TPA Wishlist - The Ultimate 100

[JoshuaKadmon]

Honestly, out of all of the tables that haven't been released or announced, the four that I think I would play the most would be 1) Swords of Fury [Williams 1988], 2) Xenon [Bally 1980], 3) Haunted House [Gottlieb 1982], and Phantom of the Opera [Data East 1990].

If we could get those in TPA, I'd probably be too busy playing them to complain about anything else...

 

[Hinph]

Needs more Bad Cats.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

So here's a question for everyone involved - Should The Pinball Arcade include novelty, cocktail, and other gimmick tables? Or should it stick with more conventional/traditional pinball machines? Obviously, we'll probably get one or two EMs from Gottlieb along the way (Big Shot is already confirmed), but personally, I don't want to see anything without a plunger/button launcher, flippers, or backglass. In other words, no Strikes 'N Spares, Playboy, Goin' Nuts, Pinball 2000, The Pinball Circus, etc. But what do you think?

 

[Kolchak357]

I wouldn't mind seeing the pinball circus. Is so unique and verticle in design. But I don't think you have to worry about seeing too many of those unusual table. I assume they would take more time to creat because they are so different. I really don't like the pinball 2000 tables. I have zero interest in them. I was at a place recently that had both of them and I never touched them. I passed them up completely, but I did play two games on a Bad Cats table with a left flipper that kept sticking. So I'm with you.

 

[HOW]

No South Park from Sega?
...
'How'd yah like to suck mah $&*#'

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Hercules-giant pinball!

 

[Sinistar]

, but personally, I don't want to see anything without a plunger/button launcher, flippers, or backglass. In other words, no Strikes 'N Spares, Playboy, Goin' Nuts, Pinball 2000, The Pinball Circus, etc. But what do you think?

When you say no PlayBoy , you need to understand that PlayBoy can refer to several tables from 1967 , 1978 , 1989, 1999 . of the 4 machines 3 are related to PlayBoy magazine and include likenesses of Hugh M Hefner and former playboy models , Femlin mascot character, Little Annie , and Granny characters. making the license a bit tougher to acquire , but not impossible . Those models signed for the rights once before and PlayBoy Enterprises has been hemmorhaging in debt for years.

But I digress your list is awesome , Joshua.

I can vouch for the old 1978 machine being pretty cool , with a easy going playfield and familiar playboy themes of music , it's just sexy without being offensive (unless bikini Sports Illustrated type art is offensive?)

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

When you say no PlayBoy , you need to understand that PlayBoy can refer to several tables from 1967 , 1978 , 1989, 1999 . of the 4 machines 3 are related to PlayBoy magazine and include likenesses of Hugh M Hefner and former playboy models , Femlin mascot character, Little Annie , and Granny characters. making the license a bit tougher to acquire , but not impossible . Those models signed for the rights once before and PlayBoy Enterprises has been hemmorhaging in debt for years.

But I digress your list is awesome , Joshua.

I can vouch for the old 1978 machine being pretty cool , with a easy going playfield and familiar playboy themes of music , it's just sexy without being offensive (unless bikini Sports Illustrated type art is offensive?)

Actually, none of the above. I was referring to the 1932 Gottlieb flipperless table that FarSight included in PHoF:TGC, which is sometimes spelled "Play-Boy" to differentiate it from the ones you mentioned.

And about the list, thanks.

 

[gooche77]

Hercules-giant pinball!

That game was scary when I was a kid.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Besides Krull, with only 10 units made, are there any other tables on the list that are out-of-the-question, do you think?

EDIT: Krull has been removed from the updated list, along with several other unlikely tables with low production runs.

 

[shutyertrap]

What? No Richie Rich? Hahahaha!

@Fuseball -- I actually enjoyed playing WCS '94 in VP. Seemed like a very tough table to author, and I thought you guys did a quality job. Good enough that is was the only one I downloaded and kept back in the day!

 

[Timtubemaster]

We need FishTales now!!!! That and World Cup 94. Those would be awesome!!!!

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I've revised and replaced the list on my original post. After reviewing all of the tables included, I believe all of these to be reasonably viable, either because the demand is high enough to fund kickstarters or because production runs were high enough / prices were low enough to make them a possibility. A large majority don't even require licensing, and the biggest ones (like The Addams Family and Indiana Jones) are supposedly already being pursued.

In the Steam promo vid earlier this month, FarSight still says we'll receive DLC for "years to come", so I'm hoping for 4 full years of add-on tables from February 2012 to around March 2016. If FarSight stays on pace with 24 tables per year, plus their 4 originals, that could allow all 100 tables listed to become a reality.

Please look over the revised list and let me know what you think. Am I still missing a favorite that you think would be a possible inclusion?

The general criteria I used for table elimination:

1) Production run was less than 1500, unless there is good reason to believe FarSight has immediate access to one.

2) Table cost exceeds $4000, except in special cases such as Top 10 quintessential tables or Kickstarters.

3) Machine operates on SAM technology, starting with World Series Poker and Pirates of the Caribbean in 2006.

4) License holders would almost definitely refuse to release IPs, especially Disney.

5) Theme or license is obsolete and no longer generates consumer appeal or demand, unless the table is too good to ignore.

6) Odd construction or gimmicky operation would require too much additional development or would feel out of place.

 

[kane11]

I dont see this one in Your list

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I dont see this one in Your list.

I realize that. While I like the way JM plays, I'm not convinced that FarSight will have enough reason to pursue it. The license itself hasn't stood the test of time, the film lost $7 million in the box office, and FS would probably need to pay TriStar, William Gibson, Keanu Reeves, and Ice-T for its imagery and sound clips. The table may be good, but that's a tall order for a relatively obscure license.

EDIT: TriStar is under Columbia Pictures, which is now owned by Sony, so maybe that's who they would be paying.

 

[kane11]

That is just speculations wright? I believe in Johnny on TPA.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I just call it like I see it. I'd really like to include Cactus Canyon, but between its low production run and extremely high collector cost, it would be a shock regardless of it being a non-licensed table. Krull is also a personal favorite, but the movie's failure and a ten-unit run don't bode well for it, either.

 

[mkhopper]

A few tables I'd add to my own want list.

Jack*Bot
Bad Cats
Police Force
Cyclone ("Hey, you with the face!")
Whirlwind

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

A few tables I'd add to my own want list.

Jack*Bot
Bad Cats
Police Force
Cyclone ("Hey, you with the face!")
Whirlwind

Well, I included Cyclone and Whirlwind, at least. Jack*Bot's a cool table, but as a rehash of Pin*Bot, don't you think it would be overkill to have both in TPA? Honestly, I think the next non-PHoF Williams table will almost surely be White Water, though I'm still super-anxious to hear a Swords of Fury announcement instead. Xenon and Haunted House are my other personal biggies.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Updated the list one more time to include two more EMs, since that seems to be a hot topic in a couple threads currently. Now, there are six EMs in all, including Big Shot and Central Park from Gottlieb, Skylab and Doozie from Williams, and Four Million BC and Fireball from Bally. I think that would be a nice selection, all very different from one another, and not an overwhelming number of EMs when most players obviously prefer alphanumerics and DMDs from the last couple decades. The only other one I might consider is Slick Chick, but since that was from 1963, it would throw off my OCD concept of TPA being a 40-year history of 1966 to 2005. Of course, that would also be thrown off if FarSight manages to emulate SAM stuff post-2006 (like Pirates of the Caribbean), but I'll wait until that happens before sending my compulsiveness into overdrive...

Then again, if Bobby's already seeking out AC/DC, maybe I'll just save myself the undue stress by retooling the list as a half-century of pinball, 1963 to 2012.