May 4th is apparently considered "Star Wars Day" and to help fans of the sci-fi series celebrate, Zen Studios announced today the downloadable Star Wars tables for Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball 2 have been reduced by 50 percent. The discounted pricing starts today and will be available until 12:01 a.m. PST on May 8th.

Zen also announced today that the downloadable Star Wars tables are now available on Kindle Fire HD.

Here is a list of prices by platform:

• Star Wars Pinball for Pinball FX2 on Xbox LIVE Arcade for 400 MSP
• Star Wars Pinball for Zen Pinball 2 on PlayStation Network Europe PS PLUS Sale for €4.99
• Star Wars Pinball on the Apple App Store for $0.99
• Star Wars Pinball on Google Play for $0.99
• Star Wars Pinball on Kindle Fire HD for $0.99
• Star Wars Pinball for Zen Pinball 2 on the Mac App Store for $0.99

Via examiner.com

In an electronic age of social media, Facebook games, summer blockbusters and other distractions what has happened to the amusements of yesterday? They're still alive in Colorado.

Don't call it a comeback. It isn't a revival either. Pinball, and the arcade for that matter, isn't going recapture the cultural zeitgeist that it once had. Where there were once a handful of American pinball manufacturers, now only one remains - Stern Pinball.

At the Rocky Mtn. Pinball Showdown, it's a celebration of the history of the game - and its continued stubborn existence.

Set amongst the loud clatter, alarms, beeps and bells of over a hundred games are tournaments, vendors, spare parts, seminars, and the camaraderie of fans of all ages. Some of those players are brought by parents and their fond memories of growing up in the pinball age.

Read more via kunc

It's been a long road but it looks like to day JJP officially starts shipping customer games and boards and other components have been finalized and incorporated into waiting games.

JJP has alerted fans and customers with the following release.

Greetings JJP Fans:

Today marks one of our biggest milestones as Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. proudly announces that it has begun shipping Wizard of Oz Pinball Machines!   

While the proverbial yellow brick road may have been a bit longer than anticipated, we are absolutely thrilled to be shipping games now. In these coming weeks the game code will continue to evolve with regular updates as Keith and Ted implement more modes and rules.....If you "tweet", we have created a special Twitter Page to announce code updates when they're ready. We will also announce when code updates are available on on the Jersey Jack Pinball Facebook Page. 

We are completing more games daily and shipping them as they go through burn-in and final testing. The games are shipping in the queue in which orders were placed.        

Whether you have been following our journey since day one, or have recently found out about our company, Thank You. This experience has been extremely special and we could not have imagined abundance of support we have been given. JJP couldn't be more thrilled that The Award Winning game has begun to make its way to amusement centers, taverns, truck stops, amusement parks and home game rooms around the globe!  

A billion ideas, thousands of parts and millions of dollars have created this game for you!  

This weekend, Jack as well as Joe Newhart of PinballSTAR Amusements will be at Pinfest 2013 on May 3rd & 4th in Allentown, PA with 3 WOZ Pinball Machines. For more  information about the show visit, http://www.pinfestival.com/.  

At the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown in Denver this weekend, WOZ won 1st place for "Crowd Pleaser" & another award for "Most Unique"!  

A hearty congratulations is due to all the people at Jersey Jack Pinball for making this dream come true for so many who never imagined it could be done.

The man who keeps the more than 100 arcade games in top-top shape at Crabtowne USA was featured in a seven-minute documentary on Maryland Public Television this week.

Tom Hintenach explained why he prefers to keep the games in working order for customers, as opposed to preserving or selling them.

The video, directed by Maryland filmmaker Jeff Krulik, is entitled "The Real Pinball Wizard" and waspart of MPT's Chesapeake Week.


via Glenburniepatch

Game Over Bar and Grill, located at 2821 N.W. Highway 101, in Lincoln City will officially open at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 4, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

More than 100 classic and new video arcade and pinball games will be featured along with an extensive menu, wine and beer.

Read the full story in the May 1 edition of The News Guard.

Pinball is back! An arcade and pinball gaming staple that stood in downtown Columbia for more than 25 years before closing its doors is back on Broadway. The official Grand Opening of Gunther’s Games is scheduled for Saturday April 27, with activities running throughout the evening.

Lifelong Columbians will remember the original Gunther’s that stood at 1106 E. Broadway until it closed in 2007. With no other place downtown to play classic games such as Galaga, Ms. Pacman and Donkey Kong, game enthusiast Wesley Upchurch felt the time was right to bring back the original arcade.

It’s not just classic games that line the walls of the arcade. At the new Gunther’s Games players can also play modern games such as Guitar Hero, Big Buck Hunter, and Mario Kart 2.

Read more via enewschannels

Whateverthe future brings for video gaming, Dan Nikolich seems certain of one thing: The day pixels replace pinballs is far off, and that's especially true in Colorado. Nikolich and his wife, Holly, are busy organizing theRocky Mountain Pinball Showdown and Gameroom Expo, which will take over the Sheridan Hotel at the Tech Center from Friday through Sunday.

Nikolich, 34, started the Expo 10 years ago after graduating with an engineering degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He says Colorado's pinball community has swelled enormously since he became involved. The community's latest developments include new "barcades" (bars built around pinball machines and vintage arcade cabinets) in Denver, and a few set to open in Colorado Springs and Idaho Springs later this year.

Read more:Pinballs rule over pixels at the Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_23099766/pinballs-rule-over-pixels-at-rocky-mountain-pinball#ixzz2RgGNAhSC

Pinball News.com brings us an update on Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle pinball machine.

Last weekend at the German Pinball Open in Berlin, a prototype of Heighway Pinball's Full Throttle game made its first public appearance, and naturally Pinball News was there to cover it. Plus, we have big news of two new team members as preparations begin at the company's new factory.

Read more via pinballnews.com

By Kevin L'Heureux

A pinball hobby became a storage challenge that morphed into a business model.

“Basically, my boyfriend and I fell in love with pinball and started collecting machines, and we ran out of room for them,” said Mara Kline, when asked of the origins of the plan to open Kickback.

Featuring their collection of 12 pinball machines, Kickback will operate as a new pinball-themed coffee shop opening May 4 on Butler Street in Lawrenceville in what I feel confident in saying will be the only business of its kind in Pittsburgh, if not the tri-state area.

Kline and boyfriend Joe Veltri, owner of The Gallery 4 in Shadyside, are going beyond just storing their machines in a Lawrenceville storefront.

Kickback will feature design elements that include a floor themed on pinball by local artist Brian Holderman, who has designed his own customized pinball machines in the past.

Along with the action of ricocheting pinballs, patrons will be able to get their own bounce of caffeine from French Press coffee by Kiva Han, along with soups, panini and other light snacks.

For those inclined toward cafe society-type activities such as reading, studying or sharing quiet conversation, fear not, suggested Kline. The pinball machines will be located on a mezzanine level of the shop, allowing some level of quiet for patrons.

Pinball lovers, on the other hand, will find a host of machines such as The Bride of Pinbot, The Addams Family, NBA Fastbreak and others from the 1950s through today.

Via Bizjournals

By Kevin L'Heureux

When was the last time you played pinball? You must remember the game that used to come along with older generation Windows operating system. Well pinball wizards at Gameprom have released a new pinball game, titled DaVinci Pinball. The new Xbox title is available exclusively on Nokia Lumia smartphones on Windows Phone Store. 

Game named after inventor and painter Da Vinci brings a whole new dimension, as it features medieval weapons, architecture and machinery along with the classic game play. You will get explore Da Vinci's acclaimed concept designs, like the flying machine and the tank as you play along. The game which is exclusively available for Nokia Lumia handsets has been getting good reviews from users. looks like the new dimension and better graphics does bring in something new to the table. Literally! The game has download size of 60 MB and works on Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 7.5

Via Gizbot