Surfers Timezone Swipe System

[Caveoftreasures]

Thanks for posting the video. It just goes to show just how much work goes into designing these new STERN pinball machines.

Video was great.

Also, just wanted to add for those who are Stern fans, when I went back and played the Avengers Pro machine at Timezone for about the 5th visit, I got to see the game count average per day with the tech, and the machine averages apx 1200 games per day at $1.50 per game.  

The machine pays for itself in a 4 day period. This is why they arent serviced properly by Timezone because they simply dont care. I mentioned to the tech that the games were all filthy and unserviced, and he had a big sook/tantrum when i questioned his reason for allowing these machines to have filthy playfields, flippers as weak as hell etc.  You would never ever buy a 2nd hand pinball from Timezone Surfers Paradise. All the machines are million mile machines just after a few lousy weeks. Anything and everything mechanical would need to be rebuilt as a bare minimum.

I had to teach the tech how to open the machine, remove the glass and how to unlatch the lockdown bar, pretty embarrassing. The 55 yr old tech who told me he serviced them weekly, shows his cards when he couldnt even open the machine without my help.
He must service them thru the glass.lol    Timezone machines are just hammered badly.

$$$$$$$$$
At apx 1200 games per day, the machine pays for itself at the 3.5 day mark (say $5500 timezone discounted buy rate), therefore, the game makes apx 11 grand per week, and over 500 grand per annum. Timezone has apx 4 pinball machines there usually (Tron, AC/DC, Avengers, Transformers etc) so they are making apx 2 million a year just off pinballs. Anyone want a piece of that action $$.

[Retropin]

1200 games per day at 1 minute per game means the machine is played for 20 hours non stop daily.

(1200 *1) /60 =20

[MPE]

Does that include free games won?

[Caveoftreasures]

Its open from 9am to midnight 7 days per week. Thats 15 hours per day. The games are set on 3 ball games mostly in school holiday times.

An average game with people playing them who arent experienced pinball players is very quick. Probably a minute. The game count definately said 1200 games per 24 hours when we looked at it. People do walk up to the machines alot and swipe their card into the machine even though someone has left a game on it, which happens the majority of the time because the game rarely sits without balls to play still.  
.......So whilst it doesnt have a physical 1200 games on it, it still gets 1200 card swipes which equals the 1200 x $1.50 per game, per day. Also, if u swipe the card a few times, it starts a 2 player or 3 player game which also builds the game count to the 1200 per day on average.   Probably is half that perhaps ? during non school holiday times.

Also, as anyone knows who has ben to Timezone in Surfers Paradise, it has apx 4,000 paying visitors per day according to the store manager who i regularly talk to. Thats why it has over 600 arcade machines in their massive premises. Biggest in Australia, and some say the biggest arcade building in the world...amazing place if u havent been there. Free games not incl in the 1200, only card swipes i believe.

[GORGAR 1]

Great money maybe in the right place pinballs can make money on site cheers Brett for info.

Peter

[Caveoftreasures]

Those poor machines get absolutely tortured every minute of every day with people double flipping for no reason and its amazing the coils dont overheat....if a game can cop this abuse and still be standing after 4 or 6 months, and only need servicing, which will fix anything and everything, it shows Stern makes them well.......

The playfield dirtyness is the only thing u cant fix if it causes any wear...shame really...hate to see brand new machines abused...its strawberrys to pigs really.

[swinks]

Surfers is a great place for a arcade - just a tourist hot spot - and WOW great return - no wonder the games go to shite if he doesn't know how to open let alone fix.

Maybe you need to site a new Stern there every 3 months, and get them paid off and bring home and site the next one and then send Beaky there to maintain thoroughly once a week and all the tourists end up paying for your home collection.

[Caveoftreasures]

I was told by the owner of TZ the he does about $120 a week per pinball ( if you believe him NOT)
I don't know, but it seems like all the arcades  do the same sort of money  funny that !

did he actually try telling u that whilst he tried keeping a straight face...... $120 an hour more like it.....

1200 swipes a day, the pinball machines own diagnostics show just how much traffiic every machine in his arsenal gets on a daily basis......he has spared no expense in this place...over 600 arcade machines, and the majority are the latest n greatest and most advanced n expensive model u could find in the world.....this place is making more money than a bank !

[Caveoftreasures]

FEEDBACK on faults the Avengers Pro at Timezone has developed after massive amounts of games, being 800 to 1200 games/swipes a day for about 6 or 8 weeks during school holidays....

1.
The H drop target (H for HULK) plays up and repeatedly fires up n down twenty times for no reason by itself sometimes. I note that this H drop target gets hit the most.

2. The ball popper which sits just infront of the H drop target, is weak as hell and doesnt have the strength to fire the ball up into the left end side of the middle playfield metal ramp, which the game then diverts down to the left flipper area, or shoots it back up the top of the left top playfield.

3. The Up post on the right ramp, which traps the balls for locking them for multiball, is a plastic up post. There is nothing wrong with the plastic up post, or the coil which fires it, but the plastic on this early proto test mule, is designed in such a way, the balls sit in a slight gutter which has screws in it holding the ramp down etc. So whilst everything is working mechanical wise, the ramp needs an adjustment so the balls roll down freely versus getting stuck.

4. I worked out that the bottom playfield inlane rollover inserts cant be seen because of the plastics, but after more playing, it doesnmt matter cause the audio and the dot matrx announce the rollover anyway.

So, after 800 to 1200 games/swipes a day, and 8 million people abusing this Avengers Pro, it only has 3 faults that would be easily rectified due to adjustments IF the machine was serviced properly and adjustments were made. I also note, that it would be quite unusual for any game (probably worldwide) to get the thrashing that these Timezone pinnys get, and maybe pins at Disney World or somewhere similar might get that sort of torture as well.

Under the circumstances, it tells me, that a home use only game would probably never develop these faults, espescially given collectors service there machines properly and dont torture them. Also, the flippers were still very strong after apx 70,000 (seventy thousand games).

 

[Strangeways]

FEEDBACK on faults the Avengers Pro at Timezone has developed after massive amounts of games, being 800 to 1200 games a day for about 6 or 8 weeks during school holidays....

Who tells you this info, Brett ?

If a game takes 5 minutes to complete X 1200 games per day that's 6000 minutes.. That's 100 hours worth of play in 24 hours (continuous) ?

Maybe 1200 plays over a month.. but 1200 a day is in fact - impossible.

[Retropin]

Unless there is a queue out the door for this machine for ALL 15 opening hours and its a drain monster... its impossible to have 1200 games a day. Each game would last 45 seconds and then the next person would have to be playing without any delay.

Its just impossible.

[Caveoftreasures]

Unless there is a queue out the door for this machine for ALL 15 opening hours and its a drain monster... its impossible to have 1200 games a day. Each game would last 45 seconds and then the next person would have to be playing without any delay.

Its just impossible.

It must be groundhog day....see previous post from the page earlier...again. (reposted below >>>)

Its open from 9am to midnight 7 days per week. Thats 15 hours per day. The games are set on 3 ball games mostly in school holiday times.An average game with people playing them who arent experienced pinball players is very quick. Probably a minute. The game count definately said 1200 games per 24 hours when we looked at it. People do walk up to the machines alot and swipe their card into the machine even though someone has left a game on it, which happens the majority of the time because the game rarely sits without balls to play still.  
.......So whilst it doesnt have a physical 1200 games on it, it still gets 1200 card swipes which equals the 1200 x $1.50 per game, per day. Also, if u swipe the card a few times, it starts a 2 player or 3 player game which also builds the game count to the 1200 per day on average.   Probably is half that perhaps ? during non school holiday times.

Also, as anyone knows who has ben to Timezone in Surfers Paradise, it has apx 4,000 paying visitors per day according to the store manager who i regularly talk to. Thats why it has over 600 arcade machines in their massive premises. Biggest in Australia, and some say the biggest arcade building in the world...amazing place if u havent been there. Free games not incl in the 1200, only card swipes i believe.

...

thats why i said 800 to 1200 on the latest FEEDBACK post about the machine getting hammered everyday...perhaps u didnt see the 800 written.

[Caveoftreasures]

FEEDBACK on faults the Avengers Pro at Timezone has developed after massive amounts of games, being 800 to 1200 games a day for about 6 or 8 weeks during school holidays....

Who tells you this info, Brett ?

If a game takes 5 minutes to complete X 1200 games per day that's 6000 minutes.. That's 100 hours worth of play in 24 hours (continuous) ?

Maybe 1200 plays over a month.. but 1200 a day is in fact - impossible.

I went into the machines diagnostics with the onsite technician....also reread the post above, which I have reprinted again.
They certainly are not 5 minute games.

[Retropin]

Unless there is a queue out the door for this machine for ALL 15 opening hours and its a drain monster... its impossible to have 1200 games a day. Each game would last 45 seconds and then the next person would have to be playing without any delay.

Its just impossible.

It must be groundhog day....see previous post from the page earlier...again. (reposted below >>>)

Its open from 9am to midnight 7 days per week. Thats 15 hours per day. The games are set on 3 ball games mostly in school holiday times.An average game with people playing them who arent experienced pinball players is very quick. Probably a minute. The game count definately said 1200 games per 24 hours when we looked at it. People do walk up to the machines alot and swipe their card into the machine even though someone has left a game on it, which happens the majority of the time because the game rarely sits without balls to play still.  
.......So whilst it doesnt have a physical 1200 games on it, it still gets 1200 card swipes which equals the 1200 x $1.50 per game, per day. Also, if u swipe the card a few times, it starts a 2 player or 3 player game which also builds the game count to the 1200 per day on average.   Probably is half that perhaps ? during non school holiday times.

Also, as anyone knows who has ben to Timezone in Surfers Paradise, it has apx 4,000 paying visitors per day according to the store manager who i regularly talk to. Thats why it has over 600 arcade machines in their massive premises. Biggest in Australia, and some say the biggest arcade building in the world...amazing place if u havent been there. Free games not incl in the 1200, only card swipes i believe.

...

thats why i said 800 to 1200 on the latest FEEDBACK post about the machine getting hammered everyday...perhaps u didnt see the 800 written.

Yes i did and even at 800 games a day for a 15hr day.. each game is just over a minute... so its a fresh game EVERY minute throughout the day.

So with those figures we can summise that the game is a really crap player that everyone and his son is queueing to play??

[Retropin]

FEEDBACK on faults the Avengers Pro at Timezone has developed after massive amounts of games, being 800 to 1200 games a day for about 6 or 8 weeks during school holidays....

Who tells you this info, Brett ?

If a game takes 5 minutes to complete X 1200 games per day that's 6000 minutes.. That's 100 hours worth of play in 24 hours (continuous) ?

Maybe 1200 plays over a month.. but 1200 a day is in fact - impossible.

I went into the machines diagnostics with the onsite technician....also reread the post above, which I have reprinted again.

Either the diagnostics were misread or they are faulty... it is impossible to have that many plays on a game in one day... basic maths rules this out