“Rich” is relative but I meet a lot of people in the hobby buying high priced games and many are far from what most would consider rich. More and more 30’s and 40’s with “middle-class” jobs.

I don’t think pinball is in a bubble but wouldn’t be surprised with a temporary drop for many titles from the current exuberance if the economy turns south and some start to question if pinball is a sure thing. Especially mediocre titles caught in the current run up.

The larger picture is all about the rate of new hobbyists vs. relatively fixed supply. If the number continues to grow exponentially, prices will keep going up until there is a fundamental change in supply.

I think a dollar invested in the S&P 5-years ago would be worth about $2.50 today with dividends reinvested. So pinball has done well but not that well - unless you add in all the fun, then it wins by a mile.

If demand is projected to continue to grow then Stern should add another production line(s). Constructing a new line would be relatively cheap/easy, but increasingly labor and part supply are obviously constraints right now.

I was in manufacturing and in a situation like this the pressure would be intense to quickly bring on new production. More important than short-term profits, it creates an opening for competition. Stern’s competition is generally inept at getting product out the door but I still wouldn’t give them a sustained opening.

I said that supply issues were the key constraint, but if demand is projected to continue to grow, i.e. not a bubble, then adding production may be the right move. I don’t know the degree of supply constraints, especially capital intense manufacturing like chips, but if the mid-longer term outlook is strong then you should be aggressively working constraints, which a well run business like Stern is obviously doing.

My point is that if new consumers are a major growth driver, vs. short term easy money, then added Stern production is a major or the key factor to the pinball pricing outlook.

And theme. Any theme that has broad appeal to more casual players, especially family friendly, also does well. Games like Munsters and TH that are not highly regarded by more serious players are doing amazingly well with so many new people entering the market. I don’t believe the bubble will burst, but wouldn’t be surprised if titles like these fell back into line, relatively, with their pre-pandemic place.

Mainly they made a ton and the insane shoot everything, multiball code - but another crap, pooling, chipping JJP playfield doesn’t help either.