(Topic ID: 324990)

Demographics

By Dn310

1 year ago


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  • 46 posts
  • 32 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by mcluvin
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    #1 1 year ago

    Hello All,

    What do you think the average demographics are for pinball players? Age, gender, race/ethnicity, average income? Thank you.

    Please note that we are students asking these questions for our entrepreneurship class. We are interested in pinball and gaming, and are looking to explore the viability of entrepreneurial ventures in the gaming industry. In order to collect enough data, we have posted these same questions in other related forums as well.

    #2 1 year ago

    I'd suggest visiting a pinball show or significantly sized tournament. You would probably be able to collect enough observable data there.

    I doubt you would get many people volunteering the information that you're looking for, especially with a brand new account.

    35
    #3 1 year ago

    Tubby white dudes.

    #4 1 year ago

    I agree with forceflow, you're not going to get any real usable data by posting these types of questions on public forums. Talk with people in the industry: distributors, manufacturers, part suppliers, ect. Also, go somewhere local that has pinball and other arcade machines and see if the owner or some of the patrons are willing to answer your questions.

    #5 1 year ago

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    #6 1 year ago

    On a more useful note, you might try perusing this thread. There is some quite amazing stuff in there.

    https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-do-you-do-for-a-living

    #7 1 year ago

    Players and collectors are different.

    Players are a bit younger than collectors, locally it looks like: 20s - mid 40s, predominantly white, 85/15 male/female; though, I do see more female presence with clubs like Belles and Chimes and tournaments aimed at female players running locally.

    Collectors are older white dudes 99% of the time.

    #8 1 year ago
    Quoted from isJ:

    Players and collectors are different.

    Agreed. These days M/F "Collectors" are more like (M)98/(F)2 and for "competitive players" it's probably more like (M)85/(F)15. That is NOT accounting for "modern pronouns", only "birth pronouns". I personally know more than a couple trans players/collectors but I play in a lot of tournaments. But tournament players and collector/players are only a small subset of ALL PLAYERS.

    If you are just looking at "ANY AND ALL PLAYERS" like "location players at a bar or family arcade", then those numbers would be a LOT different as well as a lot more difficult to obtain using just the internet. For the most part, those players are not on this site. It would also vary greatly from location to location. Not many kids in bars that are only open at night so that would not be all that accurate with regard to age of players.

    #9 1 year ago

    Make a poll

    Edit made a poll https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3DG5Q2C

    #10 1 year ago
    Quoted from Gunnut40:

    Tubby white dudes.

    Very close. Since these are serious students I would like to elaborate and provide some more useful data:

    tubby, *old*, *wealthy*, white dudes.

    Probably very similar demo that will still buy a Bose Wave Radio.

    #11 1 year ago

    Consider generating a survey and posting a link. That way you can collect data you need anonymously.

    #12 1 year ago
    Quoted from jackd104:

    Very close. Since these are serious students I would like to elaborate and provide some more useful data:
    tubby, *old*, *wealthy*, white dudes.
    Probably very similar demo that will still buy a Bose Wave Radio.

    Man I hope pinball collectors are smart enough not to buy junk like that.

    #14 1 year ago

    MBA here and a couple of thoughts for you on your question and what you are getting at. From a business perspective are you trying to find out who drops quarters into pinball machines or who buys pinball machines to put into their basement?

    As to who drops quarters into pinball machines. Pinball is LARGELY unprofitable in and of itself. The reason you don't see pinball machines at your local gas station like you did 30 years ago is that they just don't make enough money. At 50 cents a game you are talking about for than 14,000 plays just to pay for a modern pinball machine (grossly oversimplified). That is without paying for things like electricity, wear and tear on the machine, or paying someone to maintain the machine. Most businesses with with pinball make their money by having people do other things while there, namely drinking alcohol. Look at this pinside map here with a map of locations. https://pinside.com/pinball/map/mapbox#4/39.5/-98.35/0/26 If your sort on a filter you will see that MOST locations with more than a couple of pins are in places with names like "barcade" and "brewery". In other words, pinball is a draw and the business makes their money off of selling booze.

    As to who is buying machines to go into their home? I can tell you anecdotally that I have bought and sold more than 40 machines in the past 4 years. 95% of them are coming out of/going into $750,000+ single family homes. Demographics for used machines are different based off of the era of the machine. Older Electro Magnetic machines (think bells and chimes, no circuit boards) are much cheaper (under $1000 mostly) but are sought after and collected by older collectors (60+). New machines not going on route are bought by 45 year old (mostly) married dudes with disposable income. Every pin buyer I have had has been male. The demographics of the people bringing pinball machines to pinball shows is about 99% white middle aged dudes. If you want to know what the average pinsider does for a living, here are 458 posts on the subject. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-do-you-do-for-a-living

    Good luck!

    #15 1 year ago

    I saw a black guy at a tournament once.

    #16 1 year ago

    Your posts are certainly strange! 65439026-2FD0-4DE7-96F7-49F0A1A73E3A.png65439026-2FD0-4DE7-96F7-49F0A1A73E3A.png

    You posted about “vending pinball machines” asked about competition in the market, favorite machines (for route) and ranking the top 5 machines in order.

    Pinball doesn’t work like that. I work with an operator who has been in this for over 40 years. And his father did it before him. Pinball is NOT the business to pursue if you’re going to be an entrepreneur.

    Vending machines are far more lucrative and far less work, and cheaper!!
    The arcade business has been dying for a long time, people buy for their homes. Location play doesn’t make sense, some triple A games can do terrible meanwhile some unknown C title can kill it!

    It’s whatever your local players want to play. They vote with their money.

    If you want to make huge money, look into opening a barcade, you make a lot more, and the arcades and pins aren’t your bread and butter.

    #17 1 year ago

    The crane machines are where the money is, just ask Tim Arnold

    #18 1 year ago
    Quoted from xsvtoys:

    The crane machines are where the money is, just ask Tim Arnold

    Just ask literally anyone in the arcade business. Cranes make so much money it is unreal.

    #19 1 year ago
    Quoted from xsvtoys:

    Man I hope pinball collectors are smart enough not to buy junk like that.

    Ever been to a pin show? Someone is out of touch.

    All in good fun my friend. I know all pinheads are not like that. Just 85% of them.

    #20 1 year ago
    Quoted from Gunnut40:

    Tubby white dudes.

    Pretty good cliffs notes there!

    #21 1 year ago
    Quoted from CrazyLevi:

    Pretty good cliffs notes there!

    I'm not tubby! Everything else is correct though.

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    #22 1 year ago

    Tubby?!? I run marathons!!! Other than that I fit the cliche.

    #23 1 year ago
    Quoted from Gunnut40:

    Tubby white dudes.

    I beg to differ on 50% of that claim!

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    -1
    #24 1 year ago
    Quoted from Dn310:

    What do you think the average demographics are for pinball players? Age, gender, race/ethnicity, average income?

    59, non-binary, whiteish, $300,000/year.

    #26 1 year ago
    Quoted from Dn310:

    Please note that we are students

    Are either of you paleontologists?

    #27 1 year ago
    Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

    95% of them are coming out of/going into $750,000+ single family homes.!

    Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

    59, non-binary, whiteish, $300,000/year.

    Holy fucking shit. We got people here selling MRI/CT Scan machines to hospitals? I can't begin to imagine spending that much on a house or making that a year.

    #28 1 year ago
    Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

    MBA here and a couple of thoughts for you on your question and what you are getting at.

    Older Electro Magnetic machines (think bells and chimes, no circuit boards) are much cheaper (under $1000 mostly) but are sought after and collected by older collectors (60+).

    You'd think the rarity of the electro-magnetic games would make them MORE valuable...i didn't even know they existed....but I don't have an MBA either so.......

    #29 1 year ago
    Quoted from pinzrfun:

    You'd think the rarity of the electro-magnetic games would make them MORE valuable...i didn't even know they existed....but I don't have an MBA either so.......

    Only dropped the MBA because they mentioned they were "students for an entrepreneurship class". I agree with you on the EM part, but when I looked into it they just made an order of magnitude more pinball machines back in the day. I want to say the peak decade for production was probably the 1930s.

    #30 1 year ago
    Quoted from isJ:

    Players and collectors are different.
    Players are a bit younger than collectors, locally it looks like: 20s - mid 40s, predominantly white, 85/15 male/female; though, I do see more female presence with clubs like Belles and Chimes and tournaments aimed at female players running locally.
    Collectors are older white dudes 99% of the time.

    I don't fit that stereotype lol. I collect, restore, and play pinball and I'm 24.

    #31 1 year ago

    My guess would be: aged 40-60, white, male, $75-100k salary.

    Viability of entrepreneurial ventures in the pinball industry? I'd say you're barking up the wrong tree. Earn your fortune in video games or aps.

    #32 1 year ago
    Quoted from gottlieb_fanatic:

    I don't fit that stereotype lol. I collect, restore, and play pinball and I'm 24.

    Okay. 96% of the time.

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    #33 1 year ago

    Income stats will be skewed. In my area, $200,000 a year is barely making it. In other parts of the country, $200,000 a year, you are very well off.

    #34 1 year ago
    Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

    Only dropped the MBA because they mentioned they were "students for an entrepreneurship class". I agree with you on the EM part, but when I looked into it they just made an order of magnitude more pinball machines back in the day. I want to say the peak decade for production was probably the 1930s.

    i know that, i've read enough of your posts to know you werent boasting....

    i was just having fun about "electro-magnetic" instead of "electro-mechanical".....it's kinda lost the luster now, like a joke you have to explain....lol

    #35 1 year ago
    Quoted from pinzrfun:

    You'd think the rarity of the electro-magnetic games would make them MORE valuable

    Nope. It’s just like Elvis memorabilia. It was worth big bucks, people had Elvis busts on the mantle as their pride and joy. Then they all died and their kids didn’t give a shit about Elvis, so most of it went into the trash
    Edit, added.
    Most kids don’t care about EM games. That’s why they’re so cheap

    #36 1 year ago

    Find a pinball collector and you'll find an AARP card.

    #37 1 year ago
    Quoted from Alan_L:

    Find a pinball collector and you'll find an AARP card.

    Nope. And if they offered me one I'd tell them to beat it.

    #38 1 year ago
    Quoted from Alan_L:

    Find a pinball collector and you'll find an AARP card.

    Actually, apparently the fine print says you must be age 13 or above to join, and some coupon-clippers figured that out!

    As usual, good ol' TikTok helped this spread like wild fire.

    https://finance.yahoo.com/news/old-become-aarp-member-might-140138167.html

    #39 1 year ago

    This can vary greatly by city and region. The Portland and Seattle pinball scenes have tons of bar leagues and bar tournaments, often multiple events in one night, so in the player/tournament scene here in the Northwest skews younger and has more women, trans and nonbinary players. Still pretty damn white, but I see signs of that changing. We are finally seeing more women collectors and younger, the first 25 years I collected it was pretty much all middle aged to old white dudes in our collector scene and I was on the younger side.

    #40 1 year ago
    Quoted from CrazyLevi:

    Pretty good cliffs notes there!

    Thanks!

    #41 1 year ago
    Quoted from mbaumle:

    I beg to differ on 50% of that claim!
    [quoted image]

    Are those man spanks you are wearing? Just kidding looking good man.

    #42 1 year ago

    My name is Matt Foley. I’m 35 years old, I am divorced and I live in a van down by the river.

    #43 1 year ago
    Quoted from nwpinball:

    the first 25 years I collected it was pretty much all middle aged to old white dudes in our collector scene and I was on the younger side.

    heh, i've known nwpinball for quite some time and have been collecting in the same area and i too at one point was on the younger end of the scale (got my first Defender video game when i was 20) but i've been doing it long enough that i'm in that middle-aged demographic now. the players i come into contact with definitely skew on average younger than the collectors i know.

    #44 1 year ago

    The same mofos who were in the arcades in the 80’s and 90’s!

    #45 1 year ago
    Quoted from illudiumQ36:

    My name is Matt Foley. I’m 35 years old, I am divorced and I live in a van down by the river.

    * thrice divorced

    #46 1 year ago

    They ain’t getting shi* from me until I see some Halloween costumes. If they are really students, they dressed up or Halloween.

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