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Xenon


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Xenon / IPD No. 2821 / November, 1980 / 4 Players
 
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Average Fun Rating: [ 8 stars - Click for comments ]    7.8/10  (114 ratings/92 comments)        [ Add Your Rating! ]
Manufacturer: Bally Manufacturing Corporation (1931-1983) [Trade Name: Bally]
Project Date: November 26, 1979
Date Of Manufacture: November, 1980
Model Number: 1196
MPU: Bally MPU AS-2518-35
Type: Solid State Electronic (SS) [?]
Production: 11,000 units   (confirmed)
Serial Number Database:View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net)  (External site)
Theme: Fantasy
Notable Features: Flippers (2), Pop bumpers (4), Slingshots (2), Kick-out holes (2), 4-bank drop targets (1), Mini-rollover buttons (4), Standup targets (2), Spinning target (1), 2-ball multiball. Right ramp sends ball through elevated tube to left-side lane. Infinity lights behind backglass. Has speech (a sexy, female voice).

Maximum displayed point score is 9,999,990 points per player.

Design by: Greg Kmiec
Art by: Paul Faris
Music by: Suzanne Ciani
Sound by: Rehman Merchant, Chris Granner, Suzanne Ciani
Software by: Rehman Merchant
Notes: Unlike other Bally electronic pinball games, their documentation for this game shows the model number only as 1196, not 1196-E.

This is the first talking Bally game, using the AS-2518-56 sound board and the AS-2518-57 "Vocalizer" board instead of the "Squawk and Talk" system.

Electronic music composer Suzanne Ciani composed the music and performed all of the voices for Xenon. You can learn more about Ciani's involvement in Xenon at her former official website, now archived, which has a lot of information about this game.

Pinball art collector Harold Balde reports this information to accompany his image of an experimental playfield overlay:

Bally experimented with printing the artwork on mylar then attaching it to the playfield as a cost savings measure. The artwork is not the same as the production Xenon - Paul Faris went back and airbrushed the art to make it look better for the 4-color process. At least one or two games were made with this overlay.

Artist Paul Faris told us that he recalls there was a problem of applying those mylar overlays accurately after the boards had been routed and the inserts glued in.

Photos in: Arcade TreasuresExternal Link, page 113
Pinball (Chartwell)
The Pinball Compendium 1970-1981External Link, page 175
The Complete Pinball BookExternal Link, pages 105 and 248
Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book S-Z
Pinball SnapshotsExternal Link, pages 6, 251-256
Pinball PerspectivesExternal Link, page 236
Pinball The Lure of the Silverball, page 82
Pinball (Ciuffo), pages 148-149
Owners List URL:http://www.pinballowners.com/owners/2821  (External site)
Easter Eggs:Available at Cows and Easter Eggs  (External site)
Additional Media:Suzanne Ciani Creates The Soundtrack For A Pinball Machine (at YouTube) [07:35]  (External site)
ROMs: 52 KB ZIP ROMs [Bally Mfg. Corp.]
Documentation: 2 MB PDF English Manual [Bally Manufacturing Corp.]
  9 MB PDF Manual And Schematics [Bally Manufacturing Corp.]
Multimedia Files: 344 KB MPG Xenon Match Movie [Craig Hassell]
  344 KB MPG Xenon Movie [Craig Hassell]
Images:
(click to zoom)
Image # 3172: Xenon Backglass
Backglass

640x480
[Craig Hassell]
Image # 3173: Xenon Playfield
Playfield

480x584
[Craig Hassell]
Image # 3174: Xenon Cabinet - Full View
Cabinet - Full View

550x769
[Craig Hassell]
Image # 4132: Xenon Flyer, Front
Flyer, Front

823x1097
 
Image # 4133: Xenon Flyer, Page 2
Flyer, Page 2

813x1037
 
Image # 4134: Xenon Flyer, Page 3
Flyer, Page 3

841x1066
 
Image # 4135: Xenon Flyer, Back
Flyer, Back

805x1105
 
Image # 7202: Xenon Illuminated Backglass
Illuminated Backglass

1024x768
[Stefan Ulrich]
Image # 9696: Xenon Lower Playfield
Lower Playfield

1024x768
[Christopher Wolf]
Image # 9697: Xenon Upper Playfield
Upper Playfield

1024x768
[Christopher Wolf]
Image # 9698: Xenon Cabinet - Right
Cabinet - Right

1024x768
[Christopher Wolf]
Image # 10871: Xenon Backglass
Backglass

400x343
[Bruno Durand]
Image # 12428: Xenon Behind Backglass
Behind Backglass

819x614
[Jeff McAfee]
Image # 13520: Xenon Backglass - Detail
Backglass - Detail

400x300
[Bruno Durand]
Image # 26317: Xenon Instruction Card
Instruction Card

480x640
[John Gray]
Image # 27395: Xenon Backglass
Backglass

1024x912
[Eric Avedesian]
Image # 27396: Xenon Backglass - Reverse
Backglass - Reverse

1024x885
[Eric Avedesian]
Image # 30497: Xenon Backglass - Detail
Backglass - Detail

400x300
[Bruno Durand]
Image # 37514: Xenon Blank Playfield 
(Identified to us as New Old Stock.)
Blank Playfield*

808x1677
[Jesse Kujawa]
Image # 37515: Xenon Plastic Light Shield Set - Obverse 
(Identified to us as New Old Stock.)
Plastic Light Shield Set - Obverse*

1024x886
[Jesse Kujawa]
Image # 37516: Xenon Plastic Light Shield Set - Reverse 
(Identified to us as New Old Stock.)
Plastic Light Shield Set - Reverse*

1024x884
[Jesse Kujawa]
Image # 39570: Xenon Playfield
Playfield

1024x1356
[Jasper van Eeden]
Image # 39571: Xenon Playfield - Detail
Playfield - Detail

1024x773
[Jasper van Eeden]
Image # 39572: Xenon Vocalizer Board
Vocalizer Board

1024x703
[Jasper van Eeden]
Image # 43255: Xenon Tube Light Bar
Tube Light Bar

1200x682
[Joel Iott]
Image # 44331: Xenon Manufacturer Experimental Playfield Overlay
Manufacturer Experimental Playfield Overlay

406x786
[Harold Balde]
Image # 53631: Xenon Original Artwork 
(Artist: Paul Faris)
Original Artwork*

668x842
[Jay Stafford]
Image # 53632: Xenon Promotional Poster 
(Signed by Greg Kmiec and Paul Faris at Chicago Pinball Expo '95.)
Promotional Poster*

1200x1777
[Federico Croci]
Image # 53633: Xenon Promotional Photo 
(Signed by Greg Kmiec and Paul Faris at Chicago Pinball Expo '95.)
Promotional Photo*

1200x1672
[Federico Croci]
Image # 53634: Xenon Promotional Item 
(Given away at trade shows. The mirrors on production games are not labeled.)
Promotional Item*

1200x1126
[Federico Croci]
Image # 53635: Xenon Playfield 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Playfield*

1024x1365
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 53636: Xenon Backbox - Left 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Backbox - Left*

947x1365
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 53637: Xenon Backbox - Right 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Backbox - Right*

767x1365
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 53638: Xenon Cabinet - Right 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Cabinet - Right*

1024x768
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 53639: Xenon Inside Backbox 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Inside Backbox*

1024x768
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 53640: Xenon Under Playfield 
(Serial number EE5564.)
Under Playfield*

1024x1365
[Jeff Kosack]
Image # 58098: Xenon Playfield
Playfield

851x1600
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 58099: Xenon Backbox - Right
Backbox - Right

723x1600
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 58100: Xenon Cabinet - Left
Cabinet - Left

1600x660
[Jean-Pierre Renault]
Image # 63297: Xenon Group Photo 
(Clockwise from left: Allan Reizman, Suzanne Ciani, Greg Kmiec, Tom Nieman, Paul Faris, and IPDB Editor Jay Stafford. Photographed at Chicago Expo 2013.)
Group Photo*

1200x1600
[Jay Stafford]
Image # 63298: Xenon Cabinet - Front
Cabinet - Front

1051x900
[Jason McNally]
Image # 63299: Xenon Inside Coin Door
Inside Coin Door

1200x900
[Jason McNally]
Image # 63300: Xenon Backbox Insert - Front
Backbox Insert - Front

1143x900
[Jason McNally]
Image # 63301: Xenon Backbox Insert - Back
Backbox Insert - Back

1200x900
[Jason McNally]
Image # 70460: Xenon Preliminary Backglass Artwork 
(Test rendering for infinity effect mockup.Artist is Paul Faris.Marker on blueprint paper.Dimensions: same size as production glass.)
Preliminary Backglass Artwork*

1200x999
[Jay Stafford]
Image # 70461: Xenon Preliminary Backglass Artwork 
(Original painting of Xenon backglass.Artist is Paul Faris.Acrylic and prismacolor on Illustration board.Dimension: same size as production glass.)
Preliminary Backglass Artwork*

1200x919
[Jay Stafford]
Image # 70547: Xenon Original Artwork 
(Color cabinet lightbox rendering.Artist is Paul Faris.Prismacolor pencils and markers on Vellum.Dimensions 14 inches by 34 inches. )
Original Artwork*

696x1600
[James Loflin]
 

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