Topic: fireball vs tornado

[benzter68]

I recently had the chance to play on a fireball table.  And although it may be considered almost sacrilegious on this site, I have to say that I kinda liked it more than a tornado.  As "blasphemous" as it sounds, i just prefer the feel of a fireball table more than a tornado.

What do you guys think?

Anyone agree or disagree with me?

[johnwallan]

Like Fireball or not... no one can stop a good idea... I own both and I think the tornado is a bit "boring" in comparison... the fireball coin incorporates some incredible secondary features for home, tournament, and commercial use...     I don't play at a high level, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

This said, the Fireball is hard to purchase and source parts for at this time in north america.  If you have an Asian connection... no problem, it seems to have a foothold there; yet the containers don't seem to come to North America at this point.  The fireball is a new generation table, but has major challenges getting acceptance in north america among the Veterans.  The reasons include lack of itsf endorsement, tournaments, commercial table placements, as well distribution and sales issues.

On a positive note... rumour has it a new table is on the horizon from fireball...  I'm wondering how they could improve it?  It is damn near perfect... 

I think Tornado has calculated the cost versus benefit of design changes in a declining marketplace.   Having a 20yr standard table that everyone knows well fosters national and international competition even with a declining user base.   New commercial table designs and entrants face a marketing brick wall, that is low demand and de facto loyalty (as long as there is a Tornado standard).

What I would like to see from Tornado is to more less maintain their design... but offer better stronger rust free rods, minimal lube bushings, better "unwrapped" handles, stronger pin and banking figures, an easier leveling system, integrated leveling indicators, a faster style coinop ball, improved quick storage considerations ( including flush table top/scoring beads, optional sliding type table feet, and quick change bar removal).  These would allow the same old table design to be considered for more locations and homes,  stay in ideal condition longer, and improve the play-ability and experience for all users.

[kayko2000]

Involved in distribution of both tables brands in Asia, I think I can chime in a little.

We (Asia) started out primarily with Tornado, but over the last 2-3 years have moved almost exclusively to Fireball.  There are no historical reasons to stay with Tornado, so the reasons are both present and forward-looking as well as economic.  I won't even touch on playability here.

1. Since Tornado dropped out of ITSF and was replaced by Fireball, holding Tornado tournaments makes much less sense as no points can be awarded.  This was the first BIG factor that caused most Asian countries to make the switch.  Unfortunately, Tornado just never had enough of a foothold here to grip on to.  And I say that as a player who still owns a T-3000 and only plays on Fireball during tournaments.
2. Being based primarily out of Asia, Fireball is capable of having a distinct marketing presence.
3. Fireball quality doesn't lose to Tornado, and has the benefit of coming late to the game - thereby has the advantage of learning from others' good qualities as well as mistakes.  It's much harder for Tornado to make changes to a table that has been in production for more than a generation.  Fireball is much more open to changes, and it has to be because they wouldn't get anywhere otherwise.
4. Fireball's comparable models are much cheaper to buy (and with manufacturing in Asia, freight is also much cheaper) - and when salaries are 1/3 of what they are in the US, this makes a big difference.

So, Dennis and Fireball have made big steps from Day 1 to show how serious they were about creating a good table.  Fireball tables probably outnumber Tornado 5-1 here now.  Pretty much all major tournaments held in Asia are Fireball, and this trend will only continue.

[RobYates]

I recently played in a Fireball even in Montreal, and had some time to play on Fireball before the tournament. I have to agree that Fireball (IMO) is the best American style foosball table. Granted I am a Bonzini player who began to play Tornado only about 5 years ago. So I am not a hardcore tornado player who is used to only playing Tornado.

But I like that the ball doesn't react quiet as fast off the man on fireball, and I like the weight of the ball (Tornado ball feels a little heavy for the table). Most importantly I like the ball control. You can dribble side to side as if on Bonzini, and if a ball is almost out of reach you can "Snag" the ball, and keep it in your zone. I feel like there was far less slop goals on fireball then on tornado, and for all those reasons I like the table a lot. As a Bonzini player, I can shoot a front pin as if I'm on bonzini and I can shoot a pull/rollover like on tornado.

I just wish there were Fireball tournaments in USA.

[MisterT]

Hi, I've had a foosball table for 14 years and it's finally time to send it off to the dump. I wore the chrome off the rods and finally broke one of my players. Although, in my opinion, my old table was decent enough to provide lots of fun, it was not in the same category as a Tornado. For my next table, I was considering a T3000, BUT after reading all of the great comments about the Fireball, I decided to head in that direction. Although the Bonzini B90 has a nice look to it, but in one of their promo videos, someone spins a rod at the end of the match and the way that the players come to rest shows that they're not balanced. Even my old mid-range table had balanced men. My old table had a one-man goalie, and I quite like that style of play, but only on tables where the corners are raised without the use of overlaid inserts.
I spent a few hours trying to hunt for a Fireball supplier in the Houston, TX area with no luck. Fireball's Facebook page hasn't been updated in over a year. Their US website is useless and does not appear to be much of a priority.  Brad Laurine has left the company, and it doesn't look like there is anybody running the show in the US. I posted a request on their website for someone to email me with pricing and delivery times, but no response.
I understand that they are an Asian company, but does anybody know what's going on with Fireball USA? How do you buy one of these tables (I see one on Amazon)? Should I go with a Tornado T3000 instead because at least it is available and locally supported?
If you know what's going on with Fireball, please share.
Thanks!