There aren't that many people making a career of it today, all things considered. Are there even more than 1000 people in the world making a living in this industry (production, sales/distribution and operators)? It's a niche industry at this point and may stay that way indefinitely. I think we'll see more one-off type games being designed by hobbyists, maybe more small-run boutique type stuff, and products such as P-ROC that lead to that end. Maybe careers for younger designers will come out of the custom-made stuff and maybe they'll get brought into the Sterns and JJPs of tomorrow.

While there's certainly less chance for public exposure to pinball at this point, something that's different is that games are probably less likely to be destroyed when coming off of routes or when people get tired of owning them. That means more games in people's homes. Really if collectors hold onto them and pass them off to other collectors, there's no reason the current NIBs wouldn't be around many years from now probably in roughly the same volume. The issue would be whether or not replacement parts are available to keep them up and running indefinitely.

There are quite a few expos around now, too, and I think kids end up going to those and liking them. I think the expo craze is pretty recent. My local Louisville Arcade Expo will have its 5th annual event this year.

I find young kids of my family and friends interested in the pins when they see them at my house. If the generation of late 20's/early 30's who are just now at the point where they can afford pins end up passing the interest onto their kids, there's a good chance people will be interested for a good while yet. I sure hope when I have a kid that I am able to get him or her interested.

I think what pinball has going against it is that the current late 20's/early 30's people are among the last to have memories of abundant public arcades. I think a lot of what drives the desire to own games is the nostalgia factor, well and that it's just awesome! I fall into this group, but admittedly wasn't into pinball as much as arcade games as a kid, so there's hope for others to get into pinball later in life, too.

Just curious, did your dad have the radio stuff the entire time you were growing up? Did you have pins the since your kids were born? I don't know whether or not it matters, but I wonder if being exposed to stuff from birth can instill a stronger, lasting interest.

My dad was always playing instruments. Both parents played piano and sang... My mom was even a choir teacher. I'm not into making music at all, in spite of their best efforts, so I can see how the interest might not pass on. Though I think they forced the music stuff on me rather than letting me come to it on my own, so there might be something to that.

I think with people having kids later in life these days, and therefore likely having greater financial means than if they were younger, there's a good chance of kids being born into pinball... not sure whether or not that will impact anything.

I've never understood how the auto industry works. Cars aren't an investment. We use them until they're trashed and throw them out. Why do so many new cars need to keep being made and why do there have to be so many dealers? Why would I put down 30k+ on a new car when I could by a sub $10k used car that will keep me on the road for 10+ years? Seems like the focus should shift more towards making cars that are easily repairable. Can't a car, like a pinball machine, essentially be made to run indefinitely as long as replacement parts are available? I don't mean any of that to be personally insulting to anyone in the industry, by the way.

Housing is generally an investment. I can buy a house and sell it a couple years later and at least roughly come out even, maybe a bit down when realtor fees are factored in. You arguably need a house more than you need a car and there's always the possibility to invest in housing with roommates. Purchasing is generally cheaper than renting and I don't see that changing.

Augmented Reality Pinball could be so awesome! Imagine having a whitewood with flippers and maybe a couple ramps, kickout holes, vuks, etc. The AR headset fills in the theme, makes inserts appear, and virtual targets. You play at an actual machine, hit a real ball around and have some actual stuff to hit with the ball, but also a lot of virtual stuff. Stuff could come flying out off the playfield for cool effects.

Multimorphic P3 is the closest to this concept at the moment.