Pinball Arcade vs Pinball FX3
Pinball Arcade is a simulation game from FarSight Studios (2013) while Pinball FX3 is a simulation sports game from Zen Studios (2017).
What each one is
Steam files Pinball Arcade under Simulation. In contrast, it files Pinball FX3 under Simulation and Sports.
Pinball Arcade by FarSight Studios features exact recreations of the all-time greatest pinball tables from Stern Pinball® and Gottlieb® together in one game. Every flipper, bumper, sound effect, and display pixel has been painstakingly emulated in astonishing detail.
Pinball FX Classic is the biggest, most community focused pinball game ever created. Multiplayer matchups, user generated tournaments and league play create endless opportunity for pinball competition.
At a glance
| Pinball Arcade | Pinball FX3 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 6.3/10 | 7.6/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (74%, 4,174) | Very Positive (88%, 5,432) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 89/100 |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Install size | 20 GB | 6 GB |
| Steam Deck | unsupported | playable |
| Released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Developer | FarSight Studios | Zen Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Pinball Arcade vs Pinball FX3, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Pinball ArcadeSimulation gamePinball FX3Simulation sports gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Pinball ArcadePinball, Free to Play, SimulationPinball FX3Pinball, Free to Play, SimulationThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Pinball ArcadeScore 6.3 · 74% on SteamPinball FX3 ✓Score 7.6 · 88% on Steam · 89 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Pinball Arcade4,174 reviews · 9 add-ons · 20 GBPinball FX35,432 reviews · 34 add-ons · 6 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Pinball ArcadeFreePinball FX3FreeRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Pinball ArcadeUnsupportedPinball FX3 ✓PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Pinball FX3 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole cataloguePinball Arcade and Pinball FX3 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Pinball FX3 (GamingPickz Score 7.6)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Pinball FX3 (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Pinball FX3 (6 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
PinballFree to PlaySimulationArcadeCasualSingleplayerMultiplayerRetro
Where they differ
ClassicAction
PhysicsScore AttackFamily FriendlyRelaxing1990'sLocal Multiplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Pinball Arcade is relaxed, easy to pick up. Pinball FX3 is relaxed, easy to pick up.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Pinball Arcade and 1 for Pinball FX3. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Pinball Arcade and Pinball FX3 in scope?
Pinball Arcade has drawn 4,174 Steam reviews, ships 9 add-ons and installs in 20 GB. Pinball FX3 has drawn 5,432 Steam reviews, ships 34 add-ons and installs in 6 GB.
Is Pinball Arcade or Pinball FX3 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Pinball FX3 rates higher (7.6 to 6.3). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Pinball Arcade or Pinball FX3?
Pinball Arcade is cheaper right now at Free, against Free. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.