Quoted from dung:

Kinda wondering what *innovation* the op is expecting?
RGB lighting doesn't count.
LCD doesn't count.
Rulesets that go on for 10 pages don't count.
You want wacky toys? Yes the castle in mm is cool. BOTH POTC games beat it. A ship that you hit and it sinks into the playfield? A ship's deck that not only rocks back and forth, but changes the speed to make it more difficult?
MM remains number 1 in part because of nostalgia. It is a known quantity. It is an amazing game, but if it got released today with an updated display, it would probably just be *ok*.

Quoted from jfre81:

Innovation isn't just in new features. It can be in making older features better. It can be in the rules and programming side of game development.
Not everything needs to be an interactive bash toy.
Less can be more sometimes.
Xenon had a really cool looking tube ramp for its day, and Centaur came out later with just some rollovers, some drop targets and a captive ball, but put me with the two side by side in a room and I'm probably going to play Centaur because it's a better game.
MM really shines to me not because of the theme or the castle toy but because it's a well-designed game from a rules standpoint and there's a reason its influence has shown up in games since from any designer and with a track record you can think of. It's like when flippers were invented and, after some moving around, the pinball makers came to a consensus that two flippers facing inward at the bottom of the box should be a standard.
I can understand if there's a game you would rather play, or own, than MM.
But I can see why it sits where it does in the rankings.
I can understand why it commands what it does on the secondhand market, especially with its low production run in comparison with its popularity.
Had it come out a little earlier during the height of Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam in the arcade, it might have outsold TAF.
All I know is now, we have five pinball makers in existence with multiple games brought to market. 20 years ago, there was one.
Can't say moves aren't getting made in pinball still.

Quoted from Onwallst:Go buy your new Elwin game.

Quoted from Flipper_Ripper:

To be honest. Look at MM and the latest pin that just came out, which is Led Zeppelin. If I didn’t know a single thing about pinball and you showed me both machines, LZ Pro and MM, I’d guess MM was more modern. So in a way I could answer your question, and say not much has developed in 25 years.
Realistically, if you look at WOZ, GnR, EHOH, Heist, Stranger Things LE, among other pins, you will see progression. What I’m excited about is different companies now trying to compete with each other. JJP pushed the envelope of progression with WOZ. I feel like American Pinball is about to surprise us with their next pin and enter the ring with JJP and Stern. I feel like Stern will up their game after seeing the success of JJP and hopefully American Pinball. I feel Spooky coming out with another great title. CGC has now entered the ring with their own title. So things are about to heat up and companies will really start to compete for your $. At least that’s what my crystal ball tells me.