With rising populations and interest, I'd say pins will always hold pretty good value. They will come down in the future for sure, but a crash? I doubt it.

AC/DC is still selling out stadiums...and many of the concertgoers are kids. Same with Kiss, and, I suppose, the same would be true of bands that don't tour anymore. Parents are usually good about getting their kids into the classics, and I think that translates into pinball. As for other themes, Star Wars, Marvel Universe stuff and most of the other themes that have come out are pretty timeless.

Stranger Things IS an updated theme...but I'm not sure that will really be a "thing" in 10 years.

Pinball is old/ancient/retro no matter what themes they have. People continue to like it BECAUSE it’s retro. Pinball never has to follow current trends to be beloved.

Probably but I don't really care or have control of that. Tried to get my kids interested in pinball but only started collecting when they were older. Deadpool and Rick & Morty wasn't luring enough of themes to get them interested probably because they give two shits about pinball in general. My daughter's eyebrows raised when Mandalorian was announced but I doubt she will flip it once it's in the house.

"Getting the younger generation into pinball" is a ridiculously misguided concept in 2021.

It's not about "getting the kids" to like pinball. Its not 1978 anymore and that concept is obsolete and pointless. Kids aren't into anything but themselves and their phones, and the stuff they see on their phones.

It's about getting the people in their 20s and 30s - the ones who go to bars - into pinball, and by all accounts they are eating the themes and licensing up.

Today's kid is tomorrow's 32 year old and they'll like playing whatever Star Wars, super hero, or rock band the pinball companies put out in 20 years. And then some of them will buy games for their house or apartment, just like today.

And the circle of life continues unabated. It's a beautiful thing.

I don't really get this thread anyway. THe newest game is Mandolorian, which is a current, popular TV show that probably hasn't even reached the middle of its run yet. So what's the problem?

even if my pinball machines all go to zero in value, i can always just play them. to me, that makes them priceless.

Jurassic Park is probably just as relevant… if not more relevant…. Than Mandalorian or Stranger Things. There is a New JP animated show on Netflix…. And the toy line is doing well.

Don’t give up on these kids bud .They’re more than capable ,like us when we were young they just need guidance .I try .They actually have it harder because of the palm god .I tell them to follow they’re dreams but have a backup plan .The only thing I enforce is they will know how to work on anything in a home .They’ll also know how to work on pins as soon as I can teach that lmfao

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My son was the one who told me “dad, you HAVE to buy Metallica”, when he was about 16. My wife was interested in Led Zep. I think Stern is making good theme decisions, even if they are in a bit of a rut with Marvel and classic rock. I’m looking forward to more sci-fi and horror-themed games from them; I love STH and TWD.

Avengers infinity quest, TMNT, Deadpool, stranger things, Rick and Morty, Jurassic park, POTC, TWD, mandalorian, hot wheels, and GOTG are all very relevant recent releases.
As many have mentioned...even the "dad-rock" pins are based upon huge groups that have massive followings of all ages.

Basically, no. If it wasn't something they were exposed to developmentally and forged a connection with it means nothing.
Nothing, that is except its sale on the open market.
However, if they developed a love for Pinball through an early experience they will seek out Pinball and eventually commit to a machine.
This is becoming an exclusive, as well as elusive occurrence.

If a kid doesn’t like Led Zeppelin he’s a piece of shit anyway.

Edit: Or she or they or them.

Can’t wait for sterns next game to be a collab with a tik tok influencer

I have spent money to purchase games that were made before I was born; manufacturing games now to appeal to people in 20 years? Probably not the wisest business decision.

Good philosophical post.
Logically? Doesn't pass the sniff test.

Pinball depression?

The only pinball depression I know of is running out of room or a game not working.

Pinball to the moon! (and I'm not selling)

I'm glad they were able to get this license since it's sustainable. I don't even watch TV anymore nor have I seen a single episode of Mandahhhh....I can't spell it. But it's good for pinball that much I know.

Anyone remember 24? The pinball? The TV show? That aged like milk.

Heck, Family Guy and South Park pinballs can still sustain.

This is the state of denial. You can't be serious that more them maybe .1% of the child population know or care about these old bands. And we cannot assume that pinball manufacturers are doing it to cater to them.

I agree with op. They're catering to the older crowd and do nothing to make a younger audience care. They know they're on a sinking ship and are doing very little to turn it around. I welcome themes such as rick and morty and mandolorian, but these are sandwiched in between batman 66/elvira and grandpa rock.

Remove tmnt, jurrasic park, potc and hot wheels. Those sound to our old ears like young themes, but really aren't. Kids give zero fucks about star wars, so even mando is only sort of catering to them because of "baby yoda."

And sadly, nicoy3k makes a good point. Wtf theme are they gonna want? Some ticktok YouTube theme? God no. For fuck sake no. Among us... that could work. Other video games? Yep, that could work. But there isn't as many themes to connect to for them that would pique their interests. Believe me, I have two children I've all but forced to play pinball and they give absolutely zero craps.

I mean if turtles and JP are from your youth, but you own Batman 66, Bobby Orr, and Evil Knievel...

Uh...not sure how to tell you this, but Disney didn't spend billions on the franchise because kids hate it. There's WAY more new media, toys, parks, etc. related to Star Wars now than there ever was. Kids are more aware of Star Wars now than they have ever been.

...... do you have children? My children and all of their friends give absolutely zero fucks.

Meanwhile in the bars, all sorts of age ranges are playing, including kids under 21 when allowed.

People here talk about pinball as if collectors are the only/main market, which is simply not true.

I do! Well, it's possible your kids just don't like it. I don't give a fuck about baseball so I guess it's not popular?

You're right. It's not! Lol. That, too, had declined heavily over the years.

You didn't raise them right.

We've had some new people walk into the co-op in the last month, all very young, and I've asked them how they got into pinball and they almost all said the same thing: "started playing pinballfx3/pinball arcade during the pandemic and then searched for pinball locally".

It makes sense. Easily accessible on the phones, and once you have success with it you want to try it out on the real thing to see how it compares.

I do hope we'll see some more modern stuff like we did with Rick & Morty and Stranger Things, but I also don't think it'll be a downfall if that doesn't happen.

I was depressed this week when a pin project acquisition fell through.

The problem is that I think most sales are coming from the home market at this point. Kids can't afford pinball machines so you have to market your themes to those that can. Today's hot themes will be the hot themes in pinball for middle aged guys with disposable income in 30 years.

I have three 20 something year olds who were all saturated with science fiction movies growing up.

None of them care a wit about Star Wars. It's all about tik tok and Instagram.

And how sad is that? It's all disposable crap.

If I was close to death, the last thing I would be concerned about is what happens to any pinball machine. My teenage kids don't care one bit about my pins and that's just fine with me. I had some young kids over last weekend. They were very interested in my pins for all about 3 minutes and then upstairs playing video games. Kids are kids and somehow life goes on.

I agree, we need Food truck.

The pinball makers just need to sell games when they make them to stay in business. It doesn't matter to whom and the secondary market means nothing to them. They can adjust their theme offerings when it is appropriate for their sales goals. I imagine Stern is not releasing titles like Pokemon, minecraft, etc. because of the risk. Mostly operators would buy for kid friendly locations and thats probably not enough. The home market is too big right now.

but, FYI... Plenty of kids are playing pinball these days. You just have to get out and look around. They are loving Mandalorian, Stranger Things, TMNT, Deadpool, Willy Wonka, Monopoly, Jurassic Park....

Thelittleflippers.com

I think there are things pinball needs to do. It’s not about theme, that would help for sure but just general modernization. Pins should have persistent data. Modes and collectables that take hundreds of games to discover and unlock. A game like Hot Wheels should have 1000 cars to collect and trade. Pins need to go online and have all the functionality and modes as every other device.

I have 20+ pins setup, when they brought friends over it would hold their attention for 1/2 hour and then they were on the X-Box.

What we like and what they like are rarely the same.

The next pinball depression will probably coincide with an actual economic depression, and then pinball will be the least of our worries.

I don't necessarily agree with this, but I understand your perspective. I don't know if I'm the norm or not, but whenever I start a new video game and discover you can virtually never beat it (always something else to achieve, levels are always being added, etc.) then I'm pretty much out. The competitor in me always has the ultimate goal of beating/completing the game (even if it does take a significant period of time). In other words, I'm more about achieving the ends than enduring a never ending journey. Being drug along like a soap opera just doesn't interest me.

It's the same banter over and over for the last 15 years... The reality is that only pinball people truly care about pinball. The size of the "pinball people list" has certainly grown a LOT in the last 5 years. Most of you have not been in the hobby long enough to remember the not so popular times of 1999-2002 when NO ONE thought pinball had a chance to survive... if you compare that time to now, I'd say it's doing a lot better. Love him or hate him, Gary Stern saved pinball back then and I for one am happy that he did.

OP is asking when the next "pinball 1999" will be? The real question I want you to answer is "Why do you care?" Why can't people just enjoy what they have when they have it?

"Are we creating the next... whatever the noun is here" regarding pinball? No one has the ability to "create or cause" anything like that, the multiple factors involved are out of your control.

I just wonder people paying $15K-$20K for pins. Do they really expect to get that back when they sell?

My two youngest, 7 and 9, turn on my machine the most out of my five kids. It's a theme they have zero interest in, but love the lights and sounds.

I say theme doesn't matter much in the end as long as it's a good game. We would talk about 24, the pin, if it was a solid game. There are plenty of failed/bad movies that had good pins that get talked about.

In 30 years the NIB buyers will be demanding Ready Player 1 and The Hunger Games be made at that future time.

I'd like to add my two cents worth although it is probably only worth a penny. This is a hobby that is driven by nostalgia. I'm in my 50s and growing up was exposed to pinball everywhere. Bowling alleys, skating rinks, gas stations,convenience stores etc. Pinball was everywhere. Fast forward 35 years and you're hard-pressed to find a pinball machine on location anywhere so if you want to rekindle your youth then purchasing one for home use seems to be your only option. It only makes sense that today's manufacturers are putting out themes that appeal 2 people who can afford the games today. Twenty years from now the generation that will be able to afford a home use pin would probably more likely spend their money on a retro video game system to play fortnite. It seems to me it's not so much about the theme as it is exposure to pinball in general. Pinball won't go away all together but it will need to adapt to survive. Pinball has a storied history of Peaks and valleys over the years and I think we're fortunate as collectors right now to be experiencing an uptick in interest. More manufacturers, more new games,= more intrest. The theme of the game won't save the industry but getting more hands On The Flipper buttons May.

Just want to add, shaking my cane," out of my yard you damn kids"

Worth three cents my man - /thread

Good convo though, like reading multiple viewpoints.

Are we talking about dimples on Mando already, those depressions?

Out of all the games I own, the only one that my son says he wants and I can never sell is Time Fantasy. If you want an evergreen theme, it’s hard to beat marijuana and getting stoned. Personally, I’d like a microbrewery pin.

My argument is not that that they need to do this stuff badly or that everyone must use modern functionality. I do find it funny that a suggestion that would change absolutely nothing about the traditional pinball experience and you would be out. I am not trying to say that they should take the worst of this functionality and adopt the failures. It might be a good idea to adopt the successes.

Fortnite is a theme that would bring kids into pinball. Online matches with team vs team with chat is what kids love to play and first pinball company to get that license and do it right with online would crush it with the younger generations.

Most kids love SW. For those that kids are to old or just dont know Disney just put out a new animated series, theres a new Lego SW game coming out, theres Galaxy Edge at Disney, and Im pretty sure theres a few more series like Mandolorian coming soon like Obi Wan series and how about the 7 seasons of Clone Wars just to name a few SW related things happening kids today are into.

I got a 6yr old and 11 yr old. They could care less about pinball usually unless its SW related which made it so i could get a Mando easier but they would still rather watch me play because they cant keep the ball alive enough to see what the games have to offer. So everybody has seen Dwights Impossible mode how about a "Bumper" lane mode for kids or your wifes or possibly even you if you suck at playing where the outlanes dont drain for the inexperienced to have more fun. Isnt that what this is all about having fun....