Blahcade Podcast

There's more good news for AtGames fans in the form of Zaccaria pinball games being available natively on the cabinet from mid-2021.We explore this news and ask which cabinet would you buy if you had to choose?Based on some discussion in community forums, we decide to peek into the world of software licensing again and see if it is actually legal to offer access to Visual Pinball X (VPX as it is known in the community) on commercial products.The results may surprise you.

https://blahcadepinball.com/210-acquisitions-and-redesignsThe big news this episode is that Zen Studios was acquired by Embracer Group. We go into detail about the situation and give our take on what this means for the studio.The other news is that AtGames has done some redesigns to their cabinet that make the product more attractive and better overall.

https://blahcadepinball.com/209-pre-order-thisWith news about Disney+ “The Mandalorian” being graced with a Zen Pinball release, Chris Friebus and I get stuck into what this might look like on the show.It’s another week and that means that there is more news to tease apart about the pinball cabinet products vying for your dollar this holiday season.We also take some time to look into Zaccaria Pinball a bit deeper than normal (by request).

https://blahcadepinball.com/208-zens-mel-kirk-holiday-2020-q-aRight on the heels of #207, we set up an interview with Mel Kirk, COO of Zen Studios, to take us through how 2020 shook down from a studio perspective. Of course, we couldn't resist asking him all the burning questions you have about the Arcade 1UP Marvel Pinball cabinet. Luckily for us, Mel practically answered every single question for you.Strap in for a wild ride. You are about to get a dump of really great info!

https://blahcadepinball.com/207-pinball-cabinet-wars-2020Zen Studios and AtGames got into a bit of argy-bargy when AtGames allegedly breached the Zen Studios EULA conditions. Chris Friebus and I dive into the EULA and try to shed light on what might be causing the stoush.Now that AtGames has actually released details of their product, Chris and I can have a (somewhat) intelligent conversation about it for your benefit.Volume 6 is now properly out and people have had a chance to experience it themselves. Chris and I talk through what we reckon about the three-pack of tables.

https://blahcadepinball.com/206-new-content-bonanzaThe long-awaited Volume 6 for Williams Pinball is finally out, but we have other stuff to talk about this episode.Is Farsight producing new tables again? Does Zaccaria now have a pinball cabinet on the market? It turns out the answer is "yes" to both questions.Also, Chris has done something different with YouTube and sliced things up a bit for you. Where we have videos I've added them into the show notes for you.

https://blahcadepinball.com/205-same-sh-t-different-dayIt certainly must feel frustrating when you are starving for content and no one is dishing it out to you. This is how many Zen Pinball fans are feeling about 2020 because Zen has not released any tables since early this year. Fear not! This does not mean that Zen Studios are in trouble. Nor does it mean that they are losing the Williams license. Listen in as we unpack the year to date and help you understand why releasing pinball tables has not been the focus of the studio.

https://blahcadepinball.com/204-the-other-pin-cabsEveryone is excited about what Zen Studios and Arcade 1UP are doing with Marvel Pinball, Star Wars Pinball, and Williams Pinball. But what about Toyshock and AtGames?Both of these companies announced they are releasing products this year, so let us take a closer look at what’s going on in the other product camps.This episode also has some community thoughts about the Zen Studios Volume 6 announcement. We also cover other products that are coming out in the home arcade market.

https://blahcadepinball.com/203-williams-pinball-volume-6-revealWe can now officially talk about this pack that has been months in the making. Well, it felt ready to release months ago but Zen being who they are held back until they were very confident it was ready.This episode centers around all the news announced at the California Extreme (CAX) 2020 show. There is news from Zen about the tables you can expect in Volume 6 as well as news from Arcade 1UP. 

https://blahcadepinball.com/202-lets-ride-bikesBefore the anticipated awesomeness of California Extreme 2020 happening on August 1st, 2020, Chris and I go off on tangents (hence the title) about all the stuff floating around since we last recorded.This show format has a surprising ability to turn out great and you’ll get a lot for your money in this episode.Consider it a warm-up act for August 1st!

https://blahcadepinball.com/201-arcade-1up-interview-thoughtsIts time to unpack all that juicy Arcade 1UP news we heard about in our 200th episode.This entire show is about the information that was (and wasn’t) said in the interview, and what that might mean for the upcoming releases we see from Arcade 1UP and AtGames.

https://blahcadepinball.com/200-arcade-1up-interviewThis entire show is back to back interviews with David and John from Arcade 1UP and live tidbits from Mel about what we should expect from Zen Studios for the next decade.It's Pinball Everywhere 2.0™?!Chris and I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who listens and supports the show each time we record. We do it for you and the digital pinball community.

https://blahcadepinball.com/199-put-your-money-where-your-mouth-isIf you could purchase officially licensed music for some of the movie franchise tables in Zen Pinball FX3, what would you pay?Yes, the cost of music licensing is a well-known factor in how much table packs cost. So if you could separate the licensed music and offer it on-demand for a reasonable price, would you go and shell out your clams for it?We also talk about the cost of buying DLC packs for long-running franchises like Guitar Hero and the staggering price that adds up if you "gotta catch them all" from a song perspective.Also, it's our 200th episode next time, so tell us what makes the show special to you and give us some ideas about what you'd like to hear in the next show?

https://blahcadepinball.com/198-may-the-flip-be-with-youThis episode is your fast track to getting the most value and satisfaction out of the Star Wars and Williams Pinball Nintendo Switch tables.Based on our extended plays of all the tables since launching on Steam, we tell you where you should start your Jedi training and where you should move up to when you move past Padawan status.We also give you the tips on where you should begin with Bally Williams tables in the Williams Pinball collection as well. How do you think this order stacks up? Let us know through the usual social channels.

https://blahcadepinball.com/197-blahcade-speculation-zen-styleThis episode is completely dedicated to a long-overdue BlahCade Speculation session on the back of Mel's fantastic interview with us last episode.There is a whole host of juicy clues about what might be coming up towards the end of the year for sure!Enjoy the speculation and let us know what you think.

https://blahcadepinball.com/196-zen-about-quarantine-with-mel-kirkThis episode is completely dedicated to a long-overdue chat with Mel Kirk from Zen Studios. Mel was incredibly generous with his time and the information he was able to provide us about what the studio has been doing leading up to this point. It’s a fantastic hour filled with juicy tidbits of information that will surely server as BlahCade Speculation material for episodes to come!

https://blahcadepinball.com/195-pinball-pandemicThere isn’t a lot of news about at the moment for digital pinball, but Chris and I can make a show out of it. So here we go!Zen Studios has announced that they won’t be releasing any more pinball tables until around May or June, so we explore why that might be.Farsight Studios have published another casual pinball title from Trick Game Studios and it might be just what you need to pass some time during the lockdown.Through some community detective work, we also confirmed that the Williams Pinball tables published in Zen Pinball FX3 are best played when you lock your frames per second (FPS) to 60 FPS.Enjoy the show and let us know what you think.

https://blahcadepinball.com/194-spinnin-copperChris has been having fun playing folks on Zaccaria Pinball around the world while being able to actually watch their gameplay.We also go deep into what we know about Arcooda and their newly announced cabinet product range.Hopefully, there will be some more news next time we record about Zen Studio tables and other pinball-related goodness. But for now, we are spinning copper to make gold.

https://blahcadepinball.com/193-interviews-and-listsWe’ve got a little something for you first-up in this episode. :)You’ll get our predictions for what will be in Zen Studios Williams Pinball for 2020 (BlahCade Speculation™? at its finest).Also saddle-up for an interview with Bobby King from CES, but we’re not responsible for this one. Arcooda has also dropped on us (just two days after recording) that they are in the pinball cabinet game once again.You’re just going to have to listen to find out more!

https://blahcadepinball.com/192-sign-me-1upIt’s proven to be a massive start to 2020 at CES this year with both Arcade1UP and Toyshock publicly demonstrating their home-use pinball products coming out later this year.We go deep into what news is available about these products and give you our opinions about the pros and cons of each product offering.May the pinball wars yield amazing results for us consumers!