The Pinball Arcade coming soon (?) for Switch [news channel appeared]

[Dash Kappei]

The Pinball Arcade news channel just popped up in Europe, although there's no listing for the game on the eShop yet.

With the best pinball sim coming, Switch now has every notable Pinball sim/ish release under the sun:

Stern Pinball Arcade
The Pinball Arcade
Pinball FX3 (still no fix for 30fps portable mode and who knows if it'll ever happen after the latest comments)
Zaccaria Pinball
and the heavily rumored Pinball Pro Timeshock Ultra (remake)


Playing them in portrait mode is godly I might add.

 

[Slam Tilt]

I'll jump on TPA Switch as soon as TATE mode is confirmed. I'm a bit hesitant to double-dip, but it's waaaaaaay too tempting...

 

[Mysterio79]

In my veins

 

[Dash Kappei]

I'll jump on TPA Switch as soon as TATE mode is confirmed. I'm a bit hesitant to double-dip, but it's waaaaaaay too tempting...

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It's all but confirmed at this point.
Farsight patched TATE mode into STERN PINBALL ARCADE a while ago.
I'm going to quintuple dip (360/PC/PS4/iOS/Switch) even tho I can't stand how Farsight operates most of the times, I still appreciate what they do and will support it, enjoy it and play the shit out of it! :D

 

[Shaneus]

Now we just need to wait for Jeremy Parish's tate controller:
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018...h-these-handy-vertical-mode-controller-clips/

 

[GDGF]

Totally down for this.

 

[Mandos]

Oooo, I'm definitely interested, hope we get a launch deal perhaps.. also when did Zaccaria pinball come to switch? Kinda curious to see what it will launch with. What's the regular pricing rate?

 

[Slam Tilt]

It's all but confirmed at this point.

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Probably, but after how TATE was coded into Stern Pinball Arcade but didn't actually work, I'll wait for confirmation first. I really appreciate the work that Farsight does for digitizing classic pinball games, but I'm not going to jump in blind.

 

[Hero of Legend]

How's the Stern Pinball game on Switch? Particularly the NA retail release? I've not seen it in Canada yet I've seen Poi: Explorer Edition that was also published by Alliance at retail on Switch.

 

[Deleted member 2145]

is there a pinball game on Switch that has satisfying HD rumble in it that's not pinball fx3?

 

[Epilexia]

Is 'Zaccaria Pinball' also coming to Switch? I haven't read the announcement in any web.

EDIT:

It seems that it was announced in their Facebook page.

 

[Dash Kappei]

is there a pinball game on Switch that has satisfying HD rumble in it that's not pinball fx3?

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Nope.
PFX3 is super awesome cause it even outputs full HD RUMBLE in TATE (Portrait) Mode to a single Joycon... you can't even play Stern PA in TATE having only one Joycon attached but have to resort to using touch screen 's controls, ugh. Too bad I don't care particularly for PFX/Zen :-(

Probably, but after how TATE was coded into Stern Pinball Arcade but didn't actually work, I'll wait for confirmation first. I really appreciate the work that Farsight does for digitizing classic pinball games, but I'm not going to jump in blind.

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I know, but it was fixed weeks ago. TPA is going to be the usual Farsight release, full of little and not so little bugs that come with having 2 programmers on a team releasing 7 versions of the game at a time. Switch's release ain't gonna change that, at this point everyone should know what to expect. To me, despite that, it's still worth it and even worth getting hyped to finally have TPAs Seasons on Switch, to others not so much.
The game is going to have TATE at release, if it'll work as intended from day 1 we won't know until release day lol ;)

How's the Stern Pinball game on Switch? Particularly the NA retail release? I've not seen it in Canada yet I've seen Poi: Explorer Edition that was also published by Alliance at retail on Switch.

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It's great but at this point it'll become redundant considering Ghostbusters is part of TPA proper and not exclusive anymore to Stern PA, I'd stay away unless you really, really love the AC/DC and Star Trek tables (the former is pretty good imo) but
At which point I advise you to avoid dropping $40 for the retail release and just grab the digital LE Premium bundle with both tables in it (plus Frankenstein, free for everyone in the eShop] for less than $10

Is 'Zaccaria Pinball' also coming to Switch? I haven't read the announcement in any web.

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They announced it on their FB page back in February

 

[Mandos]

So I guess which is the better value going in?

I summon HotHamBoy

 

[YogurtMaster]

It does look good on the Switch and if I owned a Switch I would probably buy it, because I have a "thing" for pinball.
I have always wanted a VR or AR Pinball arcade in my own house. Since it would cost so much to have the real thing, this would be amazing.

 

[Deleted member 2145]

Nope.
PFX3 is super awesome cause it even outputs full HD RUMBLE in TATE (Portrait) Mode to a single Joycon... you can't even play Stern PA in TATE having only one Joycon attached but have to resort to using touch screen 's controls, ugh. Too bad I don't care particularly for PFX/Zen :-(

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damn

I want a solid pinball and pool sim with hd rumble

 

[Platy]

Is this one also "free to download and play one table but buy the others" like most of the other ones?

 

[Bog]

I heard Stern got a vertical option but I never saw it in the menus. Could be a FIB!

 

[HotHamBoy]

Actually, Zen confirmed that they will release the 60fps undocked patch this Summer after the backlash

So I guess which is the better value going in?

I summon HotHamBoy

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What do you mean by that? All the pinball games are free to try and each will satisfy different expectations. Here's my recommendations for starting points:

The Pinball Arcade - Season 1, followed by Season 2 ($30 each)
Pinball FX3 (on Switch) - Carnivals and Legends ($6) followed by Jurassic Park ($10) and/or Iron & Steel ($6)
Stern Pinball Arcade - Bundle 1 ($20)

The existence of TPA makes buying SPA tables a bit more complex. If you plan on eventually buying all the tables on TPA, or at least the Seasons that have tables in SPA, you may not want to buy the bundles. The Stern Pinball Arcade features 3 $10 tables based on very new Stern tables and one $10 table that was also supposed to be exclusive but ended up it the latest Season of The Pinball Arcade. The rest of the table are $5 and all in TPA.

So if you just plan on buying Stern Pinball Arcade stuff then buy Bundle 1 or the full package. If you plan on buying the full Seasons of TPA then just buy Star Trek, Mustang and AC/DC in SPA and skip Ghostbusters because you'll get that in TPA.

If you plan on buying the tables in TPA individually, just focusing on the ones you really want, buy the two Stern Pinball Arcade bundles and skip those tables in The Pinball Arcade.

...Got it?

If any of you bought the bundles or full package of Stern Pinball Arcade, be aware that buying Seasons in The Pinball Arcade will result in buying some of the exact same tables twice. But also be aware that it may still be a better value than buying just the tables you don't have individually.

Is this one also "free to download and play one table but buy the others" like most of the other ones?

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Yes

I heard Stern got a vertical option but I never saw it in the menus. Could be a FIB!

Click to shrink...

It did

 

[HotHamBoy]

These are the tables in The Pinball Arcade. There are 7 Seasons. The first two Seasons were sold as two packs with tables carried over from the old Williams & Gottlieb Hall of Fame collections and newly created tables for TPA. Starting with Season 3, the old tables had been exhausted and new tables were sold as 10 single-table packs at the same $5 pricepoint. Starting with Season 5 each Season features one two-pack of EM tables (made before 1977).

Durng Season 7 they took a month off and Ghostbusters was "borrowed" from Stern Pinball Arcade to give them another month off. Ghostbusters is $10.

A special, bonus Dr Who table was created for Season 6 that reskins and reworks the original Dr Who table to a new game based on the modern Dr. Who series. It is the only "original" table made by Farsight in The Pinball Arcade and it costs $10. It is included with Season 6 passes, IIRC.

Each table pack is $5 (except the ones noted above).

Each Season is $30. They sometimes go on sale for $15.

Please note that the final table in Season 7, Banzai Run, is not pictured here but is included.

With the release of Banzai Run, Farsight announced that there would be no more monthly table releases or Seasons. There will be new tables but they will be released whenever they are finished with no fixed schedule. When asked if they would be released as often as "bi-monthly" the answer was "probably not." A Farsight employee did recently confirm that new tables are coming and he hinted that a technical overhaul is coming to the rather dated Seasons 1 & 2.

Why is their overlap between The Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade? Because Stern owns the tables made by Data East and Sega and it was decided that the collection should include all Stern-owned tables. It also helped fill out the package.

Here are the tables currently available in The Stern Pinball Arcade. The next two table to come are Big Buck Hunter and Woah Nellie: Big Juicy Mellons. They will be sold seperately

Frankenstein - FREE

Bundle 1 - $20
Star Trek ($10)
AC/DC ($10)
Ripley's Believe It Or Not ($5)
Starship Troopers ($5)

Bundle 2 - $20
Mustang ($10)
Ghostbusters ($10)
Last Action Hero ($5)
Phantom of the Opera ($5)
High Roller Casino ($5)
Harley Davidson ($5)

 

[Dash Kappei]

HotHamBoy
Mandos

On Switch's Stern the LE packs don't need you to own the base (Premium) version so you can just buy the LE packs for AC/DC+Star Trek and Ghostbusters+Mustang for circa €8.50, paying just €4.25 each for the newest tables and thus avoid having doubles when buying TPA Seasons in the future

 

[Teletext Dreamer]

AFAIK Stern Pinball Arcade doesn't even have option for local multiplayer enabled yet.
I hope that The Pinball Arcade port is more complete/mature.

 

[Mandos]

Oooo pack 1 has some real classics even I've heard of. Seems like a must grab for me... question is season 5 or 6? I would like one of those em tables packs.

Also I just meant what Zaccaria's pricing model was since I haven't heard of it before

 

[Dash Kappei]

Oooo pack 1 has some real classics even I've heard of. Seems like a must grab for me... question is season 5 or 6? I would like one of those em tables packs.

Also I just meant what Zaccaria's pricing model was since I haven't heard of it before

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I think Season 1 is still the best, then Season 2. Then I'd buy some single tables like Addams Family, Indy 500, The Getaway, World Cup and so on...

 

[Slam Tilt]

I think Season 1 is still the best, then Season 2. Then I'd buy some single tables like Addams Family, Indy 500, The Getaway, World Cup and so on...

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Are you me? That's my setup on iOS right now. Only problem with playing on the phone is that background phone tasks interrupt the game with brief jitters, which is why I'm looking to transition to the Switch version instead.

 

[Professor Fate]

Sweet. Theatre of Magic on the Switch is all I need.