(Topic ID: 101700)

New Product Opportunity

By jeffspinballpalace

9 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 17 posts
  • 12 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by joe2012
  • No one calls this topic a favorite

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#1 9 years ago

Wondering whether anyone has thought about making a new mod that allowed bad playfield artwork to be transformed into a swan. Let's say you like playing NGG but hated the artwork. Someone comes up with art which is turned into one of three items. As a decal it could be applied to pf and then cleared. Another format would be to create an overlay which can be installed. Final thought is for design to be printed on bottom of a clear plastic playfield protector.

Then started thinking about this idea in relation to TWD. Let's say it ends up a hideous photoshop mess, but the game is really fun. Customized playfield services to the rescue. Is this feasible?

#2 9 years ago

Once persons bad art just as polorizing as the next persons.

#3 9 years ago
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Customized playfield services to the rescue. Is this feasible?

Totally feasible.

In fact, for many years playfield overlays were available to the hobby, like KISS or EBD

#4 9 years ago

Out of all the alternate artwork out there, 99% of the time it's not as good as the original.

That doesn't mean that some people don't prefer it, but most people wouldn't.

Usually people skin really unpopular games because if you take a game like NGG and try to skin it, you will greatly devalue the game.

I'm sure there is a market out there, but I'd be really surprised if it wasn't small and worth the effort. You'd just end up ruining a bunch of classic games.

#5 9 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Totally feasible.
In fact, for many years playfield overlays were available to the hobby, like KISS or EBD

Is there one of the formats you see as having clear advantage or maybe one that is too daunting from repro or application points of view?

#6 9 years ago

If you print on the bottom of clear plastic, the paint will probably wear from contact with the old playfield face, so you are probably left with the other two options.

Although you could do a decal, and then a clear top plastic to match.

#7 9 years ago

you could do a combination of a large playfield laminated decal then a playfield protector sitting over the top of that (similar to what Vid said), though alot of work but some thing I want to do for a re-theme I have on the cards and will be my proposed game plan.

#8 9 years ago

Games with complete code upon release?

#9 9 years ago

How about more like a whole new playfield overlay to customize a particular machine to retheme it?
Though, coming up with the right theme could be a challenge.

#10 9 years ago

how about something printed on a piece of laminate or formica the way they used to do shuffle alleys or some foreign games like sonic and segasa, thicker and probably easier to install and more durable.

#11 9 years ago
Quoted from Noahs_Arcade:

Games with complete code upon release?

That would be one possible outcome. Some folk are buying new games and having them shipped to their favorite restorer for customization and mods before every playing game one. That could be done and if you could choose an option to add alternate artwork too it would be fantastic. Of course if you had the talents you could do it yourself instead of hiring a professional and this would open the door to allow you to change graphics on one of the other 99.9% games made to date. Artwork could be made with same dimensions as original art, allowing for easier transfer. Strip playfield, tumble parts, clean & repair playfield, adjust playfield graphics, add parts back, shop game and test.

It is typical for alternate translites to be designed and offered and those are an easy swap. Custom, as well as non-licensed original cabinet art is occasionally available and hopefully that trend expands. But since you spend majority of time looking at playfield and translite when playing or hanging around pinball machines, swapping playfield art would be a great niche to expand.

#12 9 years ago

Interesting idea, but the market seems pretty limited (can't imagine that many people send NIB games to their favorite restorer). Translites make sense because it takes a couple minutes to install. Installing new PF artwork is wildly labor intensive. Even as a niche market, it might be hard for a talented artist to get up the motivation with for a modest potential payback.

#13 9 years ago

Sandwich the new playfield design between two pieces playfield protector. Totally reversible and would be hard wearing.

#14 9 years ago

I'm all for mods, I like the CFTBL pf art mods( naked girl swimming), but if you alter the whole pf you're changing the soul of the game, or at least a large piece of it. I'm no purist, but the bad mixed with the good makes sterns vision of the pin what it is.

#15 9 years ago
Quoted from PinPatch:

Sandwich the new playfield design between two pieces playfield protector. Totally reversible and would be hard wearing.

This approach really boils down to - apply decal to top of a playfield protector, install and add another playfield protector on top to protect that right? I am thinking the added thickness would require new screws and bolts for anything bolting to the pf.

A better alternative might be to reverse print the decal so you could add it on the bottom side of a protector facing upward, and then install the single protector. If someone were planning to install a playfield protector anyways, then adding one with a decal is only a negligible amount of additional work. Really an hour to prep and install the decal, right? If they hadn't planned to add a playfield protector but to have their machine shopped (or shop it themselves) then this should also only add a nominal amount of time.

How much do people spend on a new playfield, about $600? If there are multiple levels or if you miss out on pre-order list and have to buy on the secondary market it could run over $1,200. Now if there was a decal + protector available for $600 and I could order it whenever I wanted (such that my price would never again relate to the $1,200 possibility), then this option might be quite appealing. And if an installer was willing to add it into shop job for another 150, you could argue that recovering your playfield was not an overly expensive fix. What's more it is totally reversible.

Would half of the people currently ordering new playfields order this product instead? Would a new market of buyers develop also? This is shaping up to be a cool idea already.

#16 9 years ago

$600 seems way too high for this market.

I'd think that $250 would be the target price.

#17 9 years ago

if the decal was already applied to the protector,then $200-250 would be a good price.but you would need a way to lock the protector in place once you line up the playfield inserts. joe

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