Sadly, claw machines make TONS of money and (usually) pinball machines do not.

Like HomePin says. Claw machines make way more money vs a pinball machine. Good luck. They also don’t break down as much. Read some of Extreme Pinballs posts regarding his pins up at Fremont St arcade and the NYNY casino arcade. It’s kind of sad but the majority of people passing by could care less about a pinball machine. But they see a claw machine where they could maybe win a stuffed animal??? Now that’s something they’ll play!!! Lol SMH

ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN......... The company I work for is the largest amusement vending company in the US.

There are only three approved vendors in the US and WE are the majority of the WM account , I personally would have your machines tossed out at the drop of a hat. I am in daily contact with the Territory manager in the NE area as its part of my territory also.

If pinball machines made money I would place them in our rooms.

These so called WM gamerooms are under contract by us. You couldnt even afford the liability insurance.

That was harsh.

It happens quite often.

It’s hard enoug running an area when you have people “ assuming” they can just go place there stuff in rented spaces. To the curd it goes

Pepsi and coke machines were place once ..... out they went too!!!

Way to come off like dick! This was simple intelligent question that most off us have all thought of. Next time consider being polite in your response We are all pinball fans on this forum.

I say try to get one in Wal-Mart now just because of this comment. This makes me want to put one in a Wal-Mart for free and pay them what it makes just to prove this guy wrong. I say try it and see what happens.

The op simply posed a question. It did not deserve the broadside he got-totally out of place & unwarranted.

The thing is the guy was merely suggesting an offering that your company could provide that he was willing to pay for. Kinda like going to a burger place and saying "you guys sell hot dogs?" I totally understand you defending your business, but no part of his post said he wants to muscle in on your territory.

It’s “their”.
I’ll assume the rest of your many grammatical errors are typos.

Sorry your job is so hard because people want to utilize space in a Walmart.

The OP better be scared. Hoby1-Kenobi is mad.

Ok....... so I did sound a little harsh and I apologize to the OP

But understand....I deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis. In many cases people just decide to drop stuff off in our space.

It’s an ongoing process. Just think of that gameroom as any other space , Subway , McDonalds, Auntie Ann, etc, act.

It’s our storefront so please don’t just decide to attempt to drop equipment off even if you do talk to a GM

We are paying for that space

Unfortunately the company i work for runs the walmart arcade and won't allow pins. I would love to put a pin in our walmart gameroom but they don't pay the bills. Insurance is expensive so we need to place machines that are going to pay those premiums. Sorry mercyscene it' just dosnt make $ense.

How I might of responded if I worked for the company that managed walmart arcades.

The original idea is pretty solid though - just not forWal-Mart. Doing business with Wal-Mart is frustrating, stressful, and a race to the bottom. They do not treat vendors with respect (see hoby1’s comments) and it is always “what have you done for me lately”, “how can you make this cheaper”, and “you should feel privileged to for the opportunity to sell here with the kind of volume we give you”. Just look at the stress hoby1’s comments imply.

So as a little guy, just forget it. (Corporate) Wal-Mart doesn’t do hassle. At least not for them, they couldn’t care less if a vendor has to eat profit just to stay on their shelves. And the store managers don’t have much pull for their individual stores.

But I think the idea about putting games onsite makes a lot of sense - you just need to find space at a place that will work with you. Bars obviously, but how about a mall common area? Or make a deal with your county community centre, something like that.

I don't think the OP was insinuating on dropping off a game, I think he was simply inquiring as to how to get that particular vendor to consider a pinball machine in the gameroom.

But I do see the other points you bring up. Seems like the gameroom there is more of a "kid dropoff" than anything else, so a pinball machine really isn't what the kids want, thus, won't make money.

My local Wal-Mart had a Star Trek pro but it didn't last very long...

The good news is that my local Wal-Mart has a pinball machine . The bad news is it's a Sharkey's Shootout that's getting long in the tooth . Every time I go there I play it and it's getting worse . Last time it did a reset mid game ! Hope they fix it or replace it .

Yeah because hoby1 took it to the curb!

hoby1

Damn son - that was a little over the top. The guy was just throwing out an idea. I'm sure he doesn't appreciate the logistics around it.

btw - I have a video of hoby1 smashing that star trek pin that someone tried to place in his territory. Game over.

That’s funny...... I think I remember this piece. We picked it up as an acquisition from another company

Then they tired it for a bit in a WM to no avail.

We are always welcome to manufactures that would like to do rev share’s. If the piece is a good fit for a location

Pinball is limited revenue and maintainence is high.

I do not deal directly with these types of deals but could point someone in the right direction if I feel it would work.

Oooh, we're so impressed! Do tell, what would that cost on one pin, in the highly unlikely chance it could prove liable for, what, starting the fires pins are so infamous for starting? If it's so much, how can there be pins on location anywhere?

I like the above answer. It cuts to the chase and does not waste time with dreamy answers. It was a biz answer. Ok onto the next thought. Sorry your fweelings were berry berry hurt. Take back your apology that you were bullied into giving. Yours was an actual answer from the biz side while all others were just criticizing your answer but had no real value to add.

Thx Man...... but I also feel I could have been a little less to the point.

You guys should see the stuff people try

I kind of took it more personal when I read it at first as the OP stated he wanted to talk to someone about getting our equipment removed for a placement of his own

People play cranes and produce $$$ which why we place them as priority.

It’s so easy to say how you would of, could and should of, but you didn’t.

"You couldnt even afford the liability insurance" is where you really shine.

I run a couple locations, strictly pinball machines. Insurance is not expensive, it's also a deduction and lastly, if people couldn't afford it then that sounds like a dumb business model. Cost is irrelevant if the money netted makes it worth while. Some people like to puff their chest and drink their drinks with their pinky finger sticking out too.

Cut Hoby1 some slack...he over-reacted, then apologized for it. We all do it now and then...
I blame daylight saving

Harshly delivered but probably a good message for anybody thinking of getting into the route game, whether it's with a behemoth like Wal-Mart or a laundromat down the street. There ARE insurance issues, there are tax issues, and there's territory issues. All of this stuff can add insane complication to an "I just woke up and thought, hey, maybe I should put my Eight Ball Deluxe in Wal-Mart!!!" type of idea.

For years and years, Lloyd would answer every "I'm thinking of putting pins out/opening a location" with a harsh, worst-case scenario list of terrifying reasons that you'd be absolutely insane to do something like that. Usually ended with a kid getting killed or injured and the precocious RGPer ending up in court.

It's tough out there! I don't think the reality often matches up with the worst-case but it's good for anybody considering something like this to realize how complicated and precarious something like this can be.

Dead on Levi..... let’s not forget licensing for machines by state. Local laws about types of games and payout. % commission by pieces place.

Definitely a lot to it. Not like a local mom and pop diner where cash is king.

Mmm.....no. Those things are effectively gambling centers to lure in kids that have no idea that they're being "played" in the form of the machine arbitrarily deciding that it's not going to give the claw enough juice to actually function x% of the time. To be all stick-in-the-ass about protecting that kind of revenue stream....I have no sympathy. Plus, I personally believe that the rise of redemption in general is what f'ed over arcades in the first place, so I'd be glad to see them rot.

Aren't all these stupid wal-mart robbery centers...er..."gaming centers" run by Sega?

Yes, but the difference is that Lloyd is just being Lloyd, which is brutally honest and helpful. He's not going to sugar coat the situation. This guy? ERMAGERD U TAKE MY MONEY I TOOK FROM KIDS I KEEL YOU! He wasn't trying to be helpful, he was trying to crush something under his heel.

You forgot might of. You could and should of gotten it right but you didn't.

From the front, they get skittish if you approach from the rear.

You are 100% wrong about this. We make our own cranes and they cannot contol a set payout. Any one that owns a Rainbow crane can attest to this.

I've been to many Walmarts all across the US with these half-assed "game rooms"... some with just claw-type games, a few also with a couple arcade games. I think I've seen maybe one person playing a sit down driver, and have never seen anyone playing a claw game.

Not to say that people don't try it when I'm not there, but Walmart claws never being played is something I've always noticed when there.

speaking of cranes in walmart, i played one saturday morning as I was leaving the store and I won... but the bear got stuck on the claw and wouldnt drop lol. I just left it for the next person to get a free win. I had more quarters but really just wanted to see if i could win.

20180310_084941 (resized).jpg

Might have, contraction, might've; Should have, contraction, should've; Could have, contraction, could've. Hooked on phonics "should of" worked harder
This whole thread is Pinside at its finest, the usual vitriol.

What would the life of a pinball machine be in a Wal-Mart? Broken, vandalized and unappreciated are my casual estimates.

To the OP, you are right to want to see pinball machines out in the native environment. I hope someday that can be realistic. It was a good idea and one that should be followed up on. There was a time in the past where routing machines was dirty business. An ounce of prevention etc etc.

This has been my experience also. Seem to be always empty. Maybe their not doing it right.

Meh, I kind of doubt it. I never actually see anyone in those arcade areas anyway. I always wondered how they ever actually made any money.

Hoby1 you must work for namco. I know how much your company makes on the cranes. I also know that you guys are ruthless as you described. However, never say never. It’s all in who you know at namco.

Okay. You'll forgive me if I don't take your word as law and wait for secondary confirmation on that.

No problem. If not I can shoot you the board schematics

I do not work for Namco

I remember when WWE came out and I joked about it making a "morbidly obese" amount of money at an Indiana Wal-Mart. Well not long after that shazam, there it was. Lasted less than a year. If WWE can't turn a profit in its native environment, why bother?

Ten years back, in central PA, we had about a dozen Wal-Marts in various towns that each had pins--I used to travel to some of them just to play. Turns out they were all run by the same vendor. Then they disappeared suddenly, so I contacted the vendor. It turns out that vendor lost his contract with Wal-Mart (where he had a total of 40 pins in different counties), and Wal-Mart went with CoinStar instead as a vendor for the claw machines. Because of this I was able to contact the vendor and was able to buy three of the machines from him for good prices at the time--good for me, but bad for community pinball.

I have had success routing two games at small businesses (a pizza shop and a bar) where I know and trust the owners.

hoby1 >> curious, how much does Wallyworld take as a cut?

Or do you just pay a set amount for the rental space and then fill it as you wish with what earns?

Also curious what does well at Walmart? Is there a specific crane or game that always kills? Any cool observations or surprising things you can share

bet you have some neat data and stories.

Schematics wouldn't really tell me what software does, unless you're also going to claim that the current machines are EMs and there's no programming.

I'm looking at documentation...I'm not seeing anything about adjusting odds yet, but voltage adjustments in theory...seems to me could still be exploited by a dick operator. I understand it's a very necessary piece of functionality because you never know what you're going to get at the wall...but it's also exploitable. Not saying you or your company necessarily does that, but that your specific claim of not being able to adjust odds in some way is a technicality.

TSB-lol (resized).png

tsb-lol2 (resized).png

Sorry ...... I can’t give info out on things like that.

This will be the last comment for me on this post. Thx.

I think putting a game in a Walmart would be great idea even just an arcade with a couple pins. But they are all about the revenue it seems.

Also, you would have to sell corporate not your local store.

If you could do it there though. That be significant pinball exposure. And sales of course.

My opinion. No local store could make thier own decisions. But it would be a big ass sale. Like moby dick big.

Ya'll must have some nice Walmarts. All I can think of after seeing the title of this thread was, "You want to do what?" At my local Walmart I bet it wouldn't make it a week without being messed up pretty good.

Unfortunately, space seems to be the problem but to me, restaurants are good place for them. Around here their is ALWAYS a wait and the places that have arcade games shows them always being used. Parents hand over a couple bucks to their kids just to keep the piece.