I think this discussion needs to look forward rather than backward. Remember lots of innovation is created before the perfect world exists to consume it. Think of the discussions that must have happened in California 10+ years ago when TESLA was looking to build electric cars before there were any electric charging stations. They pushed forward and people installed chargers at home, and THEN charging stations started appearing in the public domain. The value of the connected electric car was higher than the hassle of getting there. There was real value, not just something different.

So, for Wifi in Pinball, two related topics need to be discussed:
1) The mechanics of putting wifi inside a pinball... This is plumbing discussion, and must include discussions about the type of Wifi tech, the cost for it in hardware and software, security, the addressable market which is the likeihood that owner and/or revenue route locations have Wifi. (Have you looked for a Wifi signal lately in any home or public/retail setting that you did NOT find it? While it is possible that the Dew Drop Inn doesn't have Wifi on premise, it is VERY rare that it happens.)
2) The reason for putting Wifi inside a pinball... The value inside a pin for any enthusiast owner and/or route operator. In other words, the business around creating a centralized server clearinghouse. What is the value for a player, route operator and manufacturer, etc. Actually this should focus on how the ability to trade data over the internet would be explosed to the player and/or operator and manufacturer. What would you be able to do with connected data that has value? What would the player be able to see that is unique and of value to them. Would they buy more units? (remember the settings and rules are all programatic, the backbox screens are all visual, etc. so the sky is the limit on cool creative things you could do if connected to the internet) Could the manufacturer detect bugs more easily? Could they save money somehow? How could the player be attracted to drop more quarters into the slot if data was real-time? Does the route operator really update firmware in the wild, and what does it cost them to do so?

Candidly, #1 above is the easy one. Putting the plumbing in place is cheap and easy relative to a $6K-$7K machine. #2 , the VALUE of doing so, is the important topic. Something like this either needs to MAKE money or SAVE money for the manufacturer (and subsequently the route operators).

Talk amongst yourselves... LOL