TPA licensing agreement with Sony Pictures

Heavy Metal - http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=5175

Lostboy said:

Heavy Metal - http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=5175

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Man, I want to hang the palyfield on my wall

Zorgwon said:

That's surprising. Sinbad belongs to the TOTAN and is license free.

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If I recall, Columbia pictures owned Gottlieb pinball at the time.

Independence Day is part of Sony? Dang, I'd like to see that, too!

Hmmm in order of preference then...

Spiderman
Independance day
Johnny Mnemonic
Godzilla
Mary Shelley ' s Frankenstein
Last Action Hero
Goldeneye
Starship Troopers

I would love a Fifth Element table if only for the inevitable 'multipass multiball'.

Pinballwiz45b said:

Independence Day is part of Sony? Dang, I'd like to see that, too!

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Google says 20th Century Fox, so unfortunately nope...

shutyertrap said:

I would love a Fifth Element table if only for the inevitable 'multipass multiball'.

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That's a very nice hat.

Nightwing said:

If you listen to the latest Blahcade podcast - (and you should! ) one of the things Bobby King from Farsight Studios talks about is a bulk licensing deal with Sony Pictures. He doesn't give out table details, but here is a list of Sony Pictures & related properties to get you thinking:

• Krull
• Starship Troopers
• Last Action Hero
• Godzilla
• Goldeneye
• Mary Shelley ' s Frankenstein
• Johnny Mnemonic
• Spiderman

Think about those & smile ...

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My opinion:

Last Action Hero = YES. If you're looking for a Data East table for TPA then look no father then this one. 3 six-ball multiball modes, 12 separate modes, and a great main multiball make this an underrated gem of a machine. If this and Tales from the Crypt were included in Season 4 then that would probably satisfy the Data East quota.
Starship Troopers = I remember making a table request thread for this a while back. While it's rules are a bit gimmicky the layout is pretty neat, and the mini flipper is novel. Maybe save it for next season.
Godzilla = While I like this table (it's like Harley-Davidson minus the unnessecarry hurry-ups and annoying voices) I'm worried that it won't make it into the game. I am crossing my fingers though.
Goldeneye = Nice flowing layout and toys (the satellite kicks butt) but pretty sure that it would be pretty costly to obtain the license.
Frankenstein = This needs to be released in Pinball Arcade not because of theme but because it was the first table created by SEGA. Nice John Borg layout with lots of unique shots.
Johnny Mnemonic = I WANT ROOM SERVICE (no seriously this needs to be in the game)
Spiderman = Love this table but doesn't Zen already have the license in their game?

Captain B. Zarre said:

My opinion:

Last Action Hero = YES. If you're looking for a Data East table for TPA then look no father then this one. 3 six-ball multiball modes, 12 separate modes, and a great main multiball make this an underrated gem of a machine. If this and Tales from the Crypt were included in Season 4 then that would probably satisfy the Data East quota.
Starship Troopers = I remember making a table request thread for this a while back. While it's rules are a bit gimmicky the layout is pretty neat, and the mini flipper is novel. Maybe save it for next season.
Godzilla = While I like this table (it's like Harley-Davidson minus the unnessecarry hurry-ups and annoying voices) I'm worried that it won't make it into the game. I am crossing my fingers though.
Goldeneye = Nice flowing layout and toys (the satellite kicks butt) but pretty sure that it would be pretty costly to obtain the license.
Frankenstein = This needs to be released in Pinball Arcade not because of theme but because it was the first table created by SEGA. Nice John Borg layout with lots of unique shots.
Johnny Mnemonic = I WANT ROOM SERVICE (no seriously this needs to be in the game)
Spiderman = Love this table but doesn't Zen already have the license in their game?

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Johnny mnemonic needs to happen and I believe it will. Spider-man would be a great pin but they would still need Disney on board and while zen is probably not a factor since they can't reproduce stern tables, who knows if they have exclusive rights to digital distribution of that property

If we are talking about the Stern Spider-Man that was based on the 3rd movie, it's Sony you need approval from. Disney bought Marvel, and yes they have everything in comic form. They do not have Spidey, X-Men, or Fantastic 4 in movies.

Zen does not have exclusivity to all things Marvel either. What their agreement probably has is rights to original video pinball creations. That means TPA couldn't do their own Spider-Man table, but could do the Stern version, or even the Gottlieb one.

Remember, licensing is very specific with who gets what and for what purpose. The only reason Star Wars and Indy get the blanket treatment is because Disney bought Lucasfilm entirely, and they only used Fox and Paramount as distributors, not financiers. Except for Star Wars: A New Hope, which Fox owns in perpetuity. That was how Lucas came to own the merchandising rights way back when. It's also what could put a damper in Disney's plans to release the original trilogy in unaltered form like everyone wants.

At last, the mystery of how Farsight could do Dracula is solved!

Here's a couple of table possibilities that I don't think I've seen mentioned. (Very impressive researching by the way.)

Charlie's Angels (Gottlieb, 1978) is owned by Columbia. This, along with the already-mentioned Close Encounters and Sinbad, are all 1978 machines, and all Gottlieb System 1. The beloved Genie is a 1979 System 1. Hmm...






Total Recall (Data East, 1990) was distributed by TriStar. Don't get too excited if you don't already know -- there was only one prototype made of this machine...



... but what a machine it is! Check out this crazy nutso genius playfield ...



This must have been Seckel's "crack period".


Terminator 3 (Stern, 2003) has Columbia as its international distributor... does that count?

Don't forget about Dracula (Stern, 1978).

I'm excited, if mainly for Johnny Mnemonic. I liked Starship Troopers quite well the few times I've played it. I remember all the Data East tables (PotO, H**k, LAH, RoboCop) as being turds, but I'm willing to give 'em another try. I played an enormous ton of LAH before my pinball tastes became sophisticated. I love Frankenstein, but I've played it to death. Elvis is I think good fun. I haven't played the other Sterns, or the Gottliebs.

(Everyone's talking about Phantom of the Opera, but I don't think I saw mentioned here that it's based on the 1989 Columbia movie.)

That "Total Recall" table would've been so sick!

I think it'll be Hook. It's a Data East table and, as far as I can tell, doesn't include any of the actor's likenesses.

But I'd love to see Johnny Mnemonic...

Something to keep in mind is that the licenses need to be of about the same value. In other words, of the block purchased, using only 2 tables as an example, one table can't be 70% of the purchase and 30% for the other. They have to be right out 50/50 so that one license isn't being screwed out of residuals while the other is collecting more than it should.

shutyertrap said:

Something to keep in mind is that the licenses need to be of about the same value. In other words, of the block purchased, using only 2 tables as an example, one table can't be 70% of the purchase and 30% for the other. They have to be right out 50/50 so that one license isn't being screwed out of residuals while the other is collecting more than it should.

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Are you a lawyer? As an engineer this whole license thing is way over me head.

Love to see starship troopers!

I'd be happy with Johnny Mnemonic, Starship Troopers or Hook.

shutyertrap said:

Something to keep in mind is that the licenses need to be of about the same value. In other words, of the block purchased, using only 2 tables as an example, one table can't be 70% of the purchase and 30% for the other. They have to be right out 50/50 so that one license isn't being screwed out of residuals while the other is collecting more than it should.

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very interesting. That might put the kibosh on Johnny Mnemonic and Last Action Hero then. I hope not, that'd be a bummer. Someone asked about Krull on Facebook and Farsight said it wasn't in their plans, so scratch that one off for right now. I've never played Hook or Starship Troopers, so can't really discuss their merits. As long as we don't get Data East Robocop I'll be okay.

That Total Recall table NEEDS to happen.

Hook actually looks doable, because looking at the backglass, it doesn't look like they used the actors likenesses. Otherwise they would have some pretty expensive actors to deal with.

IGoFirstIndy said:

v Someone asked about Krull on Facebook and Farsight said it wasn't in their plans, so scratch that one off for right now.

That Total Recall table NEEDS to happen.

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Someone ask Facebook Farsight if there's any chance of Total Recall, please . I've had zero chance of contributing to any kickstarters so far, but I'd pay $10 for Total Recall. And more if they could make the head-to-head play work. (But before I get ahead of myself, I'd pay for tournaments on PC before this.)