The Pop-Culture E-Zine
Who needs Nintendo Labo when you can create your own custom Nintendo Switch pinball controller for less than a meal for two at Nando’s!
Stemage was nice enough to provide a bill of material and schematics to make this cool DIY Switch Controller for USD$26!
source: Stemage
UPDATE: 33 Games is no longer available via Etsy (as at May 1 2018)
If you don’t have the space or can’t afford a row of classic arcade and pinball machines at your place, then 33 Games may have the next best thing – miniature 1/12th scale arcade and pinball replica machines!
Standing 6 inches tall and mostly made of wood and plastic, these mini arcade machines and pinball tables are an absolute meticulous work of art by Alan Friggens of 33 Games. The range is quite extensive for both arcade and pinball machines – all the greats are there, from Robotron, Galaga and Final Fight, to Bally, Gottlieb, Williams, Data East, Stern and Jersey Jack Pinball machines! We just wish Alan made JJP’s Dialed In mini pinball machine (hint! hint!).
33 Games offers these scale miniature machines as a single buy (pinball $36.82 / arcade $27.61) or in a special ‘pick any 3’ for $92.08 for 3 mini pinball tables or $73.66 for 3 mini arcade machines of your choice. Oh yeah, the pinball machines also have a LED lighting option which adds custom fitted LED lighting under the playfield and behind the backglass to really make them pop!
Which 33 Games mini arcade and/or pinball machines would you get? Jump on Twitter or Facebook to let us know!
image source: 33 Games via Etsy
We have been playing pinball video games for over 3 decades and we still get a kick out of playing them. From Video Pinball on the 2600 to the awesome 21st Century Entertainment published pinball games (Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions) on the Amiga, this genre and its talented designers keep upping the ante on the realism. Granted, you can never replicate the real deal, but you can get close, very close!
With Zen Studios’ latest release on the Switch, Pinball FX3 (PinFX3), you get awesome realistic pinball gaming that can be played on your TV or in handheld mode. But wait, it gets better – the killer feature of PinFX3 on the Switch is that it can be vertically oriented to get the best vantage of the pinball machine being played. Unlike Pinball Arcade’s Stern Pinball, Zen Studios ensured that their game would take advantage of the Switch’s flexibility in screen orientation, thus making it the pinball game of choice to play on Nintendo’s premier console.
Horizontal vs Vertical!
There will be future tweaks to bring Pinball FX3 up to 60fps (it’s actually already quite quick, especially in handheld mode), things can only get better to what is already a solid package. With great licensed themes that are very reasonably priced (you can buy tables individually or in packs), it is a win win for the gamer craving their pinball fix.
So, how does the game play you ask? Well, again, the Switch is the perfect platform for a pinball game – shoulder buttons act as flippers, which are very responsive without any notable lag (in handheld mode). The ball physics are as close to mimicking real life pinball as you can get, and that is a good thing! The table design/layouts and the variations are so good, that we hope Zen Studios end up making some of these as real world machines!
Wishful thinking aside, each table is packed with modes and challenges to level up and customise your machine. This ensures that PinFX3’s replay value and longevity is guaranteed. Oh yeah, for those that love online play, you are in luck, PinFX3’s online features are awesome for some multiplayer pinball frenzy allowing you to get on high score leaderboards and participating in tournaments.
If you are into pinball, then we implore you to hit the eShop right now and download Pinball FX3. For those that want to try before they buy, you can download Pinball FX3 for free and try it out before you make decisions on purchasing additional themed pinball tables. Grab your Switch and get flippin!
Pinball FX 3 pinball table packs were kindly supplied by Zen Studios for this review
Back in March 2017 we were going gaga over Heighway Pinball’s Alien machine. Fast forward almost a year and a lot has changed. We won’t go into specifics of the company upheaval from last year, but rest assured that the new Heighway owners weren’t going to let this important IP go to waste.
Eerie glowing egg bumpers and the Xenomorph waiting to snatch your ball!
We are finally seeing more and more Alien machines reaching their customers and hitting barcades across North America. We are hoping Australian establishments site this cool machine ASAP! We definitely want to wage a flippin war against the Xenomorphs, so we may need to visit Wayne at Mr Pinball, the Australian distributor of Heighway’s highly anticipated machine, in the very near future to get our Alien fix.
Choose your mission, Alien or Aliens and watch out for those pesky facehuggers!
Alien Pinball is an absolute treat for fans of the first two films of the classic sci-fi horror series. From the facehugger slingshots, glowing egg bumpers and the scary Xenomorph head that snatches balls from the playfield, it’s up to you, the pinball wizard, to complete the two sets of missions (there are five missions in each set) to reach the ‘All Out War’ multiball wizard mode.
Just like Ellen Ripley, the fate of the universe rests in your hands, so search and clear all decks, watch for the proximity alert, avoid the acid burn and before you yell “game over, man!” just remember, in space no one can hear you tilt!
Photos: Heighway Pinball
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Pinball Press
Pinball Press brings you news from the world of pinball – events, product reviews, code updates, service bulletins, interviews and the people in pinball!
If you have any pinball news to share, hit Pinball Press on Twitter
If we didn’t see it, we would not have believed it!
Vladimir van Hoek’s playable Lego Lord Of The Rings pinball machine creation needs to be seen to be believed. The level of detail in this MASSIVE undertaking is mind blowing – there is over 20KG of Lego bricks in this pinball machine! The level of detail is so awesome that it also allows a Lego brick to be used in the coin slot to get play credits!
Check out the video below to see this brilliant Lego pinball machine in action and then head to Vladimir’s Flickr page to see photos that show the level of detail on each part of his Lego LoR pinball machine. We are in absolute awe!
source: Vladimir van Hoek
source: Motherboard
With pinball gaining more and more popularity in the mainstream, Motherboard’s State of Repair sits downs and chats with pinball doctors Mike Hooker of Sayville, Long Island and Jon Ehrlich, owner of Brooklyn pinball bar Jackbar, to chat with them about the popularity of pinball games today and what goes into maintaining and keeping these complex machines running.
source: Motherboard
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Pinball Press
Pinball Press brings you news from the world of pinball – events, product reviews/updates, interviews and the people in pinball!
If you have any pinball news to share, hit Pinball Press on Twitter
image source: Chicago Gaming Company
It’s not often that the stars align for us, but when they do, oh boy it’s exciting!
Speaking of celestial bodies, we have always had a fondness for space and the cosmos at large. We are fascinated with our planetary brethren in the family of the solar system, especially that red planet not too far away from us and its inhabitants.
So what the hell has space and Martians got to do with this thrill of the chase? Glad you asked! Put simply, when you mix pinball with Mars and its Martians invading our little blue marble, you get a very special and top rated pinball machine – Attack From Mars (AFM)!
This is no ordinary AFM though, it’s Chicago Gaming Company’s ‘Remake’, which comes in three different editions – Classic, Special and super duper Limited Edition. With the feature list as long as our arm (our arms are long!) on the Limited Edition, like the jaw-dropping 19¼” XL HD colour display that has to be seen to be believed, shaker motor, enhanced DCS sound system, cabinet side mirrors, RGB lighting to name just a few, this machine was always going to tickle our fancy.
Naturally, we gravitated to the fully blinged Attack From Mars Remake Limited Edition (AFMR LE) version! We have never been one for pinball toppers, but the custom Doug Watson one on our AFMR LE is absolutely damn awesome! Doug Skor and the gang at CGC should be immensely proud of producing yet again a beautiful and faithful classic pinball machine.
We sourced our brand new in box AFMR LE from the Australian distributor, Mr. Pinball. We were kept up to date on the freight by keeping track of the Maersk Line ship that was carrying our precious cargo. The container landed in Melbourne in late December, giving us the rare opportunity to have the machine up and ready for family and friends to enjoy for Christmas! Oh yeah, she was quite heavy, so thank you to Lucas Bardin from Bayside Pinball Club for delivering the machine and Stacey ‘Dr Curlytek’ Borg for helping us set it up – you guys rock!
As you may have already guessed, this is a very special machine which we love and are thrilled to have in our ausretrogamer fun factory. If you ever get the chance to play one of these Remakes, do yourself a favour, have a go, they will give you an enormous endorphin rush!
Off the shipping container and ready to go home!
There is a hole in the Fun Factory that needs to be filled!
AFMR LE has reached its destination
Unboxing the beauty – she is quite heavy!
The sublime topper is well packed too
Ready to be turned on for the first time…
What a turn on!
Attack From Mars Remake Limited Edition in full martian green glory!
Mesmerising playfield
A saucy saucer!
Returning to the battle!
Destroy that pesky saucer!
CGC and Bally present….
Attack From Mars!!!
There is finally a Limited Edition addition in the ausretrogamer fun factory
The detail of the theme is exquisite
The custom Doug Watson interactive topper is the best topper we’ve ever seen on a pinball machine!
The glorious playfield. Gotta save them cities!
What a view for the ruler of the universe!
The entire art package makes us smile
The RGB LED lighting needs to be seen to be believed
Even the little one approves of this classic machine!
Ausretrogamer launched six years ago today! We’re not doing a whole lot to celebrate, unless eating cupcakes and doughnuts counts as a celebration – but we didn’t want to let the day pass without some sort of acknowledgement. It would be an understatement to say that the retro gaming scene is a tad different today than when we launched in January 2012. Back then there was no NES or SNES Classic Minis nor was there a PAX event in Australia.
The retro gaming community has grown in leaps and bounds with its momentum showing no slowdown – long may it continue to be this way. In fact, if we can blow our own horn for a moment, we’ve set new traffic records on ausretrogamer in 2017 – and we have all of you awesome peeps to thank for that!
We at ausretrogamer are not planning on stopping anytime soon. Your enthusiasm and excitement for retro gaming and its limitless possibilities is what keeps us motivated to keep on going. Who knows what the next six years will bring, but rest assured, we will keep doing what we do as long as you keep reading and engaging with us on social media. Thanks heaps!
Oh My Gosh! Micah Moore, the cool peep that explores the strange and wonderful as part of his Legend of Micah Facebook page has done exactly that – explored the strange, wonderful and incredible arcade in Kawasaki, Japan, modelled after the Kowloon Walled City – an infamous slum in Hong Kong. The Amusement Game Park Kawasaki (Anata No) Warehouse has narrow alleys, flickering lights and the sounds of an underground marketplace that create a maze filled with 80’s and 90’s arcade games.
Taishiro Hoshino, an art designer for kabuki theatre, painstakingly reproduced signs and posters from the real Kowloon Walled City, which was demolished in the early 90’s. This arcade is going on the bucket list immediately!
Big thanks to Skooota for letting us know about this one!
source: Legend of Micah – Facebook
Hey peeps, this Thursday (Dec 7) is the last Argonauts Pinball Club monthly meet for the year (at the Golden Fleece Hotel). The club meets will resume on the first Thursday in February 2018!
As it is Christmas time and hampers are the prize of the season, the Argonauts Pinball Club has got your pinball maintenance hamper needs covered. Just check out the awesome special prize pool for the top 3 pinball wizards! Argonauts Pinball Club’s Geoff Wills tells us that there will also be giveaways and something for those that have supported the club from the start!
So make sure you keep this Thursday free and get down to the Golden Fleece Hotel to play in the end of year Argonauts Pinball Club special monthly meet.
For more info on the Argonauts Pinball Club competition rules and conditions, head to Pinball Score now or like them on Facebook to keep up with all things pinball.
Argonauts Pinball club – Top 3 Pinball Wizards Hampers!
Choc-full of pinball maintenance goodies!
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
There is always plenty of action at an Argonauts Pinball Club meet!
image source: Argonauts Pinball Club