Pure Pinball

Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic is a pinball simulation video game franchise developed and owned by Swedish studio Legendo Games (known as Iridon Interactive at the time of the release of the franchise's debut title). Currently, five titles exist within the franchise, including four released games and one unreleased.

Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic
Franchise logo for Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic
Genre(s)Digital Pinball
Developer(s)Legendo Games as Iridon Interactive
Publisher(s)Legendo Games as Iridon Interactive (Windows), Simon & Schuster (Windows)
XS Games (Xbox)
Platform(s)Xbox, Microsoft Windows, iOS
First releasePure Pinball
May 28, 2003
Latest releaseFCB Pinball: The Official Pinball of FC Barcelona
June 10, 2014

All released titles under the franchise name have been well-received, and are often praised for their outstandingly realistic pinball physics. The franchise's first title, Pure Pinball, received a total score of 8.7 out of 10 on Metacritic[1] for its unique design and impeccable physics engine.

Gameplay

Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic games are all digital pinball simulators. That is to say, balls are released onto the central chamber of the board, and the player controls various flippers and bumpers throughout the simulated pinball table in order manipulate the ball into certain positions and score points. The games' engines mimic the physics of real pinball machines with precision and accuracy. Although every title in the franchise shares this central style, each game is equipped with additional themes. These themes involve not only aesthetic changes to the look of the pinball table upon which the games take place, but also unique sets of missions, challenges and game modes.

In-game, the player can choose any of the 12 different camera settings (for example – ball close-up, ball follow, complete overview and traditional scrolling style). This is made possible by the use of real-time 3D graphics. Pure Pinball also features true flipper control and a multiball-enabled physics engine which calculates the ball's movement over 1500 times per second.[2]

Development and marketing

Some sources cite a Hungarian developer as the original creator of the Xbox and Microsoft Windows debut of the Pure Pinball franchise, but the truth of the matter is somewhat contrary to this; developers in Hungary were contracted by Iridon Interactive as individuals rather than a full development team. The majority of the artwork and table design, as well as all music (composed by Carl Larsson, a staff musician at Iridon Interactive at the time), sound effects and voiceovers, were done by members of Iridon Interactive's development studio in Sweden. It is for this reason that the 2003 version indicates Iridon Interactive as the sole developer (and the now-defunct XS Games as the retail publisher for the North American markets). As such, the Pure Pinball franchise has its roots firmly planted in Sweden.

The first title of the franchise was published in North America by Simon & Schuster for Microsoft Windows and XS Games for the Xbox, released on May 28, 2003 and August 5, 2004, respectively. In Europe, the PC version of the game was self-published by Iridon Interactive and localized to German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, and Czech markets by Iridon Interactive and distributed by an assortment of sales partners, including Koch Media in Germany.[3][4]

Releases
  • Pure Pinball: Big Beach Miami (2015) — Developed for iOS and Apple TV in 2015 but left unreleased, Pure Pinball: Big Beach Miami[5] is an installment of the Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic franchise which is modeled after beach volleyball, a popular sport in Miami.
  • FCB Pinball: The Official Pinball of FC Barcelona (2014) — FCB Pinball: The Official Pinball of FC Barcelona was co-developed by Legendo Games using a new, proprietary engine developed by collaborators NENA Innovation.[6] This particular title of the franchise featured a prominent football theme. Upon its release in 2014, FCB Pinball saw great success in the mobile games market and has been endorsed as an official digital product of FC Barcelona. Currently, this is the most recent video game release by Legendo Games, as the company's game development branch is on hiatus.
  • Pure Pinball: T-Rex Savage (2013) — Pure Pinball: T-Rex Savage[7] was released in 2013 on iOS, netting over 100,000 sales during its run on the platform. This title, however, is no longer published; in 2017, iOS 11 marked the end of support by Apple for 32-bit applications, requiring developers to upgrade their apps to 64-bit.[8] This would have required a full rewrite of the game, and so the sale of Pure Pinball: T-Rex Savage[7] by Apple was discontinued. This iteration of Pure Pinball featured a theme centered around the world's most-loved carnivorous dinosaur, the Tyrannosaurus rex.
  • Pure Pinball 2.0 (2004) — In 2004, an enhanced REDUX version of the original title, dubbed Pure Pinball 2.0, was released exclusively for PC by Iridon Interactive,[9] featuring improved graphics and sound. This title is still available for purchase on GOG,[10] a platform which exists predominantly for discontinued retro games.
  • Pure Pinball (2003) — Pure Pinball was first in the line of titles[11] released by Legendo Games. Pure Pinball featured several themed pinball tables, which included World War (a war-themed table), Runaway Train (featuring a train heist theme) and Excessive Speed (using a car racing theme). The original 2003 release also included a sci-fi-themed table called HyperSpace. Each of the four tables included unique structure, mechanics and game modes. This title is still available for purchase on Amazon.[12]

Pure Pinball is set to make a comeback in 2021.[13] The franchise will be abandoning the development of mobile versions of its games and will instead be released for various next-gen consoles.

Trivia

Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic plays a large part in Sweden's longstanding reputation as the trademark nation of digital pinball developers. Pinball Dreams was developed in 1992 by Digital Illusions, kickstarting this tradition back before the turn of the century. The Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic franchise has continued to keep this reputation alive. Although there has been a plurality of digital pinball games created by Swedish developers, Pure Pinball: Steel Ball Magic is the only Swedish digital pinball franchise which is still up and running; all other franchises and titles have been discontinued.

Additional digital pinball titles of Swedish origin or influence include but are not limited to the following:

References
  1. Praise for Pure Pinball. Metacritic. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. "Pure Pinball – game information". Legendo Games. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  3. Pure Pinball (PC) – technical information. Gamespot. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  4. Pure Pinball (Xbox) – technical information. Gamespot. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  5. Pure Pinball: Big Beach Miami gameplay preview. YouTube. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  6. FCB Pinball on IMDb. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  7. Pure Pinball: T-Rex Savage gameplay trailer. YouTube. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  8. Apple mandates 64-bit support for apps from February 2014. MCV. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. Pure Pinball PC re-release. YouTube. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. Pure Pinball 2.0 REDUX available for purchase. GOG. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  11. Games by Legendo Games. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  12. Pure Pinball on Amazon. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  13. Legendo Games homepage. Legendo Games. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  14. Addiction Pinball credits for Stefan Boberg. Moby Games. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  15. Other credits for Stefan Boberg. Moby Games. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  16. UDS, formerly Liquid Dezign, contributes to Swedish digital pinball community with Slam Tilt. Moby Games. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
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