I was thinking about how Stern has been able to keep things going in the pinball industry, and would it be completely out of the question to think that Williams or Bally could ever make a comeback? I realize that Stern is catering mostly to home use these days as there obviously aren't too many commercial arcades around anymore begging for pins, but could Williams and Bally possibly go the same route and instead of saturating the market with multiple titles that would rely on mass commercial sales, just concentrate on putting out quality titles at the same pace as Stern? Is there a strong enough market out there to warrant these companies ever rising from the ashes to create pinball machines again?

I just remember as a young kid growing up playing pinball since about 1972/73, how each company (Bally, Williams, and Stern) each made pins that "felt" a certain way when you played them, no matter the title. You just could tell each manufacturer's product apart by the way each of their machines played and sounded. I guess it was mainly due to the way each company had specific playfield parts that were unique to themselves, but I really feel that a true pinball fan could appreciate and "feel" the way each manufacturer's machine differed from the others.

I can appreciate Stern keeping the pinball torch lit here in 2012, but many of their pins feel somewhat "soulless" to me when I play them. I feel like I am getting a very generic and sterile pinball experience with some of their titles. I would love nothing more than to be able to experience the feel and sounds of fresh Bally or Williams pins in 2012 that retained the same character as they did in their heyday, and was wondering if the market could ever come close to supporting them enough to ever give pinball another go? Just curious as to everyone's thoughts.