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Pinball Wizard Controller, The Joystick for Pinball Fanatics
Posted by Mark Wilson at 6:20 AM on November 13, 2008
I've never played a pinball video game that was quite right—Pinball FX is pretty good—but fans of the genre will need the Pinball Wizard Controller by Nanotech Entertainment. Featuring a real plunger, side flipper buttons, and even the option to tilt the machine, the $US299 PC controller works with a variety of bundled games and promises compatibility for third part titles moving forward. It's ugly, yes. But so is the current state of pinball. [Nanotech Entertainment via Kotaku]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Lite
Posted 9:06 AM 13/11/08
And, it isn't the current state of pinball that is problematic, it is the current state of Arcades in the US. While the arcade industry in Japan is still booming, it has basically died a slow smothering death here in the US since about 1996...
Figure Pinball peaked with the most successful machine ever in 1992 with Adams Family Pinball (I think 23,000 of the machines were produced and sold total...) and Twilight Zone being the 2nd most popular by production numbers (One of the most popular for features/rulesets.)
Lite
Lite
Posted 9:03 AM 13/11/08
Uhm, I have a REAL full-sized early-edition (White Clock) Twilight Zone pinball machine sitting in my living room. I don't really need this.
However I have been thinking about what it would take to build a pin-mame cabinet out of a 1080 hd system. I'm just worried that the viewing angle might make it suck...
Plus, the physics still just aren't quite right sometimes
Lite
phoenix27
Posted 9:01 AM 13/11/08
@MacAttack7388: I loved that series. I remember that episode vaguely too! Good times.
phoenix27
WaffleTeamStrike
Posted 8:54 AM 13/11/08
This thing is actually pretty cool, wish I played pinball now.
WaffleTeamStrike
MacAttack7388
Posted 8:53 AM 13/11/08
"Pinball Wizard"?
That reminds me of an "Are you Afraid of the Dark" episode.
------------------------
[gregstechblog.blogspot.com]
MacAttack7388
FrankenPC
Posted 8:50 AM 13/11/08
@timak: Drats...you beat me to it.
FrankenPC
korybing
Posted 8:46 AM 13/11/08
I wonder if The Who get any royalties anytime a pinball-related item gets named the "Pinball Wizard".
korybing
bitgod
Posted 8:36 AM 13/11/08
/me looks at his Thrustmaster Wizzard Pinball Controller box in the closet.
I have this habit of not throwing things away. Huh, what do you know, here's my Vivid3D external WOW3D sound box thinger. Hmmm, and there's Jimmy Hoffa.
Anywho, haven't played a computer pinball game in ages. If there's still some good ones out there, and if that box was actually cheap, I'd think about getting it. Not at that price though.
bitgod
timak
Posted 8:30 AM 13/11/08
@LiquidGravity:
I asked my wife that once....
once.
timak
LiquidGravity
Posted 8:27 AM 13/11/08
Where do you put the coins?
LiquidGravity
timak
Posted 8:25 AM 13/11/08
Awesome! But I will buy it only if it has legs that extend so i can use it standing up.
timak
DavidPFarrell
Posted 10:18 AM 13/11/08
Has anyone gotten pinmame to work worth a damn?
This is a serious question.
I tried it out several years ago, along with some VB Pinball sim that tied into it, and was so scarred that I haven't looked back since.
So will someone please clue me in on the current state of the scene?
DavidPFarrell
DavidPFarrell
Posted 10:16 AM 13/11/08
After researching I found "Pinball Hall Of Fame: Williams Collection" got great ratings.
I picked up the Wii version at Costco for $15 and it has been an absolute pleasure to play!
I've had 5-6 different pinball sims over the years on various platforms and this beats all of them hands down!
I hope the same game company creates more tables as I would love to see Adams Family and Twilight Zone.
DavidPFarrell
markarian
Posted 10:59 AM 13/11/08
Pinball machines were only cool because of their mechanical goodness.
markarian
TVGenius
Posted 10:37 AM 13/11/08
@Lite: Exactly. There's plenty of people who WANT to play pinball, just not enough places that bother to fix machines or, heaven forbid, DO ANY MAINTENANCE OR CLEAN THEM.
Hence why the majority of my pinball playing is at the Pinball Hall of Fame
www.pinballhall.org
TVGenius
fogmaster
Posted 11:25 AM 13/11/08
@Lite: twilight zone is my favorite pinball by far!
Where did you get yours?
fogmaster
fogmaster
Posted 11:26 AM 13/11/08
@TVGenius: I worked for a company (asoco amusement) all we did was buy old pinballs at auctions and restored them.
If anyone is interested and in the SOCAL area, check out the super auctions!
fogmaster
pinball21
Posted 11:52 AM 13/11/08
Can't beat good old pinball. I have a bunch of machines a Terminator 3, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chicago Coin Sound Stage and I am currently in the process of restoring 2 Rockola World Series Pinball Machines from 1934. I have tried and made future pinball games the computer but it is just not a fun. The physics aren't right. I know that nanotech is also making a full sized pinball machine that plays future pinball games and it is going to look fairly third dimensional. But I don't think it is going to be any better than UltraPin (a failed attempt at a full-sized virtual pinball machine.
pinball21
tommo
Posted 3:42 PM 13/11/08
@DavidPFarrell: Looks in good shape to me:
[en.wikipedia.org]
tommo
bookishboy
Posted 4:56 AM 14/11/08
Mark, if Pinball FX is your best experience with pinball sims, you *owe* it to yourself to go out and get a copy of Pinball Hall of Fame (Wii version). This game is usually available for the criminally low price of $15-$20.
This game has gotten more play than any other on our house's nintendo console. People who don't even generally like videogames find this easy to pick up and play and very enjoyable. Value for dollar, it's probably the best money I've spent on a Wii game.
bookishboy
skierpage
Posted 3:12 PM 15/11/08
I too have a Twilight Zone at home, Pat Lawlor's masterpiece.
He and the other genius of pinball design, Steve Ritchie, are still going strong, designing games for the only remaining U.S. manufacturer, Stern Pinball.
skierpage