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The Last Pinball Machine Factory
The New York Times is running a story about Stern Pinball Inc., which they say is the last pinball factory left worldwide. The story describes working there as a "game geek's fantasy job." The company president, Gary Stern, acknowledges the lack of demand, but he plans on sticking around. He also expects the industry to rebound within the next 10 years. We've previously discussed a slightly smaller version of pinball.
"Corner shops, pubs, arcades and bowling alleys stopped stocking pinball machines. A younger audience turned to video games. Men of a certain age, said [Pinball Hall of Fame operator Tim Arnold], who is 52, became the reliable audience. ("Chicks," he announced, "don't get it.") And so for Mr. Stern, the pinball buyer is shifting. In the United States, Mr. Stern said, half of his new machines, which cost about $5,000 and are bought through distributors, now go directly into people's homes and not a corner arcade."
In my experience of buying and operating pool tables, pinball machines, foosball tables, videogame cabinets etc in schools and suchlike places, I can tell you the real reason that pinball died is because the machines are so incredibly complicated compared to everything else. Pool tables and foosball tables have a simple coinmech and a simple ball release mechanism, that and either a wooden pole (cue) or some rotatable plastic men on rails. Videogame cabinets, again, nothing can usually go wrong that you can't fix. Joysticks, buttons, steering wheels, pedals and lightguns are easily replaceable, the screen is easy to replace (just order a spare one), the coinmech is, well, just another coinmech. Inside it's just extrapolated from a games console, or an actual PC in some cases. But pinball? HUNDREDS of unique mechanical parts, all subject to wear and tear from heavy steel balls, lots of LEDs/bulbs to replace and make sure that all the wires are working, tilt sensors, the list goes on. The maintainance is not cheap.
The real point of pinball is to see my name above yours in the high scores list, just like on all of video games. Co-op has it's place, but so does good old fashioned competition.
Oh, and making the ball a slave to your will is very satisfying too.
You don't seem to be aware that Stern Electronics - the company that produced the machines you're referring to as unreliable - went out of business in 1985. The modern company, Stern Pinball, was founded by Sam Stern's son Gary in 1999. That was the year that Williams folded their pinball division to concentrate on slot machines. It was also the year that Sega (Data East) decided to get out of the market and sold their Pinball division to Gary Stern. Stern hired several brilliant Williams designers including Pat Lawlor, George Gomez and Steve Richie to design games for "Stern 2.0."