There is a bubble in general, but I don't think it will be utterly devastating when it inevitably pops. If anything we need the bubble to pop to drive prices back down. (Start dying off you hoarders ) It's an expensive hobby in general, and most newcomers get scared off by the sticker shock when they search "pinball machine for sale."

The people who are most into the hobby right now are the people who benefited most when it wasn't hard to get a great game for under $500 and most A-tier games prices were topping out at $3,000. Younger generations carry a lot more debt than previous generations (student loans and such), so I'm curious what expendable income for millenials will look like in the future.

The number of young players now will have drastic ramifications in the future when there is an inevitable glut well-maintained machines. Pinball games used to be tossed out all the time; now they're taken care of like defenseless babies.

I think the number of profitable and viable locations for operating machines is dwindling and younger generations are anemic to carrying around change. It's not a competition for people's money; it's a competition for people's attention. Getting games in front of people is more difficult than ever before, and there is a fine balancing act of making games appeal to all skill levels.

Or they're like my father-in-law who is trying to cash out as much stock as possible because the growth seems unsustainable and he rather buy real-estate while interest rates are still low. There are plenty of dummies around here that still view pinball machines as investments despite the overwhelming evidence that there is a bubble.

Also a ton of machines that are out there are $1/play. A lot of pinball games are way too frustrating/obtuse to learn how to play at $1/game. A person can play a crummy mobile game for a hour or two for that same dollar.

I love internet tough guys. Also the real estate page makes the place look like it's an old folks home for rich people.

Be glad! In context, it's basically the modern equivalent of calling a man a homophobic slur. It's up there with "cuck" (short for cuckold) as shit talk from some trailer trash.