Quoted from flipperfingers:Why is it that a disproportionate amount of pinballers are into superheros, comics, rpg's and the like? What came first, the chicken or the egg? What came first, pinball people are obsessed with superheroes, so lots and lots of superhero machines have been made or lots of superhero pins have been made, so pinheads have grown to like superheros? I'm certain that we can all conclude that it is the former.
I think it's the latter. Pinball doesn't have a long history of regular superhero pins. There's just been a lot of them lately. Most of them are being bought by people new to the hobby. The themes are broad enough to draw in non-comic book buyers.
Quoted from flipperfingers:Also, when I have attended the Michigan pinball expo, I've noticed a disproportionate amount of people (compared to society as a whole) with the emo look going or at least trying their best to look like "individuals".
Well then the Michigan expo is different than every show I've been to. I usually see a lot of older (well fed) guys in black pinball T shirts. Different shows attract different crowds. PPE typically has an older, more laid back demographic. The Seattle show has plenty of emoish folks, but that's part of the appeal.
Quoted from flipperfingers:It also seems like when you talk to pinheads (many, not most or all, but again a disproportionate amount of people), they tend to have quite a bit of social faux pas with behaviors that resemble autism spectrum disorder, particularly Asperger's syndrome.
Huh? If that means there's a lot of characters in pinball, you're right. I believe it goes back to the arcades many of us grew up in. The arcade was always neutral ground back then. The jocks, nerds, stoners and the loners all had a place there. What you see at pinball shows now is not much different than what you saw in arcades 20 or 30 years ago. The characters in pinball are a big part of the appeal to me. Some day I hope to be considered a character.
There are slightly more nerds in pinball than the general population, but not by a disproportionate amount. Video games (gamers) are way, way more nerdy than pinheads.
