Pinball Is Getting the Best Things from Video Games

The machine is still mechanical. Now it can remember you, too.

One of the most interesting changes happening in modern pinball isn't that machines are becoming video games. They aren't. The physical ball, flippers, ramps, targets and mechanical toys are still what make pinball unique—and that's exactly why we love it.

What is changing is the software around that mechanical experience. Modern machines are increasingly borrowing some of the best ideas from video games: progression, achievements, persistent collections, unlockable abilities and reasons to come back for another game.

And that can make an already great pinball machine considerably more engaging.

Fallout: Your Character Actually Progresses

Fallout may be the clearest example yet.

Stern has introduced a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. progression system that follows the player's characters across games through Insider Connected. Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck can all be developed, with progress carrying from one session to the next. Stern says reaching Level 10 in all seven attributes unlocks additional character modes. Players can also keep track of their junk collection.

That's a very video-game-like concept, but it doesn't replace the pinball. You still have to physically shoot the machine to earn that progression.

And visually, Fallout is already one of the most exciting machines to customise. Our Fallout Pinball Mods collection extends the artwork with WizBlades, WizPanels and complete sets for the different models.

Pokémon: Building Your Own Collection

Pokémon takes the idea in another direction.

With code 0.86, Stern added Achievements, an official Pokémon Collection inside Insider Connected and 31 additional Pokémon. The latest update also introduced new modes including Pikachu vs. Mimikyu, Bulbasaur 2, Squirtle 2 and Charmander 2.

That changes the feeling of progression completely.

Instead of every game being an isolated event, you're gradually building something that belongs to your profile. You can play today, catch more Pokémon, come back tomorrow and continue building the collection.

It's remarkably close to the satisfaction of filling an album or completing a collection in a video game—except you're doing it with a real steel ball.

And naturally, Pokémon is also a fantastic canvas for custom artwork. Our Best Pokémon Pinball Mods guide covers some of the ways collectors are extending the machine's visual world.

Transformers: When the Machine Starts Teaching You

Then there's TRANSFORMERS: More Than Meets the Eye, which is taking the idea in yet another direction.

The machine already introduced its Cyber Coin wallet, allowing players to earn Cyber Coins and use them to unlock special challenge modes.

But the latest 0.92.0 code adds something particularly interesting: Prime Training.

Instead of simply playing another complete game, you can enter a dedicated training environment and practise specific skills. There are separate Training, Mission Prep and Multiball sections, including skillshot practice, flipper-technique demonstrations, shot and target drills, individual missions and practice versions of five multiballs.

That's a genuinely useful video-game concept being applied to pinball.

You don't have to wait through an entire game to practise the shot you keep missing. You can go straight in and work on it.

We've also got a Best Transformers Pinball Mods guide if you're looking at the machine from the customisation side. And the Transformers MTMTE Premium WizPanels are a particularly easy way to extend the G1 artwork across the speaker area.

Sonic: Collecting Emeralds and Unlocking Powers

Sonic the Hedgehog from Jersey Jack Pinball is another great example, and its recent software development makes the point even clearer.

The game already revolves around collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds, completing zones and progressing through boss battles.

And the latest 0.940 update has expanded that progression with the Master Emerald Mission and seven Chaos Emerald powers. Each Emerald now affects a different aspect of the game—for example, one improves Badnik Attack, another improves Find Froggy rewards, another increases Chao Garden time, while the Green Emerald advances the Master Emerald Mission.

That's exactly the kind of layered progression that video games have been using for decades.

But again, the important distinction is that you're not replacing pinball with a video game.

You're adding another layer to pinball.

The Best of Both Worlds

This is probably where modern pinball is heading.

The mechanical foundation remains completely unique. There is nothing quite like watching a real ball disappear into a physical mechanism, hearing a solenoid fire, feeling the machine shake and then trying to make the next shot with your own hands.

Software can't replace that.

What software can do is give you a reason to keep coming back.

A character can become stronger. A collection can become larger. An achievement can remain locked until you earn it. A new mode can appear months after you bought the machine. A training system can help you master something that seemed impossible.

And that's a powerful combination.

Pinball gets to keep everything that makes pinball great—and borrow some of the things that make video games so addictive to play.

That doesn't make pinball less mechanical.

It makes the mechanical experience deeper.