Quoted from Spudgunman:Understand the point your making but would debate that...
I find that pinball is actually more social then anything else..
Pinball should be more social. After all, 'It's more fun to compete'. Unfortunately the vast majority of the new folks coming into the hobby don't see it that way. Same goes for many of the oldtimers. They're perfectly happy to play alone in their basements and 'socialize' on pinside and RGP. Maybe go to one or two shows a year.
Quoted from Spudgunman:That could be the problem, people don't interact with people any more.
That's it in a nutshell. They 'interact' on pinside, RGP and facebook, but not nearly enough face to face. I play on location regularly and probably will the rest of my life. It frustrates me that all these new people are getting into the hobby, yet I never see them playing on location. They're missing the best part of the hobby. When you play on location, anything can happen and often does. I played an AC/DC with a 9 year old kid named after Angus Young a few weeks ago at the beach. Afterward, I walked out of the arcade and watched Blue Oyster Cult play live for free. Things like that don't happen in your basement.
To answer the original poster's question, location pinball is on borrowed time. Without that, the rest doesn't matter to me. I get more enjoyment out of playing on location than any other part of the hobby. I've done all I can to encourage people to play on location, including operating games, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
