Xenon (pinball)
Manufacturer | Bally Manufacturing |
---|---|
Release date | November 1980 |
System | Bally AS-2518-35 |
Design | Greg Kmiec |
Artwork | Paul Faris |
Music | Suzanne Ciani |
Sound | Suzanne Ciani |
Voices | Suzanne Ciani |
Production run | 11,000 |
Xenon is a 1980 pinball machine designed by Greg Kmiec and released by Bally. The game was not only the first talking pinball table by Bally, but also the first with a female voice.[1]
Description
The voice for the female robot theme[2] was provided by Suzanne Ciani who also composed the music of the game.[1] The seductive voice is for example saying "Try Xeeeeenon" in attraction mode [3] or responds to bumper hits with some "Oooh" and "Aaah" moaning sound effects.[2]
Xenon consists of dominant blue artwork e.g. blue bumper caps, plastic posts and bluish light that gives the game a futuristic xenon theme.[4]
The tube shot is the most prominent playfield feature and transports the ball from the upper-right side of the playfield to the middle-left side of the playfield. It consists of a clear acrylic tube with a string of small lights.[4]
An episode of Omni: The New Frontier has a segment that talks about the creation of the game's audio.[5]
Digital version
Xenon was chosen in a poll to be in the game The Pinball Arcade and is available for several platforms as a licensed table. Xenon was also included in the arcade game UltraPin.