As long as you keep your machines well-maintained, raise it to $1.50 or 4/$5 and change the balls to 4 per game. Advertise CLEARLY that you're getting 4 balls per game on the pricing cards (we made custom ones - see example below of the one I made to use, PM me if you need help making some). JJP now shows the balls per game on the attract mode for GnR and (I think WoZ) based on our request to JJP when we did this for JJPotC to help customers see the extra value.

Doing 4 balls/game eased the transition to $1.50/game for the route I helped with starting 3 years ago, and customers didn't blink because they got an "extra" ball that made the value proposition work. jjPotC at $1.50/4 balls was the #1 pin on the route the whole time it was out on location, right up until the pandemic.

EDIT: I just remembered to mention that I also set the ball saves to be pretty generous. Didn't affect good players much, but gave casuals a little more bang for their buck if they lost their balls quickly.
jjPotC 1.50 price card.jpg

How? Do you play with extra ball awards off?

Exactly. And having successfully done it on a real route THREE YEARS AGO, it DOES work. Now that prices of machines are up across the board and there's a proven field case (I'm sure there are more, but I can attest it works having done it), OPs that keep their machines in top shape should be making the transition ASAP.

That was me. It worked great on location.

I'm trying to understand your problem with getting an extra ball out of the gate if you don't mind getting them awarded in-game. Casuals love it and it takes the sting out of the very necessary increase to $1.50/game. I've never run into a player that doesn't like getting an extra ball from the start until you.

That is not going to work. Casuals can't handle harder. They can barely handle NORMAL. Making the games even SHORTER for them will not pencil out. Prices HAVE to go up per game to cover just a fraction of the cost increases that have come in the last 5 years. So you can have higher prices with the same number of balls or higher prices and you get a bonus ball. I'm just here to say $1.50/game with 4 balls works great. Been tested on locations and works very well. Those machines became and stayed the #1 earners.

You need to understand the pinball level of most people. This is a real example from the location security cameras we used. This girl can start the game, and then pull the plunger to launch the ball, but panics when she realizes the action button on the lockdown bar isn't moving the "flappers." Fortunately her friend rushes over to show her how to operate the flippers. THIS is the level of most people out there. Making the game harder so it ends quicker for them will not result in more income, it will just turn them off to wasting more money on a 60 second game. But looser ball save and and extra ball? Might be enough to get them to cough up another $1.50 when they're done or maybe even a $5 to go for 4 games.
cant understand pinball controls.gif

Pretty sure that's the genesis of the action button on Stern games being able to be set to start games.

Oh, yeah. I would say she's probably 90th percentile for even getting that far, in my route experience. An arcade genius relative to the general public. A LOT of people put their money in and then can't understand why the game won't start, even when there's a giant flashing colored light reflecting off their thigh from the start button. But that's the point. The prices HAVE to go up. The question is how to get them there without turning casuals off. I found that giving them 4 balls per game and a generous ball save did the trick. I know that may not be popular for seasoned location players, but they don't have to worry about the financials penciling out on a $10,000 and up machine.

But honestly, the regulars didn't complain a bit and played their extra 4th ball just as happily as the first. Win/win for OPs, in my experience.

Well, let's not go crazy. For most casuals 4 balls is a nice extra. They'd probably blow through 5 quickly too. But you have to remember that GOOD players also use the machines. Giving THEM 5 balls would tie the machines up longer for the same amount of money. It's a balancing act.

And good question on Stern Insider Connection. I doubt Stern has thought that far ahead. I guess they could take the score you had on the end of the third ball if they wanted to keep it the same across all machines and locations. Maybe see if Xaqery or sk8ball can chime in...

You were putting out Prem/LE/CE/SLE for $0.50/play? All our stuff was high end. We routed a Batman'66 SLE.

Funny you should say that. We ran almost all Prem/LE/CE/SLE at higher pricing. The other OP in town was almost all Pro. Guess what? The other OP moved to Prem/LE and raised his prices. Spoke volumes about people's preferences, at least around here.

People can do what they want, but I'm just putting this out there for the OP of this thread or others trying to make the transition to sustainable pricing that THIS worked really well on the route I helped with and allowed us to keep putting out top shelf machines that people sought out. Do what you want on your route.

Definitely post how it works out for you.

I tried to hold that line at 25 cents when I was a kid. That didn't work, either.

Paper route and great service supported my habit. I had a big route and got great tips.

$1.50 for a pro seems too steep, but good on him if he makes it work.

Giving casuals pricing options based on better chances to match or lower high score/free replay awards just won't work. You have to understand the mentality of the average casual or walk-up player. They can literally barely understand how to press start. I'm not exaggerating. Being on the operator side gives you a whole new perspective. That's why setting up the tables challenging with open outlanes, but long ball saves and 4 ball/game at $1.50 or 4/$5 for prem/le (pro I can't see more than $1 is fair) works for everyone. The extra ball save won't really affect the prosumer players, but it will be much more forgiving for the casuals, and the casuals love the slightly longer play the 4th ball affords them. The wide open outlanes keep the table challenging for experienced players so they're not playing 40 minute games. Well, at least not often.

Experienced players used to 3 balls/game (who are too young to remember that 5 was once the standard) that complain about 4 being weird or messing up their score comparisons have never walked away from the 4th ball on the machines I helped with, but that's always an option if they want to keep it pure.

But again, OPs shouldn't be afraid to experiment and find out what works for their locations and players. The steep price increases for machines over the last 10 years have to eventually show up on the pricing card in a more commensurate fashion. That 25 cents I was paying in 1975 for a game is $1.27 now in inflation adjusted dollars. Pinball pricing hasn't even kept up with inflation in most areas!

I think $1 for a pro is still ok. 1970s games are essentially pros.

$1.50 is Prem/LE pricing. And 4/$5 incentive is $1.25/game anyway.

I wish there were stats on how often this happens. I've seen it many, many times. That big button in the lockdown bar is like catnip to casuals. There are so many that have no idea how to access the two buttons on the sides of the machine.

It works. We took in a LOT of $5s with that pricing scheme (and 4 balls/play) on Prem/LEs.

Upgraded some of the changers to take $20s and started getting those, too.

A> Your "ceiling" doesn't even keep up with inflation and works out to LESS than a 5 ball game in 1975 cost on a dollar-adjusted basis. OPs are in business.

B> $1.50/1 or 4/$5 works fine for Prem/LE games. $1 for Pro works. This is not my opinion, but actual fact based on route operation of Prem/LE games with these settings. I was involved in collections at these price points for years and it was a positive move.

C> Ops are only reacting to pinball pricing they also have to pay.

D> Less wear and tear/maintenance because of your speculation of less games at higher prices is not a bad thing.

A large part of those enthusiasts started as casual location players, and lots of location players can't drop $6k on a new pin that'll drop $1.50 a play to try the new hotness Prem/LE/CE. Also, on the route I helped with players that owned Pros would come and play the Prem/LEs to check them out.

If you were out there with a charity route featuring a broad variety of new $8,000-$11,000 well-maintained pins set to 25 cents a play you'd have a stronger platform for your assertions. But you're not. Although, it's not too late to put your money where your mouth is...

I don't know what you're complaining about then. $1/play for pros is pretty much status quo - that's how Sterns come stock now, but it's still LESS money per game than 1975 pins with 5 balls.

We're only talking about $1.50 and up for Prem/LE/CE machines, and even that's too cheap on an inflation adjusted basis.

You didn't SAY it, but you RESPONDED to an OP talking about $1 and $1.50/play as the new reality here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/any-ops-going-to-150-with-godzilla-prem/page/6#post-6562695

Same diff.

On the Prem/LE if you have a bill acceptor that can handle $5s definitely have a 4/$5 option, too. You'll be surprised how many $5 bills you start getting if it's a good game like Godzilla LE.

I'd do 4/$5, because you're still knocking $1 off with that if they put a fiver in, which is probably enough incentive. Right now you're knocking off $2.50 with 5/$5 over what those 5 games would cost @$1.50 - essentially giving away money. You can always make it more generous later if you need to change the pricing.

How's your price change working out?

That was my experience, too. Had a LOT of $5s once we made the price change to $1.50 or 4/$5. We were even getting 10s and 20s in the bill acceptors that could do them. Pirates was the first one with this pricing and it out-earned every other machine right up to the pandemic. Didn't hurt earnings at all.

Did you go for 4/$5 or 5/$5?

Right. $1.50 is only for Prem/LE/CE level machines, well maintained. Pros are $1 max. We did very well with that setup on location.

Are you still at 5/$5 or did you ease into 4/$5?

Just increase the ball save time. Won't help the pros much but will help the casuals a lot that would otherwise have whole games that only lasted a couple minutes.

It's been almost 2 months. Are the earnings still holding up with the price changes?

How did your price change work out?