Quoted from thedarkknight77:Location pinball play prices are going to rise, creating a much larger barrier in driving new pinheads to this hobby. Cute idea, but outdated and anyone with any business sense can see this will fail. This innovation was not built using customer data for some unmet need, this was built on greed and ambition for profit. Once again, Where is my Bluetooth!!!!
I think the idea is that achievements (and the pavlov-ian response to earning them) are expected to do a better job of getting players hooked. How many times have you seen someone walk up to a machine they don't understand, knock the ball around for ~3 minutes, and walk away with a look on their face like "what the hell did I just play THAT for?" Achievements give that type of player a breadcrumb trail to follow to keep them playing (read: inserting more quarters, learning more about the game rules, coming back to play the same machine again later, getting into the hobby, considering buying one for their basement, etc).
Interested new player signs up, plays their first game, and gets a low-hanging achievement for starting their first mode. "Oh, ok-- I see what's going on here." Then they play again to see if they can *finish* a mode-- new achievement, nice. Then it's an achievement for multiball, scoring a super jackpot, completing 5 modes in a game, etc. What could have been a total earnings of $1 is now an earnings of $7 because they played more games. Maybe they're buzzed enough that they share it on social media or convince a friend to come play with them ("Look, our names are up on the screen!"). Operator doesn't have to increase the cost per play if there are more people playing, and playing more games each session.
Next time that person thinks about going out and playing pinball, they may be more likely to do so because there's "progress" to be made. Even if they're not a great player yet, they can still have fun earning a few achievements. I'm not an operator, so maybe I'm overly optimistic about revenue this might help generate. But as a player I think it's awesome.
The data collection and tools that they have in the works for operators seem like they would certainly rationalize any fees or subscriptions that *might* be coming. Again-- not an operator. Outside looking in.
EDIT: also, don't forget-- the machine still accepts coins if you choose not to use the Stern IC features.