As far as Australia is concerned, Pinball MADE a comeback 6-7 years ago. Glad to see the rest of the world catching up ! The Home market has increased worldwide.
Regarding the operating industry, Stern are only in the position of a small increase in demand due to the success of AC/DC. They needed a strong follow up to set the standard, and we are still waiting. Now there is competition, which puts the pressure back on Stern. This is great for the industry, as competition will be fierce in the next few years. So pinball still has a bright future.
I think the biggest problem with siting pinballs in venues is the poor service provided by operators. UNFORTUNATELY, the only time machines are maintained or fixed is when the coin mech is not accepting coins. This attitude needs to change, and it is the biggest problem. Second they need to keep their machine presentable by ensure they are clean and all the lamps are working. The game must play correctly. Thirdly - ABANDON this swipe card rubbish. Recently, I was at a location where the pins were filthy and they had swipe cards. My buddies had a heap of loose change and wanted to play the pins - but they had the swipe card arrangement. This crap system is foreign and not accepted by the wider pinball public. The money that should have gone into the machines went to the TAB.
Regarding maintenance - mechanical / moving parts have wear and tear. Nothing can change that except "preventative maintenance". See above - Operators will only FIX problems associated to the coin mech ! I'm concerned that when JPP site their games - who will repair them onsite ? You need trained and competent technicians.
So pinball is have a comeback ? GREAT - But this is coming from Pinball Manufacturers.. It is up to OPERATORS to lift their game and ensure the games are functional and presentable. The home market is already thriving, nothing to change there..
There's three pinball machines in three different venues in my area and I'm sorry to say that all three are in a sorry state. they've been this way for as long as I can remember too. If anyone who wasn't familiar with pinball was to start up a game they'd never put there money in another one again.
Coin mech still works though so all good!
