The ranking/achievement system is from video games. I think about competitive video game communities. There's 2 things they really hate.

- Randomness/Variance of any sort. aka: RNG, "No items, Fox Only, Final Destination."
- Cheating or even the perception cheating is possible.

Even at the highest competitive level what really makes pinball different from video games is the randomness that only a physical machine can deliver. Even in the best virtual pinball simulations with the highest quality physics you can sense it's not the same. No 2 tables are alike and even the strictest tournament settings still allow for a lot of random things to happen. Anyone can do whatever they want to their own machine, but in tournaments anti-cheat/game integrity is secure because you're all playing the same table and policing one another.

Are either of those going to fly with the players who are going to be most invested in this system and willing to increase their coin drop because of it?

When either ends up affecting profitability/adoption of the system, Stern will have to respond. In the long term, I worry the price will be paid in the form of code, rules, features and general game design that trade away some of the fun and randomness unique to pinball.

That's going to affect everyone. Even the people who never make an account and never play in tournaments.

Warning:Sarcasm. I know some great ops who love the game and it shows I'll always drop insane amounts on their locations, and even the worst ones I wouldn't wish this on them.

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What finally drove me to buy a NiB was wasn't the cost per play or not being able to find my favorites, it was watching them slowly decline from new to utterly broken while the op watched.

You know what would really increase my per game and overall coin drop? Increased operator engagement! Bring on the opchievements and make them public. Good ops will be overrun with new players and shitty ones can switch to redemption machines and free up their games for people who appreciate them for the works of art they are.

Fixed a broken switch. 10 points. 5 bonus points if they remember to remove the balls before lifting the playfield. 10 more if they fixed it before it was reported by 5 different players.

Knows the terms coil stop and coil sleeve. 20 points. 10 more if they can tell them apart.

Actually did recommended maitenance in the last 2000 plays 50 points.

Didn't just shrug when alerted to a gamebreaking issue that anyone who actually plays pinball can spot the first time they ever play the game. 500 points.

Will ops like it? Maybe.
Will their games be more valuable? Wait and see.
Will the machines actually be maintained properly? Results not guaranteed.

But they'll be engaged.

"Fail the same way 45 consecutive times" is going in the list of bullet points for my imaginary ted talk on what happens when a company shifts the narrative from entertainment to engagement.

I just hope I can put money directly into games, press start and play pinball. 3 balls, game ends, repeat. Uninterrupted. Any time I can disconnect from everything else and just enjoy myself in the moment would still be a bargain at several times the typical location price.

As long as I can do that I'll continue to dump money into location games for hours at a time.

If every game starts, ends or is interrupted, delayed or otherwise encroached with ads for the service, pleas to log in or taunts that I'm missing out on something, I'll dump that money into something that doesn't do that.

I figured we'd start to see them available soon but I didn't realize they were giving them away at the KFC drivethru.