Let's just get on with Elvira 3, already. If that makes me an old man, so be it.

No need. Most of the nonsense on these threads stops once your parents get home from work and makes you do your chores.
I can wait till then.

You make a few good points(some of those themes would be terrible), but some things are timeless and shouldn't automatically be disregarded because they were created before your or anybody else's time.

Believe it or not(another timeless theme imho), you're under no obligation to buy it or even like it.

You damn kids!!!

I'm curious what the age range of you guys that are so against anything pre 2000s? I was born in 71, but if someone made a Bela Lugosi pin I'd probably be in it. I know that's only one example, but I love anything "old school ".

You're definitely In her demographic. I'm guilty of loving anything Halloween or horror related, so that's where it all started for me. Halloween time with the haunted cornfields and houses is all the rage here in central PA in Oct. Always has been for as long as I can remember. Elvira is just straight up nostalgia for me.

I think you nailed it. I'd love a Judas Priest pin, but you just know some fan of the lighter 80s pop would complain because theres enough hard rock in pinball already. Stern could make a pin based on Wham and I might laugh, but I'd never complain. I'm no fan of the Wizard of Oz(I'd prefer blizzard of oz), but I can see the appeal.
Theres a lid for every pot and I think theres enough variety in new pins to appeal to everyone, so I dont understand people's animosity towards a theme they don't like.
We all get older if we're lucky and whatever you thought was cool in Your youth, is going to some day be considered lame as fuck by the younger generation.

Agreed. I dont know how good Halford is live these days, but I saw Priest in 87 (absolutely fantastic show)and he destroyed everyone's eardrums that night. The new album rocks and if they roll through PA, I'm there.

Just get the Metal Works '73-'93 double album. Every song on those two discs rocks and gives you a nice sample of their first two decades of music. No filler or throw away tracks.

Priest is esoteric??

Hazoff, You might say things in a brutal fashion sometimes, but you're not wrong. Make games for people who buy them. Most Kids today do not and will not ever give a damn about pinball as much as those of us who grew up with the arcades of the 80's and 90's do. They're not going to be shelling out thousands of dollars on new pins no matter what the theme of the game is, and in about 10 to 12 years this hobbie's large scale manufacturing will be toast.

Its almost like some of you guys think you're a better person because you "care" about the future of pinball for the next generation.
I got news for you do-gooders. The resurgence will be grinding to a halt sooner than later. There is no up and coming generation of pinball collectors, so enjoy it for what it is in the here and now.

Most likely within the next 10 years new tech like VR and AR will have matured enough to crush all other forms of entertainment. That will most likely kill pinball manufacturing among other things. On the plus side 3D printing technology should be good enough and cheap enough by then to print out your own game parts at home, assuming you're still in the hobby.

I know we'll have a few young people here and there get into pinball, but never in the numbers you see in those of us over 40. Its very generational and there's nothing anyone can do to change it.

They're fighting a losing battle. Embrace the progress of technology because its not going to stop.

Pinball Manufacturers wont be around forever either. Get it???

No, its not dead. Not yet. But you guys that think the younger generation is someday going to keep Stern and JJP or any other pinball manufacturers going on for decades to come are kidding yourselves. Idc who is playing what games wherever they may be located.

The notion that the 20 somethings of today are out in droves, drinking it up and playing pinball is pure fantasy. And any of your anecdotal evidence means zip compared to the reality. The fines and penalties for drinking and driving alone are too much for any of these "youth" to risk the financial hardship in this gig economy. Not to mention the risk of injury or death.

The town I grew up in had 32 bars in it when I was 21. Now 26 years later it s down to 12 bars while theres been an increase in the population of the county. That's not a coincidence or an outlier, that's reality in a lot of towns across the East coast of America. I travel a lot for work and whenever I'm in bars with pinball machines, NOBODY plays them. Except for me of course ,but that's exactly my point. Maybe other parts of the country or world are different, but I'd be very surprised.

You combine that with the VR/AR systems (5 to 10 years away) that will be far superior in every conceivable way to anything we have today and that spells the end of coin op. There are other cultural reasons I think pinball is in its final decade, but I think it's clear as day for anyone that wants to see it. Thats just my 2 cents. Btw that doesn't mean the hobby has to end for anyone that doesn't want it to.. It's just going to be a lot less relevant in The world than it already is.

First off, these days 2 beers in an hour =DUI. So no, You dont have to be "blotto" as you put it to get arrested and charged. Uber isnt free and idk any 20 somethings with all this money to burn that you seem to think they have at their disposal. Most of them are bitching about being in debt up to their ears because of school loans. And what does electric bikes have to do with anything? Are those free??? Besides, you can get a DUI on a skateboard these days.
And Of course there's millennials in bars and maybe occasional playing pinball. So what??!!!! Who said there isnt? That doesn't mean they're looking to spend thousands on a game.
Ultimately I think pinball dies on the vine in 10 years because of the disruptive technology that's on the horizon. It really doesn't matter who you cater pinball to at this point. Pinball will be in big trouble within the next decade so you might as well go after the guys with the deep wallets while you can. Hint: (it's not millenials)
That's really all I was pointing out. All this other garbage you guys have been throwing at me has been anecdotal or a strawman argument at best.
See you guys in 10 years and we'll discuss the state of pinball.

Hazoff, I like to think that you're wearing that same outfit that's in your avatar when you post. Always ready for battle.

I'm not really arguing against your suggestion because there's obviously some interest from the younger hobbyists for something theyre familiar with. I just think the demographics of the people buying pins is clearly in the 40 plus crowd, so that's where most (not all) of the money lies.
And like I said before, I really dont think it's going to matter in about 10 years from now what manufacturers do because theyll be irrelevant.
It's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out and to see which direction Stern and JJP go over the next few years.

Really??? Because I heard that pinball manufacturing is going to go on for decades (maybe even forever and eva) because pinball companies plan ahead. Plus we all know that no company has ever gone out of business that planned ahead. If only those companies that made 8 track tapes planned ahead, I'm sure it would have worked out fine.

No question about it. I dont have an issue with JJP, but they haven't made a game yet that I'd be interested in buying. The games look nice and the few I played were pretty good, but they weren't anything that would interest me to buy for my own collection.

Yeah. You're right, genius. Theres no such thing as trends.

When I talk about trends, I'm talking specifically about VR systems, their steady improvement and their future impact on home entertainment.I work in that field and it's going to get scary good within the next handful of years. Good enough that rest assured the kids growing up on this technology will want little to nothing to do with anything else.

As far as pinball goes, I think it's pretty obvious that location pinball isnt anywhere close to what it use to be and it never will be again.Theres zero chance that the kids of today, will in the future fill the void left by the current hobbyist/buyers when we're gone. Their interest are in the digital realm, social media, online gaming etc. Pinball doesn't even make a blip on their radar. So i think things ultimately will dry up for the most part and that's a trend you can see with your own two eyes.
Thats just MY opinion, but maybe I'm just talking out my ass. Time will tell.

BK3 looks like a badass game to me, but I'm a B/W fanboy and I make no apologies for it either.

You're right, but that's the missing ingredient that VR will have in spades by the end of the 2020s. The haptic controls literally get better by the month.
Nostalgia is a non issue for the youth of today. They didn't grow up in the arcade era and will have no emotional attachment to arcades or pinball imo.
There really will be no comparison or competition to a truly immersive virtual world where anything you can think of is possible. I guess pinball could live on in a virtual world if you wanted it to.
There are still engineering hurdles to be sure, but I have no doubt theyll be worked out well enough over the next 10 years that the experience will be nothing short of phenomenal. I think the impact, not just on Pinball but society as well will be exciting and scary.

That's an interesting, outside the box idea.

I'm shocked at how well guarded Stern keeps their reveals.

Tough choices. Artwork is what attracted me to pinball in the first place and is one of my favorite things about these games. Yet, strangely enough it's the one thing you really dont need to have a great game. Pretty games arent worth a damn if they're no fun.

Very anticlimactic, but theres still the reveal of the C8 Corvette to look forward to today.

There are no discussions on Pinside or exchange of ideas. Only arguments, disagreements and overwhelming disappointment.

I almost forgot. There are no opinions either, only unfiltered facts.

Btw, Rob I totally dig the avatar. It does suit this forum to a tee sometimes.

I highly doubt Stern was trying to take personal shots at guys that are most likely to buy their cornerstone games.
They have a new low end (but still expensive) product and they tried to pump it up a little. I don't think it's going to work either, but no harm done.