Quoted from Manofstihl:I am wondering why new pins are not are not connected.
Because it wouldn't sell pinball machines or justify the cost/time it would require to implement. So far, everybody has done just fine without it. Doesn't mean it won't happen someday but doesn't seem to be a priority for anybody.
File it in with "Stern needs to update their menu" in the "Ideas everybody has but nobody can really present a solid case why it's worth the trouble" bin.
As far as "private competition" there's pages and pages of people arguing about this...in the end there's a small group of people who think it would be the bee's knees and a larger group of people who believe it would be a pointless novelty.
Here's a fairly recent thread with all the standard arguments...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/when-will-stern-pinball-machines-be-online