Gizmodo: $9,000 virtual pinball machine (Skillshot FX Digital)

[mclemore]

Tonight, I Will Dream About This $9,000 Digital Pinball Machine With a 55-Inch Screen

The Skillshot FX Digital Pinball looks like the ultimate pinball simulator.

gizmodo.com

Interesting... but I never really understood the appeal of videogame pinball simulations (except as a novelty). They can be occasionally fun on my iPhone, but let's just say I'm not the target audience for this. A huge part of the appeal of pinball is the mechanical aspect to it. To turn pinball into a video game means it isn't really pinball any more.

On the other hand, it does have 96 different virtual pinball machines on it. So I still wouldn't want it instead of a few pinball machines, but maybe it might make sense to some in addition to a few regular physical machines. Note: the 55 inch screen turned sideways is only HD. So a player is standing a lot closer to the screen then you would watching a movie on a similar sized screen. As the article notes, "bumping that up to 4K would make the virtual tables look even more lifelike."

 

[manadams]

I'm having one built for less than half that price with 1300 pinball tables, 4k 49" screen and it looks like an actual pinball machine. I could build one for way cheaper but don't want the hassle. If your going to pay that much then go VP cabs or Xtreme Gaming Cabinets.

https://virtualpinball.com/
https://xtremegamingcabinets.com.au/presta17/

 

[MIPS]

Ooh! Can I please tear this apart?

These usually offer a simulated pinball experience at a cheaper price point than the real deal requires

But not the one you are talking about.

Companies like Arcade1Up offer digital pinball machines at a smaller scale with price tags below $1,000 (believe it or not that's much cheaper than companies like Stern Pinball who still sell mechanical pinball machines for well over $6,000).

If you aren't deliberately looking for big title pins you can totally get the real deal in the budget range.

Arcade1Up's machines limits gameplay to a 24-inch screen. There's a good chance the computer screen on your desk is larger than that

...but this hot take sure tells me who they are trying to sell this to.

the Skillshot FX Digital Pinball is more expensive than most of the real pinball machines that Stern Pinball still sells, but for that price, you get access to 96 different virtual pinball machines

I feel like they are trying to say "this is really, really overpriced, but licensing is expensive!"

This picture speaks to me as the industrial loft of a guy who drives a BMW and owns an indie game studio but last year could only declare his annual income as under $50K.

Yes, it's a little disappointing that the 55-inch playfield screen is limited to HD resolutions—bumping that up to 4K would make the virtual tables look even more lifelike

"but then we would have to ask $10000 for the thing! D:"

The whole machine runs on Windows 10

Okay folks, go home. Nothing to see here. Even 1Up can spin custom boards for the games. This is just a PC.

features wifi built-in to facilitate online competitions and IRL multiplayer as well as make updating software easier and potentially add new virtual tables in the future.

Things that in three years will be dead!

Just keep in mind that while the playfield is virtual this pinball machine still weighs 270 pounds

Given that stupid base its on my guess is the foot is a giant weight to keep it from toppling.

and measures over five feet in length

IT'S A (virtual) PINBALL MACHINE. Are people expecting a 1-Up?

 

[LyonsArcade]

I've learned over the years anything will sell. Not sure if it'll sell enough to keep them profitable but they'll sell a sh*t ton of them more than you'd think...

 

[VidyaGamez]

Yeah there already exist virtual pinball machines for way cheaper, why does this one demand a $9k price tag? The advantage of an Arcade 1up is that they're cheaper than even a 60-in-1 cabinet. But yes this will still sell reasonably well because there are a lot of uneducated pinball buyers (more than arcade buyers I think)

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

I agree. The fun of the pinball is using the laws of physics, the flippers and some bumps to obtain an acceptable outcome. Trying to interpolate those "bumps" with accelerometers isn't the same.

With that said, I'm certain someone will fall for this hook, line and sinker.

 

[bobbyb13]

If I had that much $$ to blow on a pin I would buy a few (used!) real ones instead.
Of course they are like hen's teeth out here.

 

[advans13]

yup pinball is all about that tactile, clunking, physics ride. virtual pinball fucking sucks. even with all the head tracking and bullshit, they've never gotten the physics right as it's never gonna be a one size fits all solution that they apply them to in these games. i do enjoy playing pinball arcade just to hear some sounds, but physics suck too.

 

[DZA]

Some people also like VR sex. To each his own...

 

[Hoppy2021]

If I am gonna drop $9000 on a pinball machine, i want the satisfaction of maybe sometime having to unstick a ball trapped under a rubber.

People bitch about current market values If a fake pin can draw that sort of price, then $100 000 real pins are just around the corner!

 

[manadams]

If I am gonna drop $9000 on a pinball machine, i want the satisfaction of maybe sometime having to unstick a ball trapped under a rubber.

People bitch about current market values If a fake pin can draw that sort of price, then $100 000 real pins are just around the corner!

I'm getting a virtual pin mostly because certain titles are 10K or more now. The tech has supposedly come a long way with force/surround sound feedback, accelerometers, 4K screens and such so it is pretty close to feeling real. If I can play some classics like Addams Family or Medieval Madness and it feels pretty close without forking out 10K plus then I'll take it. It will never replace my real machines, just give me an option to play a few that I don't want to pay absurd prices for or rely on location play where the game is beat to shit and doesn't play 100%.

 

[RetroInjection]

I just published a review on the Legends Pinball virtual pin from AtGames. It's only $700!