(Topic ID: 43849)

I Believe pinball can make a comeback on location...........!!!

By iceman44

11 years ago


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    There are 181 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 4.
    #151 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    To me, if pinball is in trouble, it's because so many people are locking their games away and removing them from the public eye. Home collecting is great for the collector, but not for the hobby at large. I know most people don't agree and the last thing I'm trying to do is piss anyone off.

    I couldn't agree more. The social aspect of pinball is being lost. Something that's been a part of our culture for more than 80 years now. Many of the new folks coming into the hobby will go to a show or compete in a fun tournament, but they don't play on location just for fun. Very frustrating. They're missing the best part of the hobby. Things are picking up slightly up here, but not nearly as fast as the home buyers flooding into the hobby. You people need to get out of your basements! Seriously. d

    #152 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    I'll just go ahead and expose a few hundred eager folks a month to the hobby, you guys rock it in your basements!

    Quoted from sosage:

    Greatest single quote I've read on the subject! Criticizing from the basement is so much easier than going outside and walking the talk. Keep doing your thing.

    #153 11 years ago
    Quoted from sturner:

    I think the only way pins really make up ground on location is if they are used as a loss leader. Put one in a bar, charge a quarter, and make up the difference on the beers customers devour.

    I agree that alcohol helps viabilty. I often walk into a bar with a $20. Spend half on 2 beers and tbe other playing pins. Mostly 75 cent games and have a blast. Now if games were 50 cents and beers were $4, I'd stay longer and drop $30. Either way, I go for the pins and stay for the beer. Win win.

    #154 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    we had KME's Tron in there for a good while, but people got sick of it really fast

    I believe this. But, don't say that too loud around here, the Tron police will be here soon to give you a thumbs down and change the subject to modding.

    #155 11 years ago
    Quoted from Propaganda:

    I believe this. But, don't say that too loud around here, the Tron police will be here soon to give you a thumbs down and change the subject to modding.

    I played the everliving hell out of it! I was pretty sad to see it go (it's down at the High Dive in SD now, shout out HD!) but none of my pinheads cared. I was the only person playing it, haha. I just wanted Portal so bad! (nnnnnope)

    #156 11 years ago
    Quoted from jonnyo:

    The cross-section of collectors who also frequent bars seems to be on the small side,

    Never been to the midwest, huh?

    See the posts on the MGC. There's as much talk on what beer are you bringing as what machine are you bringing.

    I'd say 90% of our machines are in bars, bowling alleys, and movie theaters. Shoot, we can buy beer at Chuck E. Cheese here.

    #157 11 years ago

    Sorry, but I still prefer the comfort of my basement/kegerator. And while I do love to see/play pins on location(when I can find them), it's the basement bangers that ultimately are going to keep this hobby alive. Pinball is it's own worst problem. It's complicated(mechanically) and expensive, which doesn't bode well for route play. Even the simple things, like changing bulbs can be a huge hassle on some pins. I just think you're pissing in the wind if you think location pinball will ever be relevant again. Good Luck to those of you who want to make a go of it.

    #158 11 years ago

    I wouldn't say locking them in the basement is accurate for the home collector. We have friends and family that not only play but get addicted to the hobby because they had such a blast playing our pins.

    I agree it is nice to enjoy pins in a social environment but enjoying them in the comfort of the house with drinks and whatnot without the worry of driving has its appeal as well. It's great getting the chance to play pins on location and I am very thankful to those that operate and maintain em!

    #159 11 years ago

    The Dude is always very wise.

    10
    #160 11 years ago

    Lookie here, there honestly no wording I can choose at this point that one of you guys won't find an argument with, and that's pinball jawing, I don't mind. To be clear, I'm not saying people with pins at home are ruining pinball, I was trying to make a little joke about a thread I saw last week where a guy made people cut their fingernails for fear they'd mar his baby blue powdercoat. Sorry, but that shit is silly to me.

    If you look at any comment I've ever made anywhere about anything, you'll see that I'm not saying what I do is any better than what any other pinhead does, I'm actually almost exclusively making fun of myself and every once in awhile sharing a photo or anecdote that I think will bring an interesting perspective. Nothing more. If you want to hoard a bazillion games in your house and bling them within an inch of their lives and scare jam-handed kiddos off with a stick, more power to you. I'm just saying that if you're one of the people who likes to keep your games untouched and pristine so you can feel good about it and maintain bragging rights, then you might want to consider not flat-out bashing what's left of location pinball. There's good pinball around, and people who really do give a shit. Support that. These lousy ops who leave a one flipper RFM for six months with no GI are on their way down the tubes anyway...they, IMO, do NOT represent what's going on in today's route ball. Pinball is doing great things right now, and we are all in it together, so even a modicum of support from home collectors really does make a difference, yet it's EXTREMELY rare.

    #161 11 years ago

    And if you guys are thinking I don't cherish my Oaked Arrogant Bastard time at home in the kitchen with my kitty perched atop CrossTown, feverishly trying to align the 300s you just don't know me at all!

    #162 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    And if you guys are thinking I don't cherish my Oaked Arrogant Bastard time at home in the kitchen with my kitty perched atop CrossTown, feverishly trying to align the 300s you just don't know me at all!

    Oaked arrogant bastard?

    I AM NOT WORTHY!

    #163 11 years ago

    Arcades and Barcade's in the right city/location are making a comeback. http://www.pinballzarcade.com/ is packed 7 days a week with people of all ages!

    #164 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    I saw last week where a guy made people cut their fingernails for fear they'd mar his baby blue powdercoat. Sorry, but that shit is silly to me.

    I make my guests purify themselves in the waters of lake Minnetonka before they play my pins...

    #165 11 years ago
    Quoted from Winball_Pizard:

    I make my guests purify themselves in the waters of lake Minnetonka before they play my pins...

    But....... That's not lake Minnetonka.......

    -4
    #166 11 years ago

    Forget the facts pinball on location is dead. BTW Hope isn't a successful business model.

    #167 11 years ago

    Ground Kontrol here in PDX would disagree with you Exejet. As would Shorty's in Seattle, oh wait nm, I am wasting my time using facts.

    #168 11 years ago

    I'm a collector operator in Jacksonville FL.
    I've got 10 pins on location.
    LOTR, SP, TS, DRWHO, R&B, SST, TFTC, JD, DM & CFTBL (being replaced with HS2).
    Pins are not easily to route but Dataeast games like R&B & TFTC are rock solid and built to route.
    Stern's are quite reliable on route, I had a Sopranos at one point.
    Location is key and foot traffic.
    When in doubt, call out local operators and request a pin, we've had success with that.
    I've been doing this 16 months and don't plan on slowing down my growth.
    All money is re-invested in maintainence, upgrades, mods and new games.

    #169 11 years ago
    Quoted from PDXGeek:

    I like the playing by hour idea, however the problem with this is it devalues getting that free game, and means someone can just hog the machine for an hour straight. They also have no incentive to let you play along. Wonder if there is a way to hybrid that idea.

    But it would be a nice option for operators. If you have a 'dead' location, you could enable this option and it might entice players. If you have another location that gets steady business already, you disable it.

    #170 11 years ago
    Quoted from LTG:

    Around here they are unsupervised locations where your games will be destroyed or stolen.

    Yep, even if you put a chain on them.

    Two guys will carry it out in front of 10 people, and no one will think anything of it.

    #171 11 years ago

    Molly, you're an inspiration. There's basically nowhere to play pinball anywhere in my large metro area. Time to franchise or mentor young pinball enthusiasts on making a go of it.

    #172 11 years ago
    Quoted from Euchrid:

    There's also no way I would let them hang out in an arcade for hours by themselves even if I was in the same strip mall just 500 feet away. Would you?

    My dad gave us each a box-cutter and said if anyone tried to grab us, to slice their eyes.

    True story.

    boxcutter.jpgboxcutter.jpg

    #173 11 years ago

    molly,you rock! keep flippin. exejet,wtf man. what childhood trauma did you suffer to make you so bitter and negitive? might i offer a tip for happiness? write this down, it will help.

    go to in and out,get double double,animal style with a coke and fries. get laid,play pinball. repeat as needed. and,...........say something nice to a stranger every day.

    LONG LIVE THE SILVER BALL!
    pins make crack look like fun dip.

    #174 11 years ago

    Sometimes I just want to jump in a time machine and go back to 1988
    less worries more pinball

    #175 11 years ago
    Quoted from PinballMolly:

    it's down at the High Dive in SD now, shout out HD!)

    Got to play not too long ago. Very nice Tron.

    #176 11 years ago
    Quoted from Jcamm:

    Location, Location, Location. Pins suffer here cause most are in smokey bars that you have to be 21 to enter. Really not catering to the younger crowd.

    Smoking bans have made bars much more pleasant and actually increased pin play as people need to do something with there fingers since they cant puff they will flip.

    #177 11 years ago
    Quoted from Exejet:

    Forget the facts pinball on location is dead. BTW Hope isn't a successful business model.

    I glad my tax return does not show pinball is dead or I would be out of business.

    I agree that Hope is an emotion and should not be used in any business decision just save Hope for politics.

    #178 11 years ago

    I scoped out the place for my next tournament tonight: Legionnaires Saloon, in Oakland.

    The place just opened, and my buddy just put three games on location there so I checked out the space and the games: Champion Pub, Scared Stiff and X-Men.

    With only three games, and not much space for more, I plan to do a "time-attack" style event. Each game is limited to 4 minutes. This format puts pressure on players, shakes them out of their normal play styles and keeps the event on time.

    While there I ran into a few pinball enthusiasts. With an event, they might just get into the local scene.

    You never know till you try, right?

    #179 11 years ago

    Molly you are my hero!

    Long live location pinball!

    #180 11 years ago
    Quoted from HELLODEADCITY:

    Sometimes I just want to jump in a Time Machine and go back to 1988
    less worries more pinball

    1978, even better...

    #181 11 years ago

    Give the people something they want. they will put money in it, just look at strippers lol

    There are 181 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 4.

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