What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

pub pin required

Back in the 80s and 90s many folk played pinball when they were bored. Either they had no friends or they were simply killing some time.

The demise of pinball is analogous to the demise of cinemas. Every decent sized town had a picture house. Cities had numerous picture houses. My grandparents would go and sit in the same seats at their local picture house in Sheffield every Saturday to watch newsreels and Flash Gordon.

Few folk experience boredom nowadays. Virtually everyone below the age of 70 or so has a 1080p newsreel, cinema, juke box, source of sexual encounters and gaming system in their pocket.
 
‘ Few folk experience boredom nowadays. Virtually everyone below the age of 70 or so has a 1080p newsreel, cinema, juke box, source of sexual encounters and gaming system in their pocket. ‘

in our experience this is one of the key reasons why there is a big attraction to pinball at the moment (In our neck of the woods at least)
People are saturated with screens - phones, iPads etc and pinball offers a very different physical experience which people love.
I can’t count the amount of times parents have thanked me for offering pinball as an activity and thus being able to get their kids away from their screens and sofas/bedrooms
 
I think that it is all about your catchment area. If you are in a city then niche activities can survive - theatre, ballet, opera, arthouse cinema ....

If you have a small catchment area (like my village pub), the old fashioned leisure activities just seem to die. The pool table has gone, the dartboard has gone, the bar billiards is no more …. The pub quiz and dominoes have survived as they secure bums on seats
 
‘ I think that it is all about your catchment area. If you are in a city then niche activities can survive - theatre, ballet, opera, arthouse cinema ....’

perhaps, but kids and most folk aren’t generally into those things as a regular activity, they are special occasion type experiences.
I was getting at the fact people are glued to their phones and consoles for gaming (and watching stuff) and pinball offers a similar though very different physical gaming experience which can be enjoyed regularly, solo or with friends/family and won’t cost a fortune
 
Back
Top Bottom