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Virtual Pinball Holiday 2020 Roundup


Zoyous

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Manufacturer Model Form Factor Price Licenses Built-In Tables Table
Screen Size
Backglass Artwork Launch Nudge/Tilt Haptic
Feedback
Notes
Well Played Arcade Tabletop Virtual Pinball Machine Bartop $299.99 Zaccaria 27 19" Zaccaria Illustration only, no scores Zaccaria Button Button No  
Sharpin Mini Bartop ~$118.00
99,00 €
None None Insert 10"
Android tablet
None Sharpin Button Button No This is a 3D-printed shell with pre-built kit (buttons, connectors) for an Android tablet.
Sharpin Lite Bartop ~$475.00
399,00 €
None None 22" Optional - mount Android tablet Sharpin Button Button No Can either be used as a self-contained unit, or as a controller/second screen connected to your PC, or used with a Switch, or as a controller for VR
Sharpin Ultra Bartop ~$710.00
599,00 €
None None 22" Optional - mount Android tablet Sharpin Button Button No Can either be used as a self-contained unit, or as a controller/second screen connected to your PC, or used with a Switch, or as a controller for VR. The case is the same as the Lite, but with a stronger CPU, more RAM, more memory.
Toyshock/21C Digital Mini Digital Pinball Bartop $249.99 Gottlieb 12 18.5" LED Alphanumeric Scores + Illustration 4 Gottlieb skins - Haunted House, Bone Busters, Black Hole,
or Class of 1812
Plunger Button No  
Well Played Arcade Virtual Pinball Machine 3/4 Scale Table $499.99 Zaccaria 27, possibly
plus future
purchases
24" Illustration only Zaccaria Plunger Button No Has wi-fi capability, possibly for future purchases, leaderboards
Toyshock/21C Digital 3D Digital Pinball 3/4 Scale Table $399.99 Gottlieb 12 24" LED Alphanumeric Scores + Illustration 4 Gottlieb skins - Haunted House, Bone Busters, Black Hole,
or Class of 1812
Plunger Button No Version 1.2 coming this year, doesn't look like version 2.0 will be out until next year
Arcade 1up Attack from Mars Pinball 3/4 Scale Table $549.99 Williams 10 24" 8" LCD DMD + Attack from Mars backglass Attack from Mars Plunger Accelerometer Yes  
Arcade 1up Star Wars Pinball 3/4 Scale Table $549.99 Star Wars 10 24" 8" LCD DMD + Illustration Star Wars - collage style Plunger Accelerometer Yes  
Arcade 1up Marvel Pinball 3/4 Scale Table $549.99 Marvel 10 24" 8" LCD DMD + Illustration Marvel - collage style Plunger Accelerometer Yes  
AtGames Legends Pinball 9/10 Scale Table $599.99 Gottlieb 22, plus future
purchases/BYOG
32" 14" LCD displays DMD + backglass illustration, otherwise black with product logo Gottlieb - collage style Plunger Accelerometer Yes Lots of connectivity options, leaderboards, streaming, use as a controller with your PC

 

I've been compiling some information on the mass-market virtual pins that are currently out or coming soon for Holiday 2020. Obviously this is a burgeoning market, which is exciting, but it also still feels like really early days. There are a lot of options to consider. This isn't an exhaustive list of features, but just some of the major points that personally interest me. Hopefully it's helpful; if I've made any major errors let me know and I'll try to fix them.

 

Looking at what's available or soon-to-be-available, I think the bartop market is definitely underserved with a lot of potential for the future, for people who don't have room for the larger tables. I think the Sharpin units seem cool, but I have the impression they're a smaller outfit and don't have the economies of scale that the other companies here have access to. Also the artwork on the Sharpins is unusually dreary for this market.

 

Personally I think the AtGames Legends Pinball is probably the best value overall for now, essentially being unlimited in what it can play. But it is also the largest and heaviest by far, and since I'm hoping to buy a house in the next year, I will probably hold off on getting something that big until then.

 

In the meantime I am looking at bartops to tide me over. I am considering the Sharpin Mini as it's the cheapest point of entry (tablet and app costs not included). It would be plug-and-play with an Android tablet as-is, and later on I could make my own wooden cabinet for it, just using the electronics. On the other hand, the Toyshock Mini Black Hole cabinet just looks so cool, and the old school alphanumeric score displays have their own kind of appeal, so that is tempting in spite of the fixed game selection.

Edited by Zoyous
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I will likely be buying the ATGames Legends Pinball this holiday season. It has the classic Gottlieb games without the Toyshock's downsides (flipper lag, playfield bezel, QC issues). I'm also a fan of the fact it's close to full size. I have a couple of real pinball machines, and these 3/4 scale virtual pinball tables look like toys next to them.

 

I'll be interested to see what software the ATGames vpin runs. Is it just rehashed Zen Pinball like some of the others?

 

 

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55 minutes ago, BDW said:

I'll be interested to see what software the ATGames vpin runs. Is it just rehashed Zen Pinball like some of the others?

AtGames pinball is running The Pinball Arcade at 1080p, 60fps.

 

It's still really tempting to me, even though my current place is less than ideal space-wise. Overall it just seems like the best value for the money.

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  • 1 month later...

Here's an update on the latest developments in this (perhaps somewhat anticlimactic) year of virtual pinball beginning to arrive in the mass market!

 

After a week of worried speculation among those who had preordered the Arcade1up tables, the company officially announced that their lineup is delayed until after the new year. People who had pre-ordered from the retailer Nebraska Furniture Mart first began reporting early this week that they had received emails stating that the release date had been postponed until February. Soon after, Gamestop changed their release date to February as well. After almost an entire week of silence, A1up's official Facebook account announced today that "Our pinball is now slated to leave our factories over the next few weeks and will arrive in the new year instead of the anticipated holiday release." This contradicts Sr. Vice President John Diamonon's previous statement that the tables had begun shipping in October. In the same statement, A1up said "We would rather push back shipments by a few weeks and get it right," implying that there has either been a change to the design or there were manufacturing defects. Lastly, of note to those who were most interested in the Attack from Mars table (with 10 licensed Williams and Bally titles), was this statement: "Existing Arcade1Up digital pinball pre-orders will be fulfilled in Jan/Feb and we aim to roll out the iconic Arcade1Up Attack From Mars digital pinball pre-orders within that window as well." That seems to indicate that the release date for Attack from Mars will be significantly later than that of the Star Wars and Marvel tables.

 

AtGames seems to have successfully run a three-wave pre-order period for their Legends Pinball, but as yet we don't know how many of the pre-orders will be fulfilled this year, or when exactly. Customers already in the Legends ecosystem were given priority for pre-orders. One Apus, a cargo ship carrying some AtGames products, ran into unusually rough seas this week and lost over 1,900 containers. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and specific to this thread, it doesn't sound as though any of the lost AtGames containers held Legends Pinball units.

 

Toyshock/21C Digital has not updated their website for months, and unless something happens quickly, it looks like there aren't going to be any second generation 3/4 scale tables, nor any bartop units this year. The Gen 1 Haunted House table is still currently available from some retailers.

 

Well Played Arcade Tabletop Virtual Pinball Machine is currently still available for pre-order and shows a release date of Dec. 15 at Gamestop.

 

Sharpin's selection of tabletop units are all currently on backorder, with the only ones available to order showing a January shipping date. A couple of new variations of the Mini version have been added come with an Android tablet included.

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