While I have my criticisms of Farsight's work on The Pinball Arcade [Free], the company has done a valuable service to the history of gaming and pinball fans all over the world with the game. The developers have painstakingly re-created tons of classic tables in digital form, often navigating a ridiculous labyrinth of licenses to do so. Because of that, I've often wondered if and when certain tables would start disappearing due to licenses expiring, but I never expected the news that Farsight delivered yesterday. The current owner of the Williams/Bally pinball IP has decided that it doesn't want to renew its agreement with Farsight, which means every last one of its tables will be pulled from sale as of June 30th.
This is, to be frank, a devastating blow for the app. Of the 94 tables currently available for purchase through The Pinball Arcade, 61 are either Bally or Williams tables. This list includes some high-profile favorites like The Addams Family, Terminator 2, Medieval Madness, Black Knight, and many, many more. The complete list of tables to be pulled has been posted by Farsight on the game's Facebook page. Farsight states that The Pinball Arcade will carry on without Bally/Williams, with the next spate of releases including all of the tables from Stern Pinball Arcade [Free]. Releases beyond that will have to come from existing partners Stern, Gottlieb, Alvin G. and Company, and any other manufacturers that Farsight can make deals with. It's not the end of the world,...