Thanks Doug for mentioning the communities out there and mentioning DOFLinx and SSF. Adding DOF to FX3 was a lot of work for DDH69, and adding SSF to FX3 was a crap load of work for me (and we both do this on our own time for free), so I really hope they can find a way to allow that to happen with the new FX, as having DOF and SSF for FX3 was a big selling point for a lot of people who would never have bought it otherwise.
Myself and the rest of the vpin community are forever in your debt for all your amazing contributions. I would absolutely love to see them seamlessly integrate with the current platform
Surely Twilight Zone is a candidate for the next Williams/Bally game as royalties and licences are minimal on this table, plus it is the most popular game out there.
CoolToy, Thank you for putting on this interview. If there is any content creator who could get me to revisit Zen Studios news, it's you. The trust is there. Hopefully Mel gets a chance to read the comments on this video, but if not, please pass this along... Mel, BRAVO to you and Zen Studios. Thank you for adding the option for customers to pay simple money for tables! Trying new things isn't a fail, especially if you take into account constructive feedback and work to make things better. Making purchases straight forward and transparent (this table cost 5 dollars, you paid 5 dollars, here's your table for 5 dollars) is very customer-centric. It leaves little to no scrutiny in the air. When so many companies out there are developing their own monetization systems to make it harder to track one's purchases, this type of practice, I feel, needs to stop. To be clear, I'm not in anyway saying, or implying that Zen's goal was to do something like this, but it mirrored a lot of what these types of systems do. Mel, good on you and Zen. This goodwill gesture (or should I say GREATwill gesture) just got you back a customer, when this launches on Steam. Thank you SO MUCH for taking customer feedback into serious consideration and putting it to action. Zen is back on the menu! vgv
Happy I could share the good news, I am a fan of the real currency change as well. While I understand there were positives with the ticket system that allowed them to speed along table releases, I would still prefer to clarity of FIAT currency transactions as a consumer vs the ticket system. So I'll take the longer wait time for the tables if need be.
As someone who plays across multiple systems, I'm saddened by this news. I was really looking forward to only buying the tables on the Xbox, then having access to them later on Steam or playing them with my FlipGrip on the Switch. It looks like the Pinball Pass for me for that option. ($10 a month/$120 a year is a pricey too when you compare to something like GamePass - could of bought $120 worth of tickets and had access any platform available) Granted, the ticket system could of definitely used some tweaking but I would rather of had the option to buy a table once and have access everywhere (which is what Zen was attempting). Now I guess it's back to the old model of paying for the same table multiple times if you want to own them on multiple platforms. Thanks for at least trying Zen of doing something truly consumer friendly with cross platform purchases.
@@Thefly-vh8tv cross buy can still be implemented without the ticket system. It's as simple as recording your purchases to a database and checking that database when you login on another platform. As for the ticket system itself, if Zen did it as a 1-1 conversion so spending $9.99 real money equals the exact same in the game so there is no left over after buying a table, it may have been received more positive from the community but again the ticket system is not needed to have cross buy no matter how much Mel wants everyone to believe.
@@andymcdandycdn6808 I hope so. I really not sure if they were trying to copy something like the Fortnite V bucks for cross platform purchases. It does sound like a too convenient of an excuse to blame feedback of the ticket system to scrap the whole cross platform purchase system and only offer the pinball pass option. I would love to see cross platform for both purchases and the pass. I wonder if it was an issue behind the scenes with one of the console platforms not wanting to participate,so rather than delay the release any further, scrap it all together
Pinball FX2 and 3 got me interested in real pinball, especially the Williams tables. Fish Tales, Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness are my jams. Saving the pennies to purchase one of them. But looking forward to the new iteration of Pinball FX on my Xbox. Great interview, dude.
Those classic Williams tables are pretty timeless, great shooting games with easy to understand rules and great themes. What Williams table do you have your eyes set on the most for a future purchase?
@@cooltoy keep hearing murmurings of another Medieval Madness release in 2023. That's the top pick. Though might be hard to get hold of in the UK. Only got room for one. Have been seriously tempted by a top line virtual pinball machine. They're great but once you start playing the real thing, it's just a deeper experience.
As I own 70% of the tables available in Pinball FX3 on Xbox (Series X) I don't currently see many reasons to switch to the new game if purchases of tables do not carry over. Can someone please tell me what benefits there are in switching over and having to repurchase previous tables?
Great interview. These guys really know pinball, really sincere, cares not only about their product but an overwhelming commitment to players, have FX2 & 3 on Xbox, cabinet and Quest 2 (FX2 and Star Wars collection) this new FX is itching for VR too! I really think people should show these devs the respect they deserve, everyone is too critical these days, they want everything today, now, yesterday, can you imagine the license headaches for Adams Family alone?
A partnership with Stern would be a dream come true. Stern is putting out some great tables and I would love to be able to play Stern tables such as Godzilla, Batman ‘66 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at home (I know, I know, but one can dream).
yes, it is possible but it's not the easiest thing to set up in its current form due to the current cabinet mode limitations in Pinball FX at the moment.
Yup. Out of all pinball iterations Pinball FX was the easiest. FX3 I had to wait on a code, VPX is still a struggle for a lot of tables. Finding all of the files has been rough.
What happened to Epic Quest? I really enjoyed Epic Quest. As for what can Pinball FX do to make more people jump onboard with Pinball FX? Team up with Stern. Stern makes some great tables and they are putting out more and more great tables each year (from Batman 66, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Godzilla).
That's total crap by the way. It has to do more harm than good for Zen. I'm very hesitant to get FX because I don't want to repurchase tables I have on FX3.
Thanks for doing this interview Cooltoy. I've already purchased most of the Pinball FX tables on the Epic Store using tickets, do you have any idea if that means those games will be cross platform? The way Mel explained it was slightly confusing, I know they're doing away with the ticket system next year, but I liked the idea of the ticket system making these games cross-platform, which is why I bought them. So now even games purchased previously with tickets will not be cross platform?
Pinball pass subscribers will have their tables playable cross-platform. Zen said they’d take care of anyone who purchased tables with the ticket system within early access so they are available to you on your platform of choice.
It's extremely disappointing to hear that table purchases won't be tied to the account. At this point, I'm just going to stick with Pinball FX3. I already own all the tables they offer there. I'm not seeing enough reason to justify upgrading at this point.
I can only play on Steam or Switch and neither has a release coming it seems. Wish all my favorite tables from Pinball Arcade would make the jump so I can just switch over to this one. Would love to play some of those original tables, and Indy already.
I'm so disappointed with the whole ticket system , that said, if my table purchases don't travel with my login, I will still not buy any. not going to subscribe. I already have too many subscriptions. keep the ticket system and I will buy some. I was specifically waiting to hear this kind of garbage and there it is. so glad I waited.
Just curious, but does your Madden or CoD GAME purchased for a Playstation carry over to Xbox, Nintendo, PC and mobile? I'm an OG gamer beginning with the Atari 2600 days and cannot wrap my head around why people would expect it to. Please help me understand your expectation. I personally think that an option to pay a monthly subscription to a service that allows you to play on ALL supported consoles/devices is a freakin amazing ability. Especially considering if you do the math on what that would cost buying every game for every console/device. Call me crazy, but these options are great IMO.
Madden and CoD, no. Fortnite (The Big Battle Royale game) Fall Guys (Think Mario Party with more than multiple players) Rocket League (Soccer with Rocket Cars) and Minecraft (That Big Blocky survival game) all contain in-game currency, that are bought through console storefronts, items you buy with said currency in a in-game storefront and purchases are tied to separate account login, thus allowing Cross-Platform commerce. I am just one of many people that actually thought the ticket system was a bright idea, and likewise I am just as disappointed by it’s removal.
@@ZW_Zacattack99 I see your point for those few games that operate with that model. However, pinball is a much smaller niche market and the numbers just don't add up the same. Fortnite has over 80 million active users per month, every month, which allows for a revenue stream to offer your game to the masses for lower pricepoints, or even free, thanks to in-game micro transactions and/or advertisment revenue that quickly adds up. I don't feel virtual pinball has the same number of players worldwide to work under the same model as a Fortnite to allow for so much to be given away for nearly free once expenses are covered. Hopefully that statement can one day be proven wrong as the virtual pinball market continues to grow. In the meantime, those who want to purchase their tables outright as they could in PFX3 can now do so and those who want access to ALL tables playable over ALL devices with an inexpensive monthly subcription now have an affordable option as well. I think it's a win-win.
I love this ticket system compared to packs that I've bought 3 times already. Get ready for that again? No thanks. I've got the next gen that I wanted and am not forced to have tables I don't like in a pack.
It would be great if Zen would work with ATgames so that we could play FX games directly on the Legends Pinball with out hooking up a console like a Nintendo Switch.
They should do something for those people that bought every table for VP use, and now have to buy them all over again for the new format ..Perhaps a 50% discount if you already own it ... Also, if you have tables across different formats, once a year the buyer should be able to consolidate all of their tables onto 1 format.... Just my 2 cents ... What about newer machines such as the new Stern games, new games from Jersey Jack and other manufacturers ?
Basically ‘legacy tables’ from FX3 will receive a 33% discount with in the first week of release and that’s in general. The ticket system was basically their method of having tables tied to an account, and allowing purchases to be accessed across all platforms.
@@cooltoy was vague in terms of when. A lot of we’re working on it, long term etc. I’ll believe it when I see it. And IF it does go in I’ll buy tables galore. It’s the one thing that’s really stopped me getting into it on ps4 previously. I have a monitor stand that swivels which I use for schmups so to have pinball on it as well would be amazing
@@thesmoness that's probably one of the most aggravating things with Zen right now, no one there seems allowed to even mention Steam. It's like they have to treat Steam as if it doesn't exist.
This company sucks. From their creepy "send us a photo of your room to unlock functionality you paid for" to their constant replatforming without allowing you to carry tables forward they send a very clear message to the VPIN community. Steer clear!
"constant replatforming without allowing you to carry tables forward" Fake news, they carried purchases from the original FX1/ZP1 to FX2/ZP2, and from there to FX3. We're really fortunate to get transfers of purchases. Pinball Arcade, meanwhile, did not have any purchase transfers on consoles.
Thanks Doug for mentioning the communities out there and mentioning DOFLinx and SSF. Adding DOF to FX3 was a lot of work for DDH69, and adding SSF to FX3 was a crap load of work for me (and we both do this on our own time for free), so I really hope they can find a way to allow that to happen with the new FX, as having DOF and SSF for FX3 was a big selling point for a lot of people who would never have bought it otherwise.
Myself and the rest of the vpin community are forever in your debt for all your amazing contributions. I would absolutely love to see them seamlessly integrate with the current platform
Surely Twilight Zone is a candidate for the next Williams/Bally game as royalties and licences are minimal on this table, plus it is the most popular game out there.
That and Ripleys. My top 2 of all time. Fingers crossed.
@@kentrey Ripley's is Stern, you'll have to wait until that license gets pulled from TPA.
We need cabinet mode across the board thanks guys!!
Looking Forward to this!!!!
CoolToy,
Thank you for putting on this interview. If there is any content creator who could get me to revisit Zen Studios news, it's you. The trust is there.
Hopefully Mel gets a chance to read the comments on this video, but if not, please pass this along...
Mel, BRAVO to you and Zen Studios. Thank you for adding the option for customers to pay simple money for tables! Trying new things isn't a fail, especially if you take into account constructive feedback and work to make things better.
Making purchases straight forward and transparent (this table cost 5 dollars, you paid 5 dollars, here's your table for 5 dollars) is very customer-centric. It leaves little to no scrutiny in the air. When so many companies out there are developing their own monetization systems to make it harder to track one's purchases, this type of practice, I feel, needs to stop. To be clear, I'm not in anyway saying, or implying that Zen's goal was to do something like this, but it mirrored a lot of what these types of systems do.
Mel, good on you and Zen. This goodwill gesture (or should I say GREATwill gesture) just got you back a customer, when this launches on Steam. Thank you SO MUCH for taking customer feedback into serious consideration and putting it to action. Zen is back on the menu!
vgv
Happy I could share the good news, I am a fan of the real currency change as well. While I understand there were positives with the ticket system that allowed them to speed along table releases, I would still prefer to clarity of FIAT currency transactions as a consumer vs the ticket system. So I'll take the longer wait time for the tables if need be.
As someone who plays across multiple systems, I'm saddened by this news. I was really looking forward to only buying the tables on the Xbox, then having access to them later on Steam or playing them with my FlipGrip on the Switch. It looks like the Pinball Pass for me for that option. ($10 a month/$120 a year is a pricey too when you compare to something like GamePass - could of bought $120 worth of tickets and had access any platform available) Granted, the ticket system could of definitely used some tweaking but I would rather of had the option to buy a table once and have access everywhere (which is what Zen was attempting). Now I guess it's back to the old model of paying for the same table multiple times if you want to own them on multiple platforms. Thanks for at least trying Zen of doing something truly consumer friendly with cross platform purchases.
@@Thefly-vh8tv cross buy can still be implemented without the ticket system. It's as simple as recording your purchases to a database and checking that database when you login on another platform.
As for the ticket system itself, if Zen did it as a 1-1 conversion so spending $9.99 real money equals the exact same in the game so there is no left over after buying a table, it may have been received more positive from the community but again the ticket system is not needed to have cross buy no matter how much Mel wants everyone to believe.
@@andymcdandycdn6808 I hope so. I really not sure if they were trying to copy something like the Fortnite V bucks for cross platform purchases. It does sound like a too convenient of an excuse to blame feedback of the ticket system to scrap the whole cross platform purchase system and only offer the pinball pass option. I would love to see cross platform for both purchases and the pass. I wonder if it was an issue behind the scenes with one of the console platforms not wanting to participate,so rather than delay the release any further, scrap it all together
@@Thefly-vh8tv yeah, the lack of transparency in favor of lying is definitely not helping in keeping their long time customers.
Pinball FX2 and 3 got me interested in real pinball, especially the Williams tables. Fish Tales, Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness are my jams. Saving the pennies to purchase one of them. But looking forward to the new iteration of Pinball FX on my Xbox.
Great interview, dude.
Those classic Williams tables are pretty timeless, great shooting games with easy to understand rules and great themes. What Williams table do you have your eyes set on the most for a future purchase?
@@cooltoy keep hearing murmurings of another Medieval Madness release in 2023. That's the top pick. Though might be hard to get hold of in the UK. Only got room for one. Have been seriously tempted by a top line virtual pinball machine. They're great but once you start playing the real thing, it's just a deeper experience.
@@chadberserk1050 that would be the best first table ever
@@cooltoy can only have one so gotta aim for the bullseye.
As I own 70% of the tables available in Pinball FX3 on Xbox (Series X) I don't currently see many reasons to switch to the new game if purchases of tables do not carry over.
Can someone please tell me what benefits there are in switching over and having to repurchase previous tables?
Get Taxi added To FX and I'll absolutely buy in!
Great interview. These guys really know pinball, really sincere, cares not only about their product but an overwhelming commitment to players, have FX2 & 3 on Xbox, cabinet and Quest 2 (FX2 and Star Wars collection) this new FX is itching for VR too! I really think people should show these devs the respect they deserve, everyone is too critical these days, they want everything today, now, yesterday, can you imagine the license headaches for Adams Family alone?
Let’s hope for a Judge Dread table soon :)
Centaur!
Can't do Judge Dredd without mapping 2nd flipper buttons.
Will the latest consoles run at 120hz ?
if you could choose 5 tables to have on fx what would thay be ?
Nothing about Zen and Arcade1up? New or updated tables that allow for purchase of different games?
Yaaaasssss! Adams Family. Bally/Midway has been such a good license for Zen. Will they ever be able to partner with Stern? Hope so.
A partnership with Stern would be a dream come true. Stern is putting out some great tables and I would love to be able to play Stern tables such as Godzilla, Batman ‘66 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at home (I know, I know, but one can dream).
Any plans for ipad, other than pinball party?
Cant wait to play FX on console, tried it a little on Epic Store but i really like my achievements lol
So did I hear right? All consoles will get a cabinet mode ability - and no longer just Nintendo Switch??
That’s the plan
Great video just hate that they could not say more about steam. I don't want to buy them on epic but also don't want to wait another year..
Yeah, it's like Steam is the word no one at Zen is allowed to say.
Microsoft Store / Windows 10 is also missing. Wait until April 3rd or a Thursday in that month for news.
Great video! Thanks for putting it together. Is there any way to play Pinball FX on our Atgames Legends pinball unit, like pfx3? Thanks!
yes, it is possible but it's not the easiest thing to set up in its current form due to the current cabinet mode limitations in Pinball FX at the moment.
Yup. Out of all pinball iterations Pinball FX was the easiest. FX3 I had to wait on a code, VPX is still a struggle for a lot of tables. Finding all of the files has been rough.
What happened to Epic Quest? I really enjoyed Epic Quest. As for what can Pinball FX do to make more people jump onboard with Pinball FX? Team up with Stern. Stern makes some great tables and they are putting out more and more great tables each year (from Batman 66, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Godzilla).
Was it mentioned if Pinball FX3 table purchases transfer to this relaunch of Pinball FX this February?
No they won’t
That's total crap by the way. It has to do more harm than good for Zen. I'm very hesitant to get FX because I don't want to repurchase tables I have on FX3.
Totally downloading Pinball FX on my PS4 and later on on my Switch
Thanks for doing this interview Cooltoy. I've already purchased most of the Pinball FX tables on the Epic Store using tickets, do you have any idea if that means those games will be cross platform? The way Mel explained it was slightly confusing, I know they're doing away with the ticket system next year, but I liked the idea of the ticket system making these games cross-platform, which is why I bought them. So now even games purchased previously with tickets will not be cross platform?
Pinball pass subscribers will have their tables playable cross-platform. Zen said they’d take care of anyone who purchased tables with the ticket system within early access so they are available to you on your platform of choice.
Direct link to The Pinball Show with more info: th-cam.com/video/N5hqqIhfkzM/w-d-xo.html
@@desireemarsh5444 Thank you!
I only see FX pinball available on Xbox 360. Is it going to be different for Xbox one?
It's extremely disappointing to hear that table purchases won't be tied to the account. At this point, I'm just going to stick with Pinball FX3. I already own all the tables they offer there. I'm not seeing enough reason to justify upgrading at this point.
Let alone buying the new tables specifically with the forced bundles.
Here’s a direct link to the episode of The Pinball Show being discussed: th-cam.com/video/N5hqqIhfkzM/w-d-xo.html
I can only play on Steam or Switch and neither has a release coming it seems. Wish all my favorite tables from Pinball Arcade would make the jump so I can just switch over to this one. Would love to play some of those original tables, and Indy already.
Switch release is in April as stated in the interview
@@cooltoy Missed that one, thanks.
Too bad they gutted the Tickets system, to allow cross-buy.
Will nintendo switch get cabinet mode
I'm so disappointed with the whole ticket system , that said, if my table purchases don't travel with my login, I will still not buy any. not going to subscribe. I already have too many subscriptions. keep the ticket system and I will buy some. I was specifically waiting to hear this kind of garbage and there it is. so glad I waited.
Just curious, but does your Madden or CoD GAME purchased for a Playstation carry over to Xbox, Nintendo, PC and mobile? I'm an OG gamer beginning with the Atari 2600 days and cannot wrap my head around why people would expect it to. Please help me understand your expectation. I personally think that an option to pay a monthly subscription to a service that allows you to play on ALL supported consoles/devices is a freakin amazing ability. Especially considering if you do the math on what that would cost buying every game for every console/device. Call me crazy, but these options are great IMO.
Madden and CoD, no.
Fortnite (The Big Battle Royale game) Fall Guys (Think Mario Party with more than multiple players) Rocket League (Soccer with Rocket Cars) and Minecraft (That Big Blocky survival game) all contain in-game currency, that are bought through console storefronts, items you buy with said currency in a in-game storefront and purchases are tied to separate account login, thus allowing Cross-Platform commerce. I am just one of many people that actually thought the ticket system was a bright idea, and likewise I am just as disappointed by it’s removal.
@@ZW_Zacattack99 I see your point for those few games that operate with that model. However, pinball is a much smaller niche market and the numbers just don't add up the same. Fortnite has over 80 million active users per month, every month, which allows for a revenue stream to offer your game to the masses for lower pricepoints, or even free, thanks to in-game micro transactions and/or advertisment revenue that quickly adds up. I don't feel virtual pinball has the same number of players worldwide to work under the same model as a Fortnite to allow for so much to be given away for nearly free once expenses are covered. Hopefully that statement can one day be proven wrong as the virtual pinball market continues to grow. In the meantime, those who want to purchase their tables outright as they could in PFX3 can now do so and those who want access to ALL tables playable over ALL devices with an inexpensive monthly subcription now have an affordable option as well. I think it's a win-win.
But People will complain about why tables aren’t cross platform but The Pinball Pass is.
I love this ticket system compared to packs that I've bought 3 times already. Get ready for that again? No thanks. I've got the next gen that I wanted and am not forced to have tables I don't like in a pack.
Think the Arcade1up relationship is toast after Pinner mod release? Would love for a version 2 with online store.
It would be great if Zen would work with ATgames so that we could play FX games directly on the Legends Pinball with out hooking up a console like a Nintendo Switch.
That’s not going to happen
They should do something for those people that bought every table for VP use, and now have to buy them all over again for the new format ..Perhaps a 50% discount if you already own it ... Also, if you have tables across different formats, once a year the buyer should be able to consolidate all of their tables onto 1 format.... Just my 2 cents ... What about newer machines such as the new Stern games, new games from Jersey Jack and other manufacturers ?
they did a discount like that at the very beginning when they first launched Pinball FX
Basically ‘legacy tables’ from FX3 will receive a 33% discount with in the first week of release and that’s in general.
The ticket system was basically their method of having tables tied to an account, and allowing purchases to be accessed across all platforms.
i never used tickets to buy tables on ps4 and 5
Any chance of a Vertical table mode on PS5?! It’s 2023 ffs!
That was answered in the interview
@@cooltoy was vague in terms of when. A lot of we’re working on it, long term etc. I’ll believe it when I see it.
And IF it does go in I’ll buy tables galore. It’s the one thing that’s really stopped me getting into it on ps4 previously.
I have a monitor stand that swivels which I use for schmups so to have pinball on it as well would be amazing
And here it is Feb 16th launch day and no cabinet mode.
And here we are a month later and still no cabinet mode on ps5
STEAM when!
that question was asked in the interview
@@cooltoy yes I watched the whole thing just wish he gave a more definitive timeline. if its exclusive on EGS for X longer just let us know
@@thesmoness that's probably one of the most aggravating things with Zen right now, no one there seems allowed to even mention Steam. It's like they have to treat Steam as if it doesn't exist.
RIP tickets. 😢
Shame they've abandoned cabinet users but still show cabs etc hypocrisy at their best
This company sucks. From their creepy "send us a photo of your room to unlock functionality you paid for" to their constant replatforming without allowing you to carry tables forward they send a very clear message to the VPIN community. Steer clear!
"constant replatforming without allowing you to carry tables forward" Fake news, they carried purchases from the original FX1/ZP1 to FX2/ZP2, and from there to FX3. We're really fortunate to get transfers of purchases.
Pinball Arcade, meanwhile, did not have any purchase transfers on consoles.
@pinballwiz45b so you can transfer FX3 tables to FX? No? Guess it's not so much "fake news" then eh?
My man...thanx a lot .
Any time!
I wish they would get the rights to Terminator 2 and release that. 🥲