Pinball FX 3

Last updated
Pinball FX 3
Pinball FX 3 pre-release Steam header.jpg
Developer(s) Zen Studios
Publisher(s) Zen Studios
Platform(s) Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Release
  • Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • September 26, 2017
  • Nintendo Switch
  • December 12, 2017
Genre(s) Pinball
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Pinball FX 3 is a pinball simulator video game developed and published by Zen Studios and is the sequel to Pinball FX 2 . It was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 in September 2017 and then released for the Nintendo Switch in December 2017. A followup called Pinball FX was released in February 16, 2023.

Contents

Gameplay

Pinball FX 3 allows players to play one of several simulated pinball tables, and includes online scoreboard support for informal competition with other players. The game is aimed to provide a more engaging multiplayer experience than previous titles; the game will provide support for asynchronous competitive multiplayer options, and tournament-style play. [1] There will be shared leaderboards and multiplayer options among platforms, although PlayStation 4 players can only compete with users playing through Steam on Windows due to Sony's initial decision to prohibit cross-platform play between its PlayStation 4 and other consoles. [2]

Development

Zen's prior games have been split across consoles. The Pinball FX games typically have been released on Microsoft platforms, while the Zen Pinball games were released on non-Microsoft platforms. Pinball FX 3 will be the first game in the series to target both Microsoft and non-Microsoft platforms, and Zen intends that any future titles in the series will do so as well. Zen has stated that a "majority" of the previous downloadable content pinball tables that a player has purchased for either Pinball FX 2 or Zen Pinball 2 will be available in Pinball FX 3 at no cost; Zen cited issues with licensing that prevents some tables from being brought to the new version. [1] Zen Studios has affirmed that more than fifty tables will carry over, with only about half a dozen that will not. [2]

Pinball FX 3 launched with three new tables based on movie properties from Universal Pictures that includes E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Back to the Future , and Jaws . Additional tables are in development with new intellectual property holders. [3] [2]

A version for the Nintendo Switch was released in December 2017, with one free table and 29 additional tables that can be purchased as DLC. The Switch version takes advantage of the unit's portability; the game can be played in portrait mode and the player can tilt the device to simulate tilting of the pinball table. [4] However, following release, players reported issues with low frame rates and poor graphics on some of the tables; while Zen Studios has said they were working on a patch to fix these as well as make other display improvements, the studio later announced in March 2018 that they had to forgo the patch citing that there was no universal fix as the issue was one done table-by-table; they can optimize tables going forward but could not justify the time and cost to fix the existing ones. [5] Reacting on the negative backlash of this announcement, the studio later reverted on this stance and is now committed to releasing a performance update during summer 2018 that will increase handheld performance to 60fps and will raise docked resolution to 1080p Full HD for all existing tables. [6] The Switch version also omits Zen Studios' Marvel and Star Wars pinball tables, with the latter being made available separately as a single, standalone compilation game exclusive to that platform, titled Star Wars Pinball , in 2019. [7]

In September 2018, Zen Studios announced that it has received the license to recreate several real Bally and Williams tables for the game. [8] This marks the first time in the Pinball FX series that real world tables are recreated in the game. This announcement came a few months after FarSight Studios, the developers of The Pinball Arcade , lost the same license. [8] These tables can be played in two visual modes that otherwise do not impact the game: one based on the more realistic appearance of the actual pinball games, and another that added Pinbal FX 3's simulated elements like animated characters, and unique ball trail colors. [9] However, as to retain the game's overall ESRB Everyone 10+ rating and to avoid the cost and difficulties of re-rating the game, original graphical elements of the pinball tables had to be censored or altered, such as altering innuendo that was present on the Fish Tales backboards. [10] [11] [N 1] Zen Studios' Mel Kirk said that while these tables had been released in The Pinball Arcade under its E10+ ESRB rating, Zen Studios' internal review believed that there was no way that the tables could have fallen within E10+. Kirk stated that he believed that with The Pinball Arcade, "somehow they flew under the radar and it was not caught". [11] Further, Zen Studios had had past issues with ESRB content ratings with games such as Infinite Minigolf and wanted to exercise caution. [11] The first of these tables were released on October 9, 2018. [10]

Tables

TablePackCollection
Sorcerer's LairN/A zp1 fx2 Zen Studios
Secrets of the DeepCore Collection fx2 Zen Studios
BiolabCore Collection fx2 Zen Studios
PashaCore Collection fx2 Zen Studios
RomeCore Collection fx2 Zen Studios
Earth DefenseSci-Fi Pack fx1 , zp1 Zen Studios
MarsSci-Fi Pack zp1 Zen Studios
ParanormalSci-Fi Pack zp1 Zen Studios
ExcaliburMedieval Pack fx1 , zp1 Zen Studios
Epic QuestMedieval Pack fx2 , zp1 Zen Studios
ShamanZen Classics zp1 Zen Studios
Tesla Zen Classics zp1 Zen Studios
El DoradoZen Classics zp1 Zen Studios
V12Zen Classics zp1 Zen Studios
The Walking Dead N/A fx2 , zp2 Zen Studios ip
CastleStorm Iron & Steel Pack fx2 Zen Studios
Wild West RampageIron & Steel Pack fx2 Zen Studios
Portal N/A fx2 Zen Studios ip
Wolverine Marvel Pinball Original Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Spider-Man Marvel Pinball Original Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Iron Man Marvel Pinball Original Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Blade Marvel Pinball Original Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Captain America Marvel Pinball Legends fx2 Marvel Pinball
Fantastic Four Marvel Pinball Legends fx2 Marvel Pinball
Doctor Strange Marvel Pinball Legends fx2 Marvel Pinball
Venom Marvel Pinball Heavy Hitters fx2 Marvel Pinball
Civil War Marvel Pinball Heavy Hitters fx2 Marvel Pinball
Deadpool Marvel Pinball Heavy Hitters fx2 Marvel Pinball
Thor Marvel Pinball Vengeance & Virtue fx2 Marvel Pinball
Ghost Rider Marvel Pinball Vengeance & Virtue fx2 Marvel Pinball
Moon Knight Marvel Pinball Vengeance & Virtue fx2 Marvel Pinball
X-Men Marvel Pinball Vengeance & Virtue fx2 Marvel Pinball
The Avengers Marvel Pinball Avengers Chronicles fx2 Marvel Pinball
Fear Itself Marvel Pinball Avengers Chronicles fx2 Marvel Pinball
The Infinity Gauntlet Marvel Pinball Avengers Chronicles fx2 Marvel Pinball
World War Hulk Marvel Pinball Avengers Chronicles fx2 Marvel Pinball
Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Pinball Cinematic Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron Marvel Pinball Cinematic Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
Ant-Man Marvel Pinball Cinematic Pack fx2 Marvel Pinball
A-Force Marvel Pinball Women of Power fx2 Marvel Pinball
Champions Marvel Pinball Women of Power fx2 Marvel Pinball
The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars Pack fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Boba Fett Star Wars Pack fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Star Wars Pack fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Return of the Jedi Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Darth Vader Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Starfighter AssaultStar Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force fx2 Star Wars Pinball
A New Hope Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Han Solo Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Droids Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Masters of the ForceStar Wars Pinball: Heroes Within fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Rebels Star Wars Pinball: Unsung Heroes fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Rogue One Star Wars Pinball: Unsung Heroes fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Might of The First OrderStar Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens fx2 Star Wars Pinball
Family Guy Balls of Glory fx2 Fox Pinball
Bob's Burgers Balls of Glory fx2 Fox Pinball
American Dad! Balls of Glory fx2 Fox Pinball
Archer Balls of Glory fx2 Fox Pinball
Aliens Aliens vs. Pinball fx2 Fox Pinball
Alien: Isolation Aliens vs. Pinball fx2 Fox Pinball
Alien vs. Predator Aliens vs. Pinball fx2 Fox Pinball
DOOM Bethesda Pinball fx2 Bethesda Pinball
Fallout Bethesda Pinball fx2 Bethesda Pinball
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Bethesda Pinball fx2 Bethesda Pinball
Adventure Land PinballCarnivals & Legends Pack Zen Studios
Son of Zeus Carnivals & Legends Pack Zen Studios
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal ClassicsUniversal Pinball
Back to the Future Universal ClassicsUniversal Pinball
Jaws Universal ClassicsUniversal Pinball
Jurassic World Jurassic WorldUniversal Pinball
Jurassic Park Jurassic WorldUniversal Pinball
Jurassic Park Pinball MayhemJurassic WorldUniversal Pinball
Star Wars: The Last Jedi Star Wars Pinball: The Last JediStar Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Ahch-To IslandStar Wars Pinball: The Last JediStar Wars Pinball
Solo: A Star Wars Story Star Wars Pinball: Solo Pack Star Wars Pinball
Calrissian Chronicles Star Wars Pinball: Solo Pack Star Wars Pinball
Star Wars: Battle of Mimban Star Wars Pinball: Solo Pack Star Wars Pinball
Fish Tales N/AWilliams Pinball
The Getaway: High Speed II Volume 1Williams Pinball
Junk Yard Volume 1Williams Pinball
Medieval Madness Volume 1Williams Pinball
The Party Zone Volume 2Williams Pinball
Black Rose Volume 2Williams Pinball
Attack from Mars Volume 2Williams Pinball
Theatre of Magic Volume 3Williams Pinball
The Champion Pub Volume 3Williams Pinball
Safe Cracker Volume 3Williams Pinball
White Water Volume 4Williams Pinball
Hurricane Volume 4Williams Pinball
Red & Ted's Road Show Volume 4Williams Pinball
Tales of the Arabian Nights Volume 5Williams Pinball
Cirqus Voltaire Volume 5Williams Pinball
No Good GofersVolume 5Williams Pinball
FunHouse Volume 6Williams Pinball
Space StationVolume 6Williams Pinball
Dr. Dude and His Excellent Ray Volume 6Williams Pinball
Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure N/AWilliams Pinball
Creature from the Black Lagoon Universal Monsters PackWilliams Pinball
Monster Bash Universal Monsters PackWilliams Pinball

^fx1 Table originally from Pinball FX
^fx2 Table originally from Pinball FX 2
^zp1 Table originally from or was also released on Zen Pinball
^zp2 Table also released for Zen Pinball 2
^ip Non-Disney-owned IP(s) licensed to Zen Studios

Accolades

The game was nominated for the Central Park Children's Zoo Award for Best Kids Game at the New York Game Awards 2018, [15] and won the award for "Game, Special Class" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards. [16] [17]

Notes

  1. ↑ The Steam version and the stand-alone Williams Pinball mobile app available on iOS and Android will feature the uncensored, unaltered versions of the tables, [12] the latter which consequently was issued higher content age ratings (17+ on the Apple App Store and the ESRB's Teen rating on the Google Play Store, respectively). [13] [14]

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<i>Pinball FX</i> 2007 video game

Pinball FX is a pinball machine video game for the Xbox 360. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on April 25, 2007 via the Xbox Live Arcade service. The game features three tables, with six more available as downloadable content, leaderboards and online multiplayer. A sequel to the game, Pinball FX 2 was released on October 27, 2010.

<i>South Park</i> (pinball) 1999 pinball machine

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<i>Red & Teds Road Show</i> 1994 pinball machine

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<i>FunHouse</i> (pinball) 1990 pinball machine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zen Studios</span> Hungarian video game developer

Zen Studios is a Hungarian video game developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary and offices in the United States. It is known for its game franchises, Pinball FX and Zen Pinball, as well as CastleStorm, a tower defense hybrid which received the Apple Store's Editor’s Choice award. The company is considered "synonymous with licensed pinball tables," having produced dozens of tables with characters and themes from the Star Wars and Marvel universes, films like Guardians of the Galaxy, TV series like Archer, South Park, Family Guy and Bob's Burgers, and video game franchises such as Plants vs. Zombies, Portal, Street Fighter, and The Walking Dead.

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<i>Pinball FX 2</i> 2010 video game

Pinball FX 2 is a pinball video game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows and is the sequel to Pinball FX. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on October 27, 2010 via the Xbox Live Arcade service. The game includes several new features, such as local multiplayer and the ability to tweak table settings. Players can also import all of the tables from Pinball FX they had previously purchased. The Windows 8 version of Pinball FX 2 was released on the Windows Store on October 27, 2012, two years after the original XBLA release. The game was subsequently released for other Windows platforms via Steam on May 10, 2013. Pinball FX 2 was announced for Windows Phone in February 2012. A sequel, Pinball FX 3 was released on September 2017.

<i>Marvel Pinball</i> 2010 video game

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<i>CastleStorm</i> 2013 video game

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References

  1. 1 2 Matulef, Jeffrey (June 28, 2017). "Zen Studios says goodbye to last-gen with Pinball FX3". Eurogamer . Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Fahey, Mike (August 17, 2017). "Pinball FX 3 Is All About Cross-Platform Competition". Kotaku . Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (June 28, 2017). "Pinball FX3 Aims To "Redefine" The Video Game Pinball Experience". GameSpot . Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  4. ↑ Glagowski, Peter (November 1, 2017). "Pinball FX3 is tilting on to Switch soon". Destructoid . Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Zen Studios ditches plans to patch Pinball FX3 Nintendo Switch performance". Eurogamer . March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Pinball FX3 – Nintendo Switch Update". Zen Studios. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  7. ↑ Good, Owen (11 April 2019). "Entire Star Wars Pinball collection coming to Switch, with new modes". Polygon. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 McWhertor, Michael (September 4, 2018). "Classic Bally/Williams pinball tables coming to Pinball FX3". Polygon . Vox Media . Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ Moyse, Chris (September 20, 2018). "Pinball FX 3's Williams tables will feature Classic and all-new Remastered modes". Destructoid . Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Moyse, Chris (October 10, 2018). "Pinball FX 3's Williams tables are available now, feature censored elements". Destructoid . Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Orland, Kyle (October 12, 2018). "Zen Studios alters classic pinball art to protect family-friendly rating". Ars Technica . Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Pinball FX 3 Williams Pinball - Frequently Asked Questions". Pinball FX 3. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "App Store listing for Williams Pinball". Apple App Store. Retrieved 18 May 2019. Rating: Rated 17+ for Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References, Gambling and Contests, Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content and Nudity, Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Frequent/Intense Simulated Gambling, Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
  14. ↑ "Google Play Store listing for Williams Pinball". Google Play Store. Retrieved 18 May 2019. Rating: Rated Teen for Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes and Simulated Gambling (ESRB)
  15. ↑ Whitney, Kayla (January 25, 2018). "Complete list of winners of the New York Game Awards 2018". AXS . Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Nominee List for 2017". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Horizon wins 7; Mario GOTY". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2018. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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