[thisbenjamin]

TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball

So what in the hell happened to pinball machines anyway? I was never a huge fan, but I enjoy playing with my father and find the precision of some of the designs pretty amazing, to put it lightly. The documentary itself is fun, it runs at a solid pace, it's rather informative without getting dry. It's pretty solid stuff. It's a bit short (a little over an hour) but there are tons of little side discussions and other bits that make the DVDs worth picking up (at least a rental). A lot of people are drawing comparisons to King of Kong, i'd say it you enjoyed Kong, you'll enjoy this as well. While it has a much higher production value it misses some of the charm of the personal voyage in Kong.

If you already picked it up, what did you think?

 

[Born2bwire]

I really miss pinball. *Sniff* /me fires up Pro Pinball again.

 

[Sennshead]

Yeah, except you can still buy them...if you have SEVERAL thousand dollars. I went looking for one the other day, and they are still made, but the cost is astronomical, and appearantly they have become a real collectors item. The older classics are like buying a new car!

 

[Born2bwire]

There is only one manufacturer left though, Stern. So while you can still buy new manufacture, how much longer will that last...

 

[dbfreak]

I believe Rap crushed The Who which in turn crushed pinball.

 

[Uncle Erik]

The older ones are reasonable, as long as you don't want a classic. There were lots of others that are reasonably priced. If I had the place to put one, I'd pick up one of the pre-computerized models. They look reasonably easy to service and I always enjoyed playing. Too bad there aren't any arcades or places with them around here. That I know about, anyway.

 

[thisbenjamin]

I haven't seen a pinball machine in an arcade in years (not that I frequent them, but it's a quarterly thing, or so - have to keep on top of the latest 180+ fps Japanese hand-drawn fighter). Around 10 years ago, the place I was working at the time had a service in Seattle were you would pay something like 150-200 bucks a month and they would lease you a machine, and swap it out once a month. I remember when the creature from the black lagoon came in, company wide productivity came to a stand still.. lol Anyway, we ended up having to cancel the service as it was becoming apparent they were getting these machines in a pretty well loved state, so they didn't last for crap and had to be contently repaired.

 

[oqvist]

Bump!
 
Oddly enough there is quite a few pinball machines over here in cinema pool halls etc. Sure it´s the same tables as 20 years ago or so and some is a bit run down of course.
 
I am not a pinball wizard but every time I touched a table I had huge fun. I was to cheap to play them in my youth which was a shame. Remember being quite blown away by the Twilight Zone and Medieval Madness. When the computerized versions came I just thought they for whatever reason was less fun. But classical tables with nothing but drop targets really do very little for me.
 
Anyway all is not lost. We have Pinball arcade available on steam and consoles that has some 40ish tables released already. Perhaps not matching the quality of the pro pinball series but close enough very functional.
 
Such a fan service there is so so many pinball machines I have never played. What I don´t quite understand is why they are so much better with all their real life limitations then the zen pinball series or fx/2 which can go really crazy. But maybe the surreal stuff just put me off.

 

[ASillyUsername]

I miss playing pinball, in the arcades as a kid it was the only game I wholeheartedly loved to play. Definitely something I'd like to own one day. I agree that the software versions simply do not compare.

 

[GrindingThud]

There are fewer in play than there used to be....the cost to maintain is higher and the net earnings is generally lower than a vid. I picked up a Williams Cyclone a number of years ago. Still looking for a deal on Elvira and the Party Monsters. Unshopped they can be found for under $1K and with the manuals and schematics all online they can be brought back to life with minimal tech skills. Yes, the cost of the latest machines is crazy....I think mostly because volume is down and people are willing to pay that much for one in their "Man Cave".

 

[ASillyUsername]

That's good to know, definitely on my list of things to buy after getting rid of my college debt.

 

[billybob_jcv]

By coincidence, this article came out today...
http://www.npr.org/2013/12/22/256328172/in-the-world-of-pinball-an-underdog-takes-on-the-giant

 

[oqvist]

I miss playing pinball, in the arcades as a kid it was the only game I wholeheartedly loved to play. Definitely something I'd like to own one day. I agree that the software versions simply do not compare.

 
The physical aspect is of course impossible to beat but I was referencing Pro Pinball which is also software. Physics on that one is extremely convincing . Ironically the loudness of real pinball machines mean I can never own one.
 
As for Elvira and the party monsters "Ooooh nice organ" it´s not one of the better tables in Pinball Arcade I feel. I preferr the sequel Scared stiff but it´s a bit on the easy and casual side but it sure is nice to have one to go to when running Fish tales, T2, Star Trek or another drain table.
 
I really hope pinball can get a revival so I get a chance to play Wizard of Oz. I recon those licenses will probably not be available on PC.

 

[billybob_jcv]

My favorite game in college (early 1980s) was "Black Knight": http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=310

I had never seen a game before with the combination good electronics, an ominous voice taunting you and ramps to multiple levels.

 

[oqvist]

Pinball Arcade has that one. A bit to old and simple for my taste. Gonna release black knight 2000 this season.