This is kind of what I hoped the toyshock would be.... Toyshock was a hot mess... But, to be honest. Its fun at family gatherings and easy enough to lug around.
This is something I wouldn't mind in my actual game room... Provided I can keep adding games to the cab... Which I think it could and with the Bally/Williams license.
Could be cool... But, I'm a bit reticent. As Ian Hunter would say once bitten twice shy.

Which to me means not worth the money or the space in my collection. Only got the space for one vpin. And this has/had potential. We'll see what the future holds. But, really there is a lot of worrying issues about quality with ac1ups. They've gotten better, but I think for true pinheads its best to save your money. Get a fun beater pin and play the heck out of it.

Okay. But, finite space. But, then again lots of x-boxs with gears of war skins and other skins. So its the same concept.
They would be wise to treat their vpin setup as a console.
More money in software than hardware.
And arcade1up is going to find since its easier to keep a customer than make a new one. That all their customers will be running out of space.
I don't mind dedicated arcade cabs. Those are different from a vpin, they also take up less space. It makes more since for an arcade cab to be dedicated controls and buttons.
Pinball, not so much. So this is just a huge doorstop.

Well, I got chewed out by their VP for basically asking why wouldn't they offer the ability. I pointed out software is more lucrative than hardware. And I got accused of not knowing anything about business...

OKay... Maybe... But, I wouldn't insult people who buy your products.
And I know something as I can actually afford to buy most of their products and have bought 8 of their cabs... Let alone numerous pinball machines... But, hey... What do I know.

If that is how they interact with someone... I might not purchase anything from them again... I probably will... But, if they can't take some online posts and just attack and lash out. WOW, how do they react when there is a real issue.

Edit... One last thing I do know. Easier to keep a client than to gain a new one. And if most peoples homes are more like mine. Then they're running out of space. So... You will have limited returns on the recurring customers, cos we're running out of room. But, sure.What do I know. So their business model... Going to need to change. Sure they'll expand. But, guess what. Most of the people who see my house. They like a few of things, but most do not want their house cluttered with mini cabs and pins. A few sure. But, most people just want streamlined normal entertainment areas. We're the freaks who like this stuff.

I'm hoping one day one of these things won't be garbage.
But, what I really would prefer. A commercial version of a vpin. Where its made for bars. I'd buy one for my home. Think about it. Put it in a bar. Less maintenance(less, crap breaks on computers and electronics too), and the ability for casual people to play potentially hundreds of games. You could even do a few modes of billing on it.
Bill per game. Or by timed. If timed game you could allow the people to choose a different game and keep swapping until they ran out of time. When time ran out you could give them a grace period like, wait until their current ball drains.

The toyshock one was garbage. And the idea of having a vpin loaded with only 10 so so games taking up almost as much space as an actual cab... Yeah... I think I rather have a beater game instead of a vpin. even a beater would look better, and have as we in the hobby like to say kinetic satisfaction. Which all VPins lack.

I play a good deal of virtual pinball. But, for me the satisfaction comes from a slightly different place. I like dmd games because at least I can enjoy the animations, and I like to learn the rules, and complete the modes. But, I have never, ever completed a shot and been wowed by it. And that is something that I think you only can get with a real metal ball.

That's zen, and its for bs reasons so they don't get classified as over E or something stupid for the ratings.
It's silly because they remove cleavage on figures that you'll never see during gameplay. And take away cigarettes and other things. But, on road show they also take out the ball falling on the construction worker for the shoot again animation. Really silly and stupid I agree.
But, different company. This was the a1up VP insulting me... I might not be a VP. I might work 2 jobs. But, I do own my own business. I own my house, my car, have healthcare, and can afford nice things. And I do make more than most people(I earn though). No need to insult people. Especially people who buy your product that is unnecessary.
You will never wake up and say I really do need an A1up cab. You may want one, but never need one.
Also, if it was my business I wouldn't put out bad pcb and rom files of games. I'd play test them and make sure whatever changes we did to them didn't break them.
Not that hard to debug old arcade games. Just needed to play through them. And actually I believe the rampage still has some screen clipping that never got sorted out.

I mean... If they ever do get to Elvira and the Party Monsters or Scared Stiff... You know they're going to probably going to remove all the I'm experiencing multiple jackpots... A kid won't get that joke. They might find it silly, but they won't get it.
So yeah... I don't get the imposed censorship that Zen does. Makes no sense to me. But, hey they got the rights. And it also costs more to butcher those games then to leave them alone. I would try to sneak them through the rating and if it got higher, I'd resubmit with changes. There should be a resubmital process. There is with film.

Its not sneaking something through. These pinball machines have been out in the public eye for decades. The need to get rid of the cleavage on cyclone when we're talking about 3-5 pixels of detail. Is BS and silly. Most laymen would not enough notice the difference.
The cigarettes I actually understand about that. I think that one is silly, but understandable.

Lastly, I think ratings boards themselves are in fact bs.
They are rife with corruption and can be used a as tool to keep independent organizations out of an industry. The film industry for example does use the MPAA as a means to keep low budget films out of the theaters. Lots of articles, documentaries, and books talk about it. Even Mr Kaufman at Troma discusses how his films get unfairly maligned.

And how is it sneaking when you present it to the board for rating, and will see how it gets rated.
Then you make changes to it. Based on their recommendations(which are more arbitrary and generally vary from panel to panel.

For comics there was the comics code, and it was so stifling that they decided to hell with it, and started to publish without it. And guess what it led to the resurgence in comic books as an artform.

So while I am not against censorship per say(I believe in self censorship), but I am wary of most of those bodies. And again. No sneaking no treachery. Submit. See where the chips lie. Then if you need make changes and resubmit. It happens in films all the time.

Because, I am a purist. I don't like changes to the original IP. Whether it be songs, movies, comics, art, or tv shows. Present the originals unadulterated and altered. That is what I will always prefer.

I get that. and I think its possible to do both without the overboard censorship.

Again, I know its a different governing(not in the fed or state government but in the industry as these are self imposed bodies) body. But the south park creators discussed the sex scene in team america and how they loaded it up with some of the most disgusting things they could think of and made it many, many times longer than they desired it to be. that way they would trim it, and resubmit it to the ratings board, so that way the board would think they got their way and their trims.

Other stories are of directors, just resubmitting and never making a single cut, and getting their desired rating.
Rating boards are silly and dumb, and completely across the board with how they conduct their ratings.
I don't know about video games. But, if people are involved then yes I believe that they are just as flawed as any other board.

You want to know the best rating board.
Yourself. Read the book, play the game, watch the movie, tv show, listen to the song before you let your child. You decide. Because, I stand with Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider. Its silly and dumb.

And FYI... Frank Zappa's last album got a parental advisory sticker slapped on out of malice. They rated that album, because they could not rate his back catalog. Guess what. His last album, was instrumental. So... How did that require or deserve a parental advisory sticker.

Hmmmm... Yep... Ratings boards... Not needed... And more often BS!

Well sneaking was a poor choice of words on my part. I meant more. Submit and see what happens. Yes, it probably costs money to re-submit to the board. But, having a person make those alterations costs money as well.
Again. My stance is one based on purity.

When I buy an old movie or something of similar ilk and I find it's been censored I'm not happy. I'd tell that to George Lucas. Han shot first.
On that I think we all can agree.

I would imagine. You got a great collection. We'll see how the flipper lag is... One thing that you need to do is to be able to rapid flip to gain control or juggle flip... Or whatever you call it. Most Vpins you can't do the same type of flipping to gain control as you do on a real machine.
Still lets wait and see what the bundles are and how they perform.
I will say though. If its an Attack from Mars MM and MB bundle... since I have plans on buying an Attack or MM this year and already own a MBr I'm probably not that interested in that bundle. And I'm only interested in the actual bally williams bundles. But, again. Lets wait and see.

But, for 500-600... I wait a month or two, and I can buy a real pin for that price. Nothing great... But, a real pin is a real pin.

Funny thing. I actually like their product and say mostly good things about it. But, now... Really don't want to support them, and if I notice an issue(which lets be honest they have had a lot of them, they have lots of excuses, but again I don't care about those) I don't think I'll be as understanding.
Its fine. My game room could use more pinballs and less home 3/4 cabs.
In fact I'm thinking perhaps maybe I'll get my father that Rocky and Bullwinkle cab sooner than later for his house.

It was a classic western trope. And that is why it worked so well.
No shame in shooting first if you setup that the baddie deserved it.

Hell... The duke even offed a guy in at least one movie(possibly more), and they made a point to address that in the movie.
That movie was El Dorado. And yes... There is some stuff that people would cringe at today, and call racist... And while the movie at times feels old and creaky(becasue the two male leads were past their prime), its still a good film.

But, at the end of the film. The duke rolls up in a wagon and blasts the main thug(main hired hand) and before that guy dies, he says something to the effect you never gave me a chance. And the duke replies "No you were too dangerous to".

So... No shame in shooting first. In my oppinion the alteration of that scene, really makes the first star wars so much worse. And each change they've done, made it worse and worse.
I don't mind all the stupid additions. But, that one I hate. I hope they'll release a han shot first blu ray edition one day. I know it'll never happen.

LOL!!!

If you were... I'd tell you to tell your family to stop the freaking fighting. Let dweezel do his thing. Let frank and the others do their thing.

Dweezel is amazing... But, I wish he had more creative output in his career. But, when your father is the legend... Its a bit tough.

I actually have the arcade1up golden tee. And while its not as good as a newer or current GT cab, its a really well made cab. Great trackball, really good emulation. So I think for the price and the amount of games you get on it, its worth it.
And I consider it a legit golden tee.

Again... Its not the newer ones. I hope to own a modern one one day too. But, that might be for my next home. Or maybe if my dream of owning a small bar comes true. Love to own just a small hole in the wall bar. Put a golden tee in it, a streetfighter II champ, and a X-men vs Streetfighter, a few more arcade games a light gun game or two, and a killer queen. And of course about 10-15 pins... Not going to be a huge, huge place. So 10-15 pins would be all I would buy... But, I would try to rotate some in and out, so they wouldn't get stale.

Back to a1up... I think there whole reveal was mostly... YAWN... Can't play the pins... They must probably suck... I mean... Put one table and let people demo it. What are you afraid of... The answer. A whole lot.

NBA jam... Cool... Cool... But, umm... Rosters won't be 100%... Okay... Weird... A bit dumb. Okay...
Frogger. the music is not the original. I don't mind so much the changing of the TMNT opening music. Because it doesn't impact gameplay. Just the one video at the opening. So not a big deal... But, the frogger music not being correct. That's a big deal. Only iconic music for that game, and is a big part of the game.

If you're going to do retro. You have to do it right. And you know. I own 10 a1up cabs. But, they keep blundering, and blundering. And they have plenty of excuses...
But, I rather a company do it right and not make excuses. Or just pick a game you can get the rights to. There is not a shortage of them. I know some people might not like this. But, I think CGC does the remakes right. They're not rushing. They take their time. They are not perfect, but they care and they do their best. A1up. I'm really starting to think they just want your money.

Nothing wrong with making money. But, I don't think they want a quality product. They just want quick dollars. They also view their producs as disposable. 300-550 dollars... That's an playstaion, xbox or switch people. It takes up more space than either of those consoles, and plays less games and not as well.
Not bashing on A1up... Even though their VP insulted me personally. I'm just saying. Underwhelmed by their news and state of games.

With that being said... Might get the pinball if you can download and expand games. And will probably get the sega cab. As I love Golden Axe and really look foraward to death Adder, and I do like altered beast. Not the best beat em ups, but they're fun. And I love beat em ups.

I bought most of mine at full price... I'm not the person who will go looking and traveling for deals. That's fine...
Do these retain value... Sure... But, about the same as a new car. You set it up and its worth about 30% of what you paid for it. No doubt... A few years go by, and it'll be worth less... But, I think if you maintain. And keep it working, looking nice. You should always be able to get 50 bucks for it. Maybe more and if you're not in a hurry to sell it possibly 100 dollars.
And I think that is fair price for these. I didn't buy mine to be collectable to resell. I bought to look at. I like looking at them. Bought to play. And have fun with when I host people at my house.

These are fun.
I modded my 12 in 1 with both the spinner and track ball. Its a fun, fun, fun machine.
I really enjoy the golden tee.
The final fight is really well done. Love playing ghosts n goblins. Took me 3 days to beat the first level. Then I got to level 4... All the way to the boss. I want to beat the game, but so far away from doing so right now.
Pacman is a great classic and it emulate well... Just a bummer its only 2 games on that cab.

So I don't want people to think I'm dumping on A1ups... There is a lot I like more about them, than a real cab.
Real cabs are heavy, hard to move. Consume so much more power, and put off so much more heat. Have burn in, most are really battered... And... Take up a hell of a lot of space. So much more than an a1up does.

I ddo think a1ups are the best compromise in terms of feel, look, and price you can get... but, they also can get lazy and I don't like that. Do it right, or don't do it. But, then they claim we don't know business, or the hobby. That we should accept what they offer, because of REASONS... No thank you. No thank you. Do it right, or don't do it.

Cos with the pi 4... only a matter of time till retropie gets updated to run with it, and when that does... Super amazing emulation, super easy, and super cheap. Pi 3's mostly amazing, but still some slow down. Pi4 should fix that... And yeah... I know about computers... And I have a emulation machine. But, I love the portability of a pi.

I hated their cab... But, I might be interested in their vpin. Toyshock just seems a bit clueless if you ask me.

And Arcade1up is just too concerned to nickel and dime their fanbase. They don't care about loadable tables. They want you to buy multiple. Atgames I think might be loadable... but, here is the real kicker...

What games can they have.
Gottlieb is tied up with toyshock, and a1up has the bally/williams games... So does that mean atgames has the zacharia games... Cos I know they have a few digital or virtual tables.

If its just custom vpins... That's a hard pass. I only really am interested in real pins. So I can learn strats and experience the wizard modes and that kind of stuff.

I'm not knocking Zaccaria... Besides their horrible sound effects, they had pretty cool artwork, and some decent looking games.
I never played any in real life. Just virtually.

All I was getting at is. To most people Gottlieb is a b level license for pinball. When they were the number 1 for many years... I could be wrong, but I believe they were... They just had a bit of bad luck in the 80s with some titles under-performing that they thought would be a hit.

Q bert, Rocky... Sure there were others. And they also just didn't have the right resources in place to embrace the dmd tech when it came along... And I just feel their themes for the most part were just boring compared to the themes that Bally/Williams were putting out. Not saying that they didn't have good games.
Yes. They did, and they had some good themes. I think Freddy was a Gottlieb. And while I don't like the game too much. I love the theme and artwork. And I can forgive the gameplay on a virtual machine more than one taking up space in my home.

So if most people view gottlieb as being a b level pinball company.... Then I think most would view zaccaria as c-list. As the lay person probably wouldn't have heard of any of their games. While the lay person might have heard of some gottliebs...

Again... I like all pinball. It be really cool to me. If Atgames also somehow found a way to get gottlieb or Bally games... Doubtful with the bally stuff... But, maybe with the pinball arcade. But, I really was hoping the pinball arcade and toyshock arrangement would breath life into that company... And nope. Seems like they're dead... don't get that. There are a lot of awesome games, they could make tables for.

So... Interested in what atgames will bring to the table.

And while that is appealing. THe one thing that would make me reticenct about that still is how well does it fit the aspect ratio of the cab.

By that I mean, will the game be cropped... Will the playfield fit perfectly in the monitor(yes I know some games might get stretched or squished). Or will there be just sides of the virtual machine showing.
To me a vpin is all about aesthetics. Does it pull off the ohhh that's a real table in front of feeling. Or will I just think... Meh... Might as well play it on my ps4.

And if the system is not configured or the software configured for the vpin console, then I might not like the interface of it... But, this is just speculation, and as I said before. I'm intrigued by their announcement.

They're not that important. I'm about 1,500 is my limit on a vpin. And that's only if it can have lots and lots of games on it, and they play good. And that's also because they'll go upstairs where I can't put a pinball machine. So it won't take the space that a real pinball machine can go into.

What happened?

Well, they have to say that to make his product look better.

So they'll dump on real pins, being heavy, requiring maintenance, and taking up a lot of space.

Funny, cos they want to sell you three of their vpins. And they don't want you to be able to load the same games on each one.

The truth about these. They'll never be as much fun as a real pin. They'll never have the wonky and insane ball spin a real pinball machine gets you.
Sometimes you just know that the ball is dead from how it hits the wood sides by the sound it makes. That's what makes pinball so great. Its so unpredictable. But, vpins have a limit to their physics and they are much more predicable and easier to repeat certain shots.

I like playing vpins on my ps4. It can be great fun. But, I never get the rush from an amazing shot on a vpin, that I do in real life. In real life I cheer, I clap, I slam my fist into the air. Its a very visceral experience, and I just don't see a vpin capturing that fun.

Sure it'll be fun. But, neutered compared to a real pin. And the light shows...
Will not be as impressive. There is a reason why people put LED strips on their vpins. Its to give them a better light show. Because the screens can't really capture it as well.