(Topic ID: 9731)

Pinball popularity

By docscott

12 years ago


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  • Latest reply 6 years ago by nwpinball
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    There are 71 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 2.
    #1 12 years ago

    Glad to see JJ entering the market, but I gotta ask everyone for their thoughts on something....

    Are us pinball fanatics in a dying buggy whip type hobby? Are we getting enough younger players entering the hobby to keep it alive, despite the competition of x-box?

    Depending on the day, I feel strongly one way or the other. I guess I'd have to say that it seems the gene pool of pinheads is decreasing. Rarely can I get a child really into enjoying pins, and when I do, it is usually only the modern movie themed pins?

    Of course, we know routing is generally not financial advantageous to arcade/bar etc. owners. Can the hobby last with the primary market being individuals that buy for their home use only?

    Is our hobby waxing or waning?

    #2 12 years ago
    Quoted from docscott:

    younger players entering the hobby to keep it alive,

    No, not enough newbies. I think as we fade away or get too old to move pins, the value will go down as well. That will be a while though. That being said, I am going to keep spending money on them.

    #3 12 years ago

    My boys love all pinball. All I can do is keep introducing them to different machines. I think they like the fact we have something we can all play together and my 7 year old loves to beat the wife at AFM.

    #3 12 years ago

    Most noob kids have no idea what they are doing unless specifically instructed. I have watched a 10 yr old kid stick money in a machine and just stand there pulling the plunger until his game was over, never touching the flippers. He probably went home and pwned some 30 yr olds in Call of Duty.

    #4 12 years ago
    Quoted from docscott:

    Are us pinball fanatics in a dying buggy whip type hobby? Are we getting enough younger players entering the hobby to keep it alive, despite the competition of x-box?

    Well unfortunately I would say "buggy whip".....kids, and I have three of them in xbox age range, don't want to play a pinball machine, it just doesn't hold their attention, they want to play 3 or 4 different games at a time and then buy the new one that comes out for $50 bucks, play that one and then move on!......

    When I was at Pinballz in Austin, the younger kids were playing the video games, not pinballs....a few dads were trying to get their young kids to play with them....but none by themselves....

    It's just a fact of life, as the next generation grows up, pinball enthusiasts and collectors will decline......

    IMHO, prices are gonna peak and then start dropping as more inventory comes onto the market with Stern cranking them out like a Pez dispenser and JJP now.......

    There are only so many dollars to absorb all these machines and the sheer volume would require every pinsider to buy a dozen machines like yourself...and keep buying them!

    But it sure is a fun hobby!!

    #5 12 years ago
    Quoted from captainadam_21:

    He probably went home and pwned some 30 yr olds in Call of Duty.

    that was me!

    #6 12 years ago

    I agree, not a lot of new players and more machines hitting the market in big numbers and no commercial appeal... I have to beg my kids to play pinball with me. What's the attraction, they ask me, of pounding on a silver ball compared to the blood and guts and radio communication to x-box players in other states. Hey that's a thought, maybe we should hook up headsets to talk to one another while playing...

    #7 12 years ago

    I have a feeling that it is going to be waning. People that came of age in arcades and that remember the early 90s era of pinball are enjoying and reliving our past. In 20-30 years, my kids will want a pinball machine about as much as I want a jukebox. Okay, my kids may want a pinball machine in 20-30 years, but I doubt their friends will.

    #8 12 years ago

    Meh, kids will be kids and some will get into it and most will not.... that just means for pins for the rest of us!

    #9 12 years ago

    How much is the average person willing to invest in this hobby a year? That will certainly tell us if the limited market can absorb all the new builds, and keep prices up on the old.

    #10 12 years ago

    How popular does it have to be? Stern is only making a couple thousand pins a year. JJP will likely do less. seems like absorption shouldn't be too much of a problem. We all know those popular bally/williams games aren't being made any more. I added 4 nice bally/williams that will not be on the market any time in the near future, as did many others on this site.

    #11 12 years ago

    I have twin 11 year olds and my son is totally into it. My daughter will play but she's less competative. Almost all his friends play when they come over. I think there will always be a market for them but who knows. If they ever come up with total immersion gaming then everything else will disappear, so why worry.

    #12 12 years ago

    I'm just happy that parts are still available for the old classics, allowing us to keep them aesthetically appealing and completely playable.

    #13 12 years ago
    Quoted from stangbat:

    I have a feeling that it is going to be waning. People that came of age in arcades and that remember the early 90s era of pinball are enjoying and reliving our past.

    +1 I think this is the reason we are seeing a resurgance in pinball now. People like myself who now have some time and $$ to relive the 'glory days' of the arcades (late 70's and early 80's for me). As much as I've tried, my kids and their friends would rather play the Wii than pinball. Hardly anyone growing up today will look back fondly on the arcades and pinball. The old saying is 'a light burns brightest just before it burns out'. I really hope I'm wrong, but I fear this aplies to pinball as well...

    #14 12 years ago

    My kid is not into them. Him and his buddies pretty much ignore the pins completely but, will play online video games for hours on end.

    #15 12 years ago
    Quoted from SunKing:

    As much as I've tried, my kids and their friends would rather play the Wii than pinball.

    Same here. My 7-year-old twins could pretty much care less about pinball. I've hat TOTAN for several weeks now, and I bet they haven't played a total of five games on it between the two of them. I just added a WH2O to the collection a few days ago, and neither one of them has played it yet. Their friends aren't interested either. I know some people's kids are really into pinball, but sadly I think that's the exception, not the norm.

    #16 12 years ago

    I just threw a pinball party for some neighbors, about eight of them, all over sixty, and none of which had played pinball in decades. Couldn't get them off the machines. They loved them. Strangely, none were reliving old memories so much as tackling a fun game that wasn't technologically intimidating.

    #17 12 years ago

    The real question is how can we get a generation of kids to like pinball? I'm 20 years old and I have friends that think pinball is cool and friends who don't know what a pinball machine is. We have to reinvent the wheel for pinball to survive.

    #18 12 years ago

    We had the reinvention of the wheel... the pins in the form of RFM before the company went out of business. So we have to not only keep things appealing, but maintain the remaining existing popularity. I think that is why Stern mostly uses popular movie themes. The themes appeal to a younger audience.

    #19 12 years ago
    Quoted from docscott:

    We had the reinvention of the wheel... the pins in the form of RFM before the company went out of business.

    Good point, but I don't remember seeing kids play RFM or SWE1 when they came out.

    #20 12 years ago
    Quoted from docscott:

    Glad to see JJ entering the market, but I gotta ask everyone for their thoughts on something....
    Are us pinball fanatics in a dying buggy whip type hobby? Are we getting enough younger players entering the hobby to keep it alive, despite the competition of x-box?
    Depending on the day, I feel strongly one way or the other. I guess I'd have to say that it seems the gene pool of pinheads is decreasing. Rarely can I get a child really into enjoying pins, and when I do, it is usually only the modern movie themed pins?
    Of course, we know routing is generally not financial advantageous to arcade/bar etc. owners. Can the hobby last with the primary market being individuals that buy for their home use only?
    Is our hobby waxing or waning?

    Absolutely not enough new blood in this hobby. Not even close. Sadly, I think it will be very unlikely that Stern and JJP will be around in 10-15 years.

    #21 12 years ago

    I would be surprised if new pinball machines were being made past this decade. The manufacturers are making this stuff mostly out of passion for the game, not a strong bottom line. Video and computer games interest and sales have been incredibly strong since the mid eighties and are here to stay. Pinball just takes up too much room and expense to appease the masses, throw in high repair costs and you have a sinking ship. A new Stern pin costs what, about $4700 bucks, and to download Angry Birds on a smart phone costs $1 dollar, and whether you want to believe it or not they are in competition with each other.

    I actually kind of like the niche aspect of being a Pinball Enthusiast, it makes the hobby that much more unique. I'm in my late twenties and I know nobody my age who really likes pinball. It's all Xboxes, Ipads, and the like for gaming these days. Which is fine, I like that too.

    #22 12 years ago

    here's the reinvention for ya. Full size tablets are huge right now, just make that bigger, add some bumpers that can be moved/alternated like lite brite, snap in, leds are on, do the same with various ramps, build your own machine, the reason for the tablet format, touch sensativity, multi ball sensor that can 'feel' where the ball is at the time.

    For the home market, leave enough memory for table downloads, for the extra plastics that can be bought, also the mp3 library.

    Of course if this ever comes to reality, we will also have touchable holograms by then, and that'll be a whole different ball game.

    #23 12 years ago
    Quoted from TheStranger:

    I would be surprised if new pinball machines were being made past this decade. The manufacturers are making this stuff mostly out of passion for the game, not a strong bottom line. Video and computer games interest and sales have been incredibly strong since the mid eighties and are here to stay. Pinball just takes up too much room and expense to appease the masses, throw in high repair costs and you have a sinking ship. A new Stern pin costs what, about $4700 bucks, and to download Angry Birds on a smart phone costs $1 dollar, and whether you want to believe it or not they are in competition with each other.
    I actually kind of like the niche aspect of being a Pinball Enthusiast, it makes the hobby that much more unique. I'm in my late twenties and I know nobody my age who really likes pinball. It's all Xboxes, Ipads, and the like for gaming these days. Which is fine, I like that too.

    I appreciate your views, and I thank you for being in the hobby. Now if you can just give one of your friends the bug, and they could give one of their friends the bug...

    What's funny is I seldom ever have a pinball virgin who steps up to my machines (unknowing that I invited them over for just that purpose) who doesn't have a great time.

    #24 12 years ago

    I have watched a 10 yr old kid stick money in a machine and just stand there pulling the plunger until his game was over, never touching the flippers.

    I have seen the same thing... Sadly.
    Well since we are all here and alive "today", our goal should be that of education!
    Be a "Big Brother/Sister" to those in need! (<---Pin-Challenged)
    Take a little time out of your next arcade trip to help those less fortunate!*
    They will thank you- and in turn, tell THEIR friends about how cool a multiball is!

    * But try not to be a "CrEePeR" during that adult/kid interaction okay? Make sure their parents are aware of your intentions! Ya' Dingus!

    YaDingus.jpegYaDingus.jpeg

    "Don't be a creeper!"

    Oh yeah...
    I almost forgot the most important thing! (Duh!)
    Try to find an ARCADE!!!

    #25 12 years ago

    It needs to be public to survive, pure and simple. Problem is competition in the home market for personal entertainment. Places of public amusement are the only long term way, and it's still possible, but unlikely that pinball will make another resurgence. But I'm an optimist deep inside, so I'm holding my breath

    #26 12 years ago

    The only pin I've seen in public around me is a RS at the local movie theater. Dave and Buster's didn't have any the last time I went, the "Tilt" at the mall didn't have any. Gameworks still does, but we don't have very many of those in the Chicago area. I can't remember the last bar I was at that had one, but that's a small sample size, I don't frequent that many bars. The few video games I see in bars are Golden Tee, Bags, and Big Buck Hunter or another light gun game. Occasionally I'll see a Class of '84 Galaga/Ms. Pac Man combo.

    I don't see how a resurgence in pinball is even possible. It would take years to get to the point to even break even on a new pin at today's prices let alone make money. Guys that are routing pins, how long would it take to make any money on a new pin?

    #27 12 years ago

    I actually think Stern is going to hurt the hobby more than help with their latest offerings. Prices are rising to absurd levels for new pins. When collectors have had enough and decide to spend their 8k on a MM instead of an AC/DC LE, Stern is going to have to re-evaluate if there is enough profit left to stay around. I don't believe prices will drop once Stern is gone like others have stated. Once the production numbers his 0 per year for NiB machines, existing machines will probably turn to gold which will further push people away from the hobby.

    I hope i'm wrong. It wont happen overnight but lets face it, this is never going to be a growing hobby again. If you had Stern and JJP putting out 2 quality machines each at $4500 then you might actually see some growth. New stock would constantly be turning over and the prices of older machines might drop as people make room for new. I'm sure they know this but it comes down to the almighty dollar and how much can we make today.

    #28 12 years ago
    Quoted from gweempose:

    Same here. My 7-year-old twins could pretty much care less about pinball. I've hat TOTAN for several weeks now, and I bet they haven't played a total of five games on it between the two of them. I just added a WH2O to the collection a few days ago, and neither one of them has played it yet. Their friends aren't interested either. I know some people's kids are really into pinball, but sadly I think that's the exception, not the norm.

    wow 2 awesome games they should be so lucky!

    #29 12 years ago
    Quoted from kwiKimart:

    docscott said:We had the reinvention of the wheel... the pins in the form of RFM before the company went out of business.
    Good point, but I don't remember seeing kids play RFM or SWE1 when they came out.

    Don't reinvent..... I've never played RFM, but SWE1 is one of the worst. Ever. And I love Star Wars. I hate the idea of creating more gimmicky titles. I hate the idea of trying to add more video game elements, etc.

    The formula is there. Produce quality titles. Kids will play something if it's good - it doesn't have to be Twilight or Shrek themed....Maybe it does.. What do we mean by kids? Does there need to be a toddler level interest in pinball machines? Elementary school?

    I think that the "young" market isn't any younger than 18. If that generation is into pinball, then there's some future.

    I'm 26, my friends now love pinball after exposure to my modest collection. None of them would have even thought to seek it out before, and nor would I a couple of years ago. Now many of them talk about starting their own collections. It would be difficult for it to be appealing to anyone younger - they're too busy on facebook, texting, or playing video games. It's hyperstimulation.

    Considering a lot of us own machines older than ourselves is proof that quality machines have long lives.

    #30 12 years ago

    I'm 17 and I'm very interested in the hobby and I have been every since I was very young. My first memory of pinball was seeing Stern's Rollercoaster Tycoon pinball machine being advertised on an ad that poped up while installing the actual RCT PC game. I always asked for it for christmas, but obviously my parents told me "You can get it when you have a job, and a house." Well, since then I can say that I have a job and lots of room to put one but I still haven't been able to get the money to buy one. I know lots of kids my age who would love pinball, so I think there is a possibility that it will not die out. You just can't compare games like Halo or Call of Duty to a pinball machine. If you want to try to compare video games to pinball, a better comparison would be a game on the Ipod or on Facebook, because these games are meant to be short and have a very classic arcade type of feel, and these games are selling very well these days. Many teens just aren't exposed to pinball because there is nowhere to even try it unless you want to drop a VERY large sum of money (especially at my age) to buy one. If you were 15-19 years old, would you rather have a pinball machine, or a phone and a car?

    My final thought is unless there is a change in the pinball price point, making them more affordable for home purchase, or more places like the Pinball museum in Seattle to play, they will inevitably die out. Kids just don't get the exposure to pinball machines like they do to modern video games.

    #31 12 years ago

    Oh, and yes, I've played Halo since the beginning and bunches of other modern games as well (call of duty, world of warcraft, guitar hero? You name it I've played it) It's possible to like both!

    #32 12 years ago

    never retreat!never surrender! keep pinball alive by playing,collecting,pins. start a local club. get a group together to go to the next pinball gathering near you. invite a friend or neighbor to come with you. long live the silver ball!

    #33 12 years ago
    Quoted from Meph:

    I actually think Stern is going to hurt the hobby more than help with their latest offerings. Prices are rising to absurd levels for new pins.

    $2700 in 1996 is like $4000 in 2012 adjusted for inflation, so yes, new tables have gone up more than inflation.

    But also remember, many of those $2700 titles sold 8,000 to 20,000 copies each. That type of volume is never going to happen again.

    #34 12 years ago

    I'm so please to see some of the younger crowd appreciating our hobby... teenagers..... And they so articulately express their points. Maybe that means the teens who aren't brain dead and numb from video games gravitate to this hobby....

    #35 12 years ago
    Quoted from docscott:

    I'm so please to see some of the younger crowd appreciating our hobby... teenagers..... And they so articulately express their points. Maybe that means the teens who aren't brain dead and numb from video games gravitate to this hobby....

    That's a great sign for pinball, and I'm only 20!

    #36 12 years ago

    Well if it helps, my kids can't get enough and ask to play anytime I do. Right now they are 3 and 4 years old so I encourage them all I can. They have yet to see a video game and their first experience to any vids will be this spring when I build a Mame cabinet. Hook em young and maybe we can keep them.

    #37 12 years ago
    Quoted from Meph:

    Well if it helps, my kids can't get enough and ask to play anytime I do. Right now they are 3 and 4 years old so I encourage them all I can. They have yet to see a video game and their first experience to any vids will be this spring when I build a Mame cabinet. Hook em young and maybe we can keep them.

    There ya go, built myself a MAME a year ago. They are a blast.

    #38 12 years ago
    Quoted from kwiKimart:

    The real question is how can we get a generation of kids to like pinball?

    LCD with video modes, just saying...I know it will kill "flow" but new players do not care about that. They would love to switch back and forth.

    #39 12 years ago

    I don't think this comes to a gimmick, or even changing anything in particular. I would rather see more inventive / original titles than all these themed pins.

    TLDR: Exposure.

    My Uncle had a Meteor. We played this everytime we were at their house.. and got destoryed by our cousin (who's a girl....sigh). I liked the game and it was simple to pick up.

    Back in the mid 90's When I was 16 or so we used to go hang out at the mall at the arcade. I ended up playing quite a few games and eventually the OP knew my name and would hang out and chat. He pushed me to play some pinball which was in the way back of his arcade. He had 3-4 machines at the time: AF and RS which I remember playing. I liked it, but I didn't see my quarters last long (like meteor), as long as It did with the arcade games.... so I kept playing arcade games.

    The OP would add some credits from time to time and let me play / or against me which was pretty damn cool. I always thought they were sweet but I was far from good at it...

    About a year ago, I had the financial means and room to buy something. I have pretty much every videogame system from Intellivision up thru the 360, Wii, and PS3. I have a kick ass PC with a Full Racing Sim and 5760x1080 res (2x 560ti 2GB - SLI). I wanted something different and I knew I wanted a pinball. I ended up picking up 2 machines at once and have never looked back since (until now?).

    The big thing that will continue this hobby is exposure. We live in a throw away / cheap society. The do it or learn it yourself ers are few and far between. Patience to work on something that should is gone. We don't leave (our homes / apts) for entertainment, it finds us, its in our pockets. Cheap alternatives to entertainment in 1.99 games and streaming movies, video game consoles for 100-200 bucks.

    $1000-3000 for a decent pin is out of realistic reach for some people... add in the price for new pins 5k-8k... pft. Cheaper entertainment somewhere else.

    Hopefully the 25+ somethings will continue to join the hobby, my brother and I have have brought a few in with us... and I hope to continue. But I can almost be certain, they wont be buying NIB pins, and my concern, they wont be able to work on them...

    #40 12 years ago

    Not to mention. All of my kids, their friends, and my friends love playing. They think its cool and it much more social then playing 360 or other games, (even cards or board games). With all the gaming systems I have (and games), when people are over the pins are by far the winners.

    I get comments from the other parents, thanks, now my kids are asking about one. Which is OK by me

    #41 12 years ago

    I think the theme is an important aspect to drawing new players in. My nephew is 11 or so (I track kids ages by height - not really my area of interest). He'd been here and seen the pinball machines before, he'd even tried one of the arcade ones (Afterburner) and been distinctly unimpressed.

    Then he saw Turbo. The old 1982 one, it's about as primitive as you can get in terms of gameplay - but that one caught his interest. It has bold artwork (cockpit one), and it's about cars - kids his age love cars. He liked Chase HQ, same reason. Unfortunately I don't have a car themed pinball machine here, but he's seen Tron action toys in the Disney store, and I expect the flashing LE ramps and familiar theme will get some interest. He also loves pirates, and I picked up a Black Rose a week or so ago - will try to remember to post here next time he's visited. I'm expecting BR to be a big hit, it's a nice forgiving game and cannon is great fun. And it's covered with pirates.

    So it got me thinking - JJP are approaching this angle I think by going family friendly, and while I think it will be a success, I don't think it will actually attract many new players. I went and looked at a list of recent childrens films and tried to pick ones that are:

    1) For children
    2) Don't make children feel like children watching them
    3) Are paletable to adults too

    I struck off all but two from 2011, that's how difficult this is. First I saw Rango, if you haven't seen it - it's a fantastic film, very funny and people of all ages can appreciate it. They really hit the spot with the humour on that one. Then I came to the last in the list..

    The Muppets.

    That license has win written all over it. Who here grew up with the Muppets? Even my parents liked the Muppets and they're retired now. My girlfriend loves the Muppets. My Nephew enjoys the Muppets too with my sister. There's a wealth of characters to choose from for modes (there's the Muppet band, Pigs In Space, etc), a recognisable tune to use here and there, you could even have Kermit announcing the start of the game, and the old men mocking it after the third drain.

    Someone needs to make this happen - I bet kids would be all over it, if they see it on location, and I would too.

    #42 12 years ago
    Quoted from system11:

    The Muppets.

    That license has win written all over it. Who here grew up with the Muppets? Even my parents liked the Muppets and they're retired now. My girlfriend loves the Muppets. My Nephew enjoys the Muppets too with my sister. There's a wealth of characters to choose from for modes (there's the Muppet band, Pigs In Space, etc), a recognisable tune to use here and there, you could even have Kermit announcing the start of the game, and the old men mocking it after the third drain.

    Someone needs to make this happen - I bet kids would be all over it, if they see it on location, and I would too.

    You sir, are a genius. +1 I'm in. If his was done right... wow tons of possibilities.

    Maybe Jason Segel can make this happpen. His character (Marshall) on HIMYM wants a pinball machine. Lily said he could put it where ever he wanted (in their new home).

    #43 12 years ago

    Waning.
    Not being a troll, but pinball is too expensive and requires too much maintenence, money and space to ever be super popular again.

    I genuinally think it's awesome and super-romantic of people to keep the dream alive of "Pinball is coming back!!!" but people are say this ALL the time, usually after a show where all the machines were set to freeplay.
    Arcades are dead. New machines are WAY beyond the average persons ownership price (and many will only see it as "What? you only get one game on it?" anyway) Older machines require consistant work at a time where everyone wants their stuff to work perfectly, all the time, otherwise they feel "robbed" or just simply can't be bothered/can't afford to put any time into maintenence.

    For something that big and that expensive, only dedicated fans would commit to the time, money, patience and effort required.
    As for out and about, people could possibly be tempted to play again in the wild, but again, they'd have to be dedicated, If they drain their first couple of credits fairly quickly, many would likely think "Man, I coulda bought another beer with that"
    Plus they have to get over the BS alleged "embarrassment" of playing in public, which is another falling point for many.

    In my opinion, the idea of this magical "one theme" game that will ignite the worlds interest falls down, similar to console developers obsession with "What ONE game will get people into videogaming?"
    Some people just DON'T CARE about videogames, or football, or music, or art, they hold NO interest for them and has no appeal to their lives. You just can't convince them to "get into it" and those are fairly mainstream examples of interests. Pinball is way more niche than any of those.

    The main problem with collectors opinions on this matter is that they forget that the rest of the world doesn't have disposable income and travel dedication to drop on an item that is beyond luxury.
    That rules out the idea of a mass of home-owners. As for outdoor players, many places in the wild have no interest in installing a machine, and even if they do, then people have to, God forbid, leave their homes and their WEALTH of technological distractions to play, whilst simultaeniously stamping on their fragile ego fears of looking like a "geek".

    I LOVE pinball with my all, but it's done. As a community we will keep it alive, of course we will, we have PASSION. But it is never going to be this thing that the public have a passion/obssesion for like they do for things more affordable and accessible, such as phones, TV or consoles.

    I know this is a negative post, and I'll probably cop a ton of crap for it. But I'm only being honest to what I think. So please don't kick off at me.

    #44 12 years ago

    I don't think your post is overly negative....It's very much reality.

    The only area that I disagree with is this statement: "In my opinion, the idea of this magical "one theme" game that will ignite the worlds interest falls down, similar to console developers obsession with "What ONE game will get people into videogaming?""

    There have been many instances of this. Black Knight and High Speed resurrected pinball in the 80's when they were competing against the influx of Midway/Nameco explosion of video games. DMDs resurrected pinball in the 90's against the likes of Tekken, Gauntlet and other advanced multiplayer fighting games.

    As for video consoles, Halo3 resulted in the bulk of sales for Xbox360's launch. Wii Fit/Sports for Wii. There are always ground breaking innovations that spark interest again in a once thought dead industry. Time will tell whether WOZ or any other pin can do that. Certainly, the 'death' of the arcade doesn't help that as it is increasingly more difficult to find pins in the wild. But if they start earning again, then expect to see more available. Inventory follows the money.

    #45 12 years ago

    I agree 100% with the above post (OrochiLeona). I don't think any one thing will get pinball back into the mainstream. Too many other distractions for the masses to worry about 1k-3k machines that require a ton of work and space. I hope we're wrong, but I don't see it happening. The collector market I could see sustaining for a long while though. Especially if NIB pins became more reasonably priced. I am curious to see the split on NIB sales between OP's and collectors. I just don't see pinball making enough money to cover the purchase price.

    #46 12 years ago

    While real pinball may by dying some of us over at http://www.vpforums.org/ have been hard at work making virtual pins to keep the hobby alive. Check the pins out there as many of them use rom packs so they can emulate the commercial ones exactly! There are hundreds of original pins

    #47 12 years ago

    I've thought about building a virtual pin - but the real things are so much better.. The pros are it wouldn't break down as much and access to pins I would never be able to own..

    The cons are the cost, and the feel. I think I could probably run it off of my gaming computer, but even the screens are pretty expensive - and that's all money that can be put into a real pin.

    Still, it's a cool idea. I find myself going back and forth on it.

    #48 12 years ago

    It's like model trains or jukeboxes or any other number of things an earlier generation grew up with. They don't appeal to younger generations because they can't relate to the time they were relevant.

    #49 12 years ago
    Quoted from captainadam_21:

    Most noob kids have no idea what they are doing unless specifically instructed. I have watched a 10 yr old kid stick money in a machine and just stand there pulling the plunger until his game was over, never touching the flippers. He probably went home and pwned some 30 yr olds in Call of Duty.

    100%

    couldn't have gotten that anymore correct.

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