General Games Discussion

[ramo200]

Pinball is pretty much a dying breed. You hardly see any of the pinball machines you use to play at bars, laundromats, amusement parks, pizza shops, etc. Still, as of recent, video game developers have been trying their hardest to preserve pinball before they completely vanish. After all, it's a challenge to keep a pinball machine running after years from being built. You have Zen Studios with their brand of pinball games like Pinball FX2 for Xbox Live Arcade, There's also Zen Pinball and Marvel Pinball for the PS3 (and coming pretty soon, Zen Pinball 2 which will be a hub just like Pinball FX 2 is). Farsight Studios are also in the pinballing business, digitizing real life tables you use to play as a kid, for unlimited play on your Android, iOS, 360, PS3, Vita, and coming soon Wii U, 3DS, and PC.

I wanted to make this thread to summon all pinball lovers who remember playing the tables of yesteryear and also those they play digitized tables on current platforms. And a bit of shameless plugging, Farsight Studios has a Kickstarter around halfway to it's expiration asking for pledges towards digitizing one of the most user-rated pinball tables of all time, The Twilight Zone. As of now, they have reached their goal but the next stretch goal is going towards digitzing another user requested table: Star Trek: The Next Generation. I remember playing this table as a teen and it was definitely just a joy to play everytime. So definitely donate if you're interested.

Finally, not to be left out Zen Studios is coming out very soon with Zen Pinball 2 for the PS3 and also an Avengers table pack consisting of 4 Avengers themed table (one of them being based on The Infinity Gauntlet, my personal favorite saga in the Marvel universe). It's a great time to be a pinball fan even if the old rellics are breathing their last breath.

[crackymckrackin]

This would be the only reason I would ever spend money on a PS3.

[Blah_canbespanish]

Am I the only one who can't get into digital pinball games? It's just not the same without my hands on an actual physical machine.

However I will say it looks, from a visual standpoint, quite impressive. Far better than some of the old attempts at a digital pinball.

[ramo200]

I'm with you that I prefer the actual machine over a video game based on pinball. However, realistically speaking, pinball tables aren't really manufactured as much ever since everyone figured buying a console is the best way to get your entertainment than to go to an arcade. The nearest pinball table that I can acutally play on is located about 10 miles away from me. So while I would love to play a real table, it's getting scarce and scarce as time passes by.

The good news though is that video game pinball is waaaay better than it was years back. Sure games like Alien Crush, Devil's Crush or Pinball Dreams were fun but those games never really nailed down the physics of how the silver ball bounces around. Zen Studios "Zen Pinball/Marvel Pinball/Pinball FX 2" and Farsight Studios "Pinball: Hall of Fame/The Pinball Arcade", I believe, nailed down the physics quite well of how the game is played. And plus with the Kickstarter Farsight Studios is conducting on trying to perserve old tables from fading away forever, I'm glad video game pinball is here because without it, you can pretty much consider pinball dead.

Definitely try out the games above if you're a pinball fan. I won't believe you'll be disappointed.

[ramo200]

We're up to the last 10 days for Farsight Sutdios' Kickstarter. And while Twilight Zone is a lock to be digitize, they're still $45,000 short from getting the license to digitize Star Trek: The Next Generation pinball table as well. However, they added more reward tiers to reach their stretch goal. And while they might do a future Kickstarter for ST:TNG in case this one doesn't reach 110K, it's best to donate to this one because if the 110K is reached, you basically get 2 rewards for the price of 1 pledge. So donate, folks!

In other news, Farsight Studios posted a Facebook update on their game, The Pinball Arcade. Zen Studios also has upcoming announcements on the release dates for their new pinball titles: their PS3 pinball hub, Zen Pinball 2, with cross-play functionality with the PS Vita, and also their Avengers tables DLC. Zen Studios also released a trailer for Marvel Pinball 3D coming to the 3DS this summer.

[ramo200]

Only 5 days left until Farsight Studios' Kickstarter comes to a close, so donate to make that $110K stretch goal and help preserve pinball. Only less than $37,000 left to go.

With that aside, some real pinball news:

• Zen Studios finally announced a date for the Avengers table pack. It'll release on June 19th for PSN and June 20th for XBLA. Check out the trailer for a closer look at The Infinity Gauntlet table that'll be included in the pack. This certainly made me want to dig up my old Marvel "Infinity Gauntlet" comics from the closet.
• June's pinball tables for The Pinball Arcade will be Monster Bash and Gorgar. Two very good pinball tables from yesteryear.
• Zen Studios have stated to expect a pinball table inspired by a PopCap game to come by later during the summer. Here's hoping for a Plants vs. Zombies or Peggle themed table.
• Here's something for the "this would be hella cool" pile: a few Tweet exchanges from Zen Studios to Art Director of the animated series "Archer" drops a hint that there could be interest in an Archer themed pinball table. It's not a confirmation but if it does happen, just call me Fry. You know why...

[HEROofJUSTICE]

I do miss seeing a bunch of tables in the same place. I even found a place that had two pretty old machines for a while, like 10 cents per play old. I was always particularly fond of the Terminator 2 table since it seemed to be everywhere I went for a long time. I don't even know where to find a table these days.

I have the Marvel tables and the Street Fighter table for Pinball FX 2, but that's pretty much it except for Pokemon Pinball which was one of my most played games back in the day.

[ramo200]

They're still tables that are a bit far away from my vicinity but I could get to them via mass transit, which I may just do in the very near future. I know a place where they have The Addams Family and Medieval Madness tables to name a few. Terminator 2 was one of my favorite tables to play when I was visiting an amusement park during my younger years.

You'll be glad to hear that the Avengers pack is coming out next week. If you need someone to compete with in Pinball FX 2, my gamertag is "ramoisdead". I own 20 tables in Pinball FX 2.

[ramo200]

I played some actual good pinball tables today. Twilight Zone was my favorite of the bunch followed by Fish Tales and Dr. Dude. Hopefully, I get to play with more next week when I'll venture to another place.

Speaking of Twilight Zone, there's just 12 hours left until the Twilight Zone Kickstarter comes to a close. Unless something miraculous happens, it looks like the stretch goal won't be met to digitize Star Trek: The Next Generation table. Not to worry though, because there will most likely be another Kickstarter for that table and any excess money made during the TZ Kickstarter will carry over to the TNG one.

Also good news is that because of the success of TZ making the goal, Farsight Studios convinced licensors of various IP that there's money to be made in licensing for pinball enthusiasts.

[Czeschnakovich]

They need to digitize the Tales from the Crypt table.  Great table that was far too prone to breaking down.

[ramo200]

A bunch of pinball news from the last post.

For "Kick"starters, FarSight Studios' Kickstarter for digitizing Star Trek: The New Generation pinball table has surpassed its deadline goal. It'll come to their Pinball Arcade hub by early next year. As a token of appreciation, FarSight has announced that they will be digitizing two tables based off of buxom horron icon, Elvira. You can watch a video of her announcing the partnership with FarSight. September's tables for the Pinball Arcade will be Harley Davidson: Third Edition and Taxi. Here's the promo video showcasing both tables. Finally, FarSight has been having trouble getting the Pinball Arcade onto Steam. Luckily with the new Steam Greenlight program, maybe they'll have a chance on getting the game on the popular PC platform. You can vote for it to be greenlit on Steam here.

In Zen Studio news, Zen Pinball 2 has been deployed onto the Playstation 3. All of the tables bought on the PS3 can be transferred to the Playstation Vita (aside from the Fantastic Four table, which I hear is being worked on for a future update so no worries for FF owners). The newest table to hit the Zen Pinball 2/Pinball FX2 hubs is Plants vs. Zombies. Check out the video for it here.

Last but not least, Silveball Studios (developer of Mario Pinball Land, Metro Prime Pinball, and Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon) have made a Kickstarter for their own to revive the classic Pro Pinball game. All the classic tables will be remastered for any platform device along with new tables. The biggest clutch they have is Pat Lawlor (designer for The Twilight Zone and The Addams Family pinball tables) has agreed to work alongside with them on making new tables for their PC platform that maybe one day could be made into an actual pinball table. So far, the Kickstarter hasn't skyrocketed compared to others but hopefully you guys can pledge. There's also a free table of Big Time Race for download just for visiting their Kickstarter so it doesn't hurt  to take a peek.

[ramo200]

It's been a while since I've detailed the latest pinball news. So let's play catch up.

The Pinball Arcade has gotten bigger the last time I revisted this thread. Well bigger for the iOS and Android platforms, to say the least. The pinball hub has gotten bigger with such tables as:

• Elvira and the Party Monsters
• Elvira in Scared Stiff
• No Good Gofers!
• Big Shot
• The Twilight Zone
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Attack From Mars
• Genie

The next table pack to be released will include the tables Dr. Dude and Firepower.

Also in TPA news, the PS3 version of the game has finally received the Twilight Zone table today for $4.99. What kind of irks me about today's release of TTZ table is that if you were a Kickstarter supporter for that table and opted to get the PSN version of it, you still have to wait until Farsight can get the codes to distribute them. It kind of stinks that everyone else gets to play this table right away but the supporters are left in the dust for a couple of days, a Farsight Studios rep have stated. It doesn't make for good PR especially if they invoke another Kickstarter route for a hard to get licensed table. In case anyone is wondering what's happening with the 360 version of the game, there aren't any updates towards that version since the publisher for TPA on Xbox Live Arcade has gone bankrupt. Good news though, Farsight Studios have came to a deal with a new publisher for the 360 outing. Unfortunately, there's no date to be announced on when that version will be "rebooted".

Onward to Zen Pinball, where their last table released was the Marvel Comic's themed "Civil War". It was announced today that Zen Studios will bring Star Wars themed pinball tables to every platform their pinball game is on (Pinball FX2, Zen Pinball 2, Zen Pinball iOS, etc.). There will be three tables to this pack and they are:

• Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
• The CGI animated series Clone Wars
• Boba Fett

Zen Pinball 2 will soon hit the Wii U.

And finally, an article about how video game pinball is actually boosting up sales of their real-life counterparts. I'd say that's pretty dang awesome.

[ramo200]

A small update on what's been going on in the world of video game pinball.

By now, PS3 owners have been playing the Star Trek: TNG table on the The Pinball Arcade, iOS and Android users have been enjoying their up to date tables on TPA, and well 360 users still continue to wait until TPA finds a new publisher for their XBLA version. What about PC owners? Well good news arrived this week when it was announced that TPA has been greenlit on Steam's Greenlight service. And with updates and patches going up in an instant without any fees for developer Farsight, it may look like the PC version will be the definitive TPA version of pinballing out of the home. I certainly can't wait until it goes up on Steam.

[ramo200]

Starting today, the Star Wars pinball tables add-on for Pinball FX2/Zen Pinball have a 50% discount off on the Xbox 360 , Android, and iOS platforms. No word if it'll also reflect the PSN version. It is due to the upcoming celebration of "May the 4th be with you". It'll only be on discount for one week.

[ramo200]

Now PC owners can enjoy Zen Studios and Marvel tables at last because Microsoft and Zen has put out Pinball FX2 on Steam. It's free for download with table packs getting a 10% discount due to the game hitting the popular PC service.