Any pinballs you wish existed?

[the7k]

Am I the only one who gets confused about the lack of pinballs based on certain things? Unlike any other sort of gaming device, ANYTHING can be adapted to pinball - so why isn't everything?

Personally, I just really wish there was a Seinfeld pinball machine. If such a thing existed, I would pay any price. There's just so much that you could work with to make a truly amazing pinball with that series.

Anybody else ever think about this, or am I crazy?

[Betamax001]

I'm surprised their isn't a Seinfeld pinball machine. Though I'm not surprised their isn't a Fraiser pinball machine Though I was pleasantly surprised to see that a Doctor Who pinball machine exists. Maybe they could make a new one with stuff from the new series?

Though the best pinball machine I ever saw theme wise was a Tommy the Musical (or movie) Pinball Machine at a hotel once. That made me laugh.

[Rurouni_Fencer]

Real pinball machine: Thundercats. Definitely Thundercats..

Virtual pinball: A Devil's Crush remake, or a Jaki Crush remake... Hell, if Naxat just puts out a comp collection for 360/PS3, with Zen-making and handling the programming duties..

[Ivo]

Am I the only one who gets confused about the lack of pinballs based on certain things? Unlike any other sort of gaming device, ANYTHING can be adapted to pinball - so why isn't everything?

Pinball machines are, sadly, relatively expensive to maintain. Mostly for that reason, they were effectively rendered obsolete by video-game cabinets (with less moving parts), and as you know even cabinets in arcades are nowadays effectively rendered obsolete by powerful PCs and consoles.

In terms of virtual pinball tables, there are a trickle of new designs. Even then, I think pinball games aren't too profitable either - most gamers are probably not as great fans of it as you are.

So the answer to your question is that it just isn't profitable to design real pinball tables, and it is only profitable to design virtual ones sparingly.

There are also virtual "remakes" of classic tables, in compilations.
The most recent original tables I have played was on Metroid Pinball on the DS. I'd very much like to play more Pokemon pinball tables, though.

Ivo.

[J T]

I wish there were more competitive 2-player pinball machines, like the pinball version of Joust:

[fastbilly1]

Damn it JT, now I want another 2k+ pinball. I could have died happily not knowing about a vs pinball machine based on one of my favorite arcade games.

I would love a new Doctor Who pin with all the Doctors - in the style of the Five Doctors story arc.

[c0wb0y]

I really like the X-Men - so that could be fun if you consider all their powers and the playfield toys that could be used.

But I would really LOVE to see a Magneto based table that made creative use of electromagnets. Some real-world examples of magnets in pinball are the Magna-saves used in Black Knight, and the ring of power in The Lord of the Rings game.

I don't see this ever happening IRL, but maybe it could happen with PinballFX2!

[Marspants]

I don't understand why a real Sonic Pinball machine never has existed. Just seemed to make sense to me. Although I could be wrong, maybe there is one

[the7k]

In terms of virtual pinball tables, there are a trickle of new designs. Even then, I think pinball games aren't too profitable either - most gamers are probably not as great fans of it as you are.

Believe it or not, I've seen a lot of evidence of pinballs doing well recently. The Game Grid Arcade reported that two pinballs were their Top 10 money makers (Shrek Pinball at No.8 and Indiana Jones at No.9), while one of the most played games at my local 'arcade' (if you can call it that) is The Simpsons Pinball Party.

Granted, all of these are relatively new pinball games - but that's just the way it is. Your top performers will typically always be whatever is newest, regardless of the type of game.

I don't understand why a real Sonic Pinball machine never has existed. Just seemed to make sense to me. Although I could be wrong, maybe there is one

Yeah, never saw a Sonic one... which is strange, considering Sega made a few pinball machines. (Sega did make a Frankenstein arcade, where Sonic appeared as one of the abominations, though. http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=947&picno=15572)

[Ivo]

In terms of virtual pinball tables, there are a trickle of new designs. Even then, I think pinball games aren't too profitable either - most gamers are probably not as great fans of it as you are.

Believe it or not, I've seen a lot of evidence of pinballs doing well recently. The Game Grid Arcade reported that two pinballs were their Top 10 money makers (Shrek Pinball at No.8 and Indiana Jones at No.9), while one of the most played games at my local 'arcade' (if you can call it that) is The Simpsons Pinball Party.

I can believe that, but you need to put that stuff into context. How many Arcades are still operating? It is a niche. And the pinball machines are a niche within a niche (although I guess people going to Arcades are nowadays bound to be more attracted by stuff consoles can't replicate so well at home - like pinball).
That just isn't going to justify dedicated pinball designers making great tables like they used to when it was a bigger business. I'm glad to hear there are still some new machines being made though.

Ivo.