Customer money saved pinball.
(Topic ID: 198293)
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Quoted from Rondogg:Not to take anything away from Barry Oursler and Roger Sharpe but they existed when the Pinball industry was much larger, larger than it is even today. They may have had a big hand in stoking the flames but there was already a fairly decent fire already going. When Gary Stern looked at the industry in 2000, all that were left were embers. The demand for routed pinball machines was nearly dead and the world changed very quickly on the industry. He could have closed his doors but he didn't. He is the true hero in the story, but there are others.
RGP kept the pinball discussion alive. Clay Harrell proved that you didn't have to be a mechanical engineer to keep these games running in your own home. And Gene Cunningham, let's not forget him! He basically proved that it was POSSIBLE to build and sell a machine independent of Stern. He laid the groundwork for JJP, DP, Spooky, American and Heighway. He set up the model where people put down the deposit and he built the games...and he delivered! Very important that the first attempt was successful.
Perhaps there was some psychological aspect to Gene being a forerunner in terms of producing a boutique pinball machine and it worked out (although the story is he lost money on it) but I'm not aware that JJP or the boutique builders directly gained any experience from Gene. Maybe they did and I don't know the story; If not, to give Gene credit rather than credit the really hard work put in by the more recent people that have truly built new games and employed new designs seems a little off base. Plus, I can't say I "know" Gene but I have met him and spoken with him a few times and I probably wouldn't base my business model off of his 'success'. In addition, the mess that was the down under project with MM would have probably just as well demonstrated how much hard work is involved and what a mess it could turn into.
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