The hobby isn't imploding. The only byproduct of the crap year was that I only added one NIB game in 2016 (which is one more than I plan to add in 17 due to issues you laid out). However, my hobby of pinball is very strong. I added other used games in the last year, and I'll add more this year. I don't sell as much, but that is because the game I have is probably better than the game I'd buy. Manufacturers are a cool part of this hobby, but they are spitting the bit. Higher prices with lower quality, and that's from the best of the bunch? No thanks, I'll stick with the games I have.

We really need to make it clear that our hobby exists with or without the new game manufacturers. Thousands of games exist, and we can all enjoy pinball with or without them.

These guys have taken advantage of our passion and patience, and IMO 2016 is where it crossed the line. I'm done with all of them. Let's see if they can get back to what a "normal" company of their type is supposed to do: make quality & complete commercial grade coin operated machinery. Expect sales to rise from a great game that gains a great reputation, rather than expecting collectors to keep you afloat with blind buys up front.

Pinball has a history in gambling and it looks like that still exists.

2016 will go down as a year where many fools and their money were parted.

...and yet whenever it is announced the new Star Wars LE will sell out anyway.

No need to be so negative
Yes Stern has QC and code issues, as they have for the last eight years, nothing new

Yes a few startups did not deliver,while it sucks for those buyers, businesses do fail.

But for all that, stStern is producing, JJP seems to be now in the groove, spooky is steaming along at their own pace, highway is going well
Id say 2016 was a great year for pinball, and 2017 will be even better

Stern has had meaningless QC issues for ages. They were very responsive to them too. At worst your NIB game wouldn't be playable the first week or two. They would send you a part, you would bolt it in, and all was well. Now that it's a very expensive part in both cost and labor (playfield), it is something new. It takes six months to get a replacement, if you can get one at all. This is way different than getting a game with a bunch of loose screws or switches out of adjustment. It's all new.

If pinball can no longer earn on location, then to survive it needs to get it's cash elsewhere. It makes me smile to think so many are dumping so much cash into this industry, that it has no choice but to survive.

Also, many of these failures were starting to show in late 2014, so not exclusive to 2016. There were also some parts folks and Twisted Pins which should be part of the overall infamy list.

I think alot of the success stories from 2016 have been overlooked. Spooky delivered both RZ and Domino's in 2016 proving that they are a force to be reckoned with. Both Wrath of Olympus and Cptn Nemo came to fruition, and p3 wrapped up thier proto's and has announced that they are starting production. After a very big PR stumble AP shows promise and Heighway is delivering both FT and now Aliens. PPS delivered on its promise to get MMr to its customers. HomePin has been on the warpath creating and reproducing much needed components to keep our WMS games running and all signs point to them revealing their first fully flipping game in the near future. After all is said and done I would say that 2016 was a pretty good year for pinball.

2016 was also the year that a majority of the 2013/2014/2015 announced boutiques having been caught up in the overblown hype of a mass pinball revival, inevitably realise that the primary existing pinball consumer base just isn't sufficient to carry their visions of long term pinball machine mass production and either scaled down their original visions accordingly or sought outside investors to support their operations in the interim in order to remain solvent on a superficial level.

Without an expansion of the userbase, I fully expect there to be more of these realisations from new boutique pinball manufacturers in a similar pattern in 2017.

Was there an arm twister that forced attendees to pay and attend the Stern party?

As easy as not sending money or pre-order nothing,wait for the game to release,check reviews and decide if buy or not

This 2016 Infamy concept just ain't gonna catch on. It's just another year a bunch of shit happened.

besides we all know 1999 is the year that lives on in Pinball Infamy. Black monday when Williams shut down pinball the day after Expo.

There is definitely some weight to what you're trying to say, but keep in mind that things have probably been much worse. I would imagine that in the late 1990s, when pins weren't flying off the shelves, that a lot of things at Bally/Williams flew under the radar because Pinside didn't exist - and the enthusiast market basically didn't either. At least we have other manufacturers making pins even if it is taking a little longer than expected. You completely forgot to mention anything positive like the fact that we've had more new pins available to purchase last year than probably any previous year for 40 years. It seems to me Pinside can be like when a plane crashes - it happens rarely, but, when it does, everyone knows about it.

In the pinball world I am a nobody, but I can still say "I was there" when this all started to fall apart. Attended Expo '99 by myself and didn't know anyone there. I (personally) at the time thought that PB2K was going to be the salvation of the industry and I excitedly attended the infamous Gomez "Ninjas from the ceiling" seminar. I remember calling my wife afterwards and telling her about this crazy seminar I just walked out of, where the guy that invented PB2K was telling everyone he thought WMS would close. How crazy was that! Clearly if there was going to be any closing it would be Stern which was just limping along at that point. How wrong I was...

Hmmm...did 99 have Episode 1 in the tournament? This that was the only year I've been...picked a doozie.

Lots of issues from companies. Meanwhile spooky just plugs along killing it and showing people how it's done with every facet of their company.

Go spooky go

2016 will also go down as the year when someone decided a great art theme for a new pin should be a man in jeans holding a cellphone in the air

Rumor has it that Gottlieb had a similar prototype theme in the 70's but they couldn't secure the license...

image (resized).jpeg

Could have almost had Art Stenholm do the artwork but most limely it would have had to be Gordon Morrison.....

Added over 7 years ago: Likely, not limely..

Yep, I believe that is correct. I remember the WMS engineers were working on getting the networked scoring working during the tournament.

I doubt it will "go in infamy" since that is not the phrase.

"Live in infamy" or "go down in infamy" are in common parlance.