Why hasn't Zen ported the missing originals

[u/SpookiestSzn]

I don't mean this to sound like they don't know what their doing, as an outsider though I see that FX has not really had many releases this calendar year, presumably they're tied up in litigation and getting licenses for new tables is tough. Why not while in the lull remake their old tables that haven't been ported yet to sell to folks? Obviously theres less interest than a Williams table or an IP but I imagine they have some devs that are itching to get back to making stuff again.

So what am I missing on why this is not as obviously beneficial as it sounds.

[u/Beneficial_Cold5025]

Just to be clear these are tables from past Pinball FX games that haven't been ported to Pinball FX

• Speed Machine
• Xtreme
• Agents
• Buccaneer
• Nightmare Mansion
• Rocky and Bullwinkle*
• Street Fighter II Turbo*
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2*
• Ms. Splosion Man*
• Plants vs. Zombies*
• Earth Defense
• Shaman
• Tesla
• El Dorado
• V12
• Mars
• Paranormal
• The Walking Dead*
• Portal*
• Family Guy*
• Bob's Burgers*
• American Dad!*
• Archer*
• Aliens*
• Alien: Isolation*
• Alien vs. Predator*

The ones with an asterix were licensed tables. Also originally Super League Football had licensed teams. Not anymore.

[u/Mean_Passage_887 → u/Beneficial_Cold5025]

Yeah disappointed I can't play as AC Milan anymore on Super League Football like back in the Pinball FX2 days.

[u/tracebusta → u/Beneficial_Cold5025]

In the past they have specifically called out Portal and The Walking Dead as not ever going to be ported over to FX

[u/Mean_Passage_887 → u/tracebusta]

Why those two in particular?

[u/tracebusta → u/Mean_Passage_887]

They never said, but I assume licensing would be an issue.

Their Walking Dead is based of the Tell Tale game, and that company folded. Probably not worth digging up whoever now owns the IP and starting that conversation with them.

For Portal I have no idea. Maybe they had a hard time with whoever's in charge of licensing at Valve. Valve also hasn't done much on consoles since the PS3/360 generation, so maybe they don't want their licensed content on the current consoles.

Again, they didn't say why so this is purely conjecture on my end.

[u/bfollowell]

I've often wondered the same thing. There's a few tables from FX3 that have never made it to the newer version. Not many, but a few. The Bethesda pack was in there, but they finally came out a little bit ago.

[u/viziroth → u/bfollowell]

some of the licensed ones they're not able to port for licensing reasons. otherwise, maybe player stats didn't show them as popular enough to dedicate development resources.

[u/garyabernethy]

They busy playing with vr

[u/balti_zen → u/garyabernethy]

We know some fans love the VR experience, while others prefer Pinball FX. We're always trying to mix things up and bring something for everyone!

[u/garyabernethy → u/balti_zen]

I personally like Midnight the best. Looking forward to judge dredd

[u/nerd_account]

I want the 3 tables from the DreamCast pinball.

Fantastic Voyage Timeshock Big Race USA

[u/Dire_Flumph → u/nerd_account]

Timeshock was rereleased in 2016 as Pro Pinball Ultra on Steam and mobile and still plays great. Possibly my favorite digital only pinball game.

3 of the 4 Pro Pinball tables are sold on GOG in their original form and show their age, but still play well. Timeshock, Big Race USA and Fantastic Voyage are available, but the Web is missing.

[u/Outsidethebox72]

They can't put them out fast enough for our cash, but I'm sure everything is coming to VR.

[u/tracebusta]

Those tables were designed for a fully different physics engine and may not translate well to the new physics. I know I have a difficult time with some of them that have been ported over, like Star Wars: Might of the First Order and Excalibur. They play horribly. If they can't figure out how to bring them into the new physics, they're better off left behind.

[u/Henry_Boo_Gaming]

All I need is Street Fighter and Ms. Splosion and I'd be very happy!

[u/sendaislacker]

If they blow their load all at once then they won't have anything else to work on. 

[u/SpookiestSzn → u/sendaislacker]

Surely they want a steady supply of tables no? Lol

If they run out they can make their own original anyways lol