I attribute Pinball Arcade with getting me back into pinball. The downside? $30 into buying tables on TPA, I'm now spending $4500 on a real pinball machine. We've been wanting one for a while but sort of forgot about it until I found TPA. So, there's that

Play-wise, STTNG on TPA vs the real deal is immediately noticeable - it's no contest especially when STTNG is well setup. The graphics are a bit sub-par in my opinion. I heard the PS3 version now has night mode but I can't find it on the PC version. It also doesn't have screen rotation built into the program, which makes it a bit of a pain to play (I can't play it well on my 23" LCD without rotating it). On the plus side, I hear they are working on a Linux version.

Also, in fairness, the thing has a ton of tables and even though it doesn't feel like real pinball, it's fun to play, got me back into the hobby and lets me play tons of games I don't have room for and can't easily go to play in person. So I dig it! For the cost of say ONE game at Pinballz in Austin, I can buy the game on TPA and be happy. It doesn't mean I won't go play the real thing at Pinballz but does mean I can put in a quick game of, say, Bride of Pinbot, after work and unwind.

That is, when I won't be playing my STTNG (getting it this Saturday, WHEE!)

Thanks! BTW, some of your own STTNG posts have been quite informative!