Capcom tables?

[Keyser Soze]

Not sure how big of a hassle it would be to get the rights to reproduce the tables or if that is even an option... but there's only a handful and at least two of them are VERY good games i'm sure people would want to play again.

I'm talking of course about Big Bang Bar (which i'm sure everyone is already familiar with), and Pinball Magic (which i believe is a much better and tragically underrated game).

For those not familiar, Pinball Magic is a great adventure/story style game. it's a very difficult game to "beat" so i think a lot of people would enjoy the challenge... and the playfield is already so full of toys that it would probably be a fun one to animate.

also worth mentioning... the music and the callouts from the chick you are fighting (and the other game NPC's) are a lot of fun...

Hope this is something that can be considered, it goes without saying that if you offered it for sale i'd be first in line... but i think many others would as well...

Especially for Big Bang Bar

Obviously you couldn't do Zingy Bingy (lol), but kingpin, breakshot, and airborne could be done as well just for completions sake...

The real draw would clearly be the BBB and Pinball Magic, and i think it would bring in enough cash to make it worth looking into...

I know there are a lot of people out there who probably share my thoughts on these two particular tables so hopefully this post finds the right people.

EDIT: for those wishing to play pinball magic IRL i only know of a handfull that aren't in private collections...

* the pinball hall of fame in cali
* the alamo drafthouse in san fran (bowen from papa pinball did his video on that table https://youtu.be/SoxXQ6wHVII )
* the VFW pinball museum near ann arbor michigan (but you can only play it the one weekend of the year they are open to the public for a day pass fee)

[peremptor]

Well never say never my friend but it's safe to assume that for Capcom licensing their pinball tables to be simulated by another developer probably isn't even on their radar.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally posted by peremptor:

Well never say never my friend but it's safe to assume that for Capcom licensing their pinball tables to be simulated by another developer probably isn't even on their radar.

right on...

i've played a few "unofficial" digital remakes of both the tables i'm hoping for so i'm sure the devs are able to snag all the files for the DOT and the wav's... but there's no doubt making money off of that would be a huge issue.

my hope here would be that someone at capcom would want to cash in on the IP

my thought are essentially...

would capcom want to sit on IP making no money
or
dump way too much into making a pinbal platform of their own that makes little money
or
letting someone else who already has a platform pay them to use it

i hope they choose option #3.

lol

[Matt Beeching]

I've never played a real Capcom pinball table but I'd really like to see them get a second chance in FX(4).

[Pinballwiz45b]

I've actually played an Airborne over at Pinburgh in 2019, and it's surprisingly fun to shoot.

Still, with FX's new "T" rating, it should be easier to negotiate for Capcom games like Big Bang Bar.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally posted by Matt Beeching:

I've never played a real Capcom pinball table but I'd really like to see them get a second chance in FX(4).

they are their own animal, just like when you play a gotleib table, or a sega table... you know it...

capcom has it's own feel but it's more similar to stern or williams.

feels more "normal" if thats a thing.

anyway pinball magic is my all time favorite game, my local arcade had one and i didn't realize how lucky i was as a kid to be playing it (rare-ish pin). i dumped a LOT of quarters into that game and it was one of the first times i ever really understood how to play pinball right. this game sorta forces you to play the missions out... the callouts are hilarious and they keep demanding your attention.

it's actually very difficult to get all the way to the end of level 3 and beat the lead magician.

Originally posted by Pinballwiz45b:

I've actually played an Airborne over at Pinburgh in 2019, and it's surprisingly fun to shoot.

Still, with FX's new "T" rating, it should be easier to negotiate for Capcom games like Big Bang Bar.

i've heard that. i know the pool themed table was like a modernized EM, so not so sure that would translate well to virtual format. but airborne and kingpin are both somewhat doable...

big bang bar got the full workup... but i think kingpin was still incomplete... missing callouts and ruleset.

Kingpin was one of the last things capcom coinop ever produced and i think only 10 were ever made... last i heard "circus maximus" had the rights to remake it... which is the same company that is doing the remake of the infamous multi-level "pinball circus" that you can only play at the pinball HOF out in cali.

anyway the cool thing about kingpin is it had a power meter that was based on hit targets while you play the game... and if you miss a bunch of shots it would actually make the flippers weaker... but the more shots you made it increased the power to help you with the ramp shots.

had some interesting modes too if i remember correctly... one where you only got one ball but it was based on power? can't quite remember how that worked... maybe it kept kicking a ball back out like we get here in timed modes

also had a "bonus ball" at the end of games if you had any power left...

i don't remember all the details but there are quite a few videos on youtube about the game that you can probably still find that would be a better source of info that me. lol.

[Mal]

The Capcom table properties are owned by Stern Pinball. In fact, Farsight had developed a couple of the tables up to the 'beta' stage and gave up due to emulation issues.

So... if Zen could sign a deal with Stern we could maybe get Capcom and Data East tables. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Pinballwiz45b]

Originally posted by Mal:

The Capcom table properties are owned by Stern Pinball. In fact, Farsight had developed a couple of the tables up to the 'beta' stage and gave up due to emulation issues.

So... if Zen could sign a deal with Stern we could maybe get Capcom and Data East tables. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Capcom is owned by Stern? I know of SEGA and Data East games that made it to Pinball Arcade but never Capcom. I also know that Stern owns the back catalog for SEGA and Data East, given their earlier manuals, but I don't see Capcom anywhere.

Also, if Capcom is owned by Stern, why is Circus Maximus doing a Kingpin remake?

[Mal]

Originally posted by Pinballwiz45b:

Originally posted by Mal:

The Capcom table properties are owned by Stern Pinball. In fact, Farsight had developed a couple of the tables up to the 'beta' stage and gave up due to emulation issues.

So... if Zen could sign a deal with Stern we could maybe get Capcom and Data East tables. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Capcom is owned by Stern? I know of SEGA and Data East games that made it to Pinball Arcade but never Capcom. I also know that Stern owns the back catalog for SEGA and Data East, given their earlier manuals, but I don't see Capcom anywhere.

Also, if Capcom is owned by Stern, why is Circus Maximus doing a Kingpin remake?

"Owns" was probably the wrong word, since all the Capcom pinball IP was legally and technically abandoned. However, certain aspects of these tables have Stern as a caretaker of sorts.

Circus Maximus (Pinball Inc) has never really manufactured anything, except some translights, and I wouldn't expect we will ever see a production table from them. They purchased some parts from Gene (the guy that made the Big Bang Bar tables) years ago and have made a couple of whiteboards, that's it. I ran into them a couple years ago in Texas, and it seems they are basically now building a completely new table based on Kingpin using the Multimorphic pcb since they couldn't LEGALLY get any of the emulated code to work.

[Keyser Soze]

Originally posted by Mal:

Circus Maximus (Pinball Inc) has never really manufactured anything...

and have made a couple of whiteboards,

thanks for that great info...

i've been anxiously awaiting the re-release of the pinball circus from these guys, and the pictures of the whiteboard really got my hopes up when they posted it.

that feels like it was forever ago.

i hope those guys are still trying to make that table happen, even if it's just a super short production run it would be amazing to see that pin in more than just one location.

but either way at the very least i don't think it's too much to ask for that one of these higher end emulation platforms offer up BBB and pinball magic for people to enjoy. it seems like the perfect environment to bring these rare tables back to life without committing to manufacturing the tables again.

every game can't be as popular as MM or attack from mars to have pin makers re-make the tables for the public... it's just not a viable or realistic thing to hope for.

but i'd love to see the emulations, i'd be playing pinball magic for weeks straight.