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I like Pinball's... and Pizza and triple posting

Not to me. And not to many other players that I know.

Give me creative and satisfying rules, nice sound effects, quotes, and music, and at least a decent layout, and I will sing the pin's praises.

Yeah I like apostrophes too.

Not sure what happened there, mods feel free to take out the duplicates.

I found a black love bug...you're it!

I've had pins where I didn't like the theme. They NEVER last, regardless of how nice all that other stuff is. Theme matters a lot. To me. And to many others.

So you knew that theme mattered a lot to you, and you owned pins where you did not like the theme?

I know that theme matters a lot to many collectors. I am just saying that there are still many players out there to whom theme is not important.

Not many...

Yes there are many.

The people here on Pinside are largely collectors and are not a good sample of pinball players in general.
There are still many people who just want to play a well designed and fun game, regardless of theme.
I've watched these people play games that I have had on location for the last ten years.
Believe me, they are out there.

Good gameplay and artwork can make a lousy theme into a great game- see above three titles for example.

If you are playing pins on location you probably will play whatever is there.
As a collector you are going to care.
Sorry routed pins don't count towards proving that thought in my book. Heck a guy will play tRs if its the only pin on location but I won't take one for free in my home .

That is a real good point, which is why I enjoyed playing MM and AFM on location, but the theme just kills it as far as wanting them in my home.

Obviously, players will travel to play games that they like. If they know that there are games that they like to play at a location, they will go there.
Location players "care" as well.

I'm a regular location player, an operator and (cringe) a collector. Theme means nothing to me. Doesn't matter where I'm playing or what the theme is. If the game is fun, I'll play it or buy it.

I've owned and operated lots of games where I never saw the movie before buying and still haven't. FGY is one of my favorite Stern's and I've never watched more than 5 minutes of the TV show. BSD is one of my favorite WMS games, but that movie looks horrible. The only theme I can ever remember that really annoyed me was SP. It was a weak game overall anyway, so the bad theme just made it worse.

Have to call boshi on that. Travel where and how far?
Many cities have no pinball in the wild. No one around here is driving from DC to Baltimore to find a different game.
Yiu are really talking about a rare factor or at least a very isolated one.
Not saying its not the case at all. Any opinion will have two camps. But in the collector world it leans that way. Again I can't argue the routed opinion.

Spoken like a true collector.
You know that there are two leagues in the DC area, right? And one up in Elkridge.
All of those people travel to play on location weekly if not more.
There is a core group of players at Town Hall in College Park, MD, who travel to play there often.

When I found myself in the DC area last year, I went up to Fells Point in Baltimore a few times to play the ACDC.
I have driven down to Flippers in Grandy, NC, a few times to play location pin there.
When I am in CO, I make it a point to go to Lyons. When I am in AL, I make it a point to go to Bumpernets.
When I was younger and had more time, I would travel hours to find the latest games.

In the last week, I've traveled more than 250 miles to either play a new MET or to check a location to see if they have one. San Jose to Rohnert Park and back, and San Jose to Santa Cruz and back.

I have regular carpoolers who join me on trips like this. Some who post right here on pinside.

Ok, convinced . The two worlds of pinball.
But every time I stopped at Johns place in Fairfax no one was playing. So organized pinball leagues are again a different factor to me. Be ause the league may drive from all over on Monday but no one bothered the other three nights a week I drank there.

I can't speak to what goes on in DC, but that is definitely not my experience in the Bay Area. We're lucky to have a lot of machines on route around here compared to a lot of other areas, and I play on location several times a week. If there are other players around, I like to chat with them. I regularly encounter people who have driven out to my area from different parts of the region to come play.

Sometimes I think that because so many collectors rarely play on location themselves, they assume nobody else does either and don't necessarily have a clear picture of what goes on.

(BTW, I think Metallica as a theme has potential to be a huge draw for casual players in the right locations. Metallica is a really popular band. Some people here don't seem to realize that? )

That does make sense. Most of us here work and don't have time for the leagues and travel to play pinball but have good collections . So it's more the norm for us to do meets at our homes than do the location thing . Plus we like our games cherry.
In the past it felt like the core group I interacted with were more of the same collectors but clearly that changed.
I can see that based on these replies.
Probably fair to say collectors will favor theme and wild players game play regardless.

Well, at least to you. I mean, I can make the counter argument and it would still just be an opinion. Congo is one of my favorite pins I have owned and think the theme plain stinks. Based off a horrible movie. I really don't like metallica much at all, but played the pin and it is pretty rad. I'm really into cars, played checkpoint and wanted to shoot myself. etc etc etc

My location games are cherry. Just like my home games. My location games are all easier than my home games too. Looser tilts, easier settings.

Generally speaking, sure. We all want a fun playing game first. If it isn't fun to play, all the other stuff doesn't matter. IJ4 is proof of that. Best theme ever horribly executed. MET doesn't look to be the next IJ4. That's for sure.

Maybe. I have owned games since 2001 and theme has never been much of a consideration in what I bought. I don't care about the Addams Family theme and have never seen the movie, but that was a game that I played to death in the early 90's because it was crazy fun. Same thing with BSD, STtNG, LotR, etc. I really like the IJ movies, but don't care for the pins. I care much, much more about a ruleset than a theme.
But then, I have always been a location player at heart.

The guys that set up the leagues thought of that and the leagues meet after work.

I tend to think the same. Theme does matter to me, but it's one of the last things I really care about in a pinball. I like DrWho and must admit I've never seen more than 10 minutes of the series. Stargate was an ok movie, but really not more than that. I don't care for Spiderman at all: I think it's a nice movie for kids up to 14. Same goes for almost all super hero movies/themes. WOZ is not my thing, but I am looking forward to play the game. Same goes for Metallica (though I do still have an album from when I was a kid, but I forget to ever put it on anymore). TRON: never seen it. I could go on forever.
A nice theme does do something, but to me it's less important than layout, rules, sounds and probably animations and light as well, so it's a 4th/5th place thing for me.

PS: I agree with the FGY comment: I like the game, but dislike the series. BSD I like the movie though, but maybe owning the pinball before watching the movie got me biassed.

Ya like i said Love Pinball and Pizza

Theme does not mather to me also...Dr who,i just hate that theme but i like playing it

I Love Metal Music and hate country,Love my Roadshow!!!

Replying to the OP. I just seen video of the Metallica pin and that game is gonna be a classic, no question about it.

I'm going to Bumpernets next weekend for their Metallica launch party/tournament.

I am in total agreement with Newsom on this one. There is not a theme I really care about, if the game plays well with a good ruleset it really doesn't matter the theme unless it is inappropriate for kids(BSD is the exception) and is a reason I got rid of my JD.

I can't believe anyone would dispute this. It is unquestionably the number one draw for any pin.

Yes, I go out of my way once a year and drive the 2 hours to play knowing your games will be playing like they should. I also brought my group over to Pizza Depot during California Extreme to help support the hobby. (Plus the pizza and beer is good there)

Having said that, there are no location games in my immediate area that I can support so that is why I have to make the trek to San Jose. The location games in Fresno are so crappy and broken I might as well throw my quarters into a wishing well. One location had a sign that said "Flipper Broken" but still took quarters. They had another machine, Frank Thomas Big Hurt, that had a zip tie connected to the posts in front of the ramp for the upper deck. I didn't see that until I had put my money in. There was no sign as I guess the operator figured it was still playable. Nice.

AFM and MM are a couple of my all-time favorites, and at the same time I'm a big Metallica fan. So I'm encouraged that people would even be discussing the comparison. I can't wait to have a chance to play Metallica pinball..

There's disliking a theme, and then there's disliking metal music. Congo was a terrible movie, but looking at gorillas and diamonds is a whole lot easier than listening to the pure audio trash of awful and ear assaulting music like Seek and Destroy.

Settle down Jeff, you sound like a old man and I know you are not !

I've owned Congo. Liked it a lot! But like I said, when I have owned pins where the theme doesn't appeal to me, they never last! Congo is long gone. Still respect the pin, love some of the shots (I still think the volcano shot is the most satisfying shot in all of pinball) but the theme...sucks!

My favorite song in the game.

I hear you're in luck though-Stern is releasing a Spandau Ballet pin after Star Trek, so you should be good to go...

In all seriousness though, there are a couple slower songs that you can choose to play to.

My favorite song also...

Spandau Ballet or Boy george !

You have got to be kidding.

Like I said earlier, if AFM didn't end up being a great playing game, then how lame would that theme seem.

What the hell are you talking about? AFM is one of the best themes *ever*.

A Justin Bieber pin might be right up your alley!

+1 lol I just checked that out on utube I can't belive I even listened to that went I was a kid..

you mean the songs are just backround? ther'e not integrated in the game like ac/dc.?
if thats the case there might be hope.. : )

What am I talking about? Let's say AFM played like Congo and Congo played like AFM. Congo is now a top 5 game and AFM is barely making the top 50. Which one would be in your house?

With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue
Dissolve the nerves that have just begun
Shootin the combos all night long.....

Of course not. The first thing you're going to notice on any pin is the theme, otherwise why would you bother. Especially for a casual player on location. That's not to say a good theme equate to a good game, but it's a damn good start.

Now that's funny. And a little sad. Of all the songs used in the game, Seek and Destroy probably fits the game better than any other song used. Like the gameplay, it's fast paced. Plus, the whole idea of pinball is to Seek (targets, points, modes) and Destroy (score jackpots, start wiz modes, etc.). What's not to like? I do not understand?

I am laughing at you while simultaneously crying at the same time. Perhaps you can try one some day with the volume turned down. It won't be as fun, but maybe the good gameplay will make up for the awful assault on your ears.

I always look for the one the crowd is gathered around, then I look at the playfield layout before I drop my quarters. Theme be damned! I don't care if it is Judge Dredd, Wapner, Judy, or Trudy. But the game must play! And play well!