...not sure I do anymore.

Random.

Pinball is a mini-amusement Park under glass.

I like pinball because it's real, not virtual like video games. Plus you can enjoy the art.

I just like balls

As much as I love many newer games, the truly best and most magical games are behind us in the past. We can still enjoy those games long into future - so, it doesn't really matter what happens with the "new" side of pinball.

I think the best of pinball is actually behind us. I have a beautiful MMR sitting beside my old Swords of Fury and I think I get drawn into the SOF more than the MMR. I am a child of the 1980's though! I used to be a big fan of the NES and SNES, but once Nintendo got to the Nintendo 64, they lost me. The old games were great because they were all about fun game play even though they didn't have great graphics. It seems once the more advanced systems came out, the gameplay suffered due to emphasis on having great graphics. I feel the same about pinball when I compare the great late 1980's through late 1990's B/W pinball machines to today's.

I honestly don't think there will be many more great games from Stern that everyone will need to have. The reason being that themes are great but you need to have more on the playfields and more exciting things to do and interact with.
We haven't seen footage of Star Wars gameplay yet and i really hope that it is a good playing game, but at the moment for me there isn't a whole lot of value in newer sterns.

I'm more interested in JJP and the remakes from CGC, and future Homepin titles, than anything from Stern that is going to be stripped back and over priced. I will be happy to be proven wrong though!

I love pinball for the integration of music and theme and just love how much general physics is utilized in such a fun and addictive game

What games have gotten better and better? Last great Stern was Metallica in '13. Kiss sucks. GOT was a disappointment. GB is the worst game I've ever played. Batman was a greedy cash grab stuck in unfinished code limbo. Star Wars looks lackluster. The boutiques keep screwing people and will be gone soon. JJP are so expensive you won't see many on route to try.

The "New Pindistry" is troublesome at the moment.

GOT is the most underrated pin they've done in years. People couldn't get past the ugly playfield.

And if GB is the worst game you've ever played, then you haven't played much pinball. (Shaq Attack, anyone?)

Hell no.

GOT is great pinball.

It's mediocre. Plays smooth, but lots of games play smooth. Zero interesting toys or features. The worst art since Raven. Horrible clips on Red DMD. Chess rules that don't appeal to a broad player base. Minimal callouts from the show. As a GOT show fan, it's not the experience I was hoping for.

You know I've played every pinball. GB is the worst. I'd rather play Shaq.

We love pinball because we do. Lots of reasons that are all personal to each of us, but we love it because we just do.

I love to difference of opinions that we all have that make us who we are. If everyone had the same opinion it would be a dull pinball world indeed!

The challenge. The skill (or lack of). The randomness. The audio-visual experience. The excitement. The fun.

It's simply the best hobby.
It's real, something is actually happening when you play, not virtual whatevers with canned responses to button timing. You can't dominate by simply programming a fancy joystick to push buttons faster than humanly possible.
It's challenging. Both skill and luck are required to do well, and once you master some basic skills you can study the rules and start really kicking ass.
It's social. With leagues and tournaments and plain old pinball nights, you are up and about and making friends and frenemies. You take turns and trade pointers, not sit on a couch alone or with people you rarely look at while blowing up pretend adversaries or random anonymous internet denizens.
It's technical, pins break and games need repairing or rescuing or restoring or shopping, and one can get as into those as one has the time, skill or aptitude for.
It's creative, from simply playing with LEDs until the lighting suits you, to adding as many mods as turns you on, to tinkering with or rewriting code, to retheming a game or even building from scratch, again there are so many possibilities to get involved in.
It's inclusive, for a competitive "sport" it doesn't matter much what your body type is, how strong or healthy you are, your age or sex or anything else. Stephen Hawking could play with an appropriate custom interface!
It's affordable, whether you can only afford some quarters, or a few hundred for an EM, all the way to the rich guys and their rows of A games and LEs, there's something for everyone. And said rich guys often invite those less fortunate over to play! I don't know about you, but I've never been invited to use some rich dude's speedboat, or Lamborghini, or private jet.
Most of all, it's fun! They are truly interactive pieces of art. And it's intense! Total concentration is required. There is so much going on. Darts is a dawdle, pool is boring, foosball is simple, bowling takes up entirely too much room and time considering we're just knocking things over. Humor, strategy, concentration, reflexes, physics, lights, sounds, jackpots... Pinball has it all!
Even more most of all, great friends! Like-minded individuals who also recognize how great pinball is. They have more than the average person going on upstairs. I've noticed that folks who don't like or "get" pinball are pretty dull in other ways too. Sure, lots of people could love it if they had a better introduction to it. But those of us who were naturally attracted to it I think were more "awake" to begin with!

Added over 7 years ago: I forgot to add, what other hobby lets you consistently sell your toys for close to what (or even more than) you paid for them? That alone puts it ahead of every other hobby I can think of! Pinball FTW!

Because it is more fun than the other alternatives a grown man should be doing?

Serious answers . . .
- escape from reality
- love the challenge / puzzle solving
- reflections of youth
- creative outlet (repairs & mods)
- fun with family & friends

I just like all the variety. I like EMs, early SS, DMD, and new stuff. It's all fun in it's own way. It's funny how some people bash games and love other games. I'm pretty wide open. Everything looks fun to me.

What? Raven is beautiful.

Sweet Sweet Raven

I used to stare at my Christmas tree for hours so I guess it was just a natural progression for me. I used to go with my grandfather in the late 60's to the local bar and stare at the jukebox watching the mechanism work! I was always fascinated with coin op machines. If I bought a pool table which I will when I move to Florida, it will be a coin op for sure so I can push the lever and hear the balls drop! Then I started collecting neon and pinball was lights, coin op, art, skill, it just has it all in spades! Love it, so glad I started but not till 08 wish it had been sooner but I'm hooked 4 sure now

Unlike other hobbies like stamp collecting or figurine collecting or something like that, it's a hobby that myself, and other people of all ages can all enjoy.

GOT is an abacus in pinball form.

World Champion Raymond Davidson's response to this question from a recent interview:

What do you like about the game?

I like the intellectual challenge it offers, mixed in with the reaction skills needed and slight chaos. You’re constantly switching between offense and defense, which is something I really like. At one point, you’re planning out your next moves. Seconds later, you’ll be fighting for your life trying to save a ball from the “drain” — the area beneath the flippers where balls are lost. It’s a great push-pull dynamic that is always changing and is just super fun and addicting.

Your starting to sound like VID !

With my favorite hobbies I enjoy looking at things as much as using them.
My pinball games are works of art that can be played for my enjoyment.
My electric guitars are works of art that can be played for my enjoyment.
My cars are works of art that can be driven for my enjoyment.

It's better than sitting in that chair watching TV.

Definitely sounds like the denial stage to me