Why is pinball on the rise again ?

[Sgt GrizZ]

So .....in light of the feeding frenzy over a £600 Whitewater over on the Yahoo group I was thinking .....just what reasons have led to the increased demand for pins these days ??, with a sharp increase in prices particularly on certain titles but now being seen across the board.

Only a few years ago , 2011, the South Coast Slam crew won a Wh20 on ebay auction for that very amount - which then was used for the prize in the charity raffle. That seemed an ok price at the time, not wildly cheap.

Post 2010 pinball def seems to be on the rise.

Thoughts ?

 

[Carl Spiby]

My guess is virtual pinball such as The Pinball Arcade is bringing it to the masses with some deciding they want the real thing.

 

[Mark]

I think that people who enjoyed pinball in the 90's now have their own house and a bit of disposable income, so they now want to buy the pins they remember playing in their youth. I know that's how I got started!

 

[Spandangler]

Retro/vintage is very popular right now. People are paying silly money for anything retro. Eg: old wooden school lockers. Probably couldn't give em away 10 years ago. They go for about £350 now.

I guess pinball fits in to that bracket . And once you've discovered pinball, you realise how frickin cool it is and the rest is history.

 

[Mark]

Good point Gaz, also another factor is that help/advice/support is much more readily available now than it ever was so newbies feel confident dipping their toe, safe in the knowledge that there are a whole bunch of pinball folk who are happy to help should anything go wrong

If only these forums had been around when I bought my first pin (Black Knight) when I was 18, I could have probably fixed the blowing fuse rather than giving it away!

 

[cooldan]

pinball: 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, 2010s....
3D films: 1950s, 1980s, 2010s...

it's cyclical dude, like the planets and stuff.

 

[Spandangler]

Crikey. Bungles trippy as ****

 

[Monkeyboypaul]

The people who always wanted a Pinball (or many pinballs) now have the means to buy and house these things. I started out doing MAME cabs in the mid 90's aged 16, because I had room and budget for 1 big thing. Then fruit machines in the 2000's and now pinball. The financial leap between fruities and pinball is quite vast though, I had really underestimated it.

I have to admit the The Pinball Arcade did nudge me over the edge and into ownership. And posts a like this bitterly remind me how I got to the party fashionably late, and paid the price. If prices went down again I'd certainly lose money, but I never got into buying, fixing, playing and enjoying these things for money. Just fetch me glass of good single malt and I'd be fine again.

You guys who bought when prices were reasonable really are very lucky to have experienced that era and have benefitted by building nice collections while the demand was lower. I feel semi-guilty for being one of the late comers, coming over here with my demand, ruining it all for everyone!

I also agree entirely with Mark, in that online information sources are so good (i tip my hat to you lot) that you don't have to buy the local arcade engineer bags of chips in exchange for advice anymore, and online parts suppliers/shops are also really easy to use.

My train is just pulling into Kings Cross now so I'll go away.

All my opinion.

 

[kevlar]

My guess is virtual pinball such as The Pinball Arcade is bringing it to the masses with some deciding they want the real thing.

I'm with Carl, at least as far is I'm concerned, Pinball Arcade is 100% the reason that I'm now into pinball. Never gave it a 2nd thought before playing that game, really enjoying it and then looking around to find a real machine and discovering there aren't any within 40 miles.

 

[Wiredworm]

Have to agree with kevlar and Carl about the Pinball Arcade thing.

Just a shame we're not seeing more Pins sited as a result, at least not in my neck of the woods. The arcades are still all dead as dodos and just filled with those annoying push 2p machines.

 

[Carl Spiby]

Have to agree with kevlar and Carl about the Pinball Arcade thing.

Just a shame we're not seeing more Pins sited as a result, at least not in my neck of the woods. The arcades are still all dead as dodos and just filled with those annoying push 2p machines.

Count yourself lucky, Arcades around here are just full of fruit machines.

 

[node]

Have to agree with kevlar and Carl about the Pinball Arcade thing.

Just a shame we're not seeing more Pins sited as a result, at least not in my neck of the woods. The arcades are still all dead as dodos and just filled with those annoying push 2p machines.

Agreed on both points! I've always had a casual interest in pinball, either playing them if I saw one in a pub or on (usually poor) computer versions. Pinball Arcade kind of dragged me in properly though, made me realise how much there was to the hobby (while never feeling right on the physics side, hence moving to the real thing!). Hours of reading and youtube videos later, here I am.

I'd better nab one soon before they get too pricey, still working out where to fit it though!

 

[Carl Spiby]

I started with Pinball Fantasies on the Amiga but never really played one properly until 3 years ago.

 

[Sgt GrizZ]

but never really played one properly until 3 years ago.

Wow ! I feel old ........

My first memory of playing one is a Centaur in our local arcade in the early 80s. Found it very intimidating but strangely exotic amongst the rows of vids. Then during the golden age of the early / mid 90s I played the heck out of everything and anything - of course this was back when every other pub seemed to have a machine , and most arcades had a few Happy days indeed

 

[Matti B]

I think the virtual/digital pinballs are super important in the this revival.

My history:

Early 90's - Pinball Dreams/Fantasies on Amiga

Late 90's - Played a real table obsessively, starship troopers!

2000's - the odd table here and there and played a lot of LOTR in Trocadero.

2010's - Pinball Arcade on my PS3 introduced me to games I missed and made me really want to play them in real life.

2014 - Went to the Slam, got a real table, starship troopers! And the obsession has escalated!

 

[kevlar]

I'm actually gutted it took me until this time 2 years ago to even notice pinball, damn video games taking up all my time which is ironic because that's eventually what lead me in.

 

[replicas]

Why is Pinball on the rise again ?

Hummmmmm let me think ? Cause it Frickin ROCKS ! Yeh.

 

[abaxas]

Money.

Lots of people are in the 'business' simply because it's been good investment. I guess the question is if these people love pinball too, or are in it just for the coin.

* check ebay for many examples of people trying to make money from the hobby (some successfully, others not)

 

[JT.]

A lot of things go in cycles..it's just peaking again for now.

 

[JT.]

Edit: duplicate post

 

[replicas]

A lot of things go in cycles..it's just peaking again for now.

Its been peaking for a bloody long time.
Its just continuing to go higher and higher with no sign of a downward turn.
Everyone wants in on the pinball bandwagon.

 

[JMP]

A lot of things go in cycles..it's just peaking again for now.

I've not seen much of a dip in last four years other than around Christmas when more come up for sale (probably to raise Christmas funds) and money tends to be tighter for buyers. Otherwise, only really seen prices level out or increase subject to the title and demand. Reckon all of the above contribute, plus increase of big shows throughout the year that bring machines to the public as well as pinheads/collectors. NLP got bigger, NERG started last year, Slam returned this year etc.

In relation to the OP, I just sold my WW for two grand, no quibble. I remember forum scoffing over this title at £1K not that long ago.... Seems to be one that gets lots of exposure and play at league meets and shows, so no doubt a contributing factor...

 

[JT.]

I guess a peak of several years is normal too. I compare it to other hobbies/trends that come and go. Like growing your own veg - massive in the 70's for a decade or so, then died back to little or nothing, then on a huge rise again throughout the mid to late noughties and maybe even still now. But I guess the interest will drop off again at some point.

 

[johnwhitfield]

1) No machines left in the wild, so more willingess to buy one to get our fix. I know I tracked down my favourites from teh early 90s first.
2) Most of us have hit the mid life crisis period. Have the space and the money to blow on toys.
3) Age/kids means we go out less so have to fill the time somehow.
4) low interest rates. I'd guess most people don't finance machines with loans but I know my mortage has fallen by over £750 a month, which potentially gives people a lot more disposable income. Sadly also coupled with people seeing pins as a better investment than money in the bank
5) Pinball Arcade etc
6) Increase in shows / sites etc. Didn't find out about the Yahoo group for 2 years or so after buying my first machine



Will it last? Who knows..... It does seem though that there are a few more people in their 30s showing up which has got to be a good sign

 

[Johnny b]

Sam

I think that people who enjoyed pinball in the 90's now have their own house and a bit of disposable income, so they now want to buy the pins they remember playing in their youth. I know that's how I got started!

Same here!

 

[Monkeyboypaul]

Although I may live to regret this statement, I'll pin everything on this:



But seriously, and for the record, I did own a copy of Pokemon Pinball for the Gameboy colour.

It was a pretty good game. Built-in Rumble pack - the poor man's shaker motor.

Really hated the theme though...

 

[Paul]

I have noticed that before christmas on eBay there was roughly around a 50/50 split on EM's vs DMD machines.
Since christmas EM's seem to have outnumbered DMD machines 2:1

Now, whether people are upgrading i dont know. However i have also noticed that the prices of the EM's seem to have gone from circa £3-400 up to £600....

Maybe everyone with a machine thinks it's a cash cow.

I have to agree with John's assessment above tho... i suspect (IMO) point 4 has more of a bearing... people see them as an investment....

 

[replicas]

The reason EM machines have gone up in value is that there are not enough DMD machines to go around thus people are turning to the older style machines.

 

[Paul]

Oh i know

 

[abaxas]

The reason EM machines have gone up in value is that there are not enough DMD machines to go around thus people are turning to the older style machines.

Politely I'll say.. what a load of bull.

Plenty of DMD machines on ebay and the crossover between EM and DMD is not that great.