A virtual pinball machine sounds like a really good idea. No less then 17 tables, on a LCD display (so the playfield doesn’t wear out). Best yet, the virtual pinball machine has some of the most famous Gottlieb games like 2001 and Gold Strike. Sure, it’s expensive, but compared to the cost of actually buying 17 pinball machines? It’s quite reasonable. And takes up a lot less space in the ol man cave.
The Multispin Digital Pinball machine uses a 32 inch LCD monitor for that play field, and a smaller monitor mounted on the back glass to replicate the scoring section of those classic games. There is just one thing that makes me nervous, and that’s the lack of flipper buttons on the pictures of the machine. Hammacher Schlemmers website says that it does have flipper buttons and a ball launcher just like the real thing, but I can’t seem to find it.
The Hammacher Schlemmer website lists the pinball machine as being currently available, however it will take 4-6 weeks for delivery, so order fast for Christmas. The Digital Pinball machine will set you back $6,000. I’ve got to say though, I think it’d be worth it.
At the Pacific Pinball Expo in San Rafael, players of all ages can try their hands at nearly 400 different pinball machines. The expo runs through the weekend at the Marin County Civic Center.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
SAN RAFAEL, California–You might not think of pinball as an educational tool, but to some devotees of the age-old arcade favorite, that’s exactly what they can be.
That’s because pinball machines have been around for decades, and often have themes representative of the era in which they were built. And this weekend, visitors to the Pacific Pinball Expo here, an event billed as the “world’s largest” pinball show, can see history on display in bright lights and enhanced with familiar bells and whistles, things like the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the first man on the moon, contemporary music from the 1950s and much more.
At the expo, which opened Friday at the Marin County Civic Center here (admission is $25 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under), visitors can see more than 350 machines from as early as the 1920s, and with names like “Wild West,” “Quartette,” “Dragonette, “4-Belles” and much more.
And the mission statement of the Pacific Pinball Museum, which is behind the expo, is as follows: “To inspire an interest in science, art and history through pinball and to preserve and promote this important part of American culture.”
Jeff’s back and gives us a rundown of his minivacation to Atlantic City, N.J., and his love affair with pinball machines. A lot of other stories to talk about today, like the Zune HD, the new Chevy Volt, Spielberg taking over the Halo movie, and Hayato Shimizu’s interpretation of Jeff as the superhero COMMODORE!
Jeff Bakalar as COMMODORE
(Credit: Hayato Shimizu)
The team is back together now that Jeff is back from his trip to Atlantic City, where he reportedly spent the majority of his time playing blackjack and a series of analog video games like Batman: Dark Knight pinball, skeeball, and bubble hockey. In celebration of Jeff’s return, we surprise him with the image you see above, the final superhost of The 404–COMMODORE! Defending the world from positive vibes with his giant hockey stick, Commodore also wields the might Power Glove, which, unfortunately, is incompatible with today’s villains, but it still looks cool! Big thanks goes out to Hayato Shimizu for his great work with all three characters, maybe we’ll even seen a picture featuring LaserJet, G-Force, and Commodore battling crime for the future of podcasting!
(Credit: The 404)
As usual, we have a lot to talk about today, and kick it off with some rumor mongering about the latest Zune HD. CNET’s own Donald Bell reports that Amazon is showing off retail pricing for the portable media player, listing the 16GB Zune HD at $219 and the 32GB at $289. The rumor mill continues to churn over Steven Spielberg taking over as producer for the Halo movie adaption, although the three of us are still skeptical about any long-form video game story adaptation, as we all remember what happened with CHUN-LI. We also look at the latest commercials for the Chevy Volt and its how viral advertising is affecting viewer participation.
Finally, Wilson G. Tang took it upon himself to create a 404 Dashboard Widget for Mac OS X users! You can download the video or the audio version and have the show play in the background while you finish “working.” Best of all, this blog description populates nicely into the widget as well, making it super easy to auto-update and listen to your favorite episodes! Download them and let us know what you think!
A virtual pinball machine sounds like a really good idea. No less then 17 tables, on a LCD display (so the playfield doesn’t wear out). Best yet, the virtual pinball machine has some of the most famous Gottlieb games like 2001 and Gold Strike. Sure, it’s expensive, but compared to the cost of actually buying 17 pinball machines? It’s quite reasonable. And takes up a lot less space in the ol man cave. 
