Lets see, pin #s declined due to vids (and let's face it, lack of innovation in pins). Highspeed was the machine that really reignited interest thanks to innovation.
- Vids are hard to compete with.. but, most times pinball lost revenues simply due to
the fact that the pins were broken in some way, and broken way too often.
As seen with High Speed... Innovation and good play can create a highly desired
experience that people are willing to pay for.. and can get Hooked on. Sadly, that idea
of innovation has been drying up every since the 90s... and almost ALL innovation has been stripped away from every creative industry. Its incredibly sad... and such a waste. Mostly due to the money men... who have NO CLUE what creativity and Fun really mean. Such people should not have so much power as they are Ruining the world.
So then arcades decline... so does pin interest... then BAM 92/93 it reignites? Let's see what coincides with this time period? Oh yes, Street Fighter II. The game that brought people BACK to arcades and coin-op entertainment back to mom & pop stores, etc.
The initial shock of innovation of Video games created an inflated demand on the
experience and production. The industry should have foreseen that such demand
would eventually level off to 'normal' levels instead of Obsessive levels.
In fact, many Ops where I live never did poorly. We had more than 3 huge arcades
which did very well all during the so called industry crash... and did well up into the
early 90s... when it seemed that creativity and innovation was starting to die.
Street Fighter II was one of those games which had everything that people
wanted. Its enhanced gameplay over typical fighters really created that magic
innovation that drove people to the Obsessive levels again. Which is why even
corner stores could buy them and make money. 2player dual also is a good
way to get people hooked... as many single player games just do not have that
same pull. Its the competition of real human intelligence that adds to the experience
and draw. Single player games dont quite have that same power / draw.
However, even new SF games wont make very good money now. They stopped innovation on the series, and people want something more. Its simply the same old hat
with new graphic dressing. New graphics/sounds alone just dont cut it.
(Its actually quite embarrassing that Capcom used such a dated engine compared to
the superior engine of say... Tekken III. It wasnt the 3d that made Tekken 3 good,
it was the gameplay engine innovation.)
And then it declines again. And through the 90's the pin companies bail out one by one as the market shrank (in step with arcade popularity!). Gottlieb, Bally, Sega, Capcom, then finally Williams. One by one.
What sad.. is that the decline could had been prevented if companies didnt get
cheap and lazy. They based their entire model on high traffic areas instead
of typical establishments. IE: Tourist area will Always made good money because
its high traffic location. Asian locations have High population densities... so even poor
traffic is good traffic. Not understanding this caused them to be lazy and cheap.. as
well as innovation dying out as clone wars spun out of control.
Pinball had too much trouble in the 90s because many pins in the past failed to get
impressive returns... so even of a Pin was good... Ops didnt trust trying to invest in
them. As well as taking up too much time in maintenance as stated over and
over again.
My point: Pinball survived and had its ups and downs THANKS to video arcades. People went to play SF2, and put a few quarters in the pins while they were at it, not the other way around.
Pinball is a niche market. But there is always room for it. As well as die hards who
can get hooked on it. It really depends on how good the machine is.
Machines that once didnt sell well could be remade today and sell a lot of them. Part
of this has to do with the change of times. The internet allows widespread coverage
and reviews to carry over to the needed levels to generate massive level of interest.
Remember that we are talking worldwide sales potential.
Not only that... but now home owners have made the realization that they can
buy machines... and again, with internet vids/reviews... it can draw a lot of
interest. Possibly Huge number of sales if the machine was very Hot.
I think Stern using mass market licenses has had a big role in helping keep them alive for as long as they have. A movie or television tie-in is going to fit into a general public setting like a bar much more than some geeky theme like dungeons and dragons.
Sorry, but your Wrong. Wheel of Fortune is a show that old ladies watch. Its not
a theme that kids with quarters are going to drop in. CSI? Ive seen the show... It
has its moments... but has No bearing on Pinball. The characters dont
draw me in. The only reason the show in interesting is because its not predictable.
People dont fantasize about CSI or Wheel of Fortune! However, they might
think about being an Elf with pinpoint arrow accuracy and magical powers. A warrior wielding a sword collecting treasures.. battling mystical creatures..etc.
They might thing about flying an F16 in a dogfight. Or battling the evils of the
dreaded Black Knight. Or even to be stuck in the Erie Haunted house. Or how about
attacking and seizing the Castle?
CSI? Only if nothing else is interesting on TV at the time.
House? Love the show... Great characters... but a possible Pinball theme?
Nope. Id never play it... especially not Own it!
No... these Themes only serve to DESTROY Pinball forever. Putting the Worst
possible spin on the game in all of History.
As for the good themes like Batman, and even Spiderman.... They were carried
out so poorly... that they again damaged Pinballs reputation. A huge step
backwards from machines made 15 yrs before them.
If they were done right... they could have sold a Lot more machines, and started
a resurgence of interest. Instead... they cut every corner possible, and made
the cheapest POS possible... thinking that the name alone would sell the things.
In fact... its funny cause Stern still thinks that the Ops are buying them.. and that like
in the past... the Ops will buy Popular titles like Batman on name alone! Nope. Many
of their buyers are home owners... who use the net to see what the game is all
about.. as well as read up on of the tons of personal reviews. (as well as word of
mouth experience from known good sources) Even Ops are using the net to
make sure too. Times have changed.. but Stern has not.
Hardcore pin fans might not like it, but hey, do you build a business catering to a market of 1,000 hardcore or do you try to cater to the millions of casual players?
Define casual player? You really think the casual player is a guy who gets a
woody seeing World Poker / CSI / Wheel of Fortune? Wrong.
Just cause I like Snickers bars dont mean I get excited to play a Snickers
themed machine! Same thing for TV Shows. Fn Idiots!
Art appeals to all people. A good themed game will outsell any of those crappy
themes mentioned.
Proof? Put a restored 100% working Medieval Madness next to All of the Themes
Ive mentioned here and watch where the money goes. And tell me which one
you think people would rather Own?
And again... for the Good themes they get... make them crappy to play and
not very innovative... and people wont play them past the 1st quarter. Just like
Street Fighter wont sell for crap today... with that same 'old hat' engine.
Even the video game industry right now is facing tough choices. They can spend $10 million on a AAA hardcore game that might not even break even, or spend $400,000 on a more casual mass market type of game that sells to everyone and their grandma.
Are you NUTS! The game companies are Losing people because they chose to make
games so crappy/generic. Its Innovation that sells games by the Truckloads. Why do you think PC games are just about dead? Cause they are All making the same exact
game type over and over again.
SFII was innovative. Yup, took a lot more time and energy to produce than the
original fighters of the time. Yet look at the results. HUGE returns. And what
about DRAGONS LAIR?! Dragons Lair was a Huge innovation, and made Ooodles
of money. Its STILL Making money Today!
The clones? Lackluster craptastic sales... as expected.
What games made a huge impact more recently? Rhythm games like Guitar Hero.
Innovation. (However, if they dont innovate that again soon, its going to die
soon too. Its already old to the people who first got into it)
It's over. The best pinball game design won't bring anyone back to playing pins enough to thrive. Maybe a niche collector market could work if costs are kept really low, but there won't be any profit. It would have to be purely for the love of it, like what The Pinball Factory has done and is trying to do.
There is still money to be made. However, profits will never be what they used
to be in the 80s when the arcade experience was the new thing. They especially
wont get far without innovations as Ive said before... and certainly are on the way
to self destruction by being cheap and using horrific themes.
Just like the Video game industry is gone to hell. Just think, the population has
risen by a massive percent since the 80s. Sales of games should be astronomical.
Yet, they arnt cause most gamers are sick of buying absolute Garbage. The money
men THINK that sales are improving because of population boosts.. yet, in reality..
they couldnt be doing worse to ruin things.
Highspeed was the machine that really reignited interest thanks to innovation.
So lets see, you say that INNOVATION, good THEME, and QUALITY brought Pinball back from the Dead RIGHT? (and then contradict yourself later...)
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