dare i say it?

[HHaase]

It sounds like someone needs to add redemption to pinball and pay out redemption tickets rather than credit / extra balls in the local family entertainment centers.

Couldn't some WPC machines also take a ticket printer? I remember reading bits and pieces about one in a BoP manual. Never seen one set up that way though.

But I'm not sure if that would help or hurt pinball, as it would start steering the machines back toward the "gambling" aspect. The last thing we would want is people to start passing anti-pinball laws again.

-Hans

 

[RLEVIN]

Some very strong and valid points. I'm finding that exposing people to pinball gets them hooked. It's like drugs, you've heard the words/terms/names but until you actually do it ... it means nothing and you have no urge to do them. Sad analogy I know

Being in Chattanooga - RLEVIN should be going wild if there's no pins in the wild ... surprise surprise.

And yes - OPs tend to not take care of their machines and wonder why they don;t earn any money ... duh! And the OP's are too damn lazy to realize they need to rotate games. Most pubs/bars have local bar flys. they get bored of a title and we're back to not making any money. Again .. duh!

And here's another hurdle. IF BayareaAmusements decided to make a run of a B/W game it'll cost $5-$6K (estimation of course). People will bitch just as much about the price as they do about Sterns games. I don't see pinball making a come back because most of the technology is archaic and is the same reason "most" kids have no interest in Donkey Kong or Ms. Pacman.
My .02

You guys should see my show room around lunch time there are sometimes 30 people playing pinball at the same time. It is a very cool sight watching them all play. Got my Avaitar pin in yesterday and cannot wait to play it. I am out of the country and did not get to see it yet. I do have plans on opening a real arcade in the down town area by the 1st of the year and will have tons of pinballs and a boat load of the classics

 

[HHaase]

You guys should see my show room around lunch time there are sometimes 30 people playing pinball at the same time. It is a very cool sight watching them all play. Got my Avaitar pin in yesterday and cannot wait to play it. I am out of the country and did not get to see it yet. I do have plans on opening a real arcade in the down town area by the 1st of the year and will have tons of pinballs and a boat load of the classics

Ooooh, you have an Avatar? I really want to make something to improve the "sully's coffin", but don't have access to one for measurements. If you've got the time sometime, I could really use some good photos/measurements of the empty box that he's in. I'm already roughing out an insert for it to match the details in the movie.

-Hans

 

[RLEVIN]

Ooooh, you have an Avatar? I really want to make something to improve the "sully's coffin", but don't have access to one for measurements. If you've got the time sometime, I could really use some good photos/measurements of the empty box that he's in. I'm already roughing out an insert for it to match the details in the movie.

-Hans

I am in Grand Cayman right now but call my manager Kevin and he will do it for you 1-423-322-4213

 

[RLEVIN]

It's possible there could be a new interest in pins if enough business owners would take the chance and have them in their establishments.

I don't think pins are suffering in popularity because the younger generations don't like them. I think it's more of a situation where the younger generations just don't know much about them. You can't really like or dislike what you haven't been exposed to.

Case in point: My sister-in-law and brother-in-law -- who are both in their 20's -- recently came over to play my pins for the first time, and they were really into them.

For both of them, it was somewhat of a revelation, with my brother-in-law telling me "I had no idea there was so much to pinball. I thought it was just about keeping the ball from going down the center." He was quite surprised that pins could tell a story, have multiple objectives, have different modes, etc., etc. And that's despite the fact that he's a young, hardcore console gamer. If he saw a pin out on location somewhere, I'm sure he'd be inclined to give it a play. (Well, as long as it didn't cost $1 per play or something.)

Hell, I'd LOVE to be able to go play some pins on location in my area, but despite Chattanooga, TN being a fairly good sized city, I've only come across one machine while out and about: a NASCAR at Chuck E. Cheese, that was not only dirty as all get-out, but wasn't even working.

And that points out another problem, doesn't it? Not only aren't there many machines on location to begin with, but the ones that ARE out in the wild aren't being kept up at all.

Oh and by the way I do have one out in the wild and it is in the WILD. It is at the adult book store on Rossville Blvd. Funny porn and pinball.

 

[cjp2401]

In my opinion, there are so many aspects that contributed to the fall of the pinball machine. From the evolution of the arcade video machine to the exodus of families to the suburbs (hang on, I'll get there).
I'm 47, married and have two boys (12 & 14). When I looked at how my "boyhood" compares to theirs, I'm amazed. My growing up involved walking to/fr school (and stopping by the local Rinks dept store when we had a quarter to play pinball), pickup games of baseball/football/basketball (take your pick depending on the season), riding our bikes all weekend around the neighborhood including the forbidden bowling alley where we ran from one end to the other to play pinball, etc. You get the picture.
Fast forward to my boys. We live out in the suburbs of Campbell Cnty KY, they do not walk to school, we drive them. They don't ride their bikes to anyplace where there are games because they'd have to get on the highway. There are no pickup games played, everything is organized sports from day one. I think of the adventures they're missing.
I discovered pinball on my own with three buddy's on Saturday mornings. Part of pinball was the adventure of being in a forbidden place, or searching the city for our favorite machine. I fell in love with the game. Today, our kids do not get the opportunity to discover their adventures.
Technology was Pinball's biggest foe, but our cultural evolution had a hand in the demise as well. First it was the arcade games that took the spot light away, then it was the home games. Video games offered so much more than a ball on a playfield. My kids play games on Xbox 360 that make my head spin, AND they are connected to their fiends across the US (or world for that matter). I tried to play one of the first person shooter games, and I hated it.
So now, I'm in the market for a game for me (selfish, I know). Redid the basement to fantastic family room and have room for three pins (eventually). The boys can't wait; they've never had the experience of discovering pinball like I did (but then again, they never got to hold hands with Nancy on the way home from school either!).
To quote Gary Sterns: "Years ago, when a kid went to pick up a pizza, he'd play a game of pinball while he waited," Stern says. "Today he's texting on his phone".
Wow, that was a little long for a post, sorry…..

 

[mrgone]

Cjp 2401,well said. I had the same type of childhood (im 45).

Its a shame that our kids dont have the same freedom we had. But then again the world is more dangerous today. Its good that you are showing your kids a little old school magic from our youth in the form of pinball.
My kids love pinball and drive in movies.

 

[pudluther]

Oh and by the way I do have one out in the wild and it is in the WILD. It is at the adult book store on Rossville Blvd. Funny porn and pinball.

is that the adult book store that's right next to the humongous cross? i know i get a chuckle out of that setup every time i go past that area.....lol.

 

[pudluther]

In my opinion, there are so many aspects that contributed to the fall of the pinball machine. From the evolution of the arcade video machine to the exodus of families to the suburbs (hang on, I'll get there).
I'm 47, married and have two boys (12 & 14). When I looked at how my "boyhood" compares to theirs, I'm amazed. My growing up involved walking to/fr school (and stopping by the local Rinks dept store when we had a quarter to play pinball), pickup games of baseball/football/basketball (take your pick depending on the season), riding our bikes all weekend around the neighborhood including the forbidden bowling alley where we ran from one end to the other to play pinball, etc. You get the picture.
Fast forward to my boys. We live out in the suburbs of Campbell Cnty KY, they do not walk to school, we drive them. They don't ride their bikes to anyplace where there are games because they'd have to get on the highway. There are no pickup games played, everything is organized sports from day one. I think of the adventures they're missing.
I discovered pinball on my own with three buddy's on Saturday mornings. Part of pinball was the adventure of being in a forbidden place, or searching the city for our favorite machine. I fell in love with the game. Today, our kids do not get the opportunity to discover their adventures.
Technology was Pinball's biggest foe, but our cultural evolution had a hand in the demise as well. First it was the arcade games that took the spot light away, then it was the home games. Video games offered so much more than a ball on a playfield. My kids play games on Xbox 360 that make my head spin, AND they are connected to their fiends across the US (or world for that matter). I tried to play one of the first person shooter games, and I hated it.
So now, I'm in the market for a game for me (selfish, I know). Redid the basement to fantastic family room and have room for three pins (eventually). The boys can't wait; they've never had the experience of discovering pinball like I did (but then again, they never got to hold hands with Nancy on the way home from school either!).
To quote Gary Sterns: "Years ago, when a kid went to pick up a pizza, he'd play a game of pinball while he waited," Stern says. "Today he's texting on his phone".
Wow, that was a little long for a post, sorry…..

i'm 35 and have kids that are 5, 3, and 18 months.....i had the same kind of childhood you did. especially the "riding the bikes miles and miles from home" thingy. we'd ride bikes MILES from where our parents thought we were. but today, i don't think we'd let our kids ride bikes outside of the neighborhood.

there were lots of places to play pins/vids when i was growing up....some of those we could access with our bikes, but moreso when we got our licenses and started driving around.

the 360/ps3 thing is big, but i can tell you: my home arcade (vids & pins) is a big draw.....every time my kids' friends come over, it's the first thing they want to do.....and the pins are a HUGE draw. they don't necessarily know what they're doing, but i think they love the tactile feedback and "real" aspect that pins provide.

it'll NEVER be the way it once was...pins, "in the wild", are going the way of the dodo.....but i'm convinced that exposing kids to pins in the home environment works. they LOVE 'em. can't get enough. is it enough to "save" pinball? no. but the more they're exposed to it, the more they catch the bug. i just hope STERN stays around long enough to give all of us a few more reasons (pins) to stick around as well....

 

[RLEVIN]

is that the adult book store that's right next to the humongous cross? i know i get a chuckle out of that setup every time i go past that area.....lol.

That is not here but I know the one and we call it FOOTBALL JESUS because the way he is holding up his arms it is like a ref giving the fieldgoal good sign and I know I am going to Hell now. Funny spot for a football Jesus

 

[GameyMcGame]

we'd ride bikes MILES from where our parents thought we were. but today, i don't think we'd let our kids ride bikes outside of the neighborhood.

You realize the humor in this right? "...from where our parents THOUGHT we were..."

Sounds like they didnt let you ride miles away either but you did. Kids will be kids. I live in a town where kids ride bikes all over the place.

 

[pudluther]

You realize the humor in this right? "...from where our parents THOUGHT we were..."

Sounds like they didnt let you ride miles away either but you did. Kids will be kids. I live in a town where kids ride bikes all over the place.

well, they knew we were riding to the Y and back (it was probably about 1.5 miles from my house as the crow flies). we just took it further once we got there.