comedian.

Marketing Slogans:

"Enter Into a New Age of Pinball"
"Its Got that Magic Touch."
"It can even make money appear out of thin air."
"Theres More...Than Meets the Eye."
"Amazing acts of enchantment!"
"Stupendous displays of spellbinding power!"

Photos in:

PinGame Journal pp. Number 41/42
Pinball Memories External Link

, pages 199-202
The Pinball Compendium 1982 to Present External Link

, pages 205-206
Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book S-Z
GameRoom Magazine, Vol 12 No. 7, July 2000, front cover and page 6

Rule Sheets:

Theatre of Magic Rulesheet Version 1.0, by Bowen Kerins
Theatre of Magic Rulesheet, by GeekBoy

Owners List URL:

http://www.pinballowners.com/owners/2845 (External site)

Easter Eggs:

Available at Cows and Easter Eggs (External site)

Additional Media:

Promotional Video (at YouTube) (External site)

ROMs:

427 KB

ZIP

Export Game ROM V1.3

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

399 KB

ZIP

Game ROM V1.2

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

403 KB

ZIP

Home Game ROM V1.4H

[Louis Koziarz]

3 MB

ZIP

Sound ROM L-2 [S2-S7]

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

Documentation:

6 MB

PDF

English Manual

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

4 MB

PDF

Manual Amendments (undated pages)

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

517 KB

PDF

Operator Handbook

[Midway Mfg. Co.]

196 KB

TXT

Parts List

Service Bulletins:

14 KB

PDF

Service Bulletin #82

[Williams Electronic Games, Inc.]

Multimedia Files:

194 KB

WAV

"You Have The Magic!" Audio

[Dave Zabriskie]

2 MB

MP3

Main Music Tune

[Dave Zabriskie]

Images:
(click to zoom)

Translite 424x286 [Paul Groulx]	Illuminated Playfield 480x598 [Paul Groulx]	Cabinet 392x423 [Paul Groulx]	Translite 1000x692	Center of Playfield 1000x750 [Christopher Wolf]
Machine 801x1500 [Christopher Wolf]	Flyer, Front 612x800	Flyer, Back 612x800	Center ramp/trunk area, undamaged w/proper posts.* 640x480 [Ray Johnson]	Lower Playfield Underside 350x467 [Allen Shope]
Upper Playfield Underside 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Cabinet Inside 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Backbox Electronics 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Lower Playfield 500x375 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]
Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 350x467 [Allen Shope]
Playfield Detail 500x375 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 500x375 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 500x375 [Allen Shope]	Playfield Detail 500x375 [Allen Shope]	Promotional Poster - Shot Map* 662x800 [Bill Ung]
Blank Playfield 728x1480 [Guerre Froide]	Upper Blank Playfield 770x634 [Guerre Froide]	Middle Blank Playfield 836x676 [Guerre Froide]	Lower Blank Playfield 1024x681 [Guerre Froide]	Promotional Patch* 1006x1010 [Bill Ung]
Playfield 1200x1600 [Ravagnati Federico]	Cabinet - Left 1004x888 [Ravagnati Federico]	Cabinet - Right 1200x988 [Ravagnati Federico]	Behind Backglass 1200x1098 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Backbox - Right 686x1600 [Jean-Pierre Renault]
Cabinet - Right 1200x556 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Cabinet - Front 1200x855 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Playfield - Side Wall Art 1200x268 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Playfield - Detail 1200x707 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Playfield - Flipper Area 1067x1600 [Jean-Pierre Renault]
Cabinet - Front View 743x1600 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Prototype Up-Post 1200x869 [Ari Sovij�rvi]	Promotional Patch* 1200x1174 [Federico Croci]

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