It has been a couple of days since I had something noteworthy to write about here, so I was thrilled this morning when a mysterious tip came into the Knapp Arcade inbox. The message said the rare pinball machine with one of the most interesting backstories ever told, Capcom's Big Bang Bar (BBB), is currently being updated and reengineered with extended code by an unexpected company. A pre-production version of the game will supposedly be ready in March and revealed to the public in June of this year.
I have heard rumblings for a while now that Chicago Gaming Company (CGC) is going to remake Big Bang Bar. That rumor never really made a lot of sense to me because all of CGC's remakes so far have used the Bally / Williams license. If BBB is really coming out this spring / summer, it probably isn't from CGC. They still have their hands full trying to get out all of the ordered Cactus Canyon Remakes and I've heard from a very good source is that the company already has a single-level Pulp Fiction pinball machine ready to go next.
So if a Big Bang Bar remake is actually happening (and that's still a big if) and it's not being done by Chicago Gaming Company, then who is making it? A new company? An existing game manufacturer who doesn't normally make pins? Hmmmmm.
A remake of Big Bang Bar would be fantastic. You almost never see that game on location for the public to enjoy. If you follow Knapp Arcade here or on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KnappArcade/ or Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/knapparcade, you know that I have shared pictures of literally thousands of pinball machines that I've taken over the years. When I looked for some of my own pics of Big Bang Bar to use for this article there wasn't any. Not one. Now that's a rare game.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the story of Big Bang Bar or Capcom pinball, I wrote about both in an post here last spring. The tales of this machine and the company are some of the most fascinating in the history of pinball. Here's a link to that article if you want to check it out:
Porn and Punching Bags...The Collapse of Capcom Pinball
So there's today's rumor. What do you think? Is Big Bang Bar a good game to remake and is this really happening? I think that a remake of BBB would sell well, especially if it's going to have expanded code. Whether it's really happening, time will tell. Has anyone else heard this?
If you ever have any interesting pinball news or rumors that you want to share, make sure to send an e-mail to knapparcade@gmail.com. I'd love to hear them and always like to correspond with others in the hobby.
Planetary Pinball never had Capcom license to remake Big Bang Bar with Chicago Gaming. The license reverted back to Capcom. When Rick Bartlett brought the rights for the Williams pinball division products from Gene Cuttingham, Capcom games rights were not included, just the remaining parts exclusive to sell.
Big Bang Bar is far from list of rarest games due to combined numbers of prototypes and reproductions (not remakes). More reproductions could have been made at even greater personal expense to Gene Cuttingham starting in 2004 planning, but there were no more functional PCB sets to use.
If Big Bang Bar is ever remade AGAIN, a second time, license contracting will be required. Most likely moderated by the Sharpe family. Ma…