Pinball Heroes Out Today on PSN for PSP

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What up, folks?

Jason Coker here, Producer of the new downloadable PSP title, Pinball Heroes, which is available beginning TODAY for download onto your PSP from the PlayStation Store for $3.99 each. So, what is Pinball Heroes? Well, the Pinball Heroes team loves pinball – go figure – and we also love the games that Sony Computer Entertainment publishes, so we figured, “Hey, what if we were to make pinball tables based on SCE titles?” We approached some of the internal teams here at Sony, made the magic happen, and we’ve put together a really fun mix of tables, both in the range of pinball game play types and in the titles we’re representing. Please take a look at the trailer below to give you an idea of what I’m talking about:

There are four different tables available to download, which are based on High Velocity Bowling, Hot Shots Golf, PAIN, and UNCHARTED. For me, the coolest thing about Pinball Heroes is that if you dig pinball, you’ll really like any of the tables because of the diverse set of challenges that each one features, including an in-game trophy shelf, in-game trophies, online leaderboards, and an assortment of modes that keep the game exciting and fun. On top of that, if you’re a fan of the titles that we represent on each table, you’ll really enjoy the way we’ve incorporated the flavor of each game into Pinball Heroes. If you happen to be a pinball lover who is also crazy about the games we’re basing our tables on… well, you’ll be in PSP nirvana.

For example, the High Velocity Bowling table actually has a section that has ten pins set up that you can knock down once you’ve released the sweeper. In addition to your pinball score, the game will be tracking your strikes and spares as you advance through “frames” on those ten pins. On the Hot Shots Golf table, there are several unique “holes” to play. You’ll be challenged to knock down targets marked with a certain distance until the total distance gets you to the “green”, at which point you must knock the ball through an opening to the green and tap it into the hole. There are also wind conditions that will affect the ball differently on each hole, so bring your A game.

Pinball Heroes High Velocity Bowling table Pinball Heroes Hot Shots table


PAIN fans will recognize things like Fun With Explosives, PAINdemonium modes and the Manhole that can be opened as a ball lock. The UNCHARTED table actually tells the story of Nathan Drake’s’s adventures in the first UNCHARTED game, “UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune,” through a variety of modes that will test your pinball skills.

Pinball Heroes Pain table Pinball Heroes UNCHARTED table

We’ve put plenty of familiar sights and sounds on each table and all in all, we’ve put together a really cool mix of pinball and the things that make our first-party games so fun.

For your convenience, you can play zoomed in so that the camera tracks the balls around the table, zoomed out so that you can see the whole table, or in portrait mode, which lets you see the whole table with the PSP turned sideways, so it’s a lot larger than the default zoomed out play style. Whatever your play style, there’s something here that will suit you.

Pinball Heroes screenshot 1 Pinball Heroes screenshot 2

So there you have it – Pinball Heroes – Coming to a PSP near you. I’m really proud of how nicely the Pinball Heroes tables turned out. Teri, Josh, Joe, Larry, and I look forward to hearing your feedback once you get hands-on with the tables because there are more tables in the works, and we want to make them as good as we can. Till then, break out your Tommy albums and get your Pinball Wizard on. We’ll see you on the Leaderboards. I’m the cat with the ill high scores because that’s how I roll. Get it? See, it’s a pinball joke because the ball rolls, and…ah, forget it. Pinball Heroes for the win!!

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77 Comments

12 Author Replies

  • nice way to tie PS games into this game.

  • Pinball! isn’t there a PAIN themed one? looks solid!

  • wow and here i just boughgt the other pinball on the psn for my new psp go, :(

  • Pinball? looks solid. isn’t there a PAIN themed one?

  • Cool there is a PAIN and Uncharted one as well!

  • online play or Ad Hoc?

  • so you have to buy each table individually? so if you want all four tables its going to be just shy of $16?

  • May have to buy the Uncharted one. Keep up the good work!

  • These look awesome

  • Coker lives! Might you know what became of Travis? The mutants are running amok and are in dire need of leadership.

    Now as for Pinball Hereos, will there be a bundle of all 4 boards or are they only for seperate purchase? If its seperate-only I’ll pick up the PAIN board for certain and probably wait on impressions for the others.

  • is it $3.99 for the game or per table?

  • Looks awesome! will you be releasing new tables at a later date? A Ratchet and Clank table would be cool.

  • How big is the file? is this a mini. Last Question. Will there be any add-on tables for this game?

  • I was like “all this for $3.99? – SOLD!”. Then I noticed it’s per table. How lame. All 4 tables should be a $10 bundle.

  • AAAA UNCHARTED :D That one little word make me buy anything :D:D:D I love Naughty Dog ;)

  • I’m sorry maybe this was just left out of the game description…. but why does this not qualify for the Mini’s? It’s 4 dollars, what I’d expect from a Mini’s title and OMG looks like fun.

    Maybe Sony needs to rethink it’s criteria for Mini’s.

  • @Jason Coker

    I really shouldn’t be asking this since it is a 4 dollar title (I’m interested in getting it btw), but will this game support in game music from the PSP’s user MP3 Collection?

  • Wow, this is what the Minis should have been in the first place: bite-sized games at cheap prices with cool touches.

    Granted, even at US$3.99, they are a bit over-priced, but for a quick fix, they certainly fare better than most of the other PSP PSN titles (at least in the price-to-gaming value part…)

  • Um sorry but is that really 3.99 per table i already have zen pinball so there’s no way i’m buying more pinball at that price. Sony is gettng ridiculous with thier pricing. these arent even 3d graphic tables like zen pinball is. zen pinball is 9.99 for the WHOLE GAME. pinball heroes is nearly half that per table. how does that make since when zen pinball obviously has more production value. well i guess its official. all downloadable content has basically become a squeeze. seriously $4 for this? its one pinball table!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Nice!

  • Awesome! I am definitely buying this for my PSP!

  • To answer a few questions:

    Popo155 – We don’t have online or Ad Hoc play, just Leaderboards.

    HatmanTc – Correct, the tables are only sold individually.

    Megamixer – I’m like a Production cockroach. They just can’t get rid of me. As for Travis, he keeps getting turned down for a spot as a Price Is Right girl, so he’s still around here working on more beautiful things for PAIN. I wouldn’t count on him to exert any control over the mutants – Those folks are NUTS!

    Omnilaw – Each table will be $3.99. If you’re not into a particular franchise, you don’t have to get that table. (But come on…..we know all the cool kids dig all four of those games!)

    Danscloud9 – More tables? No doubt!

    xMONOXIDEx – All four tables together take up a little more than 50MB.

    Ti-dus – The Naughty Dog team is not awesome, they are THE awesome.

    KazeEternal – I’m not a PSN Store guy, so I can’t answer the Mini question, but I can certainly vouch for the fun factor. As for the music question, no, there won’t be MP3 playback support.

    Peace,
    Coker

  • Coke! long time no see :)

  • COKER!!

    We miss you at Pain man!

  • sorry about the repeat of comment 2 and 4. online’s funny today.

  • Coke out and about away from the Pain madness…sort of. It’s awesome to see some of the old Pain team still making blog posts.

    But $3.99 for a single table? Hopefully there will be a discounted bundle or a demo to show me that it is worth it. In light of Zen’s pricing it seems a bit steep to jump into blind.

  • Fun game it looks like

  • I love this idea! I hope you guys do more like this! God of War, Little Big Planet, Rachet and Clank, etc, etc. Oh and please bring this to the PS3 front also (I want to play on PS3 too)!! I’m sold by the way, and will buy this today!!!

    • There are definitely more tables coming. Not so sure about the PS3 thing any time soon, but it\’s certainly worth some more discussion on this end.

  • Nice idea. Shame about the per table price though. You should have charged one initial low price and then suckered us in later with loads of add-on tables. lol.

  • Damn some of those look awesome. Wish I had a PSP. Or money for one, rather.

  • Nice Uncharted Looks The Best I’ll Be getting Uncharted… No Rachet & Clank?

  • This looks great! I Can’t wait for the update tonight. One question though, what kind of control scheme is there for sideways play? That sounds really cool, but I’m wondering how the buttons are mapped for it.

    • Cecil, when you play in the rotated position, you\’ll be holding the PSP with the X, Circle, Triangle, and Square buttons right there between your thumbs, and you operate the flippers with the Triangle and X buttons.

  • Nice to see you again Coke! Congrats on the new game. If only I had a PSP!!

    • Thanks, Juggs. We still need to get together in the studio and record that guaranteed platinum album so we can get you some PSP loot, my man.

  • Leaderboards are why they don’t qualify as a “Mini”, I guess.

    Anyway, while it’s nice for Sony to remember they have a portable and make some content for it, when they do it’s always overpriced. $16 for 4 tables is no bargain.

    I’m really starting to wish I had gotten a Ipod Touch instead. They have a steady stream of content for it, and cheap content…

  • Looks better than Zen Pinball. I regret buying that game.

  • Are you guys the same team that created Balls of Steel and Ultimate Pinball Gold for Windows? If so I have really loved your games. Can us non PSP owners have this on the PSN for the PS3 too please??

    • b0nz, we\’re a small internal team here at SCEA San Diego, and unless someone on the team is keeping secrets, we didn\’t work on the titles you mentioned. However, Teri has worked on actual pinball machines before, and she has a collection of them that would make the average old-school arcade lover drool. If you\’re a pinball fan, I really think you\’ll be pleased with any of the Pinball Heroes tables.

  • No disc, no sale.

  • I remember reporting on the ESRB listings a few days ago, didn’t expect to see the games so soon! Count me in for probably two! :)

  • This game looks fantastic. I’m definitely going to look into buying this! Is there going to be a demo for the game or am I going to have to buy 1 table first? Also, will there be any bundles to save money? At the moment I only want the PAIN table but a bundle just might persuade me ;)

    • Jordan, I\’m glad to hear that you\’re feeling Pinball Heroes. The tables are only for sale individually, and we don\’t have any plans for a demo. As I mentioned in the post, if you like pinball, you\’ll be pleased with any table you play. If you like any of the games that our tables are based on, you\’ll really enjoy the tables. If you like both pinball AND the games we\’re based on, this game is the hotness.

  • I am a big pinball fan and these look great but due to the price ill stick with my Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for my PSP it has 10 tables for only $16

  • Looks good but $4 per table is a little pushing it when Zen is $2.50 per table and PHOF is $2.30. I’ll be passing on this one.

  • Pinball lover here. I have Pinball Hall of Fame and Zen Pinball for PS3.

    One word Sony: OVERPRICED

    These tables aren’t as good as what else is available. Even Metroid Pinball for DS looks better than these.

    Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, which contains a lot more and a lot better content is what PSP pinball lovers should buy.

    WHERE IS THE WILLIAMS COLLECTION FOR DOWNLOAD?

  • Mr. Coker thanks for replying.. is there anyways you guys can make a pack for all tables? Meaning one can buy 1 Pack for $3.99, but if one want all of them, maybe make it 4 for $9.99 (example)? or something like that…Please let us know, becuase WE LOVE DEALS!!! :)

    • DZORMAGEN, while I do have many extraordinary powers, including the ability to belch the alphabet, I do not have the power to make bundles. However, I\’m not the only person at SCEA who\’s reading your comments…. (they\’re listening!)

  • Seems to expensive to me, but maybe I’ll get the Uncharted one.
    If it was on PS3 with trophies I would for sure. :D

  • Looks pretty sweet! :) Too bad I can’t buy it though!!

  • are these minis?

  • Thanks for the post, Mr. Coker! I for one think these boards look terrific. Personally, I don’t think $16 is a bad price for four well-made pinball boards (or $3.99 individually). They’re not pushing a billion polygons or anything, but it’s not easy to create and balance a pinball board either. :) Looks like a lot of love for pinball went into these from what I see.

    C’mon update! I have to leave my office in 5 minutes and I want to play something on the commute home :D

    • Thanks, NeoGutsman. I\’ve said it before, and I\’ll say it again – We\’ve made a really slick pinball game. I hope to hear your thoughts on it once you\’ve played a bit.

  • I would love a bundle but I really just want the Uncharted and Hot shots tables. Maybe I’ll pick one up for now.

  • Any chance of these coming to the PS3? I realize Zen Pinball is already available, but I’d love to play these tables in 1080p!

  • The game looks awesome, SOLD!!!:D

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