I guess it's tradition, not having bumpers would be like not having ramps, kickers or flippers....theyre' kind of a 'must have' as part of the pinball formula.

However, i've NEVER understood why the pop bumpers increase your score with each hit....it's not like YOU have any control of them, so why be rewarded with points for something you didnt do?

Scoring should increase ONLY when you hit targets and achieve certain goals of the game, lighting up segments & jackpots etc.

If anything, bumpers should decrease your score, as it's the time when the pinny is playing with the ball, not you...kind of a pinball versus player battle.
The score decrement feature is something i've written into several of my own game concepts over the years, so if stern decides to now steal my idea, you know who did it first!! ;-)

I'm in the process of updating certain bally roms to include the decrease feature too.

MM