Story dated 18th January, 2001
Here
are your views of the year 2000 and Pinball News. Keep them
coming in!
Here in
the United States the pinball market as almost all of you know
is in a state of massive decline.
I live in
Phoenix, Arizona which was the home of the Wild West Pinball
tournament a few years back. The promoter of that event, Dann
Frank, actually services my own pins. But on the rare occasion
that I do come across a pinball machine, the condition is generally
so bad as to be unplayable.
I was at
a dealer here last week that sells machines from a retail location
- Huge selection of games (TOM, Creature, Twilight Zone, Flintstones,
Scared Stiff, Addams Family + many more). But the games were
in horrible shape generally, even though they were set out for
walk-in customers who might buy them for their homes. This dealer
was asking an average of $4000. per pin, and is apparently getting
those prices.
However,
I think the internet and some dealers on the east coast offer
pins that are actually fully shopped, and at better prices.
A decent Bally/Williams pin seems to ! go for $2000 or so.
I own four
pins myself, and keep them lined up (to my wife's dismay) in
our living room. As most know, the home market is RED hot here
in the United States, and I believe that the future of this
hobby lies with home enthusiasts who are buying pins in droves
on sites like E-Bay and through coin op distributors ridding
themselves of their route pins. The prices for pins here has
skyrocketed, especially for 1990+ pins in good condition. I
love the fact that all my pins work perfectly, and all features
work as they should. This is almost never the case if you find
a pin at a bar or arcade.
I played
the new Stern machines some months ago, and was disappointed
at the poor sound quality and game play overall. But I have
the greatest respect for Gary Stern, and wish his team much
success in capturing that elusive mix of Bally/Williams magic
that made their games so awesome and approachable for the expert
and the novice alike. Pat Lawlor's new pin with Stern should
be a breath of much needed fresh air.
Pinball
in the United States has has moved to the collector & home market,
and the pins that go there will receive much better care and
upkeep than they ever did on a route.
I love your
site, and thanks so much for providing a reliable and very professional
place for pinheads to keep up on the hobby!
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I've been
following your site for a while now, and I think it is the most
interesting one in the web. This your site is really a news-site,
which makes it so superior. That's the way to do it!
Now, when
I read some of these messages I thought that is pinball really
doing that bad in Europe? [And in Australia] (Ed-
See below)
Cheer up,
in Finland its not.
Pinballs
are still quite popular here in Finland. Of course not as popular
as they used to be in a decade ago, but still. Usually they
are located in pubs, bars, hamburger restaurants or gas stations.
And people are playing them, too. In general, slot machines
are grabbing the biggest piles of players' money,marks, but
pinballs are doing far better than videogames.
I live in
a small town, population about 30 000-35 000, and for a pinball
player my town is a good place to live, and play. We have nowadays
seven pinballs around the town. They are: Star Wars Trilogy,
two Medieval Madnesses, Indy 500, NBA Fastbreak, Star Wars Episode
One and a Tales of the Arabian Nights. They are all in a good
playing condition and quickly repaired.
Of course
one could hope that machines should be changed more often, but
I'm okay with this.
A month
ago one game, Mario Andretti was replaced by Arabian Nights.
So, at least in my home town pinball is doing OK, especially
considering the population. I think the situation is the same
in Finland generally. Hopefully it is.
A reader
from Australia hopes that pinball will return to his/her country.
Hopefully it will happen already this year. In my opinion, [and
this is my opinion] it has never left Finland.
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First of all, thank
you so much for publishing over the net so many interesting
articles about our common interest;pinball machines.
I am a French pinball
fan, I personally have 2 games from Williams, Earthshaker and
Bally's Twilight Zone. As for the French market, that Gary Stern
described as more important than the US in terms of volumes,
I feel at my own scale (and without having any will or intention
to hide the reality) that the market is stable. Pinball operators
look reluctant to purchase some of STERN's production models
but since this is the only way for them to get new games, there
is no other alternative.
STERN's gameplay
is not as reliable and attractive as Williams' used to be. The
design is more basic. I would describe their games as big toys,
the sounds were sometimes as sophisticated as a Nintendo's gameboy,
the mechanical sound is "cheap" and gives you the impression
to play with some pieces of plastic.
Casual player is
still unaware of the big difference it makes since Gottlieb
and Williams are gone. None of them is paying attention to the
brand name written on the backglass. However, real players keep
playing real values from Williams/Bally that is to say WPC games.(Theatre
of Magic / Medieval Madness/Addams Family)
Only real players
noticed there was a shortage of new pinball. Pinball 2000 is
not a platform designed to satisfy real pinball players and
keep them attracted. In this sense, maybe Williams took the
wrong direction.
STERN's latest games
are played for an average of one month when they are brand new
and then people do not play them. Except South Park maybe, STERN's
games appeal tends to fade very quickly for various reasons.
They may attract casual players or young players who will play
these games like any other pinball but the pinheads will keep
playing Williams Bally. I am one of them.
I keep praying for
Gottlieb, Williams and even Capcom's revival. I sincerely hope
that the coming of designers from Williams into the STERN team
will change things and that STERN will start producing pinballs
for adults. It seems that STERN has everything in hand to become
a real leader now, let's hope they will grasp this opportunity
and produce some pinballs as good as Williams' WPC generation
models.
Your web site is
a nugget for pinheads. Keep updating for us, you did a great
job through this year.
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I
live in Australia, and have done for the past 30 years. I have
seen the pinball industry go up and down over this time.
The last 12 months, for me anyway, has been very sad for pinball
players. It seems the industry has died, and to find a pinball
machine on-site anywhere is becoming increasingly rare. A number
of major industry players have either closed down, or have trimmed
back their operations dramatically, especially with the onslaught
of PC games and DVD technology.
I
sincerely hope pinball makes a resurgence, especially in this
country. It is a unique medium, and cannot be duplicated elsewhere.
I've seen some great PC pinball games, but it doesn't come anywhere
near playing the real thing!! I'm an optimist....pinball will
return!!
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Excellent web site
by the way! I visited it on it's first day of opening in my quest
for Pinball information. |
Keep up the good work
with Pinball News, I didn't realise there was people out there
with the same passion for pinball as me. I am now looking to buy
my own table as I didn't know you could get them as cheap as they
are. |
You have a great site.
Keep rolling |
Here in the USA I
spend a lot of time surfing around the various pinball related
sites. Yours is by far the most comprehensive especially when
it comes to industry news. Thank you for not letting this hobby
die out and for putting the time and energy into your site. I'll
be checking in daily from here on out. |
I have just come across
your site for the first time and I am very impressed. |
Thank you very much!
You really have a splendid (link) page! With the graphics etc. |
Great site - AND maintained
- keep up the good work. |
I'd just like to
say that I love the site and visit it regularly,but I'm particularly
pleased with the feature on playing techniques. |
Thank you for your
site. It's a great source of information on Pinball, and I'm kind
of fond of pinball. |
Like your site. Keep
at it. |
I've been following
your website now for a while, and I think that it is the most
interesting pinballsite in the net. |
You have the best
pinball related site on the web. I've written you before. I can't
believe how quickly you get the jump on hot news. |
I like your news letter
it really keeps us fanatics in touch with the pinball market!!! |
Keep
up the good work. Are you going to notify people when new things
are
added to the site, or do we have to visit every day? * |
Nice website!! Very
up-to-date and easy-to-understand. I will visit your site regularly
to find out what's going on in this wonderful business. Would
it be possible to send me a short e-mail when something new is
on the site? * |
Congratulation to
your very good and very topical pinball-website. I visit your
site often since I found it so three or four month ago. Keep up
the good work, a happy new year to the whole staff. |
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