Adieu, My Xbox Bretheren

Gentlemen, I just can't justify sticking around, week after week, to get burned.

A friend of mine will be receiving his Nexus 7 later this week and so he sold me his ICS-enabled Touchpad on the cheap. I've downloaded TPA and set it up with a Sixaxis. It is running like a champ, and while I was willing to support both platforms, the writing is on the wall: TPA and Xbox don't mix.

Good luck, long life, and joy. Hopefully you guys will get what you've been waiting for someday.

Wish I could join you, but I've only a 360.

I deserted Xbox too, but only cause the ios version is so great.

I have my HTC EVO 3D to get me by, but I'm sticking with the Xbox 360 because playing The Pinball Arcade on the PS3 with lag and those god awful bumper buttons doesn't make it any better than not having the DLC tables at all.

PiN WiZ said:

playing The Pinball Arcade on the PS3 with lag and those god awful bumper buttons doesn't make it any better than not having the DLC tables at all.

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I guess we should be thankful there is no lag.

Richard B said:

I guess we should be thankful there is no lag.

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Believe me, I've played the PS3 version for an extended period of time and while it does look great, the lag and bumper buttons completely ruin the pinball experience for me.

I'm still going to wait for the 360. I have the iOS version to play in the mean time, but the 360 tables run better than iPad 1. I'm still confident that it will come out, but I wish MS wasn't so stupid about updates. Farsight, is there anyway to give a petition to MS or something? Other things were hindered by their inconsistant process and it's getting old.

I've always been a 360 guy, but I got a PS3 on sale a few months ago just so I could play the Sony exclusive MLB The Show 12 (best sports game ever).....but now the PS3 has really come in handy for TPA. Fortunately, I don't have any lag on my setup. I do favor the 360 controller (although I don't mind the PS3 controller either). As a whole, I prefer the PS3, but I am still planning to get the DLC on the 360 too when it's finally released......and I do feel bad for the diehard 360 guys.....but I guess the silver lining is that you still have 4 more tables than the diehard PC guys...

I'm a little disappointed with the negative comments towards 360 due to Pinball Arcade, myself. I didn't get it solely for Pinball Arcade and I enjoy the system quite a bit. I have been playing Bionic Commando Rearmed, Bayonetta, and Monster World IV (which I just beat). I also have a few of the Cave shmups for the system, which was the main reason I got 360, and I was not disappointed. I played over 20 or so hours in Skyrim and I'm liking it quite a bit. I still plan to get a PS3 eventually, but I'm not disappointed with the 360.

I'm as angry as the next guy about the DLC, but the phone versions simply are no substitute for the console.

DJ Clae said:

I'm as angry as the next guy about the DLC, but the phone versions simply are no substitute for the console.

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But a tablet, with a Sixaxis, really is. :/

I actually love my Xbox otherwise, M$'s BS notwithstanding. Been loving Spelunky.

Some people seem to be suggesting that they are leaving the 360 behind as a platform for good, switching to the PS3 or tablet, entirely based on some Pinball DLC being delayed. Am I understanding that correctly, because if I am, there are some people who need psychiatric help. And I don't mean that in a spiteful way, I am genuinely concerned for the mental welfare of these TPA patrons.

We didn't have TPA at all a few months ago, yet somehow you found a way to struggle through life. How quickly a luxury becomes a necessity.

The Xbox 360 suited you right back then and I promise you, it still does now. You can't see that because some strange pinball fever has taken over you and you think switching allegiances at the 11th hour to what everyone agrees is the runner-up at best this generation (the PS3) is the answer to your prayers, or worse; a tablet, which is, as good as tablets are these days, is no main gaming platform for anyone.

I for one can't imagine sitting on my couch squinting at a 10" screen, with a 40" TV hanging idly in front of me. Or for that matter, having to deal with the PS3's issues, which, as others have pointed out, include flipper lag which I imagine is going to prove a harder bug to fix than those that prolong our wait for Xbox DLC. This WILL get straightened out, we WILL get our DLC, We WILL catch up with everyone else. The PS3 on the other hand may be scarred with title-wide issues forever.

So please people, and again I say this without malice; grow up, cut the bravado, and let's see an end to all this melodrama.

DJ Clae said:

I'm as angry as the next guy about the DLC, but the phone versions simply are no substitute for the console.

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Agreed - don't want to play the Android version anymore since I got xbox (and that is playing with sixaxis). Each new Android DLC release breaks something new or causes problems where they werent. Ios must be better due to catering for less hardware variants.

Only bought xbox for TPA though, so until DLC is released I'm trying to think of alternative uses for xbox (I'm not a massive launch table pack fan - but I do appreciate RBION a lot more though since DLC delay).
Other uses I've come up with so far (just so my £150 isn't completely wasted) are.....
1 Plate Warmer (horizontal mounted)
2 Hand Drier (vertical mounted)

Try Pinball FX 2 and the PHOF Williams Collection for xbox.

xNiCeGuYx said:

Try Pinball FX 2 and the PHOF Williams Collection for xbox.

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Thanks for the suggestions.

Not keen on pinball fx2, and don't want to waste £15 on Williams collection if dlc is to be released anytime soon.

I've has 1200 MS points on my account for ages now waiting for the DLC. I'll be spending it tomorrow on Tony Hawk. I wonder if this is the plan MS were going for all along?

I would have spent these points on DLC over Tony Hawk, but now I have a month or so to re-stock points in time for the new tables.

Planned or not, MS will be getting an extra 1200 points out of me. I'm not complaining (I love the Tony Hawk games), just making an observation.

DopedToInfinity said:

I've has 1200 MS points on my account for ages now waiting for the DLC. I'll be spending it tomorrow on Tony Hawk. I wonder if this is the plan MS were going for all along?

I would have spent these points on DLC over Tony Hawk, but now I have a month or so to re-stock points in time for the new tables.

Planned or not, MS will be getting an extra 1200 points out of me. I'm not complaining (I love the Tony Hawk games), just making an observation.

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Microsoft's certification process is notoriously strict, and consequently lengthy, painful and frustrating. I have listened to countless XBLA developers grumbling about it, including, if I recall correctly, Zen, the makers of the Microsoft published Pinball FX. I have seen many other Microsoft published games and DLC repeatedly fail certification and suffer serious delays. It's not just FarSight, and it's certainly not just TPA.

I'm not having a go at you, Doped, I'm sure you're just echoing the sentiments of many others on these boards, but there is no conspiracy here. I just think FarSight have over-stretched themselves releasing not only a game but a steady flow of DLC on multiple platforms simultaneously. It seems to me they only have the resources to meet their intended release dates if bugs are not taken into account, which, if I was being kind, I would say was optimistic. Perhaps a better word is naïve.

It's all the more frustrating because we can see all the other platforms getting the goods that we can't have, but I think we all just need to be a little less impatient and a lot less cynical.

Hear, hear, Ozzpot. Sensible and accurate comments all.


Also, if you want to hear a vocal opponent of Microsoft's XBLA cert process, listen to any interview Jonathan Blow has ever given. Of particular interest to me was last year's GiantBomb E3 podcast series where they had him on opposite stepto and e from Xbox and the three of them quickly devolved into a way "inside baseball" argument about technical certification requirements. It was very interesting. Listening to several such discussions on gaming podcasts has prepared me to be not at all surprised by the difficulties a small and naïve studio like FarSight are having with this platform.

What makes me mad is not the delay, but the fact it was delayed over something so stupid. Guys that yank their cards are the same ones they have to warn "do not drink" on a bottle of sulfuric acid, or "do not iron shirt while wearing it."

Yup, team meat, jonathan blow, the minecraft dudes and recently the guys behind spelunky. All high profile " indies" that got pretty burned out by the cert process and wonderng if it was worth it all at the start. I'm sure once the cash came flowing in they were able to shrug it off, but it's a paingul learning process for sure.

To say goodbye to a platform (or claiming to do so) due to this seems very childish, then again that seems the norm on forums when people get dissatisfied. It never happens however.