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Pinball

xbox live arcade

Pinball FX Taps Moose And Squirrel

Zen Studios, hard at work on the Rocky & Bullwinkle game for Xbox Live Arcade, decided to pay the prolific cartoon pairing homage in their first XBLA title, Pinball FX. Available now for 200 Microsoft, the Rocky & Bullwinkle table may not be the Data East original, but it is a damn fine table in its own right, filled with ramps, mini-games, and of course, Rocky, Bullwinkle, and friends. You'll see Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, Dudley Do-Right and Nell, and my personal favorites, Mister Peabody and Sherman. The table does feature some questionable music, but the sound clips from the original show balance things out. All of this, packed inside one of the best damn console pinball engines ever created. Now here's something you'll really like - a press release! More »

events

Midwest Gaming Classic Starts Tomorrow

If you are or will be in the Milwaukee area over the weekend, be sure to drop by the Olympia Resort for the 2008 Midwest Gaming Classic, the Midwest's largest electronic gaming convention. Visitors will be able to buy and play classic to current arcade and pinball machines, buy, sell, and trade your video game systems, games, and accessories, or listen to talks given by guest speakers like modder Ben Heckendorn, Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day, former EGM editors "Trickman" Terry and Sushi X, and Marty Goldberg, who will be talking about the plans to revitalize the classic Microprose brand. It sounds like a damn fine way to spend some time and money over the weekend. Tickets are $10 a day for adults, or completely free for children 12 and under. Hit up the website for directions and more information.

The 2008 Midwest Gaming Classic
[Official Site - Thanks ZRDollarz]


arcade flyers

The Arcade Flyer Archive Liquidating Collection

A few months back I mentioned that The Arcade Flyer Archive, an amazing collection of vintage and new arcade flyers, would be liquidating their collection. They've already been through one portion of the sale which we unfortunately missed out on. But never fear, there's still plenty more to be had. The flyers cover Arcade Video Games, Pinball machines and other types of arcade amusement machines. Everything you need to know about the sale including the list of available flyers, prices and shipping can be found at coinopvideogames.com. These guys have put a ton of hard work into cataloging this amazing collection so help support them by buying a few flyers. They're going cheap!


afas

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Pinball Edition

Long before I loved video games I was a pinball fanatic. I spent more money on pinball than almost anything else in my younger years. Ever since I've been doing Arcade Flyer Art Saturday I have perused the many flyers available on The Arcade Flyer Archive. Several months back they added pinball flyers and I was thrilled. In many cases, the art on them is better than the art on the video game flyers. But, alas, pinball isn't a video game so I was barred from using them. And besides, there's not a terrible lot to say about how to play a pinball game and the gameplay doesn't exactly vary wildly.

So, today as i was browsing TAFA for tonight's AFAS I noticed that they had quite a few pinball games that were inspired by video games. Finally I had my chance to show off some pinball flyer art! So, for your pleasure I present some of the finest examples of vg inspired pinball games. The Joust one is especially great as they designed it like a tabletop arcade game. Too cool.


game announce

SouthPeak Brings Springtime Pinball Dreams

As a rabid fan of both pinball and sitting down, I tend to keep a sharp eye out for new and exciting combinations of both. SouthPeak Games have just announced Dream Pinball 3D, coming this Spring to the PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS. Promising "most intense visuals and ball physics a pinball game has ever seen", the game will feature six non-licensed table themes and distinctive controls for each of the three versions that you can pretty much figure out for yourself.
"Everyone loves pinball. It is an unusual kind of entertainment in that it bridges hardcore and casual gamers, while translating very well to videogames," said Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games. "We are going to give the medium the respect it deserves."
The respect the medium of pinball deserves involves acts falling outside of the M for mature ratings limit Mel. Why not start by giving the game a less generic name. Sounds like an early 90's shareware title for crying out loud. More »

freeeee

Free Pinball FX Level on XBLA

For those who haven't tried it, Zen Studios' Pinball FX is a pretty spectacular little pinball game on Xbox Live Arcade. While virtual pinball physics may never be perfect, the graphics are beautiful and you can actually follow the action through a few decent camera angles. The only real issue I have with it is the lack of levels. Starting this Halloween, Pinball FX will be offering a free level on XBLA called Buccaneer. We were excited that it might be a spooky Halloween-themed pack at first, but buccaneers are a close second in our hearts.

Free Pinball FX Halloween Level
[vh1]


clips

Arcade Attack: The Pinball-Video Game War

1UP's Jenn Frank was lucky enough to have come into possession of one of the wildest, wackiest animation moments from the 80s. It was a heady time, one that saw the genre cleansing of former arcade mainstay pinball viciously brutalized by video games. There are no words that could do justice to this animated battle between wannabe Space Invaders and not quote The Bride of Pinbot. Could've used a more metal soundtrack, but it's worth a watch regardless. Frank reveals more about the documentary from whence this came in her latest 1UP blog entry.

Arcade Attack: More '80s Than You Can Handle [1UP]


arcade flyers

TAFA October Update

It's the beginning of the month so it must be time for another Arcade Flyer Archive update! As usual TAFA graces us with another hundred flyers in each of their three categories: video games, pinball games and arcade amusement games. This month in video games we get Dead or Alive, Burger Time, House of the Dead 4 Special and Metal Slug X just to name a few. Pinball and Arcade Amusement also get their fair share with some new SMB Pinballs and Ashcraft's favorite Love and Berry Dress Up Dance. So, head on over to TAFA and see what all the hub-bub is about.


with added joel flippers

The HDTV Pinball Machine

Fresh off covering E3 for us, former Gizmodo editor Joel Johnson has settled in over at Boing Boing, where he's covering gadgets like this HDTV pinball machine. It's an art installation on display at Barcelona's Palau de la Virreina that riffs on the conflict between kids and parents over leisure activities — what's more, it proves that more pinball machines should use giant HDTVs. Here's info about the game:

The "real world" level represents kids' media usage and their parents' attitudes towards it. Left hand (parents' wishes) sends the ball (the kid) to school, books, church and museum. Right hand (the kid's wishes) sends the kid to TV, peers, videogames and the Internet-connected computer at the top left.

Nice to see a tricked out pinball machine. Nice to see Joel back in the gadget saddle.
Homebrew HDTV Pinball [BB Gadgets]

'arcade

TAFA August Update


The Arcade Flyer Archive has completed their August update with an additional one hundred flyers in each of their categories (pinball, arcade & amusement, video game). This time around they have manged to lay hands on a Tekken 6 flyer as well as one for the new Silent Hill Arcade Game. The Pinball and Arcade & Amusement sections are featuring games based on popular video game franchises like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and of course, Mario Bros. If you've never checked out TAFA, now is the time, and if you are a faithful fan, you'll find plenty of new stuff to peruse with this month's update.

be the ball

Furminator, First Person Pinball

First person shooters are a dime a dozen, but first person pinball is something rare and special. The ///furminator, named so because of its origins as a Terminator 2 pinball table, puts players closer to the playing field, giving them an intense first person perspective on the game.

That the player wears a force feedback helmet—which looks like a modified hockey or lacrosse gear—only provides an experience with more immersion. A pair of Commodore 64-era triggers and a series of mini-LCD screens that give players a look at hidden portions of the playfield add to the technical modifications. Watching the videos is highly recommended.

///furminator [via Waxy.org]


vc update

Kirby Golf, Satanic Pinball, and Shining Forces

It's Monday morning and I am typing to you live from Seattle, where the constant wetness makes it a perfect day to stay inside and screw around with the Wii Virtual Console. This week's offerings are actually three different shades of awesome. First comes pink-tinted awesome in the form of Kirby's Dream Course (SNES, 800 Points), which is one of the "Hey, he's a ball..." series of Kirby games. This time around he's a golf ball and you get to beat him with a stick until he goes into a hole. Awesome. Then comes Devil's Crush (TGFX16, 600 Points), which is the more Satanic version of the Alien Crush pinball game for the TurboGrafx. As I have stated previously, video game pinball is delicious. Finally we have Shining Force (Genesis, 800 Points), the second game in one of the most enduring and varied RPG series of all time, which Sega has only just recently gotten around to screwing up. Definitely three different flavors of awesome this week, whether you like to whack things with flippers, beat things with sticks, or carefully plan out your beating things with sticks. Enjoy! More »

e307

Hands-On With Wii Williams Pinball

If you read Kotaku regularly you may have noticed I'm a sucker for some video game pinball. Give me a controller and a relatively accurate rendering of the silver ball and I am a happy camper. A while back I wrote up a press release about Crave's Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, which is being released sometime this year on the PS2, PSP, and this time around the Wii. A follow-up to the previously released Gottlieb Collection, this anthology features one of my favorite tales of all time, Pinbot. When I visited with Crave at E3 I got a chance to get hands-on with the Wii version of the game, and I have to say that after playing through several balls on good old Pinbot, I am spoiled for virtual pinball on any other system More »

arcade flyer art saturday

Arcade Flyer Art Saturday: Video Pinball

This week's entry into the annals of Arcade Flyer Art Saturday is from the early days of arcade history. Atari released Video Pinball in 1979, touting it as the first video game ever to simulate the then very popular pinball game. This machine employed the use of mirrors to reflect the flippers, ball and drop targets onto the three dimensional backlit "Disco" playing field. The game was controlled with a traditional pinball scheme by using a plunger to shoot the "ball" and buttons on the side to control the "flippers." More »

behind the times

Why Europe Gets Metroid Pinball Later

Poor Europe, never catches a break. Approximately a year-and-a-half after Metroid Prime Pinball was released in the US, Nintendo announced the pinball game will be rolling into Europe June 22nd. No word whether the game will have the rumble pack that was bundled with the American and Japanese versions. Why the delay? A Nintendo spokesperson says: More »

down with mpp

Europe Finally Gets Metroid Prime Pinball

While the rest of us were busy forgetting that Metroid Prime Pinball ever existed, Europeans are getting fired up for the game's June release. Yep, Nintendo of Europe is about 18 months late getting around to pulling the plunger on Samus Aran's pinball adventure, as the other territories have had access to the game since October of 2005. More »

tafa

TAFA Opens The Curtain On Two New Archives

A few weeks back I brought you news of The Arcade Flyer Archive and their effort to launch two new archives, one for Pinball Flyers and another for non video game Arcade Game Flyers. On April 30th TAFA opened it's two new archives both of which can be accessed from their main page. The two new sections have been supplemented with over 400 new flyers each in addition to the many that they already had in the mix. Also present is a fancy new logo and streamlined navigation system. More »

spot the supple wrist

Travel Channel Features Pinball Wizards

Stern Pinball, the only manufacturer of coin-op pinball machines still in business, got the documentary treatment a while back from Travel Channel show John Ratzenberger's Made In America. The kids at Arcade Heroes just put out a reminder that the show is going to air tomorrow for any pinball fans who might have missed it. More »