Quoted from Rarehero:Stand alone arcades *purely* for gaming are obsolete.
Agree. Despite this, location play is doing fine and and is actually thriving in some areas. Now can you please stop telling us the arcade is dead? We already know this.
Quoted from Rarehero:Again, say what you will about collectors...we might not be the "savior of pinball", but we do buy overpriced Stern pins and that helps pay the bills & put food on the table for all the guys working there.
You guys buying the premiums and LE's have actually helped keep pro prices down. Thanks.
Quoted from Rarehero:We're doing our part, in our own way, to keep pinball going. As do location players. As do tournaments. All these things are important. It's silly to single out one party and insult them.
We're asking you to do more, like we are. You don't necessarily have to put your games out. Just go out of your way to support public games more often than you usually would. Play on location, compete in tournaments held in public locations and encourage your local league to play on location. If the games in your area are rough, drive a little farther and support good locations and ops.
Very much on topic is that the home market is nearing saturation. Game rooms are full and new home collectors aren't coming into the hobby nearly as fast as they were just two years ago. If you care about pinball and want to keep the hobby growing, the only place left for it to grow is amongst non-owners.
I've seen location play come back twice in my lifetime. Once in the 70's when The Who's Tommy album came out and again in the 90's. It can happen again, but we need your help. Playing in private locations 95% of the time doesn't help.
