Possible.. But there will still be the maintenance issue that pinball machines require.

A good move for once.

that's a cool idea. Kids seem to only want to play ticket giving games and now can enjoy pinball while earning them..... or adults can win tickets so their kids can get a 50 cent toy for $15 of tokens to play the ticket giving machines

This is long overdue. Redemption games are basically the entire coin op world now.

redemption I agree with.. however, once again, Stern (king of the un-innovators) is using 30 year old technology of a ticket dispensing system going back to showbiz pizza. I only see this working at a place that already does redemption (gameworks, dave n busters if they'll allow pins back in, chuck e cheese). Who's going to redeem tickets at a bar, or a bowling alley, or a restaurant?

Seems jersey jack is doing a digital system where you can automatically enter sweepstakes to win a pinball machine, or credit towards the purchase of one:
http://dynamicsinc.com/jerseyjackpinball

I've still got a bucket of dave n busters tickets I haven't redeemed because I have no reason to go back there

toyotaboy, that card for Jack... does that plug into WOZ somehow? I don't understand how it's an alternative to tickets.

I thought they had tix dispensers on some of them at chuck e cheese for years. I think they went in the dollar bill areas on the coin door or something?

great way to get a couple pins back in arcades

Yup, sadly. My local Chuck E Cheese has one pin (Shrek). I've only been there a couple times, but both times it was out of order

Yeah.. It's maintenance that I sure got them out of Dave and busters. I shudder to think of xmen le on location in a high traffic place. The led bulbs popping out every 3rd play and into the trough if you don't catch it would be a nightmare. I finally contact cemeted mine in.

I have a CEC topper from a Shrek?

The bowling alley where I play has ticket machines. The kids play those games while the parents bowl.

Says it's removable. I hope they don't screw into the side panel. It's a shame it would cover the art like that. I'd rather have a blank in the front panel like other arcade machines.

Maybe two screws go into the underside of the cabinet and two under the side rail, making it removeable without damaging the cabinet artwork? I hope it works that way.

image.jpg

Unfortunately it sounds like something (cabling, mounting, maybe both) goes through the side: "A Pinball game can be easily converted back to a 'route-ready,' Kit-less game to maintain resale value with Stern's included plug kit."

You do understand that Stern has supported ticket dispensers all the way back to their Data East days? And you do understand how this ticket dispenser is different than previously supported dispensers? I'm guessing no.

Wow. Are you some sort of marketing wiz? That's pure genius.

Now you're comparing two completely different products. Apples and oranges. Just because it attaches to a pinball machine doesn't mean they're the same thing. What's next, will you tell us how curb feelers are far superior to fuzzy dice?

Been available for twenty years. Hasn't mattered yet, for any manufacturer.

LTG : )

Do you? Id like to know. I can't figure it out...

not being sarcastic.

Yes.

Tboy seems to have all the answers. I'm sure he'll fill you in. (definitely being sarcastic)

If you can't wait, google is your friend. There was a press release months ago.

My understanding of any redemption system is you earn tickets, and those tickets are exchanged for prizes at the discretion of the operator or business. Flyer doesn't point anything else other than that, so how is this any different than a coin pusher other than the fact that there's a little more skill attached to it?

Is this the article months ago you're referring to:
http://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=Vending+Features&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=ED56F2675C7747DAAC6350EFEE46C77D

"According to the manufacturer, "redemption pinball" appeals to family members of all ages, encouraging everyone to play and win together. In suitable locations, the addition of the prize redemption feature increases flipper game earnings dramatically, Stern reported"

Sounds like ticket = prize to me?

No, I'm pointing out that this is limiting their market, not expanding it. Also to point out another similiar thread, drstarkweather pointed out that the local gameworks here has tripled the cost to play AC/DC now that it's got a ticket dispenser. I don't play pinball to win crappy prizes, I play to play. If pinball now costs $2.25 game, then I'm really not interested in playing any Stern with redemption on it unless they have an opt out.

On a sidenote, I really don't want to get into an argument. I'm just pointing out that there are obvious flaws to this. The Tron at gameworks has been converted to ticket for like a year now, and it also got moved to the lower level (away from the other pins), so does pinball stay pinball, or does it just become another redemption machine?

I doubt it. You could grab it from the top and with leverage bust it off.

LTG : )

I couldn't find the one article I saw, but here's one announcing the dispenser in May:

http://tinyurl.com/8om7wwo
(Vending Times)

From what I remember ( I have zero experience with ticket dispensers), the new dispenser has some logic in it. Rather than just awarding a ticket or three when the replay score is reached, other things (like extra ball, start of multiball, etc.) can award tickets. And different goals can award different amounts of tickets. Extra ball? Here's 5 tickets. Replay? Here's 10 more. With the old way, there wasn't much motivation to play past a certain point in the game. Hypothetically, this dispenser should encourage more pinball play.

Real world, I don't think so. Ironically, while looking for the article linked above, I found this nugget from Gary Stern in 2003:

...but Stern says pins "take too long and require too much skill" for ticket redemption purposes.

http://tinyurl.com/bzgha7u
(also Vending Times)

I couldn't agree more. Ticket games are for young kids. By the time a kid has grown enough to do some damage with pinball, he or she has grown out of enjoying ticket games.

That said, I'll be playing pinball on location later today. No tickets. You guys?

Hmmm, this isn't new to me. The Tron and ACDC at Gameworks in Schaumburg, IL have had these forever. The ACDC for the past few weeks and the Tron for over a year now.

Correct. This is the only way it will happen. Of course the kids won't get 20 tickets from one game. I imagine only a few so that might drive them away to those dumb machines where you push a button and it lands on how many tickets you won. It's all about the money those games earn which I am afraid to admit pinball will be unable to do in this environment. I have not seen one with this ticket option in any Dave N Busters or Chucky Cheese, etc. Maybe this will at least get us one game on site at these places but they probably will not maintain them at all on a regular basis.

Maybe you would get 50 tickets for a match at the end or something. If so, the kids would fall for that. Can't be any worse odds than the crap games they play.

Maybe Stern could work with places such as Dave and Busters, Chucky Cheese , etc... and have the pinball machines give out more than average in coupons , compared to their video games, to get the younger generation playing pinball again.

Most kids growing up today dont even know what a pinball is these days, but at the same time, the younger generation is always looking for that "new cool thing" in gameing to play and that "new cool thing" to them could be pinball. Just like back in the 70s when video games started to show up in pinball arcades. Arcades soon turned into " video arcades" because that was the "new cool thing " back then.

I do understand though that the maintance on pinball could be a issue, but then again, Stern could maybe offer a better warranty and service program to help out these kind of establishments.
It may not be too profitable for Stern at first, but it could pay off in the long run if pinball could make a come back with the younger generation.

It some thing that Stern could at least try out on a small scale to at least see what happens. If it turns out to be not profitable, at least they tryed it out on a small scale and didnt loose much. Like the old saying, "you cant make money if you dont spend money".