How come Zen can use top licenses?

I never really play Zen on my iPad. I find the physics being really weird on them. I get tempted though since I am a great fan of South Park and Walking dead. Since the discussion here is so often that "we can't do that because of the expensive license". How come they can? Without kickstarters?!

Don't Microsoft studios own Zen pinball, if so there is the answer.

There's a few possible answers to this.

1. Zen is willing (and maybe has the deep pockets) to lay out the money for the license first, knowing they will have enough sales on the back end to cover it.
2. Whereas TPA has to pay out a royalty to WMS/Stern/Gottlieb for every table sold, PLUS royalty to a license, Zen only has the license to cover.
3. Since most of their licenses cover more than one table, and in the case of Star Wars and Marvel over 10 each, they can spread the cost over many tables. TPA gets a license for one specific table, often because there is no other table that would use the same license. This means all their eggs are in one basket. This is why FS making block purchase deals with studios is the way forward.
4. Zen is just really good at negotiating deals?
5. With the tables being entirely original, perhaps the license gets a say so in the actual design or elements used, therefore feeling like they retain control of their brand. With tables 20+ years old, that brand has often changed looks or is no longer even promotable. Therefore it is of no use for the license owners to get it back out in front of an audience.

My understanding is FarSight is making a stronger push towards licenses, especially since most Data East tables and any modern Stern table will be such. Would be nice if we never had to see a kickstarter again.

Interesting thoughts and feedback.

It would be amazing if they could solve the licensing problem further on so we can see more licensed tables further on. Those often seem to be the best tables (with lots of exceptions of course)! Also, we have worked our way down many of the better non-licensed tables and the best to come are licensed in my opinion. There seem to be cheap licenses out there, I mean we got Starship Troopers w/o kickstarter. That license can't be much more expensive than Dr Who?!

Zen is, no matter what, too far off with the physics to be something I will invest money in. It is more of an iPad-game than an actual pinball game that you can play by your favorite game platform. I can't believe how they could miss out on something as crucial as displaying the price of a table. One literally has to try to purchase a table in order to know the price. Weird.

Storm Chaser said:

Interesting thoughts and feedback.

It would be amazing if they could solve the licensing problem further on so we can see more licensed tables further on. Those often seem to be the best tables (with lots of exceptions of course)! Also, we have worked our way down many of the better non-licensed tables and the best to come are licensed in my opinion. There seem to be cheap licenses out there, I mean we got Starship Troopers w/o kickstarter. That license can't be much more expensive than Dr Who?!

Zen is, no matter what, too far off with the physics to be something I will invest money in. It is more of an iPad-game than an actual pinball game that you can play by your favorite game platform. I can't believe how they could miss out on something as crucial as displaying the price of a table. One literally has to try to purchase a table in order to know the price. Weird.

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Starship Troopers didn't have 7 lead actors prominently displayed, or the notoriously hard to license Dalek on it. The licensing of Doctor Who is so tricky, the 'modern' version of the show almost didn't even get to use Daleks in it. So don't let the stature of a project determine how easy a license is to get. And as we learned with Addams Family, sometimes it's a matter of even getting the people on the phone, or working your way through greedy agents.

I've purchased all but the last 7 Zen tables for a grand total of $25 (I forget the exact number now) thanks to Steam and Humble Bundle sales. Prices are always easy to find on through those stores. Didn't know it was more of a pain with iOS. There are quite a few tables in their collection that could be turned into real tables with only minor alterations, and though the physics are a bit 'heavy' in my opinion, it still uses the same skill set of any other pinball app. What it lacks is the nostalgia of having played in an arcade.

Also, didn't Zen pick up the Star Wars and Marvel License before Disney gobbled them up. That probabably made it much cheaper. disney is netoriously difficult to negotiate with.

Zen isn't better at licensing. It just looks like they are because of a perception bias from multiple endpoints.

Zen has the entire world of properties to choose from, so has the luxury of choosing the easiest to deal with. Farsight/TPA lacks that luxury since they're locked in to choosing from specific historical properties. If Zen can't make a particular deal, we just never notice as they go do something else instead. If TPA can't make a particular deal, it's a very visible gap and sore point.

Put it this way. Neither Zen nor TPA has done a Simpsons license. Only one of them gets any heat for it.

vikingerik said:

Zen isn't better at licensing. It just looks like they are because of a perception bias from multiple endpoints.

Zen has the entire world of properties to choose from, so has the luxury of choosing the easiest to deal with. Farsight/TPA lacks that luxury since they're locked in to choosing from specific historical properties. If Zen can't make a particular deal, we just never notice as they go do something else instead. If TPA can't make a particular deal, it's a very visible gap and sore point.

Put it this way. Neither Zen nor TPA has done a Simpsons license. Only one of them gets any heat for it.

Click to expand...

Good points.

Even pre Disney acquisition, scooping up Star Wars and Marvel is pretty good negotiating I'd say.

I do agree with FarSight being hampered by only tables available to them and not creating their own. I heard rumors relating to South Park regarding that very issue.