All good points...
But what is pinball? Well the answer to that so far is an ever evolving game where you have to keep a ball in play whilst hitting various targets. Remember this game that we have now is the off spring of bagatelle.. it has seen SO many evolutions that its easy to forget its roots.
So whats my point?? My point is that Stern still churn out the same machine over and over again.. its not working.. the state of Stern now is a testament to this. Pinball is stagnant and IF it is to survive then a radical rethink of what is pinball is required.
I had a guy in my shop the other day saying that his mate wanted an electronic model not a clunker.... guy i was talking to said he would have the old bell type any day - thats what pinball is to him.
Pinball is different for everyone.. we know that, thats why i have mainly EM.. its my favourite era of machine.
So pinball for the future is whatever the Stern think tank deem it to be.
I can get an ipod thingy that has video.. its bloody cheap and has more memory on it than we would have deemed possible 15 years ago. I can buy RGB LED's that will be ANY colour i want them to be - perfect for pinball
I can get flat interactive screens.
My phone is more advanced that a Stern pinball.. and trust me... i get the phone that has the least on it.
So what do we have from Stern?? Wobbly copyright toys that would probably cost more that the technology due to its licensing.
BIG and i mean BIG heavy cabinets with a backbox that still does not disconnect for easy moving.
Crappy quality decal printing - the quality on the World Poker Tour i had in the shop was just crap - absolute crap
Another licensed theme - what happened to the non licensed games that just had cool artwork and game play?? Less money on licensing means cheaper pins - still could be great to play.
Technology made circuits smaller yet pinballs got bigger - i just dont get that!
I think ive made my point..... pinball could be SO much more, unfortunately it is SO much less and the Stern recipe has been to not rock the boat and just stick to what they know.
Well, the market is now rocking that boat and Stern will be playing catch up.. its not a good position to be in.
I hope that what they come up with is good.
The idea of having home models and commercial is a good one - same cabinet, but home could have a panel instead of door.
Id love to see Stern survive.. but sadly a reluctance to move with the times and licensed titles like CSI will see Stern write its own demise
