This is exactly what I meant, that we keep looking back to B/W titles because there has been nothing better in 15 years. If there were, we might ditch the 1990's models.

You do know that an investment group headed by one of the guys that saved Harley Davidson runs Stern nowadays, right?

TRON LE a better game than MM, but we did not grow up playing TRON, so we don't have that nostalgia to warm our hearts.

There are faster cars than the AC Cobra, but we still want an AC because we remember it being a super car growing up.

There is a giant AC Cobra replica market that started in the 1970s, and even Shelby himself got caught fudging up some titles.

All of the $50,000 replica ACs do not in any way detract from the value of the real, $1,000,000+ 427s.

I don't find it ridiculous to remake some of the so called winners in pinball, just look at Hollywood, how many reboots of Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Star Trek and Star Wars have we seen? The formula is working pretty well for them.

Are you new to the hobby? Gary Stern has been telling the home buyer to play on location for years. That's what he's preached at virtually every seminar he's ever done. Stern didn't embrace the home buyer until the new investors came along. If anything, Gary Stern waited longer than he should've to tap the home market.

If you want to suggest someone is milking the home buyers, you might want to have a chat with the new investors. Gary Stern backed the operators as long as he could.

Yes, as a car (to me) is a toy and is more expendible than a pinball machine.

A car costs more than a pinball machine and will lose 40% of it's value within the first six months.

Are pinball machines an investment? No! But at least I can always make a profit or at least break even, when it's time to sell them.....unlike a car.

I apologize if I came off as being snobbish. Just trying to put things into perspective.

If you're in this hobby, you've already won the lottery.

Gary was preaching those lines back when most of his customers were *operators* and pinball machines were not $8K a pop!

Dave Peterson with Sphere Point Enterprises. Yes, I am fully aware.

Most of their customers are *STILL* operators. You're not making much sense.

"Over half our games... are operated on the street."

(51:00)

The best thing for pinball would be to have more operators buying games and keeping them out in the wild and in good condition. Rout operators just don't seem to care about the condition of their games; I'd happily play a dollar a play for pretty much any modern pin if it functioned properly.

The rout industry needs a jolt in the arm. More leagues should develop and go play games on rout somewhere...even if it is at your local movie theater or whatever.

Haha! I really love Tron (LE or otherwise), and I own both games, but this is ludicrous. Tron is a shell of a game compared to MM.

The truth is, MM is the total package and almost everyone loves it, no nostalgia required. Random casual/new players who are just getting into pinball beg me to put one (back) on location constantly because it's just plain fun. I have never been asked to operate a Tron by anyone but a couple of super hardcore/serious players.

There are many good operators on and off pinside who very much care about the condition of their games. I regularly get compliments on the condition of my location games. All operators are not alike. Generalizing doesn't help anything.

Good point. Mostly I am just complaining about the lck of operators in my city. If a decent establishment had a couple games on rout in fully functional condition, I would go there twice a week and bring a friend. Alas, my area doesn't have this available.

I'm not buying it. The business was up for sale back in 2005. It was acquired in 2009.

Gary wants to make us believe that all of the operators that left almost 10 years when machines were $4K, are now *back* buying them at $8K? ...and making a profit???

His marketing model is strictly home sales at this point. Which LE would you like?

Yet, he's never going to admit to that.

I meant the designs. Almost everything since Tron and the resurgence of Stern titles has been a flat out PF copy or very close to PF of another 90s machine, other than Gomez's designs.

I don't see my 1990 500 dollar more expensive than a pinball machine and I'd much rather buy a NIB pinball than a new car.

Then, what the hell are you going on about?

He should contact Homepin to re-design the boards to run currently available components.

I don't think Gene is looking to start manufacturing pinball machines again.