American Pinball (AP) has been know over the years, particularly lately, for putting games from its back catalog back on the production line at any time. Heck, it is still running and selling the first game that the Company ever produced, Houdini. Well, this afternoon AP announced that it is officially retiring a game for the first time, its 2018 title Oktoberfest. AP stated that any New In Box Oktoberfests that dealers still have in inventory are all they are getting.
Oktoberfest is an interesting game. Some people absolutely love it. I have to admit that the machine is definitely pretty packed with cool stuff. To me, its main problem always seemed to be the theme, well that and reliability. According to rumors, American Pinball's former designer Joe Balcer was insistent upon making Oktoberfest because he loved the holiday (I guess that it's considered a holiday). I personally like the game and will play it whenever I come across one on location, which unfortunately is not very often.
By my count, 30% of American Pinball releases are almost entirely themed on sausages and beer. 🤣