Discussion/request: "Boutique" pinball tables

[Shaneus]

(as posted in the "Most wanted tables" thread)

I would love to see FS chase some of the boutique pinball companies for licenses and virtual versions. Many of them are doing strictly limited runs due to licensing or manufacturing costs, so would not be losing machine sales by giving their games a virtual presence.

Ones I can think of off the top of my head:
* Skit-B (Predator) (I know they were licensed to only produce 250 machines, but perhaps they could wrangle releasing virtual ones for less)
* Zidware, John Popadiuk's company: Magic Girl, Alice in Wonderland
* Whizbang Pinball/Greg Freres & Dennis Nordman's Whoa Nellie/Big Juicy Melons (Perfect for Pinball After Dark!)

I'd really, really like Farsight to look into these avenues for delivering unique pinball tables to Pinball Arcade. I think everyone could be winners out of such deals, too. These companies get more exposure which helps sales for their future titles, FS get unique games by both legendary and upcoming pinball designers (and work with the designers directly, rather than having to scan in plastics and playfields themselves) and we the players get awesome and unique games that we'd otherwise never get to play!

I'd love to get some direct feedback from FS about whether something like this is feasible or not, it'd help us understand the direction they're taking TPA in. Who knows, perhaps doing such things could pave the way for simultaneous virtual and physical releases for companies like Stern and Jersey Jack.

 

[netizen]

I'd like to add Heighway, as well as the defunct Hankin and Alvin G & Co. to the request list too.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

Don't forget Spooky Pinball, they have completed both America's Most Haunted + Pinball Zombies from Beyond The Grave

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons is being explored by Stern for a possible manufacturing run. If that happens, FarSight may have digital rights to recreate it from day one. An exciting possibility...

 

[Shaneus]

I deliberately excluded Heighway and Spooky as they most definitely have the option of producing (and making more money out of) physical machines AFAIK Predator, the Zidware tables and BJM are all extremely limited in their production.

One other one I neglected to mention is Wrath of Olympus. I know the creator is exploring options to get it mass produced (potentially in a non-limited fashion) but a virtual table couldn't do an unlicensed and as-yet unreleased table much harm.

 

[Terminator]

I'd love for that - Predator table from Skit-B. A fan if the movies..

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

I'd like to see Skit-B's other tables too, namely Sonic the Hedgehog. As a fan of the series from Day 1, I was surprised it took 23 years for someone to make a fully functioning, arcade-sized pinball machine of the one video game character most closely associated with pinball.

 

[francis247uk]

Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons is being explored by Stern for a possible manufacturing run. If that happens, FarSight may have digital rights to recreate it from day one. An exciting possibility...

This sounds awesome, do you have a link with more info?
Would love to see BJM in TPA, we need another EM table and would be great to have one with a modern+retro feel, something completely different.

 

[danivempire]

I'm ok with this idea, the more pinball I get, the happier I get ^^

 

[Espy]

I'd like to see Skit-B's other tables too, namely Sonic the Hedgehog. As a fan of the series from Day 1, I was surprised it took 23 years for someone to make a fully functioning, arcade-sized pinball machine of the one video game character most closely associated with pinball.

I believe it was just made with leftover Predator parts. Not sure if it's just a reskin or not, there are next to no pictures of it on the web.

I agree about Heighway, they're a proper manufacturing company. Whether their machines sell or not, who knows (their first table has such a bland generic theme I have my doubts), but they're not technically a boutique company.

 

[netizen]

Heighway may not be a "boutique" manufacturer, but due to it being located in Germany, it may as well be one for anyone but collectors in N America.

Taking Zaccaria, another European manufacturer, as an example in how much penetration European manufacturers get in N American markets there is merely a "boutique" presence, unless you are a well off and dedicated pinball collector. Limiting or determining what should be included in the dream TPA by number of tables produced would mean that MM, or AFM would've never be in TPA in the first place, it would be a collection of >1,500 production run machines.

Does that sound like something that would be highly supported?

 

[Espy]

Heighway may not be a "boutique" manufacturer, but due to it being located in Germany, it may as well be one for anyone but collectors in N America.

Taking Zaccaria, another European manufacturer, as an example in how much penetration European manufacturers get in N American markets there is merely a "boutique" presence, unless you are a well off and dedicated pinball collector. Limiting or determining what should be included in the dream TPA by number of tables produced would mean that MM, or AFM would've never be in TPA in the first place, it would be a collection of >1,500 production run machines.

Does that sound like something that would be highly supported?

Heighway are UK-based, actually. And yeah, I don't think they'll ever become as big as Stern, but they are aiming to be a commercial company.

 

[Crawley]

I'd like to see Skit-B's other tables too, namely Sonic the Hedgehog. As a fan of the series from Day 1, I was surprised it took 23 years for someone to make a fully functioning, arcade-sized pinball machine of the one video game character most closely associated with pinball.

I believe it was just made with leftover Predator parts. Not sure if it's just a reskin or not, there are next to no pictures of it on the web.

I agree about Heighway, they're a proper manufacturing company. Whether their machines sell or not, who knows (their first table has such a bland generic theme I have my doubts), but they're not technically a boutique company.

This is from the 2013 Chicago Expo. Not a great shot of it. Didn't realize there was so much glare from the backglass when I took the picture.

I can't recall if I even played it but seem to recall my sense was it looked bland.

 

[Espy]

That is actually the best quality picture of the playfield I've seen. Perhaps the only picture. A rollover on the plunger lane? Unusual.

I would kill for a Stern Sonic machine. Particularly if it used all the old sound effects from the Mega Drive games. Like using the spring sound effect for a kickback, spin dash when you pull the plunger back etc.

 

[Bowflex]

That is actually the best quality picture of the playfield I've seen. Perhaps the only picture. A rollover on the plunger lane? Unusual.

I would kill for a Stern Sonic machine. Particularly if it used all the old sound effects from the Mega Drive games. Like using the spring sound effect for a kickback, spin dash when you pull the plunger back etc.

The artwork on Sonic looks way better than most any stern. I would hope the rollover in the plunger doesn't score or that could be spammed (assuming anyone actually wanted to spend time just lightly plunging for prolonged periods of time. Interesting but seems kind of pointless.

 

[kinggo]

Perhaps the only picture.

nope....

 

[dtown8532]

This sounds awesome, do you have a link with more info?
Would love to see BJM in TPA, we need another EM table and would be great to have one with a modern+retro feel, something completely different.

It was mentioned in issue two of the Pinball Magazine that there was talk about it which did involve FarSight's looking into digitizing the table. Nothing more than that and I've heard nothing since then.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Heh, thanks for the good images of the machine.

As a fan of Sonic up to this day, I have to say that there was so much wasted potential, having been made out of leftover Predator parts. Namely that there ought to be a slot machine embedded in it, as whenever pinball comes up in a Sonic game, slot machines are always close by. Still want to play it though.

I can only hope that the end-of-ball bonus plays the jingle you hear when you finish a stage in Sonic 3 (which was then re-used for Sonic 3-D Blast, then remixed for Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Sonic Generations). And while I don't trust a DMD to be able to do it, that each bonus is displayed separately and counts down rapidly one by one while your score counts up at the same speed, then has that cash register noise when it finishes.

 

[francis247uk]

Definitely prefer the classic sonic look to the modern green eyed, long legged one:

A table styled off Sonic from the genesis/megadrive sonic 1,2, CD, 3 & knuckles era would have looked much better IMO

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

If anything, SEGA would probably insist on using the Sonic Boom designs.