I like the Zen tables, but

[Maneki1972]

i enjoy the fact they're re-releasing all these tables, and the '90s were certainly a great time for pinball, but I'd like to see them release some of the tables from before that time and also ones that were not previously done by Farsight, such as Jokerz!, Bad Cats, Rollergames and Mousin' Around. I mean there are only so many DMD tables left and especially ones previously done.

I also worry about some of the kick-ass new tables with the full-color displays will not be replicated. I know Farsight didn't see fit to go with any of those, and I have to admit that would be difficult to replicate but man, I would totally want to see them go in action.

i hope Zen gets the idea and starts making tables I don't already have from Farsight's collection.

 

[AndyD]

Sure they will eventually, might be one in the next release, you never know. Think their just playing it safe for now.

Personally there was only a handfull in TPA that i really didnt care for, i have them all but wouldnt bother me if they were taken away as it were.

I'd be happy for Zen to re-create the other 95% to be honest if they had the licenses for all. But thats another story. Maybe one day!......

 

[Maneki1972]

I guess I'm just biased because I played the hell out of BK2K when I was a kid and I like the tables but I want to see some of the '80s tables revived and some newer ones as well.

 

[Rayder]

The problem is, they want to make the tables that will sell the most. I too would like some of the older tables from the 70's and 80's that I grew up playing (and not ones already re-created in TPA) instead of all the newer ones with all the toys on them (that HAVE already been re-created in TPA), but people like us seem to be in the minority. A lot of people tend to think the older tables are just boring and uninteresting or some such, and they don't sell like the newer ones. Sigh.

Personally, I just like pinball. I have all of everything for both FX3 (even all those fake tables that I don't really care for) and TPA and will continue to buy whatever gets released in the future. I don't pick and choose only certain tables, I buy them all. I don't see how someone can call themselves a pinball fan, and not buy them all.

Another problem, especially with Zen, is that many of the older tables had a lot of scantily clad women and other innuendo in the artwork. A lot of that sort of stuff doesn't sit well in today's "offended by everything" society, and Zen likes to sensor even seemingly benign stuff. so, we may never see a lot of the older tables from our youth.

 

[shutyertrap]

I've mentioned this in a few different threads and the podcast, but I'll reiterate it here...

Zen had a large customer base prior to Williams being added that only liked 'fantasy pinball' and found the idea of TPA boring. I saw many a post stating as much on their Facebook page when the WMS license announcement dropped. On the flip side, there were a lot of TPA players that never bothered with FX2 or FX3 because they hated the 'fantasy pinball' and the physics that went with it. Those people probably bought a pack or 2 at some point and never bothered with the platform again until the WMS announcement. There exists a 3rd group, the one I'm part of, that just enjoys digital pinball and had no problem with Zen originals and loves recreations of real tables.

Zen wanted to honor first and foremost their original customer base. By only doing the DMD tables, which most closely represent what they were already doing with their originals, they are able to ease that base into the world of these classic machines. It worked too, as another look into Facebook posts had people admitting they were against the idea of WMS in Zen, but having played them, they are warming up to them quite nicely and indeed don't find them boring.

Zen also wanted to please the new influx of users to their platform that were coming over from TPA and into FX3 purely for the WMS license. They know the DMD tables are the most popular and easiest to sell, and they were rewarded with sales numbers much larger than they expected. I've seen posts by Zen haters that after experiencing what they did with WMS and enjoying how well Zen did it, especially the enhancements that they thought they'd hate, that they've since given some of the latest originals a chance and are now liking those too.

So it's sorta a small miracle what Zen has done, bringing together two groups that were very hesitant. Now that they are in everyone's good graces and the non licensed DMD gravy train is 2 packs away from being complete, they can move on to alpha numerics. TPA still did half that collection already, but we might finally see some 'new to digital' tables in 2020. And that right there is something to think about too. In one year Zen will have released 19 DMD tables at the very least. It took multiple years for TPA to get that far. Year 2 of Zen should be just as exciting.