JoshuaKadmon
New member
- Aug 12, 2012
- 360
- 0
Several forum members brought up an interesting topic on the news thread, and I would like to discuss it further here. While none of us know exactly how FarSight's licensing contracts are written up, it's fair to assume that they won't retain licenses for these tables forever. Once every table is released and FarSight is content to end its TPA run (probably after 4-5 seasons and around 100 tables total), it might make sense to release a hard copy retail version of The Pinball Arcade for archival purposes. After all, once the licensing runs out, there may not be a way to acquire the tables on later generations. With a hard copy, we could at least go back to play the legendary TPA in its final state, and all it would require is that we don't sell our PS4s (or whatever console it ends up on).
Of course, price becomes a bit of an obstacle in that scenario, as I'm sure FS would want to get as much mileage out of the DLC table packs as possible. In that case, FS would just need to wait a while after the final pack was released, then offer a Limited Edition hard copy. If the table packs cost an average of $3.99, accounting for discounts on older tables over the life of TPA and assuming Pro content could be a free incentive to a package deal like this, that still puts the projected price close to $200 for 100 tables. So, if FS produced a Limited Edition, perhaps packed with some physical extras in a collector box set, it could probably be pushed to $89.99 retail. Not many would need to be produced, maybe less than 100,000 of them between the US and Europe, and that would be a little less than half the price of buying table packs. Not a bad deal at all...
As for the physical extras, I think pinball fans would appreciate a 100-page guide to all of the tables, and FS could pack in a 20-track music disc, with 10 tracks of original music used in PHoF and TPA and 10 tracks of the best music clips from the actual tables. With those and the game disc packed into a nice art box, plus a section of the guide that lists credits (and thus includes printed names of Kickstarter backers, beta testers, etc), I think plenty of us would be willing to support a retail Limited Edition.
In fact, I think we would be supportive enough to warrant a final Kickstarter that would lighten the financial burden of printing and distribution for FS. KS rewards could include tiers to get your name in the Limited Edition Kickstarter credits, get free tables of your choice on the digital version of the game (so you're not paying twice for those tables in the end), and perhaps above a $200 pledge for a copy of the retail game or $500 for a copy signed by the FS team. Besides, if FS plans to release such a Limited Edition, they could start banking some of TPA's increasing profits to offset retail production costs, and if the Kickstarter for it didn't fund, it would just be money back in the bank for them.
The Pinball Arcade is an important project for posterity, and looking forward, I think this would be a perfect way to button things up after FS reaches its end goal. But as always, I would like to hear what the rest of the community thinks about the idea, as FS actually listens to us (within reason).
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Of course, price becomes a bit of an obstacle in that scenario, as I'm sure FS would want to get as much mileage out of the DLC table packs as possible. In that case, FS would just need to wait a while after the final pack was released, then offer a Limited Edition hard copy. If the table packs cost an average of $3.99, accounting for discounts on older tables over the life of TPA and assuming Pro content could be a free incentive to a package deal like this, that still puts the projected price close to $200 for 100 tables. So, if FS produced a Limited Edition, perhaps packed with some physical extras in a collector box set, it could probably be pushed to $89.99 retail. Not many would need to be produced, maybe less than 100,000 of them between the US and Europe, and that would be a little less than half the price of buying table packs. Not a bad deal at all...
As for the physical extras, I think pinball fans would appreciate a 100-page guide to all of the tables, and FS could pack in a 20-track music disc, with 10 tracks of original music used in PHoF and TPA and 10 tracks of the best music clips from the actual tables. With those and the game disc packed into a nice art box, plus a section of the guide that lists credits (and thus includes printed names of Kickstarter backers, beta testers, etc), I think plenty of us would be willing to support a retail Limited Edition.
In fact, I think we would be supportive enough to warrant a final Kickstarter that would lighten the financial burden of printing and distribution for FS. KS rewards could include tiers to get your name in the Limited Edition Kickstarter credits, get free tables of your choice on the digital version of the game (so you're not paying twice for those tables in the end), and perhaps above a $200 pledge for a copy of the retail game or $500 for a copy signed by the FS team. Besides, if FS plans to release such a Limited Edition, they could start banking some of TPA's increasing profits to offset retail production costs, and if the Kickstarter for it didn't fund, it would just be money back in the bank for them.
The Pinball Arcade is an important project for posterity, and looking forward, I think this would be a perfect way to button things up after FS reaches its end goal. But as always, I would like to hear what the rest of the community thinks about the idea, as FS actually listens to us (within reason).
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
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