I spend a lot of time reading posts on the Pinside forums and listening to pinball podcasts - TWIP, Special When Lit and Kaneda. It seems like the pinball community is a slave to the licensed pin. I just can’t figure out why. They just seem to be more trouble than they are worth. Either the license is no good or it lacks theme integration or the manufacturer wasn’t able to get all of the assets they need or on and on.... Of course, there is also the issue of the cost of the license.
Don’t get me wrong, licensed pins can be a blast but isn’t there more room for original titles and for good reason? For one, the savings saved by not having to pay for licensing can be passed on to develop, mechs or whatever to make for a better game. For another, a lot of the issues I mentioned above just go away. For example, most people agree that Dialed In is a great pin, but for......the lack of a licensed theme.... I say - so what???
Anyway, I guess I just think the pinball community should be more open minded and encourage non-licensed pins. I think if that could gain some momentum, then some good things could happen.