change in pinball will come when people start to use advanced techniques to design incredible custom mechanisms to change the mechanics of gameplay. Lcd's and such don't change the game at all. Honestly, JPOP's new creative mechs are game changers (whether he has his act together or not is a different question for another thread).. Ben Heck's intelligent interaction model is a game changer.

Reality is, WOZ for all it's flash is really just a typical pin with 30 year old mechs and pretty lights. Not once component is brand new and fresh.

Regardless of what the final product costs in everyone's imagination, it's development also counts as a cost. Factor in all the development, testing, design, integration etc of just the spike system alone much less the creation of a new development platform, code base and all that.. Like any business, the costs of doing business go much much farther than the final widget you see.