http://forum.zenstudios.com/showthread.php?t=4158
It’s a truly historic day here at the House of Ideas, as Marvel’s The Avengers is finally making its way to American theaters. I’ve seen it. It’s awesome. I’m pretty sure you’ll agree with me soon. (Maybe you already do.)
As Interactive Manager at Marvel, it’s been my pleasure to work with Zen Studios on the video-pinball adaptation of the film, which, as one of four great tables in Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles, should be headed your way in just a few weeks. It looks a little something like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbyHf9ZmHA
Cool trailer, I know, but you can see it pretty much anywhere. When Sid Shuman and Jeff Rubenstein – who preside over the PlayStation Blog with legendary Thanos-ian tyranny – demanded I present “a li’l somethin’ extra for our minions,” who was I to say no? So, here you have it, my fellow peons – five cool things about “Marvel’s The Avengers” pinball…
5) Zen Pinball 2!
“Marvel’s The Avengers” and the other three tables within the Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles four-pack help to usher in Zen’s new PlayStation pinball platform on the same launch date (best I can give you now: “soon”). You can read all the details here, but the basics you need to know are 1) it houses all past Marvel Pinball and Zen Pinball titles under one virtual roof, 2) it does more stuff than those other two titles, and 3) you can switch between playing on PS3 and Vita at no extra charge. Excelsior, indeed.
4) Real Movie Assets
See that Quinjet? And those 3D character models? Oh, and those S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors with all sorts of high-tech-looking pictures of countries and stuff (you may have gotten a better look at Comic-Con)? They’re all taken directly from digital assets used in the film. So, that is the Quinjet. Those are Iron Man and Hulk. Those are the same S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors with all sorts of high-tech-looking pictures of countries and stuff.
3) You’re Not Just a Ball – You’re a Character…in the Form of a Ball
In terms of sheer gameplay, this is what makes “Marvel’s The Avengers” one of the most unique video pinball tables you’ll ever play. As you may have noticed, none of the screenshots feature a traditional silver ball for this table – that’s because no traditional silver balls exist at any time while you play. Instead, an Avenger of your choosing – represented by the balls you see above – is dropped right into the thick of things, each boasting his or her own unique buffs based on character specialties. (My personal favorite: An exclusive bonus to the skillshot when you’re Hawkeye.) I look forward to watching the Zen Studios forums and seeing how sequence of Avenger selection affects the battle plan for all the hardcore Zen fans out there.
2) Thor vs. Hulk!
‘Nuff said.
1) Movie Guys Helped Make It
This table was a true team effort. In addition to our games group here at Marvel and, most especially, the immense talent at Zen Studios, “Marvel’s The Avengers” features what may very well be a video pinball first – actual filmmaker involvement.
One of the coolest parts of the development experience for me was shooting ideas around with Executive Producer Jeremy Latcham, Creative Manager of R&D Will Corona Pilgrim and few others of Marvel Studios’ finest. They were genuinely enthused about the process, and I credit them fully with coming up with inspiring some of the missions, as well as the idea of having the Helicarrier act as the setting for the board. Once things were in full swing, Will was especially helpful, providing detailed feedback on everything from character animations to the minute details of the table’s script.
All told, the film team provided some invaluable ideas and feedback. You can tell there’s a lot of talent there – the type that’s capable of creating what very well may be the best super hero movie ever, I’d say…
I'm confused by the lack of a Zen Pinball 2 mention in this announcement.
The other caveat is that those tables are the only old tables that are coming to ZP2 on PS4, as they were only allowed to bring 20 tables over, so it's all new tables from here on out for all three platforms. Just buy the tables first on PS3 to get them on all three platforms.
Hey everyone, Zen Studios here with a quick update: the release of Zen Pinball 2 on PS4 here in North America has been pushed ever-so-slightly, now releasing next Tuesday.
When you’re working on a new platform with a complicated game, there might be a few hiccups along the way. Everyone at Sony working behind the scenes to make our game releases possible have been incredible and very accommodating. We’re so lucky to have an incredible team (who probably rarely get thanked) making it possible for us to get our games in your hands!
If you need your Zen Pinball fix now, Doctor Strange is still releasing today on PS3 and Vita for $2.99 (and yes, it will be on PS4 next week).
In advance of our PS4 release next week, we want to give you some detailed information about how the import process works. Please bookmark this post in case you need this information next week.
There are a few details that we really need you all to pay close attention to so you have a smooth transition from PS3 to PS4. As you may have read in the announcement post, if you bought the tables coming to PS4 in Zen Pinball 2 on PS3 or PS Vita you can import those to Zen Pinball 2 on PS4 at no charge. Here are more details on how that works:
Cross Buy Tables
- Star Wars Pinball
- Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force
- Marvel Pinball
- Marvel Pinball:Avengers Chronicles
- Marvel’s Doctor Strange
- Plants vs. Zombies Pinball
- Epic Quest
- Paranormal
- Earth Defense
The actual import process is pretty easy, but here is a step by step walkthrough that you can reference if you encounter any issues:
- The tables can only import from Zen Pinball 2 PS3 > Zen Pinball 2 PS4. You cannot import from Marvel Pinball or Star Wars Pinball on PS3 > Zen Pinball 2 on PS4. You CAN import from Marvel or Star Wars Pinball on PS3 > Zen Pinball 2 on PS3 and then > PS4.
- There is no going backwards from PS4 > PS3. If you want to play the tables on PS3 in the future, we suggest you buy them on PS3 first and then import to PS4.
- For those of you who downloaded any of the applicable tables via PS+, you can import to PS4 just the same. However, if your PS+ account expires, you will lose access to the content.
- Press the square button (Import Tables) on the collection screen to start the import process
- Please wait while the game is searching for tables available for import
- If there are tables available to import, the store will offer the next batch of content it has found. Press the x button (Enter) on each offered content’s download icon to add them to downloads, then press the circle button (Back) to return to the collection screen, and if there are still tables to import, the store will offer them in the next batch. Repeat this process until all content is added to the download queue.
- Alternatively, if you want to import just a specific table, you can go to the table’s menu, wait a few seconds while the game checks for availability and press the “Download and play!” button when it appears. As the store comes up, press the x button (Enter) on each offered content’s download icon to add them to downloads, and press the circle button (Back) to return to the game.
- Wait until all downloads finish (you can check their progress in the PS4 user interface under Notifications/Downloads), and there you go! You can play your imported tables straight away!
If you find the process is not working for you, we have posted a comprehensive FAQ in our forums and are standing by to answer your questions.
