BlahCade Podcast

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-232/About this time last year, we predicted what we would see released about now (December 2021). Naturally, things didn't go exactly to plan, but some predictions aren't too wild.We also talk about Zen's new release _Funko Pinball Party Arena_ available through _Zen Pinball Party_ on Apple Arcade.Thrown in for good measure is a segment on our addiction with various rhythm action games, which we talk about with great passion. Some games we talk about are free (as in open-source), and some are freemium (as in "gross", but tolerable). 

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-231/We are back with another episode that, this time, features the gameplay of Zen's newest Pinball Party title, Peanuts.Plus, we take a look at Skillshot FX's new virtual pinball cabinet.And then there's the big question mark over Zen interviewing Spooky Pinball!Does this mean we'll be seeing digital versions of their tables in Pinball FX?

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-230/That's right, Pinball FX has been delayed according to the latest episode of The Pinball Show. That however is not the only news...Chris and Jared take another deep dive look into what Mel Kirk had to say. Much speculation ensues. Plus, beer!

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-229/It's a mish-mash of topics that concludes with the outrageous auction prices of a huge pinball collection. First, though, we catch up on Zen and Stern news as well as a rather odd video with the world's largest pinball machine.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-227/We're back after an extended break!We talk about what has gone on in the month we were away and deep dive into Zen's announcement of Zen Pinball Party on Apple Arcade.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-226/This episode's main event is a curious development with arcade machine producer Arcooda and a tweet stream they have been leaking out over the last few weeks. There are some interesting revelations in this block of tweets that we dive head-first into and explore. It is all leading somewhere, but you will need to listen to the episode to find out more.It's also time to address the elephant in the room and talk about The Pinball Show from Zen's marketing division. The show is awkward, lacks host chemistry, and needs some tweaks to make it worth tuning into. Like, actual information.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-225/With this podcast, we can officially say that Farsight Studios is no longer in the pinball business. It turns out that AtGames did not contract Farsight Studios to produce the announced Taito pinball tables last year.The good news is that Magic Pixel got the gig to produce the licensed properties from Taito. We had to give our reaction to the news and detail what we thought about the playfield layouts and overall graphical design of the tables.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-224/Zen Studios dropped a pleasant surprise on their VR customers recently with a free table: Han Solo.We take a good hard look at Han Solo in VR and discuss what frustrates us about the table. While that may sound negative, we really want to make a case for making some improvements to the rules and gameplay aspects of this game, so it becomes more enjoyable to play.Zen Studios has also been teasing some new table designs due to be released with Pinball FX later in 2021. We take a closer look at these and offer our two cents worth.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-223/Stern announced that they will release a Mandalorian pinball machine.This is interesting because both tables from Zen and Stern were in development concurrently. We start by comparing Zen's table first and list out the pros and cons for you to consider. Then it is time to take a look at Stern's version and talk through what Zen could learn from the way Stern builds a world under glass.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-222/Now that Chris and I have both played Star Wars Pinball VR (SWPVR) extensively, we wanted to provide a different perspective on the game for people who are on the fence about getting it.After we get the review in the bag we talk about the other aspects of SWPVR that didn't really fit in the scope of the review but are important enough that they deserve a mention.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-221/Mel Kirk gave us a lot to think about in the interview he did in Episode 220. As is tradition on the show, we go into deep speculation mode and try to work out what games might be released in 2021 from Zen Studios.We also announce a new website and go into why this was necessary..

This episode is a massive interview with Mel Kirk, COO of Zen Studios.We have a pile of questions as follow-ups to what was said in Zen's The Pinball Show #3, and Mel doesn't flinch from any of them.You are definitely going to want to watch the entire interview. 

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-220/This episode is a massive interview with Mel Kirk, COO of Zen Studios.We have a pile of questions as follow-ups to what was said in Zen's The Pinball Show #3, and Mel doesn't flinch from any of them.You are definitely going to want to watch the entire interview. 

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-220/This episode is a massive interview with Mel Kirk, COO of Zen Studios.We have a pile of questions as follow-ups to what was said in Zen's The Pinball Show Ep 3, and Mel doesn't flinch from any of them.You are definitely going to want to watch the entire interview. 

https://blahcadepinball.com/219-reacting-to-epic-pinball-fx-newsIn Zen's The Pinball Show Ep. #3 Mel Kirk sat down with Bobby and they talked more about Pinball FX, including some hard questions that they knew they'd need to tackle eventually.It’s worth breaking down some of the points that Mel raised and extrapolate upon them because you might have missed some of the contexts due to information overload. 

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-219/In Zen's The Pinball Show Ep. #3 Mel Kirk sat down with Bobby and they talked more about Pinball FX, including some hard questions that they knew they'd need to tackle eventually.It’s worth breaking down some of the points that Mel raised and extrapolate upon them because you might have missed some of the contexts due to information overload. 

https://blahcadepinball.com/218-star-wars-pinball-vrThis whole episode is all about the news revealed in Zen Studio’s The Pinball Show Ep #2 about a certain Oculus, Steam VR, and PSVR pinball game coming in April 2021.For our podcast fans, this episode has a fair bit of reference to what we're seeing in videos so you might want to jump over to the show notes and check those out before listening.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-218/This whole episode is all about the news revealed in Zen Studio’s The Pinball Show Ep #2 about a certain Oculus, Steam VR, and PSVR pinball game coming in April 2021.For our podcast fans, this episode has a fair bit of reference to what we're seeing in videos so you might want to jump over to the show notes and check those out before listening.

https://blahcadepinball.com/217-atgames-hear-us-outThis whole episode is about our thoughts concerning AtGames and their Legends Pinball cabinet (referred to in forums as "ALP" for short).Well, nearly all of it. There is a bit of information about Arcade 1UP cabinet issues that we need to comment about as well. ????For this episode, I've put the BlahCade Mini episodes as a rough guide only. They will become available to view from here progressively. It may not be in audio order. If that bothers you, let me know.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-217/This whole episode is about our thoughts concerning AtGames and their Legends Pinball cabinet (referred to in forums as "ALP" for short).Well, nearly all of it. There is a bit of information about Arcade 1UP cabinet issues that we need to comment about as well. ????For this episode, I've put the BlahCade Mini episodes as a rough guide only. They will become available to view from here progressively. It may not be in audio order. If that bothers you, let me know.

https://blahcadepinball.com/216-zen-pinball-fx-news-unpackedZen Studios announced that they will be releasing a brand new pinball app this year called Pinball FX. Not Pinball FX4, just Pinball FX.There is only one thing we can do with news like this: tease it apart and analyze the inside line of the news.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-216/Zen Studios announced that they will be releasing a brand new pinball app this year called Pinball FX. Not Pinball FX4, just Pinball FX.There is only one thing we can do with news like this: tease it apart and analyze the inside line of the news.

https://blahcadepinball.com/215-pinball-in-vrIn this episode, we talk about Virtual Reality as it relates to pinball. The entire show focuses on every aspect that we could think of when you are considering playing commercial pinball games in VR. We talk about hardware differences, gameplay differences, UI differences, and the overall "feeling" of bashing around a pinball in VR.If you are a podcast listener, you may want to skip listening and jump right into watching this episode from the link in this episode description.We have included a lot of gameplay footage comparing FX2 PC to FX2 Quest 2 that might be interesting if you have never seen it before. We also have actual footage of Zaccaria Pinball VR and Stern Pinball Arcade VR pinball in action.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-215/In this episode, we talk about Virtual Reality as it relates to pinball. The entire show focuses on every aspect that we could think of when you are considering playing commercial pinball games in VR. We talk about hardware differences, gameplay differences, UI differences, and the overall "feeling" of bashing around a pinball in VR.If you are a podcast listener, you may want to skip listening and jump right into watching this episode from the link in this episode description.We have included a lot of gameplay footage comparing FX2 PC to FX2 Quest 2 that might be interesting if you have never seen it before. We also have actual footage of Zaccaria Pinball VR and Stern Pinball Arcade VR pinball in action.

https://blahcadepinball.com/214-we-cant-just-push-resetIn this episode, we ask a favor of YouTube content creators who received their pinball cabinets from At Games and Arcade 1UP.In other news we talk about real pinball and whether it is better to go with trying to touch-up a bad paint job, or whether you should just take a deep breath and sand off the playfield art so you can lay down what's known as a "hard-top" playfield overlay.To round out this episode Chris Friebus gives us his 2020 movie reviews and ratings and you might be surprised what gets into the Best Movie category this year.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-214/In this episode, we ask a favor of YouTube content creators who received their pinball cabinets from At Games and Arcade 1UP.In other news we talk about real pinball and whether it is better to go with trying to touch-up a bad paint job, or whether you should just take a deep breath and sand off the playfield art so you can lay down what's known as a "hard-top" playfield overlay.To round out this episode Chris Friebus gives us his 2020 movie reviews and ratings and you might be surprised what gets into the Best Movie category this year.

https://blahcadepinball.com/213-end-of-year-free-for-allWith the year drawing to a close, it's time to take a break from all the serious PinCab discussion and look at some other stuff that's been happening that isn't strictly what we normally cover on the show.This episode was recorded live in front of a YouTube audience, so we also took some cues from the folks in the chat about what to talk about.Enjoy, thanks for your support in 2020, and we'll see you in the new year.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-213/With the year drawing to a close, it's time to take a break from all the serious PinCab discussion and look at some other stuff that's been happening that isn't strictly what we normally cover on the show.This episode was recorded live in front of a YouTube audience, so we also took some cues from the folks in the chat about what to talk about.Enjoy, thanks for your support in 2020, and we'll see you in the new year.

https://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-212/It’s getting towards the end of what has been a pretty rough year in retrospect.As a glimmer of hope for the year ahead, we explore what the year 2021 might bring in the way of digital pinball enjoyment.There are three parts to this episode.Part one of the episode deals with near-reality in what we think will happen in 2021.Part two goes hard into wild speculation territory.And part three looks at what tables from Zen we’d most like to see next year.Chris is also setting up a “Ten-minute Pinball” YouTube exclusive that you can be a part of.

https://blahcadepinball.com/212-lets-predict-2021It’s getting towards the end of what has been a pretty rough year in retrospect.As a glimmer of hope for the year ahead, we explore what the year 2021 might bring in the way of digital pinball enjoyment.There are three parts to this episode.Part one of the episode deals with near-reality in what we think will happen in 2021.Part two goes hard into wild speculation territory.And part three looks at what tables from Zen we’d most like to see next year.Chris is also setting up a “Ten-minute Pinball” YouTube exclusive that you can be a part of.

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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-211/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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-210/The 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-209/With 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/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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-208/Right 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-207/Zen 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-206/The 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-205/It 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-204/Everyone 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-203/We 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://www.blahcadepinball.com/blahcade-202/Before 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!